RIYADH, Saudi Arabia -- World No.1 Aryna Sabalenka secured her spot in the semifinals at the WTA Finals Riyadh after defeating No.4 Jasmine Paolini 6-3, 7-5 on Monday.

With the win, Sabalenka improved to 2-0 in the Purple Group and, combined with Zheng Qinwen's victory over Elena Rybakina earlier in the day, ensured her finish as the group winner.

WTA Finals Riyadh: Scores | Schedule | Standings

A champion at three of her past four tournaments, winning the Cincinnati Open, US Open and Dongfeng Voyah Wuhan Open, Sabalenka has now won 22 of her last 23 matches and moves within one round-robin win of securing the year-end World No.1 ranking for the first time. Sabalenka will face Rybakina on Wednesday in the final group match of the week, where a 3-0 record would seal the top spot.

Sabalenka shrugged off any suggestion that her intensity level might drop having already secured her spot in the semifinals.

"Well, it's definitely, it's tricky, but you know, we're chasing here number one," Sabalenka said, "so I'm gonna just keep that in mind, and I want to go for all of the points possible. And that's my motivation right now, and yeah, advancement."

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Sabalenka and Paolini split their previous four meetings, but Riyadh would be their first showdown in over a year. Since their last meeting at 2023 Beijing, Paolini has elevated her level and flown up the rankings, thanks in large part to her back-to-back Grand Slam finals at Roland Garros and Wimbledon this year.

Paolini, 28, entered her first WTA Finals -- where she qualified in both singles and doubles -- ranked at a career-high No.4 in singles, matching Francesca Schiavone as the highest-ranked Italian woman in Hologic WTA Tour history.

"I think the intensity she put in and the way she's moving, and she's playing quite aggressive, flat, deep balls, so you always have to stay low, and it's kind of like created extra tension," Sabalenka said. "Physically it's really difficult playing against her."

Sabalenka overpowered Paolini early, building an insurmountable 4-0 lead to take the first set in 36 minutes, finishing the opening frame with a lighting forehand for her seventh winner of the match. The reigning Australian Open and US Open champion looked poised to ease through the straight set after building a 4-2 lead in the second set, but Paolini worked her way back.

Playing physical defense from the baseline, Paolini ramped up the rally pressure and Sabalenka blinked. With Sabalenka rattled and leaking errors, Paolini broke to level the set and earned two set points on Sabalenka's serve.

"I was already thinking about a third set, but I kept reminding myself, like Aryna, you're still in the second set," Sabalenka said. "You still got a lot of chances, you're serving. And I don't know, honestly, I was just trying to stay aggressive."

The World No.1 stood tall, wiping away both chances to hold serve and then running off the final two games to close out the win and stay perfect in Riyadh.

"I was just trying to show her that even if it's gonna if, even if she's going to win this set, I'm gonna fight for it, and she'll have to put it into, into hard work to get that win."

With the loss, Paolini falls to 1-1 in the Purple Group. After Zheng Qinwen posted a three-set win over Rybakina to also move to 1-1, Day 3's results set up a win-and-in scenario for tournament debutants Paolini and Zheng. The two will face off on Wednesday, with the winner advancing to her first WTA Finals semifinal to face the winner of the Orange Group.