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Though the WTA Tour Driven by Mercedes-Benz season is nearing its conclusion, the play during the latter part of the Asian Swing has been as strong as it's been all year.
Both of the finals in Tokyo and Guangzhou came down to the wire, and in keeping with the theme of remarkable parity on tour, we had two first-time 2026 champions.
We also saw some peak on-court fashion, a first-time year-end No. 1 and the last WTA Finals qualification secured.
Here's everything that went down on the WTA Tour Driven by Mercedes-Benz last week.
After a season-long race, the world's top players converge in the California desert with the WTA's biggest title still to be won.
It's been a very solid season for Shnaider, who coming into Tokyo had jumped from outside the Top 20 at the start of the year to No. 13. That jump was due in large part to four semifinal appearances, including her first career major semifinal at Roland Garros. But she had gone 22 tournaments with a title.
That drought ended in Tokyo, where she ended her season on the highest note. Shnaider beat Aliaksandra Sasnovich, Alexandra Eala, Mia Pohankova and Leylah Fernandez to claim her sixth career title, and first since August 2025. Three of her four wins came in three sets, including the final over Fernandez.
Shnaider moved up to No. 11 in the PIF WTA Rankings, matching her career high.
It was the week of Dart's career, as she came through qualifying to win her first career WTA Tour Driven by Mercedes-Benz singles title in Guangzhou. The 30-year-old Brit barely made it into the main draw, coming from 7-5, 4-2 down to beat Cheuk Ying Shek in her opening qualifying match. From there she won six straight matches, including upsets of Janice Tjen, Paula Badosa and Lilli Tagger in the final.
Six of Dart's seven wins went the distance, and she came from a set down to win in the last three. She played a total of 20 sets over the course of 12 hours and 43 minutes in her seven matches.
Prior to this week, Dart had never reached a WTA final, and only one semifinal, back in 2024. The title moves her back into the Top 100, to No. 84.
So many epics to choose from across both tournaments, but we'll go with Sun's 6-3, 4-6, 7-6 (3) win over Timofeeva in Guangzhou. The 16-year-old Chinese wild card came from 5-2 down in the third set to win. Timofeeva held a match point at 5-3 but double faulted.
Sun's win over Timofeeva wasn't the wildest comeback of the week. That belonged to Yastremska, who saved five match points in a 7-5, 1-6, 7-6 (7) win over Volynets in 2 hours and 44 minutes. The craziest part? She also saved five match points in her first qualifying match, a 7-6 (4), 4-6, 7-6 (3) win over You Xiaodi.
It was the biggest win of Pohankova's career, a 6-3, 7-5 win over the four-time Grand Slam champion. The 18-year-old, ranked No. 144 entering this match, came from 2-0 down in the first set to win 6-3. Then in the second, she saved break points in two of her service games before breaking Osaka in the 12th game for the straight-sets win.
It was an earlier-than-expected exit for Osaka, but she did deliver with the fit, as per usual. In her first match against Jasmine Paolini, Osaka took to Center Court in a blue-and-white cape embroidered with cranes, a symbol of peace in Japan. As she did at Wimbledon, Osaka collaborated with Tokyo-based designer Hana Yagi on the piece.
Osaka then delivered on court, beating Paolini 6-3, 7-6 (4).
In a crucial second-set tiebreak against Claire Liu, Sun showed off incredible speed and defense, and then won the point with a perfect scooped lob from behind the baseline.
...as said by Aryna Sabalenka, who was on hand at UFC 333 in Abu Dhabi.
That's how many left-handers are in the Top 20 of the PIF WTA Rankings, as Fernandez joins Shnaider, Maja Chwalinska and Eala. It's the first time since September 28, 2015 that four lefties have been inside the Top 20.
With her win over Yulia Putintseva in Tokyo, Rybakina secured the year-end No. 1 ranking for the first time in her career. She's the first Kazakhstani, male or female, to finish the year No. 1 in either singles or doubles.
The perfect season, which has also included a pair of Grand Slams, is nearly complete. Only one more milestone remains: back-to-back WTA Finals titles, which she'll have a chance at next week in Indian Wells.
The WTA Finals fields are officially set. The doubles team of Paolini and Errani clinched the final berth this past weekend, upon reaching the final in Tokyo (which they won). This will be the Italian duo's third consecutive appearance at the Finals.
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