Sabalenka strolls to third straight WTA title in Abu Dhabi

Fourth seed, Aryna Sabalenka won a third consecutive WTA title at the first tournament of the year, the Abu Dhabi WTA championships. The Belarusian started the year as the number 9 ranked female tennis player in the world.

Sabalenka, who is on a 15 match winning run defeated Russian Veronika Kudermetova in the final of the Abu Dhabi tournament, winning in straight sets 6-2 6-2 to secure her title. The title was the 9th of her career. The 22 year old has seen her victory cause her to rise up to 7th in the WTA rankings ahead of the Australian Open billed to commence on February 8th.