Top 5 Photos 11/15: Sabalenka finishes 2020 on a high

Champions were crowned in Linz, while the ATP Finals in London kicked off with both singles and doubles action. These are the Top 5 photos for Sunday.

1

Aryna Sabalenka and Elise Mertens

Just a few weeks after winning the Ostrava doubles title together, Sabalenka and Mertens faced off in the Linz singles final. Sabalenka would win 7-5, 6-2 to end her year on a nine-match win streak.

"This is the perfect end to the season and I can be happy and relaxed on my holidays for the next months and preseason," Sabalenka said.

Alexander Scheuber

2

The new No. 10

Sabalenka clinched the year-end No. 10 ranking for the first time. The 22-year-old had finished No. 11 in both 2018 and 2019. The trophy marks her eighth career WTA title.

"It means a lot, first of all it means that I improved because the last two years I've been pretty consistent with my ranking and I want to improve this number," Sabalenka said. "But I'm not here for the ranking, I'm here for the matches, to feel the emotions and to feel the game, this is more important for me than the ranking."

Alexander Scheuber

3

Aranxta Rus and Tamara Zidansek

Rus and Zidansek took out Lucie Hradecka and Katerina Siniakova in the doubles final in Linz. The duo were seeded No. 4 while their final opponents were the top seeds.

Alexander Scheuber

4

Rafael Nadal

The Spaniard dismissed Andrey Rublev in his first round-robin match of the ATP Finals. The world No. 2 won 6-3, 6-4 as he begins his pursuit for his first career year-end trophy. In the other singles match, Dominic Thiem outlasted Stefanos Tsitsipas.

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5

Rajeev Ram and Joe Salisbury

Doubles began on Sunday in London and both matches would go to a deciding tiebreaker. Ram and Salisbury slipped past Lukasz Kubot and Marcelo Melo, 7-5, 3-6, 10-5 while Wesley Koolhof and Nikola Mektic just overcame French Open champions Kevin Krawietz and Andreas Mies, 6-7 (3), 7-6 (4), 10-7.

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