Elena Rybakina on Friday became the first player to qualify for the title match of the WTA Finals in Riyadh after defeating Jessica Pegula in a thrilling three-set semi-final.
The 26-year-old Kazakh, currently ranked sixth in the world, defeated the fifth-ranked American by 6-4, 4-6, 6-3.
In the final, Rybakina will face the winner of the second semi-final, between world number one Aryna Sabalenka of Belarus and American Amanda Anisimova, ranked fourth.
This will be Rybakina’s 22nd career WTA Final: she will be competing for her eleventh title and her third of the year after triumphs in Strasbourg in May and Ningbo in October, both WTA 500 tournaments.
The WTA Finals feature the season’s top eight players, with Coco Gauff winning last year and Iga Swiatek claiming the title in 2021. Neither advanced beyond the group stages this year.
Rybakina delivered a dominant performance throughout the week, winning all three of her group matches against Amanda Anisimova, Poland’s Iga Swiatek, and Russia’s Ekaterina Alexandrova to top the Serena Williams Group.
Aryna Sabalenka, the 2023 US Open champion, is seeking her first WTA Finals title. She lost last year’s final to France’s Caroline Garcia but enters the semi-final against Anisimova as the favourite.
In doubles, Elise Mertens and her Russian partner Veronika Kudermetova have advanced to the semi-finals. The fourth-seeded pair will face second seeds Katerina Siniakova of the Czech Republic and Taylor Townsend of the United States later in the evening.
