Elena Rybakina and Aryna Sabalenka will battle for the 2025 WTA Finals Riyadh title on Saturday after coming through two thrilling semi-finals, and because they both made it through without a loss, the champion will take home $5.23 million, marking the biggest payout in the history of women’s sports.
Honestly, I wouldn’t care if I had lost this match, because I think we played an incredible match, and we both deserve this place in the final. That was an incredible fight and I’m super happy with the win. Aryna Sabalenka
The first to secure her place was Rybakina, after beating Jessica Pegula 4-6 6-4 6-3 on Friday, and she was followed by Sabalenka, who was a 6-3, 3-6, 6-3 winner over Amanda Anisimova.
Both were tight encounters, with the final results in doubt until almost the very end as both matches went the distance in front of a packed crowd at the King Saud University Indoor Arena.
Pegula, the No. 5 seed, faced a tough task against sixth seed Rybakina, who is currently the most popular player in the world.
“It seems like she’s been the most seamless all tournament,” Pegula said. “We all know how she can play, huge game, big serve. I think these conditions definitely suit her. Coming from a hot Asian swing where she was under a bit of pressure to qualify, and all these things, it seems like she’s getting every point.”
Rybakina has now won 10 matches in a row, the last 4 against Top 10 players, increasing her Top 10 streak to 6 in a row, and she finished Friday night with 15 aces after breaking Pegula’s serve five times.
“Yes, it is my biggest weapon, and I think it worked very well,” said the Russian-born Kazakh. “In some moments, when I needed it most, it worked, even though she played really well and pushed me in the difficult situations.”
Going in, Pegula had led their head-to-head 3-2 lead, but they had played just once on tour since 2023, and Rybakina was a straight-sets winner in a Billie Jean King Cup quarter-final earlier this year.
The 31-year-old Pegula, who made her fourth straight appearance in the season finale, finished in second place in the Stefanie Graf Group with a 2-1 record, while defending champions Coco Gauff and Jasmine Pasolini took the lead but fell to Sabalenka.
“A tough loss,” Pegula said of Rybakina. “Kudos to her, she played very good tennis and always served well. I felt that under these conditions, and on this court, especially with her serve, it is difficult when she gets free points every match, but anyway, I thought I played at a very high level today.”
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Although Pegula won the toss and opted to beat the tour’s ace leader this year, who now stands at 503, Rybakina predictably crushed two aces to win the first game in about 2 minutes.
Pegula broke to take a 2–1 lead, but immediately gave it back, and then broke again in the 5-hour game, holding her lead the rest of the time.
Rybakina closed the opener with 5 aces, but made far too many mistakes, mainly by overcooking her forehan,ds.
Serving for the set at 30-all, Pegula unleashed her first ace, dotted the T, and Rybakina’s final forehand found the net.
The Kazakh jumped out to a 4-1 lead in the second and broke Pegula in the fourth game, but the American got back on track when Rybakina served for the set at 5-4, with a double fault proving crucial.
Pegula fell short in a 5 deuce game to level, and Rybakina stroked a backhand into an open court, converting her second set point to extend the match into a decider.
“It wasn’t easy to come back, but I’m happy that I found my way in the second set and was able to win it in this three-set battle,” Rybakina said. “The service, when I needed it, helped me.”
The crucial break came in the sixth game when Rybakina took a 4-2 lead that held for the rest of the match, and she advanced to her first end-of-season final after 2 hours and 5 minutes of captivating play.
“When I came here, I was obviously quite tired, so to be honest I didn’t have many expectations,” Rybakina later admitted. “I was very happy with the way I played in Asia, but at the same time I was quite tired, so for me it was: ‘Okay, last week, let’s push through, let’s see what will happen’.
“I didn’t expect to get this far, but I’m happy that I played really well in these tough matches. I pushed myself and it turned out really well for me.”
World No. 1 Aryna Sabalenka had to muster her utmost determination to get past fourth seed Amanda Anisimova and reach the season finale for the second time in her career
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World No. 1 Sabalenka was also pushed to the brink by fourth seed Anisimova, who matched the Belarusian’s power and aggression for more than two hours in a rematch of the US Open final.
The first set lasted an hour, with Anisimova missing five break chances and making 24 unforced errors, but she halved that in the second, breaking Sabalenka three times to force a deciding set, in which the top seed made the decisive break for 4–3.
“To be honest, I wouldn’t care if I had lost this match because I think we played an incredible match and we both deserve this place in the final,” Sabalenka said afterwards. “That was an incredible fight and I’m super happy with the win.”
It was a tough war of attrition from the opening match, and it was clear that neither would give an inch.
Anisimova matched Sabalenka’s pace and aggression, but the top seed was left standing, closing out the deciding set after 2 hours and 21 minutes on court.
In the first two games alone they had played 30 points in 18 minutes, combining for 14 unforced errors as they fought through 9 deuce points and fended off 6 break points.
It was part of a first set that lasted exactly an hour and featured 94 points, culminating in Sabalenka eventually pulling it back with her second break of service.
Anisimova had committed 24 unforced errors, but she cut that by half in the second as she converted all three of her break points to force the decider, and looked set to continue her run of 13 consecutive 3-setters.
Sabalenka had other ideas, however, and the US Open champion brought out her determination and struck first in the decider with a backhand winner down the line to break for a 4-3 lead.
“I remember the first point at three-all, there was a physically tough point and I felt, ‘Okay, she’s out of breath and I have to keep pushing her, keep making her work for every point,’” Sabalenka said. “I felt like that was the key in that game, this mentality was the key.
“I just tried to get her to play the extra ball, and it really worked, and I was able to break. And that play gave me so much energy, strength and confidence when serving.”
Amanda Anisimova fought back from a set down but could not topple Aryna Sabalenka in their semi-final on Friday night
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Anisimova had one last chance when Sabalenka made a rare double fault to set up a break point, but the Belarusian’s first serve got her out of trouble and into a 5-3 lead.
Minutes later, she closed out the win to set up a final with Rybakina, who she leads the head-to-head 8-5 after winning their most recent meeting in Wuhan earlier this season.
“It will be another powerful game,” Sabalenka said. “I feel like today was a great preparation for Elena. I’m looking forward to leaving everything I have in the last match of the season and fighting for this beautiful trophy.”
“I’ll definitely go out tomorrow and fight for every point.”
After the semi-final, Sabalenka praised Anisimova’s breakthrough season.
“I told Amanda to be proud of her season,” Sabalenka said. “She’s been playing fantastic tennis all season, and it’s just the beginning. I know she’s probably disappointed right now, but there’s definitely a lot more things coming her way.”
Anisimova, however, was less willing to dissect her performance and the season that preceded it.
“I think I played good tennis at points in the match,” she said. “And at some points there was a drop. It was kind of a roller coaster. There are things I can learn from this match, but it’s too early to process it.”
Meanwhile, Sabalenka is just one win away from her first WTA Finals title in her fifth appearance at the event.
A perfect 4-0 so far in Riyadh, she has earned her place in Saturday’s final and returns to the trophy match for the first time since 2022.
Standing between her and that coveted title is a promising Rybakina, who has defeated Sabalenka twice in 2025.
The 26-year-old sixth seed is one win away from a perfect 5-0 campaign in Riyadh and will end 2025 on an 11-match winning streak if she can lift her first WTA Finals trophy.
While Pegula put Rybakina to the test in the semi-finals, the Kazakh recovered from a set down to fire a total of 15 aces and 36 winners against her 67 unforced errors.
Rybakina’s latest test is the world’s best in Sabalenka, but she goes into the match knowing she beat the Belarusian in Cincinnati in August.
The former Wimbledon champion is aiming for her 45th hard court victory of 2025, the most by any player on tour.
Aryna Sabalenka’s serve, once a liability, is now a powerful weapon, and she will need it to shoot well when she meets Elena Rybakina in Saturday’s final
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