WTA Finals 2025: Aryna Sabalenka, Jessica Pegula advance; first-time champion to be crowned

Aryna Sabalenka and Jessica Pegula secured their spots in the WTA Finals semifinals with straight-sets victories in Riyadh on Thursday. Top-seeded Sabalenka defeated defending champion Coco Gauff 7-6 (7/5), 6-2, while Pegula beat Italian eighth seed Jasmine Paolini 6-2, 6-3 at the King Saud University Indoor Arena.Sabalenka finished atop the Stefanie Graf Group with a perfect 3-0 record, setting up a US Open final rematch with fourth-seeded American Amanda Anisimova. Pegula, as group runner-up, will face sixth-seeded Elena Rybakina of Kazakhstan in Friday's semifinals."She's always making me work hard, always great battles against her, I enjoy fighting against her. I'm super excited to face her in the semis," said Sabalenka, referring to her upcoming match against Anisimova, whom she lost to in the Wimbledon semifinals but defeated in the US Open final.In her 12th career meeting with Gauff, Sabalenka overcame two one-break deficits to force a tiebreak in the first set, which she won in 55 minutes. She then dominated the second set, jumping to a 4-0 lead."I was just trying to stay aggressive, to find my rhythm, find my game. I was kind of working for the second set already but I was able to turn it around," Sabalenka said about her first-set performance against Gauff. "I'm happy to make it through the round robin stage."

Pegula avenged her recent Billie Jean King Cup Finals loss to Paolini in Shenzhen with a convincing victory."I'm really happy and excited to be through into the semis here. I knew I needed to win today, especially in straight sets, so that was kind of my main motivation and I'm glad I was able to play some really good tennis," said the 31-year-old American.The former US Open finalist, appearing in her fourth consecutive WTA Finals, noted the exceptional quality of this year's competition."I felt like this year was so competitive. I felt like this group has been so strong all year and we've all had a time of the year where we've played such a high level," Pegula said. "I do feel like the level has been crazy, crazy deep this year. It feels a little bit harder than maybe past years."With both Gauff and Poland's Iga Swiatek eliminated from the competition, a first-time WTA Finals champion will be crowned on Saturday in Riyadh.