Top-seeded Aryna Sabalenka delivered 12 aces while knocking off fourth-seeded Amanda Anisimova 6-3, 3-6, 6-3 on Friday to reach the championship match of the WTA Finals in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia.
Sabalenka hit 30 winners and saved 6 of 9 break points on her way to winning the semifinal match in two hours and 21 minutes.
Sabalenka of Belarus will face sixth-seeded Elena Rybakina of Kazakhstan in the final. Rybakina rallied for a 4-6, 6-4, 6-3 victory over No. 5 seed Jessica Pegula in the other semifinal.
The winner of the championship match at the year-end event receives $5.235 million.
Sabalenka defeated Anisimova in straight sets in the U.S. Open final two months ago and once again got the better of the American.
However, things were a little dicey for Sabalenka after she fell down 4-0 en route to losing the second set.
“That was a fight, she played incredible tennis — incredible from both players,” Sabalenka said. “I felt in the second set like there was nothing to do.”
Anisimova led 3-2 in the third set before Sabalenka won four straight games to end the match.
“I think I’m focusing on my game and I’m just trying to pull out everything I have with each point,” Sabalenka told Tennis Channel. “I was telling myself, ‘Aryna, just enjoy this fight. Try to do your best and this is the moment you’ve been waiting for.'”
Anisimova had 31 winners and seven aces but sabotaged her game with 48 unforced errors. Sabalenka committed 28 unforced errors.
“I think I played good tennis at points in the match,” Anisimova said. “And at some points there was a drop. It was kind of like a roller coaster. There are things I can learn from this match but it’s too soon to process it.”
In the other semi, Rybakina dominated with her serve against Pegula, holding a 15-1 edge in aces.
She also overcame a whopping 67 unforced errors — Pegula had 36 — but repeatedly got herself out of trouble with timely serves.
“Yeah, it’s my biggest weapon and I think it worked really well,” Rybakina said of her serve. “Some moments, when I needed it the most, it worked — even though she was really playing well and pushing me in the tough situations.”
Pegula won the opening set and struggled in the second before breaking Rybakina’s service and moving within 5-4. But Rybakina answered by breaking Pegula in a long game to win the second set.
The match was 2-2 in the third set before Rybakina won four of five games to clinch her spot in the final.
“Tough loss,” Pegula said. “Kudos to her, she played some really good tennis, always serving well. I felt like in these conditions and on this court, especially with her serve, it’s tough when she’s getting free points every single game.
“But regardless, I thought I played at a really high level.”
Saturday will mark the fourth meeting of the year between Sabalenka and Rybakina. Sabalenka went 2-1 in the other matches and holds an 8-5 all-time lead. It will be the first WTA Finals title for the winner.
“It’s going to be another powerful game, I felt that today was great preparation,” Sabalenka said of facing Rybakina. “I want to leave everything out there in the last match of the season, and do all I can to win this beautiful trophy.”
–Field Level Media
