By Richard Pagliaro | Thursday, November 6, 2025
Photo: Matthew Stockman/Getty for WTA
Tough candidate Aryna Sabalenka already ranked No. 1 at the end of the season before the WTA Finals began.
Today, the world number 1 appeared with a dedicated comeback character.
After going down twice in the opening set, Sabalenka fought back to break back the defending champion Coco Gauff 7-6(5), 6-2 to secure her place in the semifinals and eliminate the third-seeded American from Riyadh.
The top-ranked Sabalenka finishes round robin play with a 3-0 record to win the Steffi Graf Group. Sabalenka and Jessica Pegula advanced to the semifinals today from the Steffi Graf Group.
Undefeated in the Stefanie Graf Group 💪@SabalenkaA defeats Gauff 7-6, 6-2 and books her ticket to the semifinals.#WTAFinalsRiyadh pic.twitter.com/NCOllsRcuy
— wta (@WTA) November 6, 2025
It’s Sabalenka’s fourth consecutive WTA Finals semifinal—she’s the first woman to reach four in a row since Hall of Famer Maria Sharapova did it from 2004 to 2007 – and there’s a massive reward at the end of Riyadh’s rainbow. If the No. 1 takes the undefeated title, she will collect a $5.2 million champion’s check.
“I feel good,” Sabalenka told Tennis Channel’s Coco Vandeweghe in her on-court interview. “I feel like every year I’d play, I’d lose at least one game in the second round.
“This year I came and I take this tournament as a regular tournament. I go to the court, I try to fight, I try to bring my best tennis and I’m very happy to get this victory in straight sets.”
Earlier, the fifth Pegula was dismissed Jasmine Paolini 6-2, 6-3 in 63 minutes. Rome champion Paolini, who had been bothered by an apparent cold, was not her typical strong self throughout the tournament and went winless in round robin play.
2023 finalist Pegula was all for reaching her second WTA Finals semi-final in the past three years. It was Pegula’s 26th career Top 10 win as she aims for a seventh final of the season.
Gauff’s sweep by Sabalenka, which came the day after Amanda Anisimova knocked out Iga Swiatek in a three-set thriller, it means both former champions are out and a new WTA Finals champion will be crowned on Saturday.
It also means that two of the final four – Anisimova and Pegula – are Americans.
In tomorrow’s semifinal, Sabalenka will play fourth-seeded Anisimova in a rematch of the US Open final, which Belarus won. Coming off her 19th straight victory, Sabalenka stopped Aminisova 6-3, 7-6(3) to successfully defend her US Open championship and capture her fourth Grand Slam crown at Flushing Meadows two months ago.
Overall, Anisimova is 6-4 against Sabalenka, including a three-set victory in the Wimbledon semifinals in July.
“We have a big history – that’s true – always big battles,” said Sabalenka. “I’m excited for her. My mentality will be to go out there, bring everything I can, do everything possible and work hard for a dream.”
The second semi-final pits the undefeated Rybakina against Pegula. Rybakina, like Sabalenka, can collect a $5.2 million champion’s check if she advances to the semifinals and finals.
The 31-year-old Pegula has won three of four meetings against Rybakina, including a 7-5, 6-2 triumph in their most recent meeting at the 2023 WTA Finals in windy Mexico.
The subtext of today’s 12th meeting between Gauff and Sabalenka was that the 21-year-old American had beaten the Belarusian in their two biggest finals. Gauff overcame 70 errors from Sabalenka in a strong Paris Saturday in a 6-7(5), 6-2, 6-4 victory in the Roland Garros final. That came a couple of years after Gauff — and a vocal Flushing Meadows fan base — stopped Sabalenka 2-6, 6-3, 6-2 in the 2023 US Open final.
Further, biomechanics coach Gavin MacMillan, who helped Sabalenka fix her once erratic serve, now sits in Gauff’s trainer’s box after joining her team a week before the start of the US Open.
Knowing the sometimes volatile Belarusian as well as he does, you can bet MacMillan advised Gauff to force the power player to hit the extra ball as often as possible.
Early on, Sabalenka was heavily reinforced, dishing out seven unforced errors and wailing extended, exaggerated moans as Gauff broke open and then held to 15 for a 2-0 lead.
The two-time US Open champion was back level after four games but Gauff, whose forehand was withstanding Sabalenka’s shocking power, broke back for 3-2, then slipped an ace out and helped her consolidate the break for a love hold and 4-2 lead.
Throughout the set, Gauff hit near-exclusive drop serves as she did against Paolini on Tuesday, and the result was a much cleaner, albeit slower, serve than the 17 double faults she hit against Pegula in her opening round.
Serving for the first set at 5-4, 30-0, Gauff was two points from a set lead, but pulled back and played to avoid losing points instead of trying to win them.
This Gauff silence rewarded Sabalenka’s aggression.
Deadlocked at 30, Sabalenka ran a net shot, beat Gauff and then went nose to nose at the net hitting a volley winner for break point. For the second time in the game, Gauff played a drop shot – a sign that her forehand confidence may be waning – but Sabalenka raced her by shoveling a forehand down the line and yelling “come on!” returning for 5-all.
Afterwards, Sabalenka admitted her mind was already on the second set when she was two points away from losing the first.
“I was already working on the second set, to be honest,” Sabalenka said. “I was just trying to find the rhythm on her serve. I was just trying to fight, you know.
“And then somehow I was able to turn things around. I think that game gave me that extra boost of energy and confidence that I could still win this set and yes, I did.”
A resurgent Sabalenka notched her second straight love hold – her 10th straight service point – to take her first lead of the day at 6-5.
Resetting, Gauff posted a secure hold at 15 to force the first-set tiebreaker.
Although Sabalenka was the more demonstrative player – and looked completely exhausted earlier in the set – the Tiebreaker Queen lived up to her reputation in the extra session with a dedicated comeback from 2-4 down to score.
Sabalenka rocked a routine backhand volley almost into the top of the net to give Gauff an early 3-1 lead. Although he extended his lead to 4-2, the defending champion fell apart on untimely errors. Gauff hit her best shot – a two-handed backhand – and the Belarusian hit the serve wide to level at 4 all.
For most of the set, Gauff’s serve and forehand were strong shots. At 4-5, Gauff coughed up her first double fault of the day to face set double point.
The top seed burned the serve wide, creating an open space for a fantastic forehand winner to grab the 55-minute opener.
Leaving it all in court 😤@SabalenkaA takes the first set 7-6(5) over Gauff.#WTAFinalsRiyadh pic.twitter.com/8PANYPuKKr
— wta (@WTA) November 6, 2025
Credit Sabalenka for calming her nerves and hitting every first serve to improve to a remarkable 22-2 in 2025 tiebreakers.
Knowing she needed the win in straight sets to advance to the semifinals, the edge slipped from Gauff’s game and her forehand fell to wild points in the second set.
Sabalenka won 12 of the first 15 points of the second set, building a 3-0 lead that she extended to 4-0.
Gauff got on the board in the fifth game then fought back from 40-love, breaking for 2-4.
This was the reigning champion’s last stand. Gauff’s lead went MIA — she was so late in a comeback that she even lost the doubles side game — as Sabalenka converted her fifth of six break points of the day for a 5-2 lead.
While Gauff certainly showed signs of progress on both her serve and forehand to continue her evolution as a champion, she needs to increase comfortable spins with shifts on her serve, mixing the backhand with the slider serve, especially wide on the second side. The forehand handcuffed the 5’4″ Paolini exclusively, but Sabalenka stands half a foot taller and once the return was called, she drilled some deep, winning 11 of 18 points played on Gauff’s second serve.
In the foreground, you’d ideally like to see Gauff gradually shift her control from full west to half west – she already does a control change when she attacks the net in volleys – but that will take time. Two immediate improvements Gauff could make is to stop her tendency to jump on her forehands, which often causes her to open up on the shot and spray it, and to try to quickly attack mid-court balls with her front post, while now she will sometimes opt to hit a forehand that works as an approach shot, but not often.
For Sabalenka’s part, she showed again today that she can calm her nerves when she is on the precipice of self-explosion and trust her shots. When Sabalenka tempers her power patiently — and whips serve wide to set up the forehand as she did on match serve today — she remains a devastating force.
