By Richard Pagliaro | Friday, November 7, 2025
Photo: Matthew Stockman/Getty for WTA
Sweat trickled down Aryna Sabalenka forehead as he faced flat missiles flying from Amanda Anisimova rocket.
Tough fights don’t scare the woman with the Tiger tattoo on her forearm.
In a spirited display, an intrepid Sabalenka swept through four straight matches, seeing off Anisimova 6-3, 3-6, 6-3 to fight for her second career WTA Finals title.
“I’m focusing on my game and just trying to give everything I have in every point,” Sabalenka said. Coco Vandwowe of the Tennis Channel. “At one point in this match I was just saying to myself: Come on Aryna just enjoy this fight. Try to do your best.
“This is the moment you’ve worked for, just enjoy it and try to do your best at every point.”
Sabalenka digs deep
She defeats Anisimova 6-3, 3-6, 6-3 and reserves her place in the final!#WTAFinalsRiyadh pic.twitter.com/EQnfwTNNvF
— wta (@WTA) November 7, 2025
World No. 1 Sabalenka advanced to her 40th career final—and first WTA Finals title match since losing to Caroline Garcia in the 2022 final in Fort Worth.
Sabalenka notched her tournament-best 63rd win of the season, setting up a successful battle of powerhouses against the sixth seed. Elena Rybakina.
Riding a creaky serve and disarming drives, Rybakina rallied ahead Jessica Pegula 4-6, 6-4, 6-3 making history as the first Kazakh to reach a WTA final in today’s first semi-final.
We will see an 11th different woman in the last 11 years lift the title trophy tomorrow in Riyadh.
It will be a profitable coronation. Both Sabalenka and Rybakina are unbeaten this week, so the winner of tomorrow’s final will not only win a first WTA Finals championship – the winner will collect a $5.2 million champion’s check for taking the title with an unbeaten record. The Tennis Channel will televise the final live at 11:00 a.m. ET
“This is the last match of the season, one more opportunity to keep this beautiful trophy”, said Sabalenka. “I’m ready to bring everything I have left in this season for this last game.
“And I really hope for the best.”
Finalists with great services usually bring out the best in each other.
Top-ranked Sabalenka is 8-5 all-time against WTA ace leader Rybakina, but the pair have split their 10 clashes on hard courts.
The Sabalenka-Anisimova semifinal was a repeat of the Wimbledon semifinals, which Anisimova won 6–4, 4–6, 6–4. It was also a repeat of the US Open final where Sabalenka scored a 6-3, 7-6(3) triumph to become the first woman since the legendary Serena Williams (2012-2014) to successfully defend the US Open and collect a record Grand Slam champion check of $5 million for her efforts.
In the end, Sabalenka served a little better, covered the court a little faster and put in a little more variety to get past Anisimova, who caps off a remarkable season with a career-high ranking of No. 4 and the Wimbledon and US Open finals to her credit.
Anisimova raced to a 4-0 lead in the second set, dominating that set to force a decider and leading 3-2 down on her opponent’s serve when Sabalenka went into dynamic mode for the world no. 1 to take control.
“I think in the second set at one point I was thinking okay I’ve got to change the pace, I’ve got to do something to make her think at least,” Sabalenka said of her turnaround in the third set. “Because at one point I felt she was just about her shots. She played incredible tennis.
“There wasn’t much I could do in that (second) set. I was already working again for the third set and I think it really helped me understand the game a little bit better and put that thought in her head. Not everything is going to go as well as it did at the beginning of the second set.”
In a clash of first-strike tennis, the empty duels saw six of the first seven games progress.
Anisimova denied holding three break points in the nine-minute opening game and Sabalenka saved five break points in her first two stops.
In the fifth game, Anisimova could not close the 40-15 lead. Sabalenka resorted to back and forehand splits winning the fourth break point. When Anisimova scored a break point, Sabalenka scored the first break and led 3-2 after 41 minutes of play.
The top seed hit back-to-back aces to confirm the break for 4-2.
Superior serving and a little more variety to break up the basic exchanges took Sabalenka to the first set.
The fourth seed hit two double faults, then sent a forehand wide to give Sabalenka triple set point.
On her third set point, Sabalenka grabbed the one-hour opening set, leaving a frustrated Anisimova sliding down the court with her Wilson racket.
Anisimova betrayed her cause by throwing 24 unforced errors in the opener—10 more than the top seed—but quickly recovered by blasting a backhand to start the second set.
The Wimbledon finalist stormed through a love break to sustain the break for 2-0. Anisimova scored eight of nine points going into the double break to extend her lead to 3-0.
Hitting with conviction and often taking the ball on the rise, Anisimova held a 5-1 lead in the second set.
Serving for the set at 5-2, Anisimova made two errors and hit a backhand to get one break back.
Leaping from right back, Anisimova was bursting onto the crossbar with backhands as she broke through from the right to close out the second set and force a third after one hour and 40 minutes.
It’s NOT over yet 😤@AnisimovaAmanda takes the second set 6-3 against Sabalenka. #WTAFinalsRiyadh pic.twitter.com/r4EnbI7vge
— wta (@WTA) November 7, 2025
A trip to the WTA finals resulted in a one-set shootout.
Relinquishing a sluggish second set, Sabalenka fired at love to tie the game after two games and then won a break point in the third game.
Anisimova escaped and hit her second ace of the game on the tee for a 2-1 lead.
In mid-decision, Sabalenka took control in a brilliant flurry. Tested to cheat in the sixth game, Sabalenka hit back-to-back aces—she hit a total of three aces in that game—to level at 3-all.
Although Anisimova won a spectacular 17-stroke run to start the seventh game, her forehand failed as she ran through a routine forehand down the line hitting it long to face double break point.
On her second break point, Sabalenka read the second serve and hit a backhand to break for 4-3 with a ringing shout.
Hitting a double fault, Sabalenka faced a break point in the eighth game but erased it with a serve out wide that set up a 5-3 scoreline.
A brave fightback from Anisimova ended with back-to-back forehand errors as Sabalenka wrapped up a quality semi-final in two hours, 21 minutes by embracing the American in a display of mutual respect at the net.
