Aryna Sabalenka finds the answers against Amanda Anisimova to reach second WTA Finals final

The two best players in Riyadh will square off for the WTA Finals title. World No. 1 Aryna Sabalenka and 2022 Wimbledon champion Elena Rybakina each won three-set semifinals in Saudi Arabia on Friday to advance to the championship match at the year-end event.

First, Rybakina moved through to the year-end final for the first time with a 4-6, 6-4, 6-3 comeback against Jessica Pegula—her 10th straight match win—before Sabalenka joined her with a 6-3, 3-6, 6-3 win over Amanda Anisimova.

Neither woman has yet to lose at the tournament, as they both posted undefeated round-robin records of 3-0, and will both be battling on Saturday not just for a first year-end trophy, but also for the record $5.235 million payout that's assured of being awarded to an unbeaten champion.

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With each semifinal finely poised, runs of games at the closing stages determined the winner. Rybakina won four of the last five games against Pegula, while Sabalenka sprinted to four in a row to see off the challenge of a surging Anisimova.

Runner-up to Caroline Garcia in the 2022 final, Sabalenka is the third player to reach the final at the WTA Finals as world No. 1 in the last 10 years after Angelique Kerber in 2016 and Ashleigh Barty in 2019. Kerber lost that final, and Barty won it—meaning that a win for Sabalenka will both break that tie and the even head-to-head she has against Rybakina at the year-end event.

Though she is 8-5 against Rybakina all-time, the pair have split WTA Finals meetings: Sabalenka won their group stage match in 2023, before Rybakina got her last year.

More to come...