PREVIEW DC Open Washington WTA Semi-Finals: Kalinskaya-Raducanu and Fernandez-Rybakina headline last four

The last four is here at the 2025 DC Open in Washington with four players remaining in the WTA Draw in Elena Rybakina, Emma Raducanu, Leylah Fernandez and Anna Kalinskaya who will vie for the title these next two days.

A stacked field, it is four players who are on the comeback trail of sorts who will be in the latter stages instead of Jessica Pegula, Emma Navarro and the like who started the tournament as the top names in DC. Let's look ahead to both semi-finals ahead.

First up on Saturday night is the player who will now be favourite to scoop the title in Elena Rybakina. The third seed won on clay prior to Roland Garros and has been slowly finding her way back into form. She is making her first trip to DC and is making the most of it.

She sealed a 6-3, 6-3 win over Magdalena Frech with consummate ease firing past the Pole who had taken down Venus Williams the round before albeit hadn't shown much form prior on the tour. Rybakina is now 3-0 against Frech and this was followed up after she saw off Victoria Mboko in the first round. She has now won all four of her sets. It is a third semi-final of the season for Rybakina who lost the first two to Belinda Bencic and Mirra Andreeva albeit. She saw off Beatriz Haddad Maia on the way to a title in Strasbourg.

While on the other side of the draw is a certain Leylah Fernandez who took down Taylor Townsend 6-4, 7-6(4). She had some issues getting over the line but that was more cramp than anything else as she battled through the blazing heat. But while Taylor Townsend looked to weather the storm better than others saving 18 out of 23 break points, it was the five that counted one more than Townsend.

She defeated Maya Joint, a two-time winner already this season in the first round before taking down Jessica Pegula, the current World No.4. She reaches his first tour level semi-final since last Autumn in Hong Kong but none of those players she beat then were in the top 75. It is a different perspective now as she faces Rybakina.

Despite battling the heat, she also unlike her opponent didn't have to come out and play in the doubles after playing singles. Albeit a certain Rybakina had to retire with partner Emma Raducanu ailing, it could benefit the Canadian and if the Brit is fit, it could see her set up her first clash against Raducanu since that ill fated final at the US Open which saw Raducanu catapulted into the stratosphere albeit perhaps not in the best way.

In their two previous meetings, Fernandez took down Rybakina this time last year which could be pivotal in the Last 32 of the Cincinnati Open. She won 3-6, 7-6, 6-4 in the end but also last year, Rybakina also saw her off at the Qatar Open in Doha also on hard courts so either way it is a tasty tie.

Then Emma Raducanu battles the heat once again. She has been steadily getting better and better again and amid all the vitriol at times that surrounds her often not being her fault due to how the media cottoned onto her story, she has stacked the wins and got a steady run together.

With a win on Saturday, she'll crack the top 30 for the first time in three years. She has yet to drop a set and saw off Marta Kostyuk before taking down Naomi Osaka in the second round in a highly anticipated first meeting. With some added spice too as Osaka shunned questioning surrounding comparisons between the pair.

But while it has been an impressive run, it can be said that Raducanu might be a doubt in this game anyway as she had to go and see the doctors in telling comments before she then retired from the doubles.

“I’m not feeling the best right now, so I just need to go and speak to the doctors," she said. "It was one of the toughest matches, conditions-wise, I have ever played in,” she said. “Those points in the second set, I was getting a bit wobbly. I’m just happy I could close it out, and it was two sets.

“I think you get to a point where you're so tired that you don't really know what you're doing anymore, and I think maybe that helped. I was also thinking if this goes to three sets, I don't know how I'm going to do it."

While that is the case though, she has said she is a much better player and been able to add diversity to her game which she didn't have before.

“I think I have been a lot more focused and competitive for each point and not being flat or defeated,” Raducanu said. “I think my serve has improved. The last few matches I have been getting a lot more free points. Then also I think just movement of my defensive skills have probably been the biggest improvement.

“I think I’m able to kind of dig out some points and stay in the points and use a bit more hand skills, slice, get an extra ball back.”

Kalinskaya is a different test though. While stories surrounding her in the past year went from her superb Dubai run, her relationship with Jannik Sinner which has now ended courted more headline space.

Her struggles with injury and illness similar to most of this semi-final line-up have seen an obviously talented player slip down the rankings and into the wilderness but she has form here. She made the semi-finals six years ago as a qualifier and has made three Quarter-Finals at least in three appearances. She looks happy and her dog even made an appearance on court.

She saw off Clara Tauson 6-3, 7-5 last round and is yet to drop a set. She's playing with confidence and it sets up a real exciting tie with Raducanu as a result.