Preview WTA Finals Day Two: Aryna Sabalenka’s title chase begins, Gauff and Pegula renew rivalry in Riyadh

Day Two of the 2025 WTA Finals begins this Sunday, November 2nd, in Riyadh, featuring the debut of the four remaining players in the draw. The Steffi Graf Group will feature the inaugural match between World No. 1 Aryna Sabalenka—who will once again seek one of the titles that has eluded her—facing World No. 8 Jasmine Paolini.

The second match of the night will feature an all-American clash between defending champion Coco Gauff and World No. 5 Jessica Pegula. For both, this is their 4th consecutive appearance at the WTA Finals, and it will be a crucial duel for their chances of advancing, especially considering the strong favoritism surrounding Sabalenka this year.

The World No. 1 is preparing for one of the few challenges she still has pending. In four appearances at the WTA Finals, she reached the final in 2022—losing to Caroline Garcia—while reaching the semi-finals in 2023 and 2024. The Belarusian arrives this time with the World No. 1 ranking secured for the end of the year, regardless of the results she achieves, which may mean less pressure, allowing her to focus on chasing the title without worrying too much about rankings and points.

The 4-time Grand Slam champion is coming off an impeccable season, with a 59-11 record, over $12 million in earnings, and a total of 4 titles—plus 4 other finals played during the year. The 27-year-old is the tournament favorite, and it seems this year could be her great opportunity in Riyadh. Without a doubt, Sabalenka is a player made for big stages, and with the WTA Finals title still pending, her motivation will be double this year.

She will face World No. 8 Jasmine Paolini, who had a great Asian swing and secured her spot in Riyadh in the final weeks. The Italian won her second WTA 1000 title at the Rome Open during the clay swing, and returned to a good run in the recent Asian swing, where she reached the quarter-finals in Beijing and semi-finals in Wuhan and Ningbo, accumulating the necessary points to qualify for the WTA Finals for the second consecutive year.

The H2H is currently 5-2 in favor of Sabalenka, counting the last four consecutive victories. They faced each other at the 2024 WTA Finals (Sabalenka won 6-3, 7-5) and twice this year: Miami Open and Stuttgart, both of which were straight-sets victories for Sabalenka.

The defending champion will play the last match of the first round of the WTA Finals. Coco Gauff arrives with something to prove in Riyadh if she wants to keep pace with Swiatek and Sabalenka—with an eye toward challenging for the top spot during the 2026 season. The World No. 3 has an important defense of points, having won the title in 2024 by defeating Zheng Qinwen in an epic clash where she came back multiple times from a break down in the third set, with the Chinese player having been two points away from the title.

Gauff already has four consecutive appearances at the WTA Finals, which is impressive considering she is only 21 years old. The American is already accustomed to being one of the protagonists and candidates in every tournament she plays, and the conditions in Riyadh have already shown to be favorable for her. However, the debut will be complicated against a familiar rival, Jessica Pegula, her former doubles partner—with whom she teamed up for the WTA Finals in 2022 and 2023.

Pegula arrives as World No. 6 with three titles this season (WTA 500 Charleston and Bad Homburg, WTA 250 Austin). She also reached the finals at the WTA 1000 Miami Open and Wuhan Open, plus several deep runs throughout the season. Consistency has rewarded Pegula, who is among the top 8 for the fourth consecutive year and has already had good results in Riyadh, such as in 2023, when she reached the final—losing to Iga Swiatek.

The H2H is currently led by Pegula 4-3, although Gauff took the last two meetings at the 2024 WTA Finals (6-3, 6-2) and the 2025 Wuhan Open final (6-4, 7-5)—just a month ago.