Preview WTA Finals Semifinals: Aryna Sabalenka meets Amanda Anisimova once more; Rybakina takes on Pegula for final spot

The semi-finals of the WTA Finals will be played this Friday, November 7th, following the conclusion of the Round Robin. The tournament saw the elimination of defending champion Coco Gauff and 2023 champion Iga Swiatek, ensuring that for the 10th consecutive year, there will be a new champion in the tournament.

World No. 1 Aryna Sabalenka led the Steffi Graf Group, conceding just one set and advancing to face Amanda Anisimova—a rival who has often complicated matters in their past encounters. On the other side, an inspired Elena Rybakina—also undefeated so far—will face World No. 5 Jessica Pegula.

The first match of the day will feature World No. 6 Elena Rybakina against World No. 5 Jessica Pegula vying for a place in the final. The former Wimbledon champion has surpassed the Round Robin stage for the first time—after being eliminated early in the previous two editions. With an undefeated campaign, Rybakina conceded only four games against Anisimova in her debut, while in the second match she only conceded one set to Iga Swiatek—before finishing her dominance 3-6, 6-1, 6-0. She was the first player to qualify for the semi-finals and closed her participation in the group stage with another victory, this time against alternate Ekaterina Alexandrova—following Madison Keys' withdrawal.

Rybakina had only two wins in her previous 6 WTA Finals matches, but in Riyadh, she has already achieved three consecutive victories. The Kazakh is on a 9-match winning streak—5 of them against Top 10 players—and recently won her 10th title at the Ningbo Open.

She will face the ever-consistent Jessica Pegula, who secured a key win in her debut against Coco Gauff in three sets, a result that ultimately tipped the balance in her favor. The World No. 5 has three previous appearances at the WTA Finals, with her best result in 2023, when she reached the final, only to lose to Swiatek. This time, Pegula achieved wins against Gauff and Paolini, and put up a strong fight against World No. 1 Sabalenka. The American World No. 5 is making her 4th consecutive appearance at the WTA Finals, with a record of 6-7 in the tournament.

The H2H is currently favorable to Pegula at 3-1, the last of which was two years ago at the WTA Finals in Guadalajara, where Pegula won in straight sets during the Round Robin. With few prior encounters—and two years since their last duel—it is difficult to predict a favorite, although Rybakina's current momentum in the tournament makes her a slight favorite. The former No. 3 has not dropped below 75% first-serve effectiveness, and in terms of baseline power, she appears stronger than her rival. It will be key for Rybakina to take the initiative in points and be aggressive—as she has been throughout the tournament.

The match closing the day will feature World No. 1 Aryna Sabalenka back in the WTA Finals semi-finals for the fourth consecutive year. After losing the final in 2022 to Caroline Garcia, she was eliminated in the semi-finals in the previous two editions—both times by the eventual champion (Swiatek and Gauff). This time seems like a golden opportunity for the Belarusian to lift one of the titles missing from her collection, and with the Year-End No. 1 secured, a pressure that she felt in previous seasons might be lifted.

Her opponent will be American World No. 4 Amanda Anisimova, who debuted with a loss to Rybakina but managed to overcome it in her subsequent matches, securing her place in the semi-finals against Swiatek with a comeback from a set down. The 24-year-old player has a 49-16 record for the season and two titles, while being the only debutante among the 8 who started the tournament.

This is a duel between two ball-strikers who have delivered some of the season's best matches, facing each other in the last three consecutive Grand Slams. Sabalenka won in the Round of 16 at Roland Garros, while Anisimova got revenge in the Wimbledon semi-finals. A couple of months ago, they also starred in the US Open final, with Sabalenka winning again. Currently, Anisimova has been one of Sabalenka's 'Kryptonites,' leading the H2H 6-4.