Sabalenka stops Anisimova to set up WTA Finals showdown with Rybakina – Tennis Now

By Richard Pagliaro Friday, November 7, 2025
Photo credit: Matthew Stockman/Getty for WTA

Sweat flowed down Alina Sabalenka When she faced the flat missile flying from the sky, her forehead Amanda Anisimova racket.

The heat of battle doesn’t scare a woman with a tiger tattoo on her forearm.

The brave Sabalenka defeated Anisimova 6-3, 3-6, 6-3 in four consecutive games in a fierce competition to enter the second WTA Finals championship match in her career.

“I’m focused on my game and I’m just trying to give everything I have on every point,” Sabalenka told Coco Vandeweghe on Tennis Channel. “At one point in this fight, I just told myself: Come on, Alina, enjoy this fight. Try to do your best.

“This is the moment you’ve been working towards, enjoy it and do your best at every point.”

Sabalenka digs deep 🪏

She defeated Anisimova 6-3, 3-6, 6-3 and advanced to the final!#WTAFinalsRiyadh pic.twitter.com/EQnfwTNNvF

— WTA (@WTA) November 7, 2025

World No. 1 Sabalenka advances to the 40th final of her career and her first appearance in the WTA Finals Championship since losing to Caroline Garcia in the 2022 final in Fort Worth.

Sabalenka notches a tour-best 63rd win of the season, kicking off a blockbuster battle between quality player and sixth seed Elena Rybakina.

Ride the crackling serve and lift the drive, Rybakina defeated Jessica Pegula 4-6, 6-4, 6-3 In today’s first semi-final, history was made by becoming the first Kazakhstani to reach the finals of the WTA Year-End Finals.

Tomorrow in Riyadh we will see the 11th different woman lift the trophy in the last 11 years.

It would be a lucrative coronation. Sabalenka and Rybakina are both undefeated this week, so the winner of tomorrow’s final will not only claim their first WTA Finals title, but the winner will also receive a $5.2 million championship check for winning with an undefeated record. Tennis Channel will air the finals live at 11 a.m. ET

“This is the last game of the season and this is a chance to lift this beautiful trophy again,” Sabalenka said. “I’m ready to bring everything I have left of the season to this last game.

“I really hope everything goes well.”

Embed from Getty Images

Big Serve finalists often bring out the best in each other.

Top seed Sabalenka has an 8-5 head-to-head record against WTA ace leader Rybakina, but the two have split their 10 hard-court encounters.

The Sabalenka-Anisimova semi-final was a rematch of the Wimbledon semi-final, with Anisimova winning 6-4, 4-6, 6-4. It was also a replay of the U.S. Open final, which Sabalenka won 6-3, 7-6(3), becoming the first woman since the legendary Serena Williams (2012-2014) to successfully defend her U.S. Open title and receiving a Grand Slam-record $5 million championship check for her efforts.

Ultimately, Sabalenka served sharper, covered the court faster and employed more variety to defeat Anisimova, who capped a stellar season with a career-high ranking of fourth, with finals at Wimbledon and the U.S. Open thanks to her.

Anisimova dominated the second set with a 4-0 lead, forcing the match to a decider and taking a 3-2 lead on her opponent’s serve before Sabalenka entered energetic world No. 1 mode to take control of the match.

“I think at some point in the second set I was thinking, okay, I’ve got to change the pace, I’ve got to do something to at least make her think,” Sabalenka said of her third-set turnaround. “Because at some points I felt like she was just hitting the ball hard. She played incredible tennis.

“I can’t do anything about it [second] put. I was already working hard for the third set again and I think it really helped me understand the game better and get that idea in her head. Not everything was going to be as smooth as it was at the start of the second set. “

In one-shot tennis, six of the first seven games ended in draws.

Anisimova denied three break points in the opening nine minutes and Sabalenka saved five in her first two holds.

In the fifth game, Anisimova failed to lead 40-15. Sabalenka used backhand and forehand slices to win the fourth break point. When Anisimova broke through with a forehand, Sabalenka took the lead and led 3-2 after 41 minutes of play.

The top seed hit consecutive ACE balls and confirmed the break at 4-2.

Excellent serving and more variety to disrupt baseline exchanges got Sabalenka through the first set.

The fourth seed made consecutive double faults and then missed a forehand, giving Sabalenka three set points.

On her third set point, Sabalenka seized control of the hour-long opening set, leaving a frustrated Anisimova to slam the court with her Wilson racquet.

Anisimova betrayed her target, committing 24 unforced errors in the opener – 10 more than the top seed – but she quickly opened the second set with a backhand break.

The Wimbledon finalist quickly secured serve to help his team break serve 2-0. Anisimova easily scored eight of the nine points after a double break to extend her lead to 3-0.

Anisimova was hitting her shots with confidence and often finding the ball on the way up, leading 5-1 in the second set.

Serving for a 5-2 lead, Anisimova double-faulted and hit a backhand into the net to regain a break point.

Anisimova fought back with a right, slamming a backhand crosscourt, her right to end the second set and force a third set one hour and 40 minutes later.

It’s not over yet 😤@anisimovaamanda Defeated Sabalenka 6-3 in the second set. #WTAFinalsRiyadh pic.twitter.com/r4EnbI7vge

— WTA (@WTA) November 7, 2025

The final of the WTA Finals ended in a penalty shootout.

Sabalenka shook off the sloppiness of the second set, holding serve for love in the decider after two games, then earned a break point in the third game.

Anisimova saved and hit her second ace of the match to lead 2-1.

Midway through the decider, Sabalenka took control of the match with a storm of brilliant shots. In the sixth game, Sabalenka was tested as a draw and she hit back-to-back aces – she had three aces in total in that match – to tie the match at 3.

Although Anisimova won the opening set in the seventh game by a staggering 17 shots, her forehand failed her as she hit a routine forehand from the baseline and eventually faced a double break point.

On the second break point, Sabalenka read the second serve and hit a backhand to break serve at 4-3.

Sabalenka suffered a double fault in the eighth game and faced a break point, but resolved it with a powerful serve and chased the score to 5-3.

Anisimova’s heroic battle ended with consecutive forehand errors, and Sabalenka embraced the American at the net for two hours and 21 minutes in a show of mutual respect, capping off a high-quality semifinal match.