WTA Finals 2025: Aryna Sabalenka and Jessica Pegula qualify for semi-finals in Riyadh

French Open champion Gauff didn’t do much wrong in the opening set, but Sabalenka did well in the tiebreak, winning 22 of the 24 breakers she’s played this year.

Gauff’s serve, which has been problematic lately, performed extremely well in the first set; 72% of first serves, 62% of first serve points, and 70% of points earned after second serve.

But she failed to take a 5-4 lead in the opener before her first double fault of the match earned four-time major singles champion Sabalenka two set points in the tiebreak.

On the other side of the net, Sabalenka showed all her emotions as she tried to recover from two crises; Disappointment after a few points were lost, despair after he hit a backhand volley in the tiebreak, and then celebration as he fired a powerful forehand winner to clinch.

Sabalenka quickly took a 4-0 lead in the second round and despite briefly returning one of her two breaks of serve, she clinched the victory to claim her first WTA Finals title.

Sabalenka reached the semifinals for the fourth consecutive year, but has only reached the final once in 2022, losing to Caroline Garcia.