Sabalenka and Anisimova's Rivalry on the Big Stage Continues

RIYADH, THURSDAY – The quest for the first title of world number one tennis player, Aryna Sabalenka, in the WTA Finals tournament will continue with a match against Amanda Anisimova in the semifinals. This match marks the continuation of their rivalry in 2025, which has consistently occurred in major events.

Sabalenka, the top seed of the tournament, will face Anisimova, who is making her debut in the WTA Finals, at the King Saud University Indoor Arena, Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, on Friday (7/11/2025) evening local time or early Saturday morning Indonesia time. The winner of this match will compete for the championship title against the winner of the first semifinal match, Elena Rybakina versus Jessica Pegula.

Sabalenka secured a semifinal ticket as the champion of the Steffi Graf Group after defeating three opponents. The victory over defending champion Cori "Coco" Gauff with a score of 7-6 (5), 6-2 on Thursday completed her wins against Pegula and Jasmine Paolini.

Sabalenka is one step closer to her goal of winning the WTA Tour Finals in the 2025 season. She is determined to pair her status as the world's number one player with the championship title from an event that features only the top eight players of the season.

She (Anisimova) always makes me work hard, but I always enjoy every moment because I love to compete. I hope the upcoming semifinal will be the next exciting match.

The tennis player, who has four Grand Slam titles, appeared in the WTA Finals for the fifth consecutive time, but has yet to win. Her best result was reaching the final in 2022 (losing to Caroline Garcia), after which she was eliminated in the semifinals in the following two years. It is no surprise that Sabalenka has the ambition to conclude the 2025 competition as the best among the best players.

The first task was completed by winning all three matches in the group stage, despite losing one set against Pegula. Sabalenka stated that remaining unbeaten in the group phase was her primary target, after which she would focus on one challenge at a time.

The next challenge will not be any easier, even though Anisimova is making her debut at the WTA Finals. The encounter in Riyadh will mark the 11th meeting between the two players (Sabalenka leads 6-4) and the fourth in 2025. Interestingly, all their meetings this year have taken place at major events.

Sabalenka and Anisimova met in the fourth round of the French Open, which was won by Sabalenka. After that, they competed at a higher stage, namely the Wimbledon semifinals (Anisimova won), and the US Open final (Sabalenka won). In addition to the US Open, Anisimova also reached the finals of other Grand Slam events, including Wimbledon.

She was humiliated by Iga Swiatek with a defeat of 0-6, 0-6 at Wimbledon, but afterward performed well in the hard court competitions in America and Asia. Anisimova became a finalist at the US Open, then won the WTA 1000 in Beijing before appearing in the WTA Finals.

“She (Anisimova) always makes me work hard, but I always enjoy every moment because I love to compete. I hope the semifinal will be the next exciting match,” commented Sabalenka on the official WTA website.

Anisimova did not imagine she could reach her best performance in 2025 and appear in the WTA Finals. In addition to reaching the finals in two Grand Slams, she secured her first title at the WTA 1000 level in Doha, Qatar, in February. Towards the end of the season, the 24-year-old tennis player added another championship trophy from the WTA 1000 in Beijing. Anisimova also achieved her highest-ever position in the world ranking, which is fourth place.

During the journey, the Russian-descended tennis player defeated all the Grand Slam champions of this year. They are Madison Keys (Australian Open champion), Coco (French Open), Swiatek (Wimbledon), and Sabalenka.

Swiatek has, in fact, been defeated by her twice since the Wimbledon final. Anisimova won in the quarterfinals of the US Open and in the group stage of the WTA Finals. Her victory in Riyadh was decisive for Anisimova's advancement to the semifinals and Swiatek's elimination. Her confidence has grown even stronger after sending the holder of six Grand Slam titles packing.

In another semifinal, the meeting between Pegula and Rybakina will mark their fifth competition and the first since Pegula's victory in the group stage of the 2023 WTA Finals. That result from two years ago is one of three victories Pegula has over the undefeated Rybakina in the Serena Williams Group. Rybakina triumphed over Swiatek, Anisimova, and Ekaterina Alexandrova, who replaced Keys due to injury.

In addition to holding a 3-1 advantage in their previous encounters against Rybakina, Pegula comes with 13 victories from 16 matches in three hard court tournaments leading up to the WTA Finals. She also has the experience of competing in the final at the WTA Finals 2023 before losing to Swiatek.

Conversely, Rybakina's performance in 2025 was not as good as Pegula's, forcing her to wait until the "final minutes" to qualify for the WTA Finals. However, Rybakina raised her performance level in Riyadh, reaching the semifinals for the first time after being eliminated in the group stage of the WTA Finals in 2023 and 2024.

Carlos Alcaraz's journey to win his first ATP Finals title will begin with competition against three other players in the Jimmy Connors Group. One of the players in the same group as Alcaraz is Novak Djokovic, who holds seven ATP Finals titles.

The tournament, with eight of the best representatives from 2025 in the men's tennis competition, will take place in Turin, Italy, November 9-16, 2025. The eight participants are divided into two groups, competing in a round robin format to compete for the top two positions to qualify for the semifinals.

Alcaraz has reached the ATP Final for three consecutive years but has yet to win. After reaching the semifinals in 2023, he was eliminated in the qualifying round in 2024.

In addition to Djokovic, the Spanish tennis player will compete with Taylor Fritz and Alex de Minaur in the Jimmy Connors Group. Meanwhile, those who will face each other in the Bjorn Borg Group are the defending champion, Jannik Sinner, Alexander Zverev, Ben Shelton, and Felix Auger-Aliassime or Lorenzo Musetti.

This week, Musetti is competing in the ATP 250 tournament in Athens and will participate in the semifinals on Friday. He could become the eighth player to appear in the ATP Finals if he wins the championship. If not, the last ticket for the tournament will belong to Auger-Aliassime. (AFP/REUTERS)