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Rybakina sinks Pegula to reach WTA Finals title match / Photo: Fayez NURELDINE - AFP
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Rybakina sinks Pegula to reach WTA Finals title match
Elena Rybakina claimed a 10th consecutive victory by defeating Jessica Pegula 4-6, 6-4, 6-3 to reach the championship match at the WTA Finals in Riyadh for the first time.
The Kazakh fired 15 aces and won 73 percent of her first-serve points on her way to a hard-fought win.
The 26-year-old Rybakina awaits top seed Aryna Sabalenka or Amanda Anisimova in the final, with a shot at clinching her biggest title since 2022 Wimbledon along with a record $5.23 million.
"It was such a tough battle, it's always very difficult to play against Jessica," said Rybakina, who is now 3-3 head-to-head against Pegula.
"She started pretty well, I was a bit slow. She broke me, it was not easy to come back but I'm glad I managed to find my way in the second set and win it in this three-set battle.
"Definitely the serve, when I needed it, it helped me. I was trying to stay focused each point, we had some very tough rallies. I'm really happy in the end I managed to push myself a bit more and won it."
The Dubai resident is just the third player representing an Asian nation – behind Zheng Qinwen and Li Na – to reach the final of this event.
Rybakina exited from the group stage in each of her previous two appearances at the WTA Finals, but is undefeated so far this week in the Saudi capital.
Friday's semi-final was Pegula's 31st three-set match of the year, which is a record on the women's tour in 2025 and the most contested by a WTA player in a singles season since 2019.
The oldest player to reach the semi-finals of the WTA Finals since Venus Williams in 2017, Pegula was the runner-up at the event in 2023.
Pegula played a near-flawless opening set but also benefitted from the 25 unforced errors coming off of Rybakina's racquet.
The American was hugging the baseline, putting pressure on Rybakina, and claimed a one-set lead in 41 minutes.
Rybakina, who once again was playing with a taped shoulder, started using her killer serve to maximum effect, and managed to break Pegula for a 3-1 advantage.
With the momentum firmly on her side, Rybakina looked on her way to a decider as she served for the second set at 5-3.
Pegula found a tiny window though and attacked Rybakina's second serve, forcing some double faults and breaking for 4-5.
A marathon 10th game witnessed four deuces, three game points and two break points, before it was ultimately snatched by Rybakina, who took the semi-final into a third set.
Rybakina made the first move in the decider, and staved off an attempted comeback from Pegula to complete the win in two hours and five minutes.
(F.Jackson--TAG)
