WTA Year-End Finals: Sabalenka Avenges Pegula, Gauff Easily Defeats Paolini

On November 4th local time, the fourth day of the 2025 Riyadh WTA Year-End Finals began, with singles matches in the Graf group and doubles matches in the Huber group entering their second round.

Sabalenka

Top seed Sabalenka went up against fifth seed Pegula, who she had previously faced in the Wuhan semifinals a few weeks ago, where the world number one lost after wasting a 5-2 advantage in the deciding set. In this match, the two battled fiercely again; after dropping the first set, Pegula fought back to even the match and broke serve first in the final set. However, Sabalenka overcame the fluctuations and went on a streak winning four consecutive games to take the lead, ultimately winning 6-4, 2-6, 6-3 to complete her revenge.

After the match, Sabalenka said, “She (Pegula) always pushes me to my limits. In the second set, she played incredible tennis. In the final set, I wanted to be more aggressive and try to seize the opportunity. I didn’t expect so many fans to come out and support me this year. I really enjoy playing in front of you all, thank you so much.”

Gauff

Another match in the group featured defending champion and third seed Gauff against eighth seed Paolini. They had met four times this season, with Gauff losing the first three before finally avenging her losses in Wuhan. In this match, Gauff improved her serve compared to the first round by reducing power and speed but enhancing control over spin and placement, which proved effective. She committed only three double faults throughout the match. This stable serving helped her find a better rhythm, and she won in straight sets 6-3, 6-2 over Paolini, keeping her hopes alive to advance from the group stage.

In a post-match interview, Gauff said, “I’m very happy with how I played today. It was better than my first match, and that’s the beauty of this tournament. I hope to give my all next time too, to keep my chance of staying in the event alive. The first time I played the Finals, I lost all three group matches, so I’m determined not to let that happen again.”

After two rounds of group matches, no player in the Graf singles group has yet qualified for the next stage. Paolini, with two losses, is already eliminated early, while Sabalenka, Gauff, and Pegula will battle in the final round for the two remaining spots:

In the doubles Huber group second round, second seeds Siniakova/Townsend defeated third seeds Dabrowski/Luettrif 6-4, 7-6(3), avenging their losses in last year’s Finals and this year’s US Open final. They secured first place in the group and qualified for the next round. Siniakova also secured the year-end world No.1 doubles ranking for the fifth time this season, tying the record set by tennis legend Navratilova.

In another match, seventh seeds Babos/Stefani beat fifth seeds Andreyeva/Schneider 7-5, 2-6, 10-7. The latter, with two losses, were eliminated early. In the final round, the winner between Babos/Stefani and Dabrowski/Luettrif will advance as the group’s second qualifier.

Complete schedule for November 5th

(Text and editing: Dato, Photos: Visual China)