WTA Finals: Anisimova Wins a Crucial Match, Advances Alongside Rybakina

On November 5th local time, the 2025 Riyadh WTA Finals entered its fifth day, with the last group stage matches taking place in the Serena Williams singles group and the Navratilova doubles group.

Rybakina

The first singles group match of the day was between Rybakina and Alexandrova, with the sixth seed Rybakina winning in straight sets 6-4, 6-4. She finished the group stage undefeated with a perfect 3-0 record, topping the Serena Williams group and leveling her head-to-head record against Alexandrova at 3-3.

Before this match, Rybakina had already secured the top spot in the group with two wins. Her final opponent was originally the seventh seed Keys, who withdrew hours before the match due to a viral infection. The American player lost both group matches and failed to advance. The first alternate Andreyeva withdrew due to physical reasons, and the second alternate Alexandrova, at age 30, made her WTA Finals debut.

The second singles group match featured the second seed Swiatek against the fourth seed Anisimova. This was undoubtedly the day’s most decisive “do-or-die” battle, with the winner claiming the last remaining spot to advance. After a grueling 2 hours and 36 minutes, Anisimova came back from a set down to win 6-7(3), 6-4, 6-2. In her first WTA Finals appearance, she reached the semifinals. Following her double bagel loss in this year’s Wimbledon final, the American has now defeated Swiatek twice this year, including at the US Open and the Finals.

Anisimova

When asked if it surprised her to beat Swiatek for the second time in a row, Anisimova said, “No, I was never shocked or surprised at any point during the match. I knew it would be tough and prepared thoroughly. Honestly, I just tried to enjoy the match. Now I feel like I belong on this stage. Having been through many tough battles this year, I understand my capabilities and know that if I play my best, I can fight hard.”

Anisimova has defeated all four Grand Slam winners this year (Keys, Gauff, Swiatek, Sabalenka), including two wins over Swiatek. Her 10 wins against top 10 players this season have already surpassed her entire previous career total of 8.

Swiatek

This is the first time in her career that Swiatek has lost two consecutive matches after winning the first set. After the match, she expressed her disappointment: “Honestly, I gave it my all today with no regrets. I was very focused, maintained a positive mindset, and fought hard without giving up, but it still wasn’t enough to win. It’s frustrating. When you give your best but don’t get the result you want, I think it shows there’s still room to improve my tennis.”

Rybakina and Anisimova now await the results of the last two group matches to determine their semifinal opponents. In the Graf singles group, no player has yet qualified after two rounds, with Sabalenka, Gauff, and Pegula fighting for two spots in the final round. Paolini, having lost twice consecutively, is already eliminated.

In the two doubles matches of the Navratilova group, the sixth seeds Hsieh Su-wei and Ostapenko defeated the eighth seeds Muhammad and Schuurs 6-3, 6-1, securing first place in the group with a perfect 3-0 record to reach the semifinals. The fourth seeds Kudermetova and Mertens beat the top seeds Errani and Paolini 6-3, 6-3, advancing as the group’s second qualifiers to the semifinals.

Complete Schedule for November 6th

(Text and editing by Wang Fei, photos by Visual China)