Rybakina reaches her first semifinal, the "Little Cannon" exits both draws, Siniakova crowned doubles queen, Musetti hopes to qualify

Three minutes daily to catch up on all things tennis worldwide. Hello tennis fans, today is Thursday, November 6, 2025. Welcome to the midday news report brought to you by "Tennis Home."

Let's start with the Riyadh WTA year-end finals. Early this morning Beijing time, the singles group of Serena Williams concluded their last round. Sixth seed and Kazakh star Rybakina defeated Russian substitute Alexandrovna 6-4, 6-4, finishing the group stage with a perfect 3-0 record and advancing strongly to the semifinals, extending her recent winning streak to nine matches.

This last-minute qualifier Rybakina has reached the semifinals at the year-end finals for the first time. She is eager to maintain her recent good form, saying, "Every time I step on the court, I want to win. Each victory brings more confidence, so I’m quite satisfied at the moment. My recent matches have been great, and I hope to keep up this level."

The other semifinal spot was claimed by American Anisimova, who came back from a set down to beat world No. 2, Polish player Swiatek, 6-7(3), 6-4, 6-2. After suffering a double bagel defeat at Wimbledon, she secured her second consecutive win over this opponent and advanced to the semifinals in her debut at Riyadh.

In doubles, the Navratilova group: In the final group match, sixth seeds Hsieh Su-wei and Ostapenko swept eighth seeds Muhammad and Schuurs 6-3, 6-1, finishing the group undefeated and advancing powerfully to the semifinals. In another match, former tournament champions and fourth seeds Kudermetova and Mertens defeated top seeds Errani and Barty 6-3, 6-3, advancing as group runners-up to the semifinals. Meanwhile, "Little Cannon" Barty exited both singles and doubles at the group stage.

Additionally, during the finals, the WTA presented the trophy to Czech star Siniakova, who was crowned year-end doubles world No. 1. This marks Siniakova’s fifth time finishing the year as doubles No. 1, tying Navratilova’s record and making them jointly the players with the most year-end doubles No. 1 titles. Congratulations to her!

Let's turn to other courts. Last night Beijing time, the second round of singles in two ATP 250 indoor hardcourt events concluded, with all quarterfinalists decided. In Athens, second seed Italian Musetti came back from a set down to beat Swiss wildcard Wawrinka 4-6, 7-6(5), 6-4, keeping his hopes alive for qualifying for the year-end finals.

Third seed Italian Darderi won the first set 6-4 but was overturned by Serbian Kecmanovic and missed the quarterfinals. Fourth seed American Brandon Nakashima was eliminated by compatriot Jilong 7-6(7), 6-1, also failing to advance. Meanwhile, A. Muller and Hanfmann each won their matches to reach the quarterfinals.

In Metz, Italian Berrettini secured a quarterfinal spot by defeating Australian player Vukic 7-6(5), 6-3. Kazakh star Bublik was knocked out by lucky loser Sachko 7-5, 3-6, 7-5. Other quarterfinalists include Lenny Chan, Altmaier, Jache, and Tabur.

Finally, let's do a guess and recognition. The picture below shows a player undergoing rehabilitation treatment. Without any hints, can you identify who he is?

In the last guessing game, some fans correctly answered. Yes, the person in the picture is Italian Sinner, who returned to world No. 1 this week.

(Source: Tennis Home Author: Lone Maverick)