No matter who wins the WTA Finals in 2025, it will be the player's first time winning the event. Unlike Jessica Pegula, though, Elena Rybakina, a player undergoing a career resurgence since the US Open in September, had never reached the final of the year-end event. She has now.
Pegula was the better and more poised player in the first set. Controlling the match early with consistent ground strokes and her great ability to not get too high in any single moment or too low. Rybakina was not yet striking the ball as well as she could.
That changed in the second set. Rybakina, who had 15 aces in the match, began to find her form, dashing off huge forehands and keeping the American off-balance with her serve. Pegula stayed in the match, but only barely.
Elena Rybakina reaches the final of the WTA Finals by defeating Jessica Pegula
Seemingly, any chance that Pegula had to break evaporated. After facing eight break points in the first set, Rybakina had only one in set two. She faced four in the third set, but saved three. Any window for victory was quickly closing for Pegula, whose serve was solid, but Rybakina took advantage when she had the chance.
Rybakina, who could push past Pegula and move to No. 5 in the WTA rankings if she wins the tournament on Saturday, got four total breaks of her opponent in the final two sets. She was also by far the more aggressive player throughout the match.
She finished with an astounding 67 unforced errors, but many of those came early in the match. She also had 36 winners. Pegula had just nine winners, but the same number of unforced errors as Rybakina had winners.
Next for Elena Rybakina will be to take on the winner of the other WTA Finals semifinal match between Aryna Sabalenka and Amanda Anisimova. Sabalenka will finish as the year-end No. 1 for the second year in a row, no matter what happens the rest of the tournament. Should Anisimova win the Finals, she will move up to No. 3.