Aryna Sabalenka will not go down as the greatest tennis player in the history of the sport, but she will be remembered as a great player. She's won at too high a level and won too many Grand Slams to be considered anything but fantastic. She has now set herself up to do something she's never accomplished.
After defeating Coco Gauff in the final round-robin match of the 2025 WTA Finals, the Belarusian is into the semifinals, still with a chance to win her first Finals. She struggled at the beginning of the match as Gauff got an early break and appeared ready to take a lead into set two.
But one of Sabalenka's best strengths is that she never gives up. One will not simply show up and beat her. One has to play an entire match in order to succeed. Gauff couldn't even finish the first set strongly.
Aryna Sabalenka and Jessica Pegula reach the semifinals of the 2025 WTA Finals
Sabalenka roared back, got a break, forced a tie-break, and the top-ranked player on the WTA tour won that 7-5. The second set was much easier for the Belarusian as she defeated the American 6-2. Not only did Sabalenka advance, but she knocked Gauff out of the tournament.
The same happened with Thursday's earlier match when Jessica Pegula coolly defeated a seemingly tired Jasmine Paolini. Paolini left the event not only not winning a match, but not winning more than three games in any set.
She is a better player than she showed, but she played as if she just needed a long rest. That didn't come against Pegula, who got early breaks in both sets on her way to a 6-2 6-3 victory. Paolini kept her poise and her ever-present smile, but she was a shell of herself against Pegula.
Next up for Sabalenka and Pegula is Friday's semifinals. The former will play a red-hot Amanda Anisimova, who could move up to No. 3 if she wins the tournament, and the latter will play Elena Rybakina. Rybakina gave Anisimova her only defeat of the WTA Finals so far in their first round-robin match 6-3 6-1.
All four of the players left could win the WTA Finals, as all are playing well. The guess is that Sabalenka will play Rybakina in the final. The WTA No. 1 leads the head-to-head 8-5, but the two players have alternated winning over their last eight matches.