Elena Rybakina stunned world number two Iga Swiatek in Riyadh on Monday to book her place in the knockout stages of the WTA Finals, while Amanda Anisimova fought back to keep her hopes alive.
Former Wimbledon champion Rybakina was outplayed in the opening set but then dominated completely, winning 12 of the final 13 games to claim a 3-6 6-1 6-0 victory and end a four-match losing streak against Swiatek.
American Anisimova later beat compatriot Madison Keys, a result that confirmed Rybakina’s place in the semi-finals.
“Mentally, I am happy that I stayed focused. I got some confidence in the second set and everything was going my way,” said Rybakina. “Hopefully I will play like that through the whole tournament.”
Anisimova, making her debut at the season-ending Finals, recovered from a set and a break down to beat Keys 4-6 6-3 6-2 and set up a decisive group match against Swiatek on Wednesday. The 23-year-old, who has reached the Wimbledon and US Open finals this year, showed her fighting spirit after falling 2-0 behind in the second set, roaring in frustration before winning 12 of the next 15 games.
Keys, who appeared unwell, did not shake hands with Anisimova after the match and explained her illness to her opponent.
The top eight women’s singles and doubles players are competing in Saudi Arabia for a total prize fund of £12 million ($15.5 million).
Rybakina, seeded sixth, had been expected to challenge Aryna Sabalenka and Swiatek for the sport’s biggest titles after her 2022 Wimbledon triumph. However, while the current top two have captured eight of the past 13 Grand Slam titles, the 26-year-old from Kazakhstan has struggled to build on her breakthrough.
Swiatek had won all four of her previous meetings with Rybakina in 2025, dropping only one set in the process, and leads the WTA Tour with 62 match wins this season. Yet, after a strong start, she had no response once Rybakina found her rhythm. It was the first time Swiatek had lost after winning the opening set since January’s Australian Open.
Rybakina, who only secured qualification for the Finals two weeks ago, responded impressively after Swiatek took the first set with an early break. The Kazakh, the tour leader in aces this year with 480, began to dominate on serve, forcing Swiatek deep behind the baseline. Swiatek’s first serve points won dropped from 90 per cent in the opening set to just 53 per cent in the second.
A double break sealed the second set for Rybakina, and after breaking Swiatek from 40-15 down at the start of the decider, she never looked back. Swiatek produced 42 unforced errors, 36 of them in the final two sets, compared with just 12 winners.
Rybakina sealed her first victory over Swiatek in 19 months with a second serve ace, extending her winning run to eight matches. The heavy defeat also made Swiatek the first player to lose three matches with a 6-0 third-set scoreline in a single season since 2013.
In the doubles competition, Taiwan’s Hsieh Su-wei and Latvia’s Jelena Ostapenko booked their place in the knockout stages with a 6-3 6-4 win over Italian top seeds Sara Errani and Jasmine Paolini.
