Amanda Anisimova reversed a precarious start at the WTA Finals to record a 4-6, 6-3, 6-2 comeback win over Madison Keys, becoming the only player this season to have beaten all four 2025 Grand Slam women’s champions. After dropping her opening round-robin match two days earlier, Anisimova trailed Keys 6-4, 3-1 and seemed headed for a second loss in the group before winning five consecutive games to snatch the second set and shut down the match in the third.

“I feel like every time I come out here, my opponent’s playing some crazy tennis,” Anisimova said in her on-court interview. “It’s been a difficult few matches and today Maddie was playing so well, and it was quite a battle out there. I’m really happy with how I was able to turn it around in the second set, and kind of turn that frown upside down!”

The victory moved Anisimova to 1-1 in the round-robin phase and placed her one match away from securing a spot in the semifinals. More notably, it completed a sequence of wins over the four players who claimed the year’s major titles. Earlier this season Anisimova beat Aryna Sabalenka in the semifinals of Wimbledon, Iga Swiatek in the quarterfinals of the US Open and Coco Gauff in the semifinals of Beijing, and her win against Keys came in the WTA Finals round-robin.

The four champions swept the majors this year: Keys, Gauff, Swiatek and Sabalenka won the Australian Open, Roland Garros, Wimbledon and the US Open, respectively. With the WTA Finals the final WTA event of the season, Anisimova may remain the only player to complete that set. Elena Rybakina still has a chance; she already has wins this year against Sabalenka, Swiatek and Keys, but she is not in the same group as Gauff here and would need to beat Gauff in the semifinals or final. Jessica Pegula is only missing a win over Keys, but they are not in the same group and Keys has already been eliminated from advancing.

The Stefanie Graf group moves into its fourth day with semifinal places at stake as Coco Gauff and Jasmine Paolini each need a win to keep hopes alive. Both players dropped opening matches and will meet in a match that could decide who advances from the group.

Head to head: Tied 3-3 (Paolini 3-1 in 2025)

After a three-set loss to Jessica Pegula in her opening match, Gauff struggled with 17 double faults and 45 forehand unforced errors. Paolini opened with a heavy defeat to Aryna Sabalenka, who produced 11 aces and wrapped up a straight-sets victory in just over an hour. The two met a few weeks ago in Wuhan, where Gauff claimed her lone victory in four meetings this year; that encounter featured a run of 11 consecutive breaks of serve.

Whichever player can better protect serve and manage nerves will prolong her Riyadh campaign. The seedings are clear: (3) Coco Gauff versus (8) Jasmine Paolini.

Head to head: Sabalenka leads 8-3 (2-1 in 2025)

Top seed Aryna Sabalenka takes on Jessica Pegula in the later session. Sabalenka described her state after the opening win by saying: “I’m getting better and better every day.” A victory over Pegula would put Sabalenka in strong position to lock a spot in the semifinals and pursue a first WTA Finals title.

Pegula handed Sabalenka her most recent defeat last month in Wuhan. For the American to win again and likely secure her own semifinal place, she must clean up the uneven elements of her opening victory against Gauff. Recent meetings between Pegula and Sabalenka have been tight; Sabalenka holds the edge this year.

Schedule (local / ET):
(2) K. Siniakova / T. Townsend vs. (3) G. Dabrowski / E. Routliffe — Start: 3:00 PM local (7:00 AM ET)
(3) Coco Gauff vs. (8) Jasmine Paolini — Not before: 5:00 PM local (9:00 AM ET)
(1) Aryna Sabalenka vs. (5) Jessica Pegula — Not before: 6:30 PM local (10:30 AM ET)

Commanding recoveries by Amanda Anisimova and Elena Rybakina simplified the picture in the Serena Williams Group at the WTA Finals: the winner of Wednesday’s match between Anisimova and Iga Swiatek will join Rybakina in the semifinals.

Rybakina delivered a striking turnaround in the opening singles match of Day 3 in Riyadh, erasing a 3-0 deficit and then regrouping after dropping the first set to defeat Swiatek 3-6, 6-1, 6-0. It was her first victory over Swiatek in four meetings this year and moved her to 2-0 in the group stage.

Anisimova answered later in the session, overturning a set and a break down to beat Madison Keys 4-6, 6-3, 6-2. Her rally not only kept her own semifinal hopes alive but also confirmed Rybakina as group winner and eliminated Keys from contention. Anisimova closed the match with a sustained run, winning eight straight games and 11 of 12 from 6-4, 3-1 down to complete her first meeting with Keys.

Rybakina’s victory in Riyadh extends an impressive run that helped earn her the eighth and final WTA Finals berth. She is now unbeaten in her last eight matches and has taken 10 of 11, with the only loss in that stretch coming to world No. 1 Aryna Sabalenka. She also became just the second player to beat Swiatek in 2025 after dropping the opening set, a feat previously accomplished by Keys at the Australian Open.

Reflecting on the match, Rybakina said: “I think I started a little bit slower, and Iga started well,” Rybakina said after the one hour, 37-minute opening match. “She was serving good, and I feel like my serve was not there, and she took a break straight away, and after I was down. So it was difficult to catch up in the first set. But again, it was only one break, and other games were very close, same as second and third set.

“It was some key moments, some tough games where it was very close and I managed to win and get the lead. And of course, after you get confidence, and it was easier for me, and I had a score where I could risk a bit more.”