A Wimbledon final rematch and a decisive group match will settle the second semifinal spot from the Serena Williams Group on Day 5.

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

Elena Rybakina arrives having already clinched a semifinal berth after a comeback victory over Iga Swiatek on Day 3. After losing the first set, Rybakina won 12 of the next 13 games in a reversal that snapped a four-match losing streak to Swiatek and secured her path to the knockout round. That result, combined with Madison Keys’ loss to Amanda Anisimova, means the Rybakina-Keys match will be played largely for pride.

Keys had been in control on Day 3, holding a set and a break lead over Anisimova before dropping 12 of the next 15 games. The loss eliminated Keys and sent Rybakina into the semifinals. Rybakina enters this match on a hot run — eight straight match wins — and will look to maintain momentum. Keys will aim to finish a season that began with her first Grand Slam title in Australia on a more positive note.

Head to Head: Tied 1-1 (1-1 in 2025)

Iga Swiatek and Amanda Anisimova meet in a winner-take-all contest. Both are 1-1 in group play, with a semifinal spot at stake. Swiatek limps into the match after a puzzling three-set collapse against Rybakina in which she committed 36 unforced errors over the last two sets. Anisimova brings confidence after rallying from a set down to defeat Keys.

The two have split their pair of high-stakes meetings earlier this year: Swiatek delivered a double-bagel in the Wimbledon final, while Anisimova won in straight sets in the US Open semifinals. Riyadh is the rubber match.

Schedule
(1) S. Errani / J. Paolini vs. (4) V. Kudermetova / E. Mertens — Start: 3:00 PM local (7:00 AM ET)
(6) Elena Rybakina vs. (7) Madison Keys — Not before: 5:00 PM local (9:00 AM ET)
(2) Iga Swiatek vs. (4) Amanda Anisimova — Not before: 6:30 PM local (10:30 AM ET)

Aryna Sabalenka advanced to the semifinals after a 6-4, 2-6, 6-3 victory over Jessica Pegula in a Riyadh round-robin match that lasted two hours and three minutes.

“She pushed me, and I love it,” Aryna Sabalenka said after beating Jessica Pegula 6-4, 2-6, 6-3 in their Riyadh round-robin match on Tuesday.

The result added another chapter to a one-sided overall rivalry: Sabalenka has won nine of their 12 meetings, seven of those in straight sets. Still, recent encounters have tightened. At the US Open, Pegula won a set for the first time in two years before Sabalenka prevailed 6-4 in the third. In Wuhan, Pegula ended a four-match skid against Sabalenka by winning a third-set tiebreak.

Both arrived in form. Pegula had beaten Coco Gauff and Sabalenka had beaten Jasmine Paolini in earlier matches in Riyadh. On Tuesday, Sabalenka captured the opening set by forcing errors and dictating enough points. Pegula answered in the second by stepping in, counter-punching and coming to the net.

“In the second set, she just stepped in and played incredible tennis,” Sabalenka said. “In the third set I was just thinking, ‘I’m gonna go after my shots. I’m gonna try to stay even more aggressive. Put that speed back with her and hope that I’ll get my chance.’”

Pegula threatened to take control early in the final set, breaking for 2-1 and appearing to move toward a 3-1 lead. Sabalenka reversed course with a series of aggressive returns, a forehand passing shot and decisive groundstrokes that produced multiple breaks and a run to 5-2 before sealing the win with a forehand winner.

“You know what,” Sabalenka said to herself, ‘I have nothing else to do, I’m just going as hard as I can, and heavy as I can, down the lines.”

Statistically the match was noisy: Sabalenka hit only two more winners than Pegula and made 19 more unforced errors, but she forced Pegula into 36 errors to 19. With a 2-0 record in the round-robin, Sabalenka has moved into the semifinals. For all her success, she has never won the WTA Finals and has reached the title match just once; this is the first season she has been No. 1 for the majority of the year.

Top-ranked Aryna Sabalenka and former Wimbledon finalist Nick Kyrgios are scheduled to face each other in a “Battle of the Sexes” exhibition set for Dec. 28 in Dubai. The match will be played indoors at the 17,000-seat Coca-Cola Arena, and both players posted logistical details on their social media channels after Sabalenka confirmed during the U.S. Open that discussions for the match were underway.

Before their head-to-head meeting in Dubai, both players will take part in an exhibition in New York on Dec. 8, though they will not play one another there. Sabalenka will face Naomi Osaka and Kyrgios will play Tommy Paul in that event.

Kyrgios has outlined specific conditions for the Dubai match, saying he would get only one serve and would be hitting toward a smaller side of the court. The Australian, who has barely played in recent years because of injuries, has predicted he will win easily.

“I cannot wait to get back out on court,” Kyrgios said in an Instagram story. “Honestly I’m feeling amazing. I never thought I would be back into this position, being able to travel the world, see my fans and play some amazing tennis.”

The exhibition borrows its name from the famous 1973 meeting between Billie Jean King and Bobby Riggs, a match King won in straight sets in the Houston Astrodome. Sabalenka enters the off-season as a four-time Grand Slam champion and one of the top attractions on the women’s tour, while Kyrgios returns to a spotlighted appearance after a period of limited competitive play.