By Richard Pagliaro | Friday, November 7, 2025
Photo credit: Matthew Stockman/Getty for WTA
A forceful forehand exchange escalated when Elena Rybakina ripped a crosscourt forehand with such jolting pace it knocked Jessica Pegula to her knees and her Yonex racquet out of her hands.
Riding a crackling serve and disarming drives, Rybakina rallied past Pegula 4-6, 6-4, 6-3 making history as the first Kazakh to reach the WTA Finals final in Riyadh today.
“Some rallies were like really crazy and some of them I also won,” Rybakina told Tennis Channel’s Coco Vandeweghe in her on-court interview. “A lot of nerves. It was so close. It’s not easy, but I’m glad I managed to stay focused and yeah I managed to win it.”
The last woman to qualify for the season-ending tournament now stands one win from her biggest title since she defeated Ons Jabeur to win the 2022 Wimbledon championship.
The sixth-seeded Rybakina will play either world No. 1 Aryna Sabalenka or fourth-seeded Amanda Anisimova in tomorrow’s final and if she wins, she will collect a champion’s check of $5.2 million for capping an undefeated week in Riyadh. Rybakina has played some of her most dynamic tennis of the year this week despite playing with kinesiology tape wrapping her right shoulder after the stress and strain from a furious finish to the season that helped her surpass Mirra Andreeva and qualify for the tournament.
“Hopefully I can recover for tomorrow, of course it was a lot of matches,” Rybakina said. “I had to adjust a little bit. For now, I’m pushing myself. I know it’s one last match left so I will try to do everything possible to recover.
“Hopefully, [the shoulder is] not going to be worse tomorrow… It’s not easy at all to lose in the final even though you came through. Here are so many tough opponents whoever wins this match I think it will be a really, really tough battle. I will just try my best, give it all and we’ll see what’s gonna happen.”
Facing one of the sport’s most precise returns today, Rybakina slammed 15 aces—she’s hit a WTA-best 503 aces on the season—and won four of the final five games to close in two hours, five minutes.
Ultimately, Rybakina, who scattered more than 60 unforced errors, was willing to keep firing for the corners even under third-set stress. Rybakina hit 36 winners, which was 27 more than Pegula.
Still, the American will likely rue the fact she broke back in the second set for 4-5 and had three game points to level that set at 5-all but could not convert.
In the opening set, Pegula enjoyed success targeting the Rybakina forehand wing, which she tends to predictably play crosscourt.
On crucial exchanges in the final set, Rybakina stood toe-to-toe with the 2024 US Open finalist and won several key forehand exchanges to level her head-to-head series with Pegula at 3-3.
The pair traded breaks in the third and fourth games.
Driving her returns deep through the middle of the court right into Rybakina’s hip, Pegula drew the error for second break point in the fifth game.
When Rybakina netted a backhand, Pegula earned her second straight break and a 3-2 lead with a loud come on!
The fifth-seeded Pegula held her never and maintained her depth in a tense 10-point game, holding to back up the break for 4-2.
Across the net, Rybakina reeled off eight of 10 points on serve closing the gap to 4-5.
The 2023 finalist had spent much of the first set testing the Rybakina forehand return on the deuce side.
Top tier tennis! 👏@JPegula takes the first set 6-4 over Rybakina. #WTAFinalsRiyadh pic.twitter.com/HS08ovkRVh
— wta (@WTA) November 7, 2025
Serving at 5-4, 30-all, Pegula abruptly altered that pattern pumping an ace down the middle for set point.
On the eighth shot of the ensuing rally, Rybakina netted a forehand as Pegula snatched a one-set lead after 41 minutes. Rybakina committed 15 forehand unforced errors in the opening set—11 more than Pegula.
After a brief bathroom break, Rybakina returned refreshed. She earned triple break point in Pegula’s first two service games of set two.
Leaning into her drive, Rybakina drew a netted backhand breaking for a 3-1 lead.
The first Kazakh to make the semifinals of the WTA Finals fought through a tight deuce hold for 4-1.
WTA ace leader Rybakina served for the second set at 5-3 and smacked her 10th ace out wide. Rybakina was two points from the set at 30-love, but double faulted then sailed a backhand as Pegula broke back for 4-5.
Despite that missed opportunity, Rybakina revealed no signs of frustration and went right back to work. Pegula held game point three different times in the 10th game, but Rybakina ripped a 90 mph return right back at the American rattling out the error to draw even at deuce. When Pegula’s forehand sailed, Rybakina earned a second set point.
Stepping into the court, the Kazakh cracked a crosscourt backhand winner breaking to snatch the second set and force a decider after 90 minutes.
Rybakina opened the third set swatting her 500th ace of the season. Two games later, she struck some stinging serves to erase a pair of break points holding for a 2-1 lead in the decider.
A high quality match took another plot twist as Pegula lashed a forehand pass down the line that helped her earn triple break point. Pegula drew an errant forehand breaking back for 3-4.
Contesting her fourth consecutive WTA Finals, Pegula went up 40-15 and held game points to level at 4-all.
Rybakina refused to yield and beat Pegula in crucial forehand crosscourt exchanges including that heavy strike that knocked the American to her knees as the former Wimbledon winner broke back for 5-3.
Seeing the finish line, Rybakina raced through it popping her 15th ace and a body serve for double match point. One final crackling serve closed Rybakina’s first trip to the WTA Finals title match in two hours, five minutes.
