The Kazakh beats the American in three sets and achieves the best result of her career in the end-of-season tournament: 15 decisive aces and a great reaction after a difficult summer. She will challenge the winner between Sabalenka and Anisimova
Elena Rybakina is the first finalist of the WTA Finals. The Kazakh, after slipping out of the top 10 in the summer, found her form again on the Asian tour, winning in Ningbo and reaching the semi-final in Japan. Rybakina confirmed her great moment and clear path in the round robin, even overtaking Jessica Pegula and thus reaching her first final at the Finals. A result that overturns its unfavorable history in this tournament, where until now it had never managed to go beyond the group stage. The American fights in every way, she is very mobile, she plays an excellent match, courageous and precise. But in the end the Kazakh manages to adjust her aim after a distracted first set, and her power prevails, despite the ups and downs, thanks also to 15 aces.
INITIAL DIFFICULTIES
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Rybakina reached the semi-final undefeated and her serve had guaranteed her many points during the week. But this time her serves don’t go so smoothly (she had only lost two up to this point): three breaks in a row, two from Pegula, and it’s 4-2 for the American. The Kazakh coming out of service suffers Pegula’s deep and incisive responses on her forehand. Many mistakes on Elena’s part, who also appears to be bothered by a shoulder problem. It is more contracted than the previous days, less fluid in the shots. The American manages the set well: organized on serve, solid on return. At 5-4 Rybakina has a jolt with two great points, but the American does not lose her composure: she gets the set point with an ace in the center, and the Kazakh does the rest with a ball into the net.
THE COMEBACK
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Rybakina starts the second set with more serenity and immediately puts her opponent in difficulty, who comes back from 0-40 on her serve. An intense game, full of winning shots which in the end rewarded the American, who was still spirited even in moments of difficulty. At 2-1 Rybakina, Pegula again finds herself 0-40, but this time comes the break: 3-1. When the match seemed to be heading towards the third set, the American’s new break arrives (5-4 for the Kazakh). The tenth game, the longest, is breathless: the American saves a set point, but the second is the good one; Rybakina closes it with a cross-court backhand: here is the third set. The decisive portion remains balanced until 3-2, then three breaks arrive in a row, as in the first set: 5-3. The power of the Kazakh in the long run breaks down the American’s strenuous defense. In the last service game Rybakina unleashes all her strength on serve and thus flies to her first final at the Finals.
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