WTA Year-End: Rybakina Serves a Bagel to Overturn Svitolina, Anisimova Secures First Win as Keys Exits

On November 3rd local time, the 2025 Riyadh WTA Finals held the second round of competition in the singles Serena Williams group and doubles Navratilova group. Rybakina, Anisimova, Hsieh/Ostapenko, and Mertens/Kudermetova all emerged victorious.

Rybakina

Photo: Visual China

The highlight of this round was the clash between second seed Svitolina and sixth seed Rybakina, who had lost four consecutive matches to her this season. Svitolina took the first set 6-3, but lost momentum in the next two. After leading 3-1 in the second set, Rybakina went on a streak winning nine straight games to claim the next two sets 6-1 and 6-0, completing a comeback victory.

Since the WTA Ningbo tournament, Rybakina has won eight consecutive singles matches on the tour. Reflecting on her recent form, she said, “I'm very happy with how I’ve played over the past few weeks. I improve with every match, and good results follow. Even here, I’m focusing on small details. Competing against top players is a great opportunity. I’m very excited for the next match and hope to deliver the same intensity and quality.”

Anisimova

Photo: Visual China

Another singles match featured two American players, where fourth seed Anisimova overcame a 4-6, 1-3 deficit to defeat seventh seed Keys 4-6, 6-3, 6-2, securing her first singles win at the WTA Finals. Notably, with this victory, Anisimova became the only player this year to have defeated all four Grand Slam champions of the season (Keys, Gauff, Svitolina, and Sabalenka).

After the match, Anisimova stated, “I entered this tournament full of confidence, but clearly everyone here is at the top level. I’m facing the strongest opponents in the world, so every match is tough. But that’s exactly what I expected. I’m here to face these challenges and see if I can overcome them.”

After two rounds, the qualification picture in the singles Serena Williams group is clear: Rybakina has secured first place with two wins, Keys is eliminated with two losses, and Svitolina and Anisimova, each with one win, will face off in the final round to compete for the last semifinal spot.

The doubles Navratilova group’s qualification scenario mirrors that of the singles Serena Williams group. In the second round, sixth seeds Hsieh/Ostapenko defeated top seeds Errani/Paolini 6-3, 6-4, while fourth seeds Mertens/Kudermetova narrowly beat eighth seeds Stuurs/Muhammad 6-4, 6-7(6), 10-6.

Hsieh/Ostapenko secured two straight wins, guaranteeing their advancement as group leaders, while Stuurs/Muhammad, with two losses, are out. The winner of the last round match between Errani/Paolini and Mertens/Kudermetova will advance as the group’s second qualifier.

Complete schedule for November 4th