Anisimova, Pegula advance to singles semifinals at 2025 WTA Finals

Debutant Anisimova clinched her spot in the knockout rounds in dramatic fashion, beating Iga Swiatek in a winner-takes-all group finale. With a 6-7(3), 6-4, 6-2 win against the second seed on Wednesday, the American repeated the result from the pair's US Open quarterfinal, completing a double dose of revenge after her 6-0, 6-0 defeat to the Pole in the Wimbledon final.

“I knew it was going to be really tough, and I was preparing for that. I think I just tried to enjoy it,” Anisimova said after booking her semifinal spot.

“I feel like I belong at this point and I’ve played a lot of tough matches this year. I know my capabilities. And I know if I can play my best tennis, I can give it my best shot.”

Anisimova also earned a comeback win against Madison Keys, 4-6, 6-3, 6-2, after an opening defeat to Rybakina.

“I finally got straight-sets win for the first time in a few months,” Pegula said after the match. “That always feels really good, but I thought I served really well and just played solid today. I was aggressive when I needed to be. There wasn’t much negative today.”

After notching five consecutive straight-sets wins to reach the US Open semifinals, and another to open her Beijing campaign in late September, each of Pegula's last eight victories came in three sets. She reached the Beijing semis and the Wuhan final during that stretch, falling to Gauff in the latter event.

Pegula and Anisimova will hope to keep the WTA Finals trophy in American hands after Gauff won the title last season, beating China's Zheng Qinwen in the final. If Anisimova wins the title, she would leapfrog Gauff to become the No. 1 American with a new career-high ranking of world No. 3. Pegula would move up one place to world No. 4 with the title.