Svitolina eliminates Sabalenka as Andreeva completes unbeaten WTA Finals group

Elina Svitolina secured a WTA Finals semi-final place with a 6-3 3-6 6-1 victory over Aryna Sabalenka, ending the former world number one’s season. According to BBC Sport, the Ukrainian won the final six games to finish second in her group behind Mirra Andreeva. Svitolina will play Linda Noskova in the last four, while Andreeva meets Jessica Pegula.

Watch the highlights:

Sabalenka opened with a break of serve but could not sustain that early advantage. Svitolina took six of the next seven games to claim the first set, breaking twice without conceding a point in those return games. Sabalenka responded by cutting her unforced errors and building a 5-1 lead in the second set, eventually serving it out at her second opportunity.

The deciding set again turned after Sabalenka had moved ahead. Svitolina’s six-game run left the Belarusian unable to recover, with a double fault contributing to another damaging service game. The result followed Sabalenka’s loss to Andreeva two days earlier, when she surrendered the final 11 games. She had reached the WTA Finals knockout stage in each of the previous four years.

For Svitolina, the victory extends her first appearance at the season-ending tournament since 2019, when she reached the final a year after winning the title. The 32-year-old has also returned to the world’s top 10 this season for the first time since 2021. She told BBC Sport’s report that managing the mental demands of the match and concentrating on individual points had been important.

Andreeva completed an unbeaten group campaign by defeating Diana Shnaider 6-2 6-1 in 55 minutes. Shnaider entered the match as a late replacement after Karolina Muchova withdrew because of illness. Already assured of first place following wins over Svitolina and Sabalenka, Andreeva won 12 of the final 13 games against her fellow Russian to secure a third straight-sets victory.

The 19-year-old French Open champion conceded only 11 games across her three group matches. BBC Sport reported that she is the youngest player to reach the tournament’s knockout stage in 17 years. Her semi-final against Pegula will be their first tour-level meeting, with the winner advancing to Sunday’s final. Svitolina and Noskova will contest the other place in the title match.