Amanda Anisimova battled from a set down at the WTA Finals for the second match in a row to beat Iga Swiatek and claim a place in the semi-finals alongside Elena Rybakina.
In a high-quality contest and the longest match of the tournament so far, Anisimova produced her second comeback of the week to defeat Swiatek 6-7 6-4 6-2 in two hours and 37 minutes, knocking the World No 2 out of the tournament.
Anisimova was on the brink of exiting the WTA Finals when she trailed Madison Keys by a set and a break on Monday, having lost in straight-sets against Rybakina in under an hour, but found a way to win to set up a winner-takes-all clash with Swiatek.
And although she lost won a tight opening set on a tiebreak, Anisimova’s resilience shone through as she secured her second consecutive win against Swiatek, who destroyed the American 6-0 6-0 in the Wimbledon final in July.
Swiatek has now lost two matches in a row from a set up, following her collapse against Rybakina where she lost 12 out of the final 13 games in the match, with Anisimova through to the semi-finals on her tournament debut.
WTA Finals live: Latest scores and updates
- Amanda Anisimova stuns Iga Swiatek in three sets to reach semi-finals
- Elena Rybakina already through after wins over both Swiatek and Anisimova
- Rybakina beats alternate Alexandrova after Madison Keys withdraws
- Top seeds Jasmine Paolini and Sara Errani knocked out of doubles
Anisimova: 'My mom keeps telling me I'm so strong'
18:47 , Jamie BraidwoodAmanda Anisimova after coming from a set down to beat Iga Swiatek:
“My mom keeps telling me, ‘You’ve won so many three-set matches this year. You’re so strong. You can do it.’ So I was actually thinking about that. Against Iga today it was so, so tough.”
Amanda Anisimova wins second match in a row against Iga Swiatek
18:38 , Jamie BraidwoodAmanda Anisimova has now beaten Iga Swiatek two times in a row since losing 6-0 6-0 to her in the Wimbledon final in July.
What a fight that was, over two hours and 37 minutes.
MATCH! Amanda Anisimova 6-7 6-4 6-2 Iga Swiatek
18:31 , Jamie BraidwoodWow! Amanda Anisimova guides a forehand return down the line to beat Iga Swiatek and reach the semi-finals! She was close to going home when she trailed Madison Keys on Monday, but she’s now fought from behind for a second match in a row to join Elena Rybakina in the final four!
Swiatek heads home, having lost her second match in a row from a set up.
BREAK! Iga Swiatek 7-6 4-6 1-3 Amanda Anisimova*
18:15 , Jamie BraidwoodA double fault form Swiatek, after saving five break points, hands the advantage to Anisimova in the decider.
SECOND SET! Iga Swiatek 7-6 4-6 Amanda Anisimova
17:55 , Jamie BraidwoodAnisimova finally gets the break against Swiatek, and at the perfect time! The American faced pressure early on in the second set, saving three break points in the third game, but stayed alive to work an opportunity right at the end of the second. Faced with a second-serve, Anisimova crunches the return at the baseline. Swiatek nets and there will be one-set shootout to go through to the semi-finals.
FIRST SET! Iga Swiatek 7-6 Amanda Anisimova
17:00 , Jamie BraidwoodRuthless from Swiatek in the tiebreak! She had saved four break points from Anisimova in the first set but ramps up the pressure from her forehand in the breaker, racing into a 4-2 lead.
Anisimova looks more frustrated as Swiatek finds depth and the American goes long on the backhand. The return from Anisimova gives Swiatek four set points, on serve, but Swiatek takes it on the return.
The forehand is blasted with depth and Anisimova can’t respond - she lets out a shriek as Swiatek takes the set. Frustrating for Anisimova, who had all the chances.
Iga Swiatek 6-6 Amanda Anisimova
16:52 , Jamie BraidwoodA chance for Swiatek as Anisimova powers the backhand long of the baseline, bringing up 15-30 - but Swiatek can’t make the return and fumes at her team.
Anisimova drags Swiatek out wide on the second-serve and Swiatek misses on the return. Swiatek goes long and that’s job done for Anisimova. Through to the tiebreak.
Iga Swiatek 6-5 Amanda Anisimova*
16:48 , Jamie BraidwoodSwiatek comes through another testing game with a gutsy hold. Anisimova was throwing everything on the returns but Swiatek saves two break points.
Anisimova has been asking all the questions but can she get through this game to make it to the tiebreak.
*Iga Swiatek 5-5 Amanda Anisimova
16:45 , Jamie BraidwoodAnisimova cracks the forehand return to get to 0-30, Swiatek responds with a big forehand winner of her own down the line.
But Anisimova crunches another huge return against the Swiatek serve and brings up two break points for the chance to take a big step towards the set.
Swiatek can’t find the first serve - but produces accuracy on the second. Anisimova ramps up the power on the second break point but Swiatek defends the baseline and Anisimova finds the net!
Anisimova hits her racket off the court. Deuce.
*Iga Swiatek 5-5 Amanda Anisimova
16:41 , Jamie BraidwoodAnisimova makes a big forehand on the move - Swiatek goes long on the return. A solid hold from Anisimova, who is yet to face a break point.
Iga Swiatek 5-4 Amanda Anisimova*
16:37 , Jamie BraidwoodSwiatek moves well to cover the net and then puts away a delicate volley to take the game, She blows her nose again at the sit-down, but is playing pretty well as she edges ahead. The serve looks good, too.
*Iga Swiatek 4-4 Amanda Anisimova
16:34 , Jamie BraidwoodAnisimova has been ramping up the pressure on the returns and flashes a clean winner off the forehand to get to 30-40 and break point.
But Swiatek finds the kicker down the middle, which Anisimova puts long on the stretch, followed by an ace out wide.
Swiatek makes an incredible get to reach Anisimova’s backhand winner out wide, but then puts away the forehand to stay on deuce.
Key game, this.
*Iga Swiatek 4-4 Amanda Anisimova
16:30 , Jamie BraidwoodSwiatek and Anisimova trade big forehands from the baseline and Swiatek comes out on top as Anisimova goes long - Swiatek goes aggressive on the returns but can’t make one.
Anisimova misses a forehand for the chance to wrap up the game, but then does so with a backhand on to the baseline, levelling at 4-4. Anisimova, though, looks pretty tense in the exchange with her coach.
Iga Swiatek 4-3 Amanda Anisimova*
16:25 , Jamie BraidwoodSwiatek gets her most comfortable hold of the match, starting with a backhand winner down the line. She’s got the range so far today.
*Iga Swiatek 3-3 Amanda Anisimova
16:22 , Jamie BraidwoodAnisimova takes a long look at the baseline after Swiatek catches the very back of the paint and then slams the forehand winner to get to deuce.
Anisimova finds the serve down the middle - then Swiatek blasts long on the return.
Iga Swiatek 3-2 Amanda Anisimova*
16:16 , Jamie BraidwoodBoth Swiatek and Anisimova exchange words with their coaching teams before the sit-down. Swiatek holds as she pushes Anisimova wide and the American goes long. Swiatek is able to win most points where she can open the angles against Anisimova.
Anisimova is using an ice-pack to cool down between games.
*Iga Swiatek 2-2 Amanda Anisimova
16:13 , Jamie BraidwoodAnisimova roars as she crunches the backhand winner crosscourt, then holds with an ace down the middle. This has been a much better start from Anisimova, too, than against Madison Keys on Monday.
Iga Swiatek 2-1 Amanda Anisimova*
16:09 , Jamie BraidwoodSwiatek’s forehand is firing nicely early on, which is also how she started the previous match against Rybakina.
*Iga Swiatek 1-1 Amanda Anisimova
16:05 , Jamie BraidwoodSwiatek swats a ball away in frustration as she goes long on the forehand. The World No 2 fired a couple of return winners off the forehand, and looks to have started well after her collapse on Monday, But Anisimova gets the hold.
Iga Swiatek 1-0 Amanda Anisimova*
16:01 , Jamie BraidwoodSwiatek holds from break point down as Anisimova goes long on the forehand. A six-minute first game but Swiatek dug deep to repel what Anisimova was throwing at her.
Iga Swiatek 0-0 Amanda Anisimova*
15:59 , Jamie BraidwoodAnisimova is looking to make a quick start. Two backhand winners crosscourt bring up break point - but the American goes long on the forehand return.
Swiatek blew her nose into tissue by her towel box during the game. Could she be feeling ill as well?
Iga Swiatek v Amanda Anisimova
15:52 , Jamie BraidwoodSwiatek won the WTA Finals in 2023 while Anisimova is making her tournament debut in 2025.
The winner will face one of Sabalenka, Gauff or Pegula on Friday, whoever comes out on top in the other group.
Iga Swiatek v Amanda Anisimova
15:43 , Jamie BraidwoodSwiatek and Anisimova have played twice this season and both matches were memorable for very different reasons, from Swiatek’s 6-0 6-0 win in the Wimbledon final to Anisimova’s revenge victory in the US Open quarter-finals seven weeks later.
Both players simply need to win to join Rybakina in the semi-finals.
Swiatek completely collapsed in her defeat against Rybakina two days ago, while Anisimova has been slow to settle into the tournament but secured a comeback win over Madison Keys to get herself going. The American had been in some good form ahead of the Finals.
Elena Rybakina: 'Each win gives you confidence'
15:39 , Jamie BraidwoodElena Rybakina is now on a seven-match winning run ahead of the semi-finals, where she will play one of Aryna Sabalenka, Coco Gauff or Jessica Pegula.
“It was tough, especially in the second set. I was up and then I lost a bit of concentration and, I mean Katerina is always a tough opponent,” Rybakina said.
“Definitely each win gives you confidence - I'm pretty happy that for now the last matches has been great and hopefully I can continue through to the semi-finals.”
MATCH! Elena Rybakina 6-4 6-4 Ekaterina Alexandrova
15:30 , Jamie BraidwoodAfter leading 5-2 and up a double-break, Rybakina has a little trouble closing it out, with two double faults in her final game.
But the 2022 Wimbledon winner makes it three wins out of three in Riyadh to continue her strong end of season form. She was already through as the group winner.
Despite not being able to advance, Alexandrova made it fairly competitive after replacing the ill Madison Keys in the dead-rubber.
FIRST SET! Elena Rybakina 6-4 Ekaterina Alexandrova
14:52 , Jamie BraidwoodThe taping of Rybakina’s shoulder does not seem to be causing her too much of a problem. She breaks Alexandrova to lead 5-4 in the first set, before closing out the opener on serve in 35 minutes. Assured stuff from Rybakina, who is already through as the group winner.
Elena Rybakina v Ekaterina Alexandrova
14:33 , Jamie BraidwoodRybakina and Alexandrova recently met in the final of the Ningbo Open, which helped Rybakina complete her late push to qualify for the WTA Finals. She came from a set down to win 3-6 6-0 6-2 .
Alexandrova, who broke into the world’s top 10 for the first time last month at the age of 30, has made an assured start, leading 3-2 on serve. Rybakina appears to have some new strapping around her right shoulder and upper arm.
What's at stake in Elena Rybakina v Ekaterina Alexandrova match
14:15 , Jamie BraidwoodIt may be a dead-rubber, with Elena Rybakina already through as group winner and Ekaterina Alexandrova unable to advance ahead of Iga Swiatek or Amanda Anisimova, but there’s still 200 ranking points and $355,000 on the line. As she is so far undefeated, Rybakina is still competing for a maximum prize of $5,235,000.
WTA Finals prize money
Singles
Participant fee: $340,000
Round robin win: $355,000
Semi-final win: $1,290,000
Finals win: $2,540,000
Sabalenka, Gauff and Pegula all able to qualify
14:00 , Jamie BraidwoodCoco Gauff’s straight-sets victory over Jasmine Paolini and Aryna Sabalenka’s three-sets victory over Jessica Pegula yesterday means all of Gauff, Sabalenka and Pegula are still able to advance to the semi-finals.
Pegula is scheduled to play the already-eliminated Paolini tomorrow, while Sabalenka and Gauff meet in a rematch of their French Open final.
Sabalenka will book her place in the semi-finals regardless of any other outcome with a win over Gauff.
But if Gauff wins in straight-sets and Pegula wins in straight-sets, both Americans will go through and Sabalenka will be out with two wins.
If Pegula wins in straight-sets and Gauff wins in three sets, it will go down to % of games won.
Jasmine Paolini now out of singles and doubles
13:39 , Jamie BraidwoodIt’s been a tough week for Jasmine Paolini, who has been struggling with illness too as she faces a demanding schedule across both singles and doubles tournaments.
The Italian was knocked out of the singles yesterday after her defeat to Coco Gauff, having lost her opener to Aryna Sabalenka. She faces a dead-rubber against Jessica Pegula tomorrow - and it would not be a surprise if she were to pull out after dealing with illness in Riyadh.
WTA Finals: Top seeds Paolini and Errani knocked out of doubles
13:35 , Jamie BraidwoodThe top seeds in the doubles draw, Jasmine Paolini and Sara Errani, have been knocked out in the round-robin phase after defeat to Veronika Kudermetova and Elise Mertens.
With Hsieh Su-Wei and Jelena Ostapenko already through as group winners, second spot was up for grabs and Kudermetova and Mertens won 6-3 6-3 to advance to the semi-finals.
Paolini and Errani had lost to Hsieh and Ostapenko on Monday.
Ekaterina Alexandrova replaces Madison Keys instead of Mirra Andreeva
13:31 , Jamie BraidwoodAfter Madison Keys withdrew, Elena Rybakina, who is already through to the semi-finals as the group winner, will instead play second alternate Ekaterina Alexandrova in the dead-rubber.
Mirra Andreeva, the first alternate, elected not to face Rybakina as she is also involved in the doubles tournament in Riyadh and “not being fit to play today”.
Madison Keys withdraws from WTA Finals due to illness
13:29 , Jamie BraidwoodMadison Keys has withdrawn from the WTA Finals due to illness after being eliminated from the tournament before her final round-robin match against Elena Rybakina.
Keys signalled that she was feeling ill as she avoided shaking hands with Amanda Anisimova after her defeat to her fellow American on Monday.
The Australian Open champion was knocked out of the WTA Finals after defeats to Iga Swiatek and Anisimova in her first two matches.
After Anisimova sealed victory, Keys made a gesture to Anisimova that she was dealing with an illness and didn’t want to pass it on - pointing towards her chest and stomach area.
WTA group permutations
13:28 , Jamie BraidwoodIt’s a simple one today. Elena Rybakina has advanced as group winner after wins against Iga Swiatek and Amanda Anisimova. The winner of Anisimova vs Swiatek will finish second.
Welcome
13:26 , Jamie BraidwoodIga Swiatek and Amanda Anisimova meet again with qualification at the WTA Finals on the line, with the winner joining group winner Elena Rybakina in the semi-finals in Riyadh.
Swiatek destroyed Anisimova 6-0 6-0 in the Wimbledon final in July but the American earned revenge at the US Open just a few weeks later as she reached her second consecutive grand slam final.
Anisimova battled from a set down, amid struggles with her game, to beat Madison Keys on Monday, after Swiatek suffered a collapse against Rybakina, losing 12 of the final 13 games in 4-6 6-1 6-0 defeat.
Rybakina is already through after wins against Swiatek and Anisimova, while Keys has withdrawn due to illness and after two defeats - with Ekaterina Alexandrova replacing her as back-up in the dead rubber.
It’s all to play for in the second match between Swiatek and Anisimova, with the victor progressing to the semi-finals where they will face the winner of the other round-robin group.
