“It was a really tough battle — Jessica always makes you fight for every point,” said Rybakina, who has now leveled her head-to-head with Pegula at 3-3. “She started very strong and broke my rhythm early, but I managed to stay calm, adjust my game, and push through in the second and third sets. My serve helped me a lot when it mattered most.”
Rybakina, who resides in Dubai, became only the third player representing an Asian country—after Zheng Qinwen and Li Na—to reach the final of this prestigious tournament.
After failing to advance past the group stage in her previous two appearances, Rybakina remains undefeated this week in the Saudi capital.
For Pegula, it marked her 31st three-set match of the season—the most on the women’s tour in 2025 and the highest since 2019. The oldest semi-finalist at the WTA Finals since Venus Williams in 2017, Pegula had finished runner-up at last year’s edition.
The American produced a near-perfect first set, capitalizing on 25 unforced errors from Rybakina and dominating from the baseline to claim it in 41 minutes.
Rybakina, playing with her shoulder strapped, began finding her rhythm in the second set, using her powerful serve to gain a 3-1 lead. Despite Pegula’s late surge to break back at 4-5, Rybakina held firm through a ten-minute, four-deuce game, eventually sealing the set and forcing a decider.
In the final set, Rybakina’s consistency and aggression prevailed, as she maintained control to clinch the victory and move one step closer to her most significant trophy in three years.
