Mirra Andreeva secured first place in her WTA Finals round-robin group Wednesday, rallying from an early deficit to beat Aryna Sabalenka 6-4, 6-0 and advance to the semifinals.

The third-seeded Russian completed the victory in 62 minutes, according to Associated Press reporting published by CBC. Her 2-0 record leaves Sabalenka and Elina Svitolina to contest the group’s remaining semifinal berth Friday.

Andreeva trailed 1-4 in the opening set before taking control. She won 20 of the next 23 points, turned around the first set and then swept the second without dropping a game.

“I feel like I could play another two matches. I'm so pumped up and full of energy,” Andreeva said afterward.

She credited coach Conchita Martinez with “82% of the credit” for a pep talk after the warmup that she believed helped spur the performance.

The 19-year-old has surrendered just eight games across her first two round-robin matches. Her strong start followed a pre-tournament controversy in which fellow competitor Jessica Pegula was caught on a hot microphone calling her a “diva” and making other comments. Pegula has since apologized.

Sabalenka, the second seed, had opened with a straight-sets win over Karolina Muchova and initially looked in control against Andreeva. She played Wednesday with tape above her right knee before struggling to win points as the match shifted.

The result adds to Andreeva’s recent successes against Sabalenka. She also beat her to win the 2025 BNP Paribas Open at Indian Wells. Andreeva won her first Grand Slam title at the French Open in June.

Sabalenka can still reach a fifth consecutive WTA Finals semifinal, but must get past Svitolina, a former champion at the season-ending tournament.

Svitolina kept her campaign alive Wednesday by recovering from a set down to defeat Muchova 3-6, 6-2, 6-2. That followed a 6-4, 6-0 loss to Andreeva in her opening match, her first appearance at the WTA Finals since 2019.

Sources