Elina Svitolina reached the semifinals of the WTA Finals after defeating No. 2 seed neutral athlete Aryna Sabalenka 6–3, 3–6, 6–1. The decisive match in Group 2 lasted 1 hour and 52 minutes in Indian Wells.
With the victory, the sixth-seeded Ukrainian finished the group stage with two wins and one loss. She lost her opening match to Mirra Andreeva 4–6, 0–6, but then came from behind to defeat Karolina Muchova 3–6, 6–2, 6–2. Andreeva won the group with two victories, while Sabalenka finished with one win and two defeats.
Svitolina ends Sabalenka's winning streak
Sabalenka took the second set to level the score, but Svitolina took control in the deciding set and won 6–1. Before the match, the Belarusian led 6–1 in their head-to-head meetings, with the Ukrainian having only one victory over her — in Strasbourg in 2020.
Before the match, the Women's Tennis Association described it as a contest in which the winner would finish second in the group and claim the final semifinal spot.
Semifinal against Noskova
Svitolina will face Linda Noskova in the semifinals on November 14. The other match in this stage pits Mirra Andreeva against Jessica Pegula.
For Svitolina, this is her first appearance in the WTA Finals semifinals since 2019. The Ukrainian won the tournament in 2018, and a year later reached the final.
Sources: tntsports.co.uk, wtatennis.com