Aryna Sabalenka was on the brink of a second straight loss to Jessica Pegula, but the World No. 1 dug deep to earn a three-set victory and inch closer to the WTA Finals semifinals.

After annihilating Jasmine Paolini 6-3 6-1 in her first WTA Finals match, Sabalenka continued with her strong play in Riyadh after also taking the opening set against Pegula 6-4. But then, the troubles started for the world No. 1, who lost her serve twice during the second set and saw her match against the American go to a decider.

For years, Sabalenka had too much pace and offense for Pegula to handle. Now the American, one of the WTA’s best counter-punchers and power-absorbers, had finally found a way to use Sabalenka’s pace against her.

Aryna Sabalenka celebrates winning the coveted 'top-ranked' WTA trophy for the second year in a row, wearing a glam black bra, blazer, trousers and heels.

Aryna Sabalenka was close to suffering back-to-back defeats to Jessica Pegula before pulling off a third-set comeback to beat the world No. 5 6-4 2-6 6-4 and improve to 2-0 at the WTA Finals in Riyadh.

Aryna Sabalenka has once again set the standard on the WTA Tour in 2025, and she’s doing it while shutting down any lingering doubts about her game. This season, she collected her fourth Grand Slam title by beating Amanda Anisimova in the US Open final.

In her second group-stage match at the WTA Finals, Sabalenka plays against Pegula, who defeated Coco Gauff on Sunday. It will be a chance for the top-ranked Belarusian to get her revenge for the recent Wuhan semifinal loss.

Aryna Sabalenka has officially broken the highest single-season prize money record by a female player after her opening win at the 2025 WTA Finals. Sabalenka kicked off her campaign at the year-end championships with a dominant 6-3 6-1 win over Jasmine Paolini to take control of the Stefanie Graf Group.