Both 2023 champion Iga Swiatek and Elena Rybakina came out in peak fighting mode in Riyadh today, as round robin play commenced. 2nd seed Swiatek defeated 7th seed Madison Keys 6-1, 6-2. Swiatek had a first serve win percentage of 82, which pretty much says it all. The match was finished in just over an hour. And 6th seed Rybakina, facing Amanda Anisimova for the first time, defeated the 4th seed in just under an hour.
In doubles, top seeds Sara Errani and Jasmine Paolini defeated 8th seeds Asia Muhammad and Demi Shuurs 6-3, 6-3. And 6th seeds Hsieh Su-wei and Alona Ostapenko defeated 4th seeds Veronika Kudermetova and Elise Mertens 1-6, 7-5, 10-5.
Former WTA stars Daniela Hantuchova, Martina Hingis and Garbine Muguruza were on hand for the ceremonial part of the proceedings. Both Hingis and Muguruza won the WTA Finals, and Hingus won it in both singles and doubles (twice). Last year, Muguruza was named Tournament Director of the Finals.
I wasn't that comfortable seeing Hantuchova there. She and Laura Robson were my favorite commentating team (they were terribly funny, and brought out the best in each other), but after Hantuchova's remarks about the WTA, it seems to e that a more appropriate representative (an advocate, for example) could be found.
Back in the day, the Asian swing was a relatively short season. In 2011, Aga Radwanska added considerably to her tennis resume when she won what was called the Asian Double--Tokyo and Beijing. And while there have always been smaller (now the WTA 250 events) tournaments that were held during the post-U.S. Open period, those used to be the big two.
Now, however, there are three 500 events--Seoul, Ningbo and Tokyo, and two 1000 events--Beijing and Wuhan. This year, Seoul, Ningbo and Tokyo were won by Iga Swiatek, Elena Rybakina and Belinda Bencic, respectively. The (finally) rapidly rising Amanda Anisimova won Beijing, and Coco Gauff was the champion in Wuhan.
But there's barely time for the top players to breathe before they're off to Riyadh, Saudi Arabia for tthe 2025 WTA Finals. Only eight players can qualify for the Finals, and this year, they are:
Aryna Sabalenka (1) Iga Swaitek (2) Coco Gauff (3) Amanda Anisimova (4) Jessica Pegula (5) Madison Keys (8) Jasmine Paolini (6) Elena Rybakina (7)*
The WTA Finals, which begin on November 1, will be played on a hard court in round robin form. Coco Gauff is the defending champion.
There are also eight doubles teams that have qualified:
Sara Errani & Jasmine Paolini Taylor Townsend & Katerina Siniakova Gabriela Dabrowski & Erin Routliffe Elise Mertens & Veronika Kudermetova Diana Shnaider & Mirra Andreeva Hsieh Su-wei & Alona Ostapenko Timea Babos & Luisa Stefani Asia Muhammad & Demi Schuurs
Dabrowski and Routliffe are the defending champions.
There will also be alternates available to play at the event.
*Rybakina had to withdraw from the Tokyo tournament right before her semifinal match because of an issue with her back.
My top 10 U.S. Open occurrences, in ascending order:
10. The power of a bad memory: “I just
tried to not focus on the fact that I'm 2-4 or 0-2 down. I
just tried to focus on every point, every shot that I make, on my plan,
and my tasks on court. Then, yeah, I kind of forgot the score.” Those are the words of new U.S. Open junior champion Jeline Vandromme of Belgium. The 14th seed, she won the title when she defeated qualifier Lea Nilsson 7-6(2), 6-2. And Nilsson's run was impressive. She had to win two qualifying rounds before knocking out three seeded players on her way to the final.
9. If you can make it here...: Until this year's U.S. Open, people who aren't serious tennis fans had probably never heard of Ann Li. However, on her way to the round of 16, the Pennsylvania native took out 16th seed Belinda Bencic. She lost to 4th seed Jessica Pegula, but it was a very good run.
8, Twirling into the future: 45-year-old Venus Williams, a two-time U.S. Open singles champion and two-time U.S. Open doubles champion, entered the doubles competition with new partner Leylah Fernandez, and the pair took out two seeded teams on their way to the round of 16. They fell to top seeds Katerina Siniakova and Taylor Townsend, but it was fun to watch them, and to watch Fernandez make a point of getting her partner to do her famous twirl.
7. Hard (court) times: 6th seed and Australian Open champion Madison Keys lost a close first round match to Mexico's Renata Zarazua, who needed three hours and ten minutes to defeat her, 7-6(10), 6-7(3), 7-5.
6. Yui makes it three: Top seed Yui Kamiji won her third U.S. Open wheelchair singles title at this year's tournament. Having already defeated six-time U.S. Open champion Diede de Groot in the quarterfinals, she defeated 3rd seed Li Xiaohui 0-6, 6-1, 6-3 in the final. Li and her partner, Wang Ziying--the 2nd seeds--won the doubles title, defeating the unseeded team of de Groot and Zhu Zhenzhen 6-4, 7-6(4).
5. Point made--I hope: The U.S. Open's ridiculous mixed doubles "competition"--a glorified exhibition event, paired all manner of players with each other, while omitting most actual mixed doubles and doubles specialists. Fortunately, a couple of those specialists--Sara Errani and Andrea Vavassori, the defending champions--won the event. This is the pair's second U.S. Open mixed doubles title, and their third title overall.
4. Hard to say goodbye: Both Petra Kvitova and Caroline Garcia retired from professional tennis at this year's U.S. Open. The two-time Wimbledon champion and the flying Frenchwoman--a two-time French Open doubles champion (with an outstanding singles record)--will be missed by fans and peers alike.
3. The hottest show in town: In 2009, Flavia Pennetta lit up the U.S. Open when she saved six match points with winners in her round of 16 match against Vera Zvonareva. In 2025, for Barbora Krejcikova, this became a "hold my Pilsner Urquell" moment: The Czech star, also in the round of 16, saved eight match points with winners in her match against Taylor Townsend. In the previous round, she had defeated Emma Navarro after going down 0-3 in the third set. Because of injury and rehab, Krejcikova had played only twelve matches during the season at this point, and she had saved match points in three of them.
2. Sweet repeat: 3rd seeds Gaby Dabrowski and Erin Routliffe, who won the U.S. Open doubles title in 2023, did it again this year, defeating top seeds Katerina Siniakova and Taylor Townsend in an extremely well-played and exciting match. The pair also won the WTA 1000 event in Cincinnati right before coming to New York. Their recent success is especially poignant, considering that Dabrowski was diagnosed with breast cancer last year.
Dabrowski and Routliffe reign supreme in New York, overcoming Siniakova/Townsend to claim the crown! 🙌 pic.twitter.com/HB62FMo6no
1. Roar!: She took the scenic route, but world number 1 Aryna Sabalenka won her major in 2025. A finalist at both the Australian Open and the French Open, and a semifinalist at Wimbledon, the U.S. Open was Sabalenka's final chance to get a big trophy this year. She was also the defending champion, which probably created even more pressure, but the Tiger was up to the task.
In an interesting twist to the story, at each of the other majors, her defeat came from a player from the USA--Madison Keys, Coco Gauff and Amanda Anisimova. And wouldn't you know it? In the final of the U.S. Open, there was Anisimova, the Wimbledon finalist--and a woman with a 6-3 record against Sabalenka--again. The two hard hitters played for an hour and a half, and there was a moment in the second set when it appeared that Anisimova had a chance to extend the match, but Sabalenka was too focused, and too good at winning the big points.
This is Sabalenka's fourth major title; she won the U.S. Open last year, of course, and she won the Australian Open in 2023 and 2024.
Today, world number 1 Aryna Sabalenka did something that no woman had done since 2013 and 2014--she won back-to-back U.S. Open singles titles. The last player to do that was Serena Williams, who did it twice in a row. Sabalenka defeated 8th seed Amanda Anisimova 6-3, 7-6(3) in the final, and in doing so, created some unusual stats.
I"m not a big statistics person--I find that so many of the stats that are presented regarding professional tennis are obscure and irrelevant. But this one, in my opinion, is worth mentioning: In winning the U.S. Open, Sabalemka won her 100th major match. When she won Wimbledon a bit earlier in the summer, Iga Swiatek won her 100th major match. That's worth noting on its own, but here's the twist: They both defeated Anisimova in their respective finals.
Anisimova's story is a familiar one in the tennis world. It was a milestone for her to get to the final at Wimbledon, and a huge milestone for her to defeat Swiatek in the U.S. Open quarterfinals. And then, suddenly, she was in the final. And even though she came in with a 6-3 record against the world number 1 (and a 2-1 record on hard courts), she faced an uphill battle. Not only had Sabalenka already won three major titles, including a U.S. Open title, but--after losing both the Australian Open and the French Open finals this year--she was a Tiger on a mission.
Sabalenka may not be known for nuance, but the fact is, she and her team don't miss much. Anisimova defeated her in the Wimbledon semifinals, so she had very recent history upon which to draw. And--while Sabalenka can hit most opponents off the court--that isn't the case with Anisimova. In fact, if push came to shove, it would probably be the other way around. So The Tiger had to be ready.
One thing that she did was to fine-tune her second serve. In New York, she had a second serve win percentage of 63, as opposed to 44 in London. She was also quite strategic in her serving, which helped her to take control of rallies. Sabalenka and Anisimova have long shared a trait--they have let their emotions get the better of them. And while both of them have pretty much overcome that problem, it was Sabalenka who was calmer and more in control today.
The match did become tense in the second set, when Sabalenka served for it at 5-4. She missed an overhead, and then she was broken. Anisimova then held, and the match went to a tiebreak. Sabalenka went up 4-1, then Anisimova double-faulted. Shortly thereafter, Sabalenka held five match points, and on her third, she won the championship.
Aryna Sabalenka has now won four majors---two Australian Open titles, and two U.S. Open titles.
3rd seeds Gabriela Dabrowski and Erin Routliffe won the 2025 U.S. Open doubles title today, defeating top seeds Katerina Siniakova and Taylor Townsend 6-4, 6-4 in the final. And while a score of 6-4, 6-4 may not look that exciting, the match was thrilling to watch, and was accompanied by some excellent commentary by five-time U.S. Open doubles champion Pam Shriver (with Rennae Stubbs courtside).
This is the team's second major title; they won the U.S. Open in 2023. In 2024, Dabrowski was diagnosed with early stage breast cancer and had two surgeries. After a three-month break, she returned to the tour. Dabrowski won a bronze medal for Canada in mixed doubles with Felix
Auger-Aliassime at the Paris Olympics last summer, and she and Routliffe aso won the WTA Finals last year. While she was competing in these events, the Canadian star was still receiving treatment for cancer.
This year, she and Routliffe won the Cincinnati Open, a WTA 1000 event, and the final lead-up tour to the U.S. Open.
Yesterday, there was big, though not exactly unexpected, news in the wheelchair division. Diede de Groot, still finding her way back after she took a break for surgery and rehab, lost her quarterfinal to Yui Kamiji, who has now won four matches against the woman known as Diede the Great. and the woman who has been Kamiji's professional nemesis for some time. Top seed Kamiji also won her semifinal against 4th seed Wang Ziying. She will face 3rd seed Li Xiaohui in the final.
The doubles will feature the unseeded team of de Groot and Zhu Zhenzhen and 2nd seeds Li and Wang.
In juniors, Lea Nilsson of Sweden, who is unseeded will compete for the title against 14th seed Jeline Vandromme of Belgium.
We often look to sports figures for inspiration for obvious reasons--(some of) their struggles are on public display, and their bodies are at risk much of the time. They get injured, and they come back. They get injured repeatedly and they keep coming back. They lose heartbreaking matches, then we see them on the court again. The discipline of sport can indeed be inspirational.
Amanda Anisimova's story is not only one involving the mental/emotional part of an athlete's struggle, but--to make it more intense--the effects of a recent loss that most people would probably refer to as "humiliating."
There was never any doubt that Anisimova was talented, yet--prior to this year--she had won only two tournaments, both at the 250 level. In May of 2023, Anisimova took a break from the tour to deal with burnout and mental health issues. She returned eight months later, and--that summer--she reached her first WTA 1000 final, in Toronto. This year, she won her first 1000 event, in Doha.
That was the beginning of what has become Anisimova's banner year. Earlier this summer, she reached the final at Wimbledon, having upset world number 1 Aryna Sabalenka in the semifinals. In the final, she faced world number 2 Iga Swiatek, who was on a mission to win her first Wimbledon title. Swiatek defeated Anisimova 6-0, 6-0. And, while a beat-down is a beat-down, a beat-down in the final of a major (even if delivered by the woman known as the Bagel Queen) is another matter altogether.
Anisimova responded by reaching the final of the U.S. Open. She didn't "need" to: reaching the second week of the tournament would have looked very impressive to those in the tennis world. And, to add considerably to the drama, Anisimova had to play Swiatek in the quarterfinals. She beat her, too--in straight sets, and called it "the most meaningful victory I've had in my life."
Anisimova's next task was to take on two-time champion Naomi Osaka in the semifinals. A year ago, that might not have seemed like an especially big obstacle, but Osaka is obviously "back," with her big, deadly game. The Japanese star did get a bit of a break in her quarterfinal match because her very talented opponent, Karolina Muchova, sustained an injury and had some problems with movement. But even so, Osaka looked as good as she has ever looked.
It was a tense match, and it lasted almost three hours. Anisimova played her big game, which included 50 winners and 45 unforced errors, but--other than those numbers (Osaka hit 32 winners and made 27 unforced errors)--the stats for the two players were very similar. And while she played very well, Osaka did display some vulnerabilities, and her opponent took advantage of them. Anisimova won the match 6-7(4), 7-6(3), 6-3. She is the first player to defeat Osaka in a major semifinal.
The other semifinal was just as competitive. Defending champion and world number 1 Aryna Sabalenka competed against 4th seed and 2024 finalist Jessica Pegula. There they were again, facing each other, just one rung beneath last year's contest, in which Sabalenka defeated Pegula 7-5, 7-6.
It was a match of momentum swings, with Pegula taking the first set, 6-4. Sabalenka became more consistent in the second set, and won it with a 6-3 score. The final set was as dramatic as one would have hoped it to be. In this set, Pegula had four break points, but was not able to convert any of them, and Sabalenka took the set, 6-4. The world number 1 hit 43 winners to Pegula's 21. She also hit eight aces, putting some emphasis on how much her service game has improved.
This is the third time in a row that Sabalenka has reached the U.S. Open finals. She was, of course, the winner last year, and in 2023, she was defeated by Coco Gauff.
Anisimova is 6-3 against Sabalenka, and she is 2-1 against her on hard courts.
When it comes to the two very gifted Czech players, Marketa Vondrousova and Karolina Muchova, fans have to enjoy the good times while they can. Both players have sustained multiple injuries, and--in Vondrousova's case--multiple surgeries (and Muchova had wrist surgery last year). Vondrousova has missed so much tour time because of injury, surgery and rehab that it's nothing short of a wonder that she has still somehow managed to win Wimbledon, become a finalist at the French Open, and win an Olympic silver medal.
Vondrousova has looked scary-good at the U.S. Open, and she impressively upset both Jasmine Paolini and Elena Rybakina on her way to the quarterfinals. But then something else happened on the way to the quarterfinals: Dealing with an already fragile knee, Vondrousova felt pain during her quarterfinal match warm-up and decided that going forward could aggravate the injury. She withdrew from the U.S. Open, giving her opponent, defending champion and top seed Aryna Sabalenka, a walkover into the semifinals.
Earlier in the day, another very gifted Czech, Barbora Krejcikova, was defeated in straight sets by 4th seed and 2024 runner-up Jessica Pegula. Pegula played superbly, but it was also obvious that Krejckova--whose dramatic eight-match point save the day before became an instant classic--had run out of fuel, as I suspected she might.
When they last met, in the final at Wimbledon, Amanda Anisimova and Iga Swiatek were on the court for less than an hour; Swiatek won her first Wimbledon title after defeating first-time finalist Anisimova 6-0, 6-0. After winning her U.S. Open round of 16 match, Anisimova told an interviewer: “Who would’ve thought we’d meet again so soon? I’m super excited. It’s gonna be a great match--I hope--this time”
Late this afternoon, it looked as though Anisimova had locked her evil twin in a basement in London, as she went after Swiatek from the moment they hit the court. Perhaps she also locked Swiatek's first serve in the basement, too, because Swiatek struggled to find it. The 2nd seed got her first serve in only 50% of the time, and that turned out to be her undoing, given that she won with only 33% of her second serves. Anisimova hit 23 winners, as opposed to Swiatek's 13. Her 6-4, 6-3 victory puts her into the semifinals.
In the evening match, Karolina Muchova faced off against Naomi Osaka, lost the firs set 4-6, and--she sustained an injury. I'm tempted to say "of course she did," though serious tennis fans were undoubtedly thinking it. This time, it was her thigh. She returned to the court after taking a medical time out, but her movement wasn't the same as it had been. The Czech player had already injured her hip in the round of 16, so this injury was undoubtedly an extension of that one.
Despite her movement issues, Muchova served very well. Against another opponent, that might have been enough to compensate, but Osaka also served at a very high level. Muchova did serve for the second set at 5-4, but was broken at love. The second set went to a tiebreak, which Osaka won, 7-3, and thereby advanced to the semifinals.
The match was well-played and very competitive, despite Muchova's injury (her second round to play well, even while hampered). However, it should be noted that Naomi Osaka played like--Naomi Osaka. The woman who won four hard court majors was on the court tonight, doing everything--serving, hitting, moving, reading the court--like the superb athlete that she is.
Here is the semifinal draw:
Aryna Sabalenka (1) v. Jessica Pegula (4) Naomi Osaka (23) v. Amanda Anisimova (8)
In the meantime, the doubles semifinals were completed. Top seeds Katerina Siniakova and Taylor Townsend defeated 4th seeds Veronika Kudermetova and Elise Mertens 6-3, 7-6(3), and 3rd seeds Gabriela Dabrowski and Erin Routliffe defeated 2nd seeds Sara Errani and Jasmine Paolini 6-4, 6-3.
And defending champion Diede de Groot (from 2023--there were no wheelchair events last year), unseeded at this event, defeated Lucy Shuker 6-3, 6-0 in her first round.
