Rybakina turns alternate matchup into flawless group finish

Elena Rybakina walked onto the Riyadh hard courts with the WTA Finals semifinals already hers, courtesy of two earlier wins in the Serena Williams Group. Yet ranking points dangled like unfinished business, alongside the allure of a spotless 3–0 record. When Madison Keys withdrew due to illness, Ekaterina Alexandrova entered as the second alternate, reviving a head-to-head where Rybakina trailed. In 1 hour and 14 minutes, she flipped the script, claiming a 6-4, 6-4 win that blended tactical poise with quiet resolve under the arena's glare.

Qualifier's burden fuels steady dominance

As the last to qualify for this elite draw, Rybakina shouldered a season's worth of tension, her path marked by grand slam deep runs and title defenses amid tour rigors. She leaned on her serve's flat power, mixing in slice to the deuce side that stretched Alexandrova's returns and carved openings for inside-out forehands. The Russian countered with aggressive baseline presses, her flat groundstrokes thriving on the indoor pace, but Rybakina absorbed them with deep crosscourt replies, keeping rallies controlled and errors at bay. In the first set's tight 4-all stretch, the crowd's rising hum mirrored the desert night's intensity, yet she dialed a one–two pattern—deep second serve into a down-the-line backhand—that broke serve and steadied her grip.

Alexandrova's bursts of underspin disrupted the tempo momentarily, drawing appreciative murmurs from spectators for her grit. Rybakina adapted swiftly, stepping inside the baseline on shorter balls to unleash crosscourt winners that hugged the lines. This evolution from raw force to precise redirection highlighted her growth, turning the qualifier's invisible weight into on-court leverage.

Overcoming history with sharp adjustments

Entering with a losing ledger against Alexandrova, Rybakina confronted familiar vulnerabilities—prior matches lost in close margins on similar surfaces. She probed wide angles on returns to jam the Russian's flat-hitting rhythm, forcing mishits in extended exchanges. A pivotal second-set break arrived via an inside-in forehand that skidded low, exploiting the hard court's true bounce and tipping psychological scales forged from a year's high-stakes battles.

The alternate pushed back with booming serves, but Rybakina chipped returns short to lure net approaches, then passed down the line with clinical backhands. Her first-serve percentage held above 70, amplifying the surface's predictability to her flat style. As tension thickened under the lights, these tweaks not only preserved her perfect mark but signaled deeper maturity, transforming old deficits into current command.

Semifinals beckon with hard-court edge

Finishing 3–0 positions Rybakina as a knockout force, her affinity for these fast indoor courts now a clear tournament asset. The rankings boost from this matchup bolsters her top-five standing, rewarding a season of adaptation. Fans can follow the next phase through the Scores, Draws, and Order of play. With composure intact amid the opponent switch, she eyes deeper glory, her focus promising more tactical intrigue on Riyadh's illuminated stage.