The road to the final four: how Svitolina beat Sabalenka to join Andreeva as Group 2 semi-finalists

INDIAN WELLS, Calif. — There was a moment Wednesday when it looked like Elina Svitolina might play her final match in Indian Wells with nothing left to play for. She had already lost to Mirra Andreeva, and when Karolina Muchova won the first set, there was good reason to believe that Svitolina’s chances were slipping away. Muchova had won all 32 matches that year in which she won the first set.

For Muchova to reach 33, she still had to find a way past a player who was starting to settle down. Svitolina dropped only four games over the next two sets, and by the time she left the court, she knew she would have a semifinal spot to play for on Friday.

But to get to Saturday, Svitolina still had to beat Aryna Sabalenka, who had won her last five meetings and all three they had played on hard courts. Sabalenka had a break in the opening match, so Svitolina still had some catching up to do. She recovered the break and, at 3-3, relied on her second serve to save two break points before winning the next two games to take the set.

Sabalenka took second place by the same score, and this time it was Svitolina who got the early break. She added another for 5-1 and served out a 6-3, 3-6, 6-1 victory, converting six of her eight break points along the way. This placed her second in Group 2 and set up a semi-final against Group 1 winner Linda Noskova.

Svitolina had not beaten Sabalenka since Strasbourg in 2020. Now, the 2018 champion is back in the semifinals for her first appearance at the year-end event since 2019, and for the first time after losing her opening match.

Andreeva already knew she would play Saturday when she took the court against late substitute Diana Schnaider earlier Friday. She won 6-2, 6-1 to finish 3-0 without losing a set and will face Jessica Pegula for the first time in the other semi-final.

Here’s how Andreeva and Svitolina reached the semi-finals in Indian Wells.

Mirra Andreeva

The group stage

Winning Svitolina: Andreeva saved all six break points she faced and won the last seven games in a 6-4, 6-0 victory in her WTA finals debut. The victory also reversed the result of their meeting at the Australian Open earlier in the year.

Winning Sabalenka: Sabalenka led 4-1 in the first set, and after 62 minutes of the match, Andreeva was through to the semi-finals. She won the last 11 matches and 45 of the last 55 points to prevail 6-4, 6-0, becoming the first player to win a set 6-0 in each of her first two WTA Finals matches.

Win Schnaider: Andreeva had already won Group 2 when Karolina Muchova withdrew and second substitute Diana Schnaider stepped in at the last minute. Even more effective than in her last match, Andreeva only needed 55 minutes to win 6-2, 6-1 and finish 3-0 in group play without losing a set. Schnaider hit seven winners against 32 unforced errors and won only three points out of 15 on his second serve.

Quotable: “I just felt like this anger was building up inside me. But it was a good thing that I was serving because I was kind of able to turn that anger into trying to serve faster and…let it out by serving. And then afterward, I felt like I felt better, and then I was able to play better on the return, and just like that, things went my way.» – Andreeva on how she overturned a 4-1 first set deficit against Sabalenka on Wednesday.

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Elina Svitolina

The group stage

Defeat against Andreeva: Svitolina had six break points in her first WTA finals match since 2019, and Andreeva saved them all. After a close first set, Andreeva won the last seven games to close out a 6-4, 6-0 victory.

Winning Muchova: Muchova was 32-0 this season after winning the first set. Svitolina finished that series with a 3-6, 6-2, 6-2 victory, hitting 17 of her 22 winners in the final two sets to give herself a chance to advance on Friday.

Winning Sabalenka: Svitolina broke twice in the third set and converted six of her eight break points in total to win 6-3, 3-6, 6-1. It was her first hard court victory against Sabalenka and the first time she reached the semi-finals of the WTA Finals after losing her opening match. She finished 2-1 in group play and will face Noskova on Saturday.

Quotable: “I think that’s the great thing about the WTA Finals, because even if you lose the first match, you’re still not eliminated. You still have a few matches left and interesting situations, I think.” — Svitolina after bouncing back from a first loss on Wednesday.

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