6 hours ago
8
Key events Show key events only Please turn on JavaScript to use this feature
Pegula responds with an emphatic love hold, her forehand down the line in excellent order. She really fancies this, you can tell, and of the three contesting the two semi-final places, she’s the one you’d bet on to make it.
Paolini nets to go down 0-15 but soon makes 30-15, and a backhand swiped wide gives her game point. And though a decent return incites her to go wide, a decent first serve serve secures the hold. “It’s always good to get the first game under your belt,” revelates Tim Henman.
Ready … play.
Pegula wins the toss and opts to receive. She beat Coco Gauff earlier in the week and against Sabalenka, was up a break in the third; Paolini has twice been splattered in straights.
Paolini, of course, has been ill this week, but she looks happy enough on court.
My guess is that Paolini will try to keep Pegula moving, as she has the athletic advantage, while trying to hit winners; I wonder if Pegula will hit down the middle to deny angle, looking to prolong the rallies and incite the error.
Out come our players; Paolini’s mascot is about her height.
So how is our first match going to go? Well, Pegula is in terrific nick, giving Sabalenka all she could handle on Tuesday, while Paolini has looked knackered in being eliminated from both singles and doubles. So chances are Pegula, who is playing to qualify, does enough, but her lack of a definitive weapon means she’ll always be beatable when facing top players, and Paolini is definitely one of those.
Babos/Stefani win so, as far as I can fathom, they qualify for the last four along with Siniakova/Townsend.
We’ve a match tiebreaker going on in today’s first doubles match; the pairs are Dabrowski/Routliffe and Babos/Stefani.
Preamble
Greetings all and welcome to your afternoon fun and joy, also known as the final round of group matches in the 2025 WTA Tour Finals.
We begin with Jessica Pegula v Jasmine Paolini, plenty to be going on with, except following them on to court we’re blessed with Aryna Sabalenka v Coco Gauff – a treat in any circumstances, never mind these.
Paolini is out, having lost both her matches in a state of enthusiastic exhaustion, but the other three are fighting for two semi-final slots, Sabalenka sitting 2-0 and the others two 1-1. Depending on what happens today, these are the permutations, from least complex to most:
-
If Paolini and Gauff win, Gauff wins the group and Sabalenka takes second.
-
If Pegula and Sabalenka win, Sabalenka wins the group and Pegula takes second.
-
If Paolini and Sabalenka both win in two, Sabalenka wins the group and Gauff takes second; If Paolini and Sabalenka both win in three, Sabalenka wins the group and Pegula takes second; if Paolini wins in three and Sabalanka wins in two, Sabalenka wins the group and Gauff takes second; and if Paolini wins in two and Sabalanka wins in three, Sabalenka wins the group and Gauff takes second.
-
If Gauff and Pegula both win in two, Gauff wins the group and Pegula takes second; if Gauff and Pegula both win in three, Gauff wins the group and Sabalenka takes second; if Gauff wins in two and Pegula wins in three, Gauff wins the group and Sabalenka takes second; and if Gauff wins in three and Pegula wins in two, which players move on will be decided by the number of games won across the group.
Got it? No? Me neither, but all will soon be revealed and, in the meantime, it’s our pleasure to ignore outcome and focus on process: this is going to be good.
Play: 5pm local, 2pm GMT
