Andreeva powers past Sabalenka to reach WTA Finals last four.

Manila Times - Nov 12, 2026

LOS ANGELES, United States — French Open champion Mirra Andreeva stormed past Aryna Sabalenka 6-4, 6-0 to reach the last four of the WTA Finals on Wednesday as Elina Svitolina kept her bid on track with a three-set win over Karolina Muchova. Russian 19-year-old Andreeva held her nerve after falling behind 4-1 in the opening set -- winning the last 11 games to seal the round-robin victory in just 62 minutes. "Oh my God, I'm even happier than I was after my first match," Andreeva said. "I feel like I can play another two matches, I'm so full of energy. I'm so pumped up. I'm so happy." Andreeva, whose three titles this year include her maiden major at Roland Garros, is making her singles debut in the elite season-ending event. The world number three seemed to be feeling the nerves in the early going against second-ranked Sabalenka. Irked that she had given up a break with a double fault, she was able to flip the switch, dealing handily with Sabalenka's big serves and pushing the Belarusian star back with her own big groundstrokes. Andreeva crucially kept momentum on her side with a break for a 3-0 lead in the second set. Sabalenka, trailing 0-40, saved three break points, but...

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Svitolina rallies to top Muchova, boost WTA Finals bid

Nov 12, 2026

Svitolina rallies to top Muchova, boost WTA Finals bid

LOS ANGELES — Elina Svitolina roared back from a set down to beat Karolina Muchova 3-6, 6-2, 6-2 on Wednesday to boost her bid to advance to the WTA Finals semi-finals at Indian Wells. Ukrainian veteran Svitolina lifted the WTA Finals trophy in 2018 but hadn't been back to the elite season-ending event since 2019. She got off to a rocky start against Muchova, who broke Svitolina three times in the opening set. Trailing 2-1 on serve in the second Svitolina found her range, winning five straight games to force a third set. "I was not happy with the first set," Svitolina said. "I didn't play as well. I just made some adjustments, tactical adjustments. "I tried just to go more for my shots because I played kind of with her game," she added. "She has an amazing variety of the shots with the slice, with the serve and volley. I had to stay away from that and try to find shorter balls earlier in the rally. "I think it helped me also to be more aggressive, because I was too passive in the first set," Svitolina said. Svitolina said she was able to channel her "angriness" that had been brewing since her straight sets loss to Mirra Andreeva in her round-robin opener. She handed Muchova a second defeat in round-robin play and improved to 1-1 and will have a chance to compete for a semi-final berth when she takes on world number two Aryna Sabalenka of Belarus in their final group match on Friday. Sabalenka took on third-seeded Russian Mirra Andreeva in Wednesday's other group match.