Pegula into WTA Finals semi-finals to face unbeaten Andreeva

Jessica Pegula will play Mirra Andreeva in the semi-finals of the WTA Finals in Indian Wells, California, on Saturday after edging through the group stage with two hard-fought wins, according to Britwatch Sports. Her victory on Thursday secured her place in the last four.

The fifth seed meets third seed Andreeva for a place in Sunday's final at the WTA Tour's season-ending championship. It will be their first meeting on the tour.

Andreeva the form player

Andreeva has won all three of her round-robin matches. According to The Independent, citing PA, she beat Diana Shnaider 6-1, 6-1 in 55 minutes. Shnaider was called up as a replacement for Karolina Muchova, who withdrew with a gastrointestinal illness. The 19-year-old has yet to drop a set at the event.

The Independent adds that Andreeva is the youngest player in the tournament's history to win all three group matches. She is 19 years and 193 days old, and the previous record was set by Serena Williams in 2000 at 20 years and 34 days.

Britwatch Sports reports that Andreeva will become world number two after the tournament and is the only player still able to finish as an undefeated champion.

After one of her group wins, Andreeva told the WTA website: “I was angry.” She said she had channelled that frustration into her serve, and her return improved as a result.

Sabalenka’s exit

Aryna Sabalenka’s tournament ended when Elina Svitolina beat her 6-3, 3-6, 6-1 in their final group match. The BBC reports that Sabalenka lost the last six games of the match. Yahoo! Sports says she is set to drop out of the top two in the rankings as a result.

Svitolina, who finished second in the group behind Andreeva, will face Czech world number eight Linda Noskova in the other semi-final, according to the BBC. Noskova is the Wimbledon champion, The Independent notes. Svitolina is playing at the tournament for the first time since reaching the 2019 final.

“It was an extremely tough match, especially mentally,” Svitolina said.

What comes next

Britwatch Sports says Pegula will look to beat Andreeva and reach the final on home soil. It gives a start time of 20:00 GMT for Andreeva against Pegula, first on Stadium Two.