WTA Finals live: Rybakina faces Pegula for spot in final before Sabalenka takes on Anisimova

Rybakina has some strapping on her serving arm, and appears to scratch at or massage it at the change of ends, looking towards her box. Not sure if there’s a bigger problem there, or just an itch where the tape is, or something.

Either way, the errors keep coming from her. She tries to go for a forehand down the line but whacks the tape.

More luck as she hammers a second serve return cross-court for 40-15… then Pegula gets unlucky with a net cord deep behind the baseline, and suddenly we’re at deuce.

She lashes a forehand down the line… chance to break, but it goes begging, and another error helps Pegula out of trouble for 4-2.

Pegula’s easy power and short returns are putting Rybakina on the back foot. From 30-40 down Rybakina battles to deuce but more wild errors are her undoing; she slices into the net and that’s a third straight break of serve.

Much more assured from Pegula now, Rybakina finding it difficult to get any rhythm on her groundstrokes.

But Rybakina comes to the net and palms a lovely volley away fro 15-15.

A double fault opens the door at 15-30… and after both players smack into the tape, Rybakina has the chance to break straight back.

An exquisite cross-court forehand by Rybakina just kisses the line, and we’re back level!

A wild mishit from Rybakina and she’s down 0-30.

The Kazakh goes for something different, pinning Pegula out wide before reaching for the drop shot… she’s back in this, but a superb backhand by the American, at full stretch, fizzes cross-court and Pegula has the chance to break!

Fist pumps from the American as she duly does, Rybakina looping long.

Pegula moves into a 40-15 lead before Rybakina shows her what she’s made of, a brute of a flat cross-court strike too much for the American.

Pegula nets and suddenly she’s been dragged to deuce. Can’t find a first serve at the moment… but Rybakina can’t quite get the height needed, and nets.

A zinger of a cross-court forehand follows though and we’re at deuce!

Pegula manages to scrap her way out to the hold, but that was a scrappier first service game than she’d have liked.

A swift hold for Rybakina to kick things off, including three aces.

The winner of this will face the winner of Anisimova v Sabalenka, on next.

Seventh seeds Timea Babos and Luisa Stefani have overcome Su-Wei Hsieh and Jelena Ostapenko in straight sets, 6-4 7-6(5), to make the women’s doubles final.

They’ll face the winners of tonight’s second semi-final, between second seeds Katerina Siniakova and Taylor Townsend and fourth seeds Elise Mertens and Veronika Kudermetova.

Elena Rybakina’s clash with Jessica Pegula will be on next, not before 3pm GMT.

“I wasn’t thinking about how to get through it, I was thinking I have to get the win, I was trying to focus on the tennis.” She mentions the infamous Roland-Garros final and trying to avenge it.

She’ll face Amanda Anisimova in the semis, who she’s played in three majors this year – the French and US Opens, and Wimbledon.

“That’s actually crazy,” she says. “She’s an incredible player, we have great battles, I’m so happy to see her back, fighting, playing her best tennis. It’s always enjoyable playing against her.

“I think whenever I focus on myself, without getting over-emotional and staying in the zone, that’s the key for me.”

“I finally got a straight set win for the first time in like a few months, so that always feels really good! But no, I thought I served really, really well, just played solid today, was aggressive when I needed to be. There wasn’t much negative kind of notes today.

“I’m not a math major, but I’m pretty certain we’re going to be seeing more tennis today. So I guess it just depends on the matchup for the next person that I play. I think we’re going to be really happy with today, for the rest of the day, maybe for most of the night, and then we kind of have to switch strategies a little bit.”

Before that, Jessica Pegula finally won in straight sets after eight consecutive three-set wins, beating an out-of-sorts and ill Jasmine Paolini.

That alone wasn’t enough to secure qualification, with her fate dependent on Sabalenka seeing off Gauff, but it was businesslike and efficient from the American, who booked a meeting with the resurgent Elena Rybakina.