Siniakova, Townsend avenge 2024 final loss, advance to semis after Babos, Stefani win

No. 2 seeds Katerina Siniakova and Taylor Townsend avenged last year’s WTA Finals Riyadh final, rallying from 5–2 down in the second set to defeat No. 3 seeds Gabriela Dabrowski and Erin Routliffe 6–4, 7–6(3) and move to 2–0 in the Liezel Huber Group.

WTA Finals: Scores | Draws | Order of play

The result, coupled with the fact that Timea Babos and Luisa Stefani won their match against Mirra Andreeva and Diana Shnaider later in the evening, guarantees that they'll be advancing to the semifinals of the WTA Finals once more.

The victory drew the head-to-head between the teams level at two wins each and avenged a 6–4, 6–4 loss to Dabrowski and Routliffe in the US Open final. That setback on Townsend’s home turf lingered -- and fueled a more studied approach in Riyadh.

"It's always tough when you lose to the same team and it's so close -- at the US Open it was just a break in each set," Townsend said in the on-court interview. "We worked really hard the last few days in practice. We compiled all the data from the matches that we've played before and came out and just wanted to execute on the game plan."

Not that it was an entirely data-driven win. Asked how they overturned the second-set deficit, Townsend responded with a grin that they had been "swinging for the fences and keeping the vibe going."

The American was, by some distance, the best server on court. She was the only player not to be broken -- indeed, she never faced a break point and only lost seven points behind her delivery. For the most part, the other three players also served solidly -- meaning that the contest's three breaks of serve proved pivotal.

• At 3-3 in the first set, Siniakova and Townsend delivered a brilliant return game -- two clean return winners, a Townsend lob and a Siniakova volley winer -- to break Dabrowski.
• Serving at 1-2 in the second set, Siniakova lapsed into error to hand the break to her opponents.
• Routliffe was unable to serve out the set at 5-3, with a flashy Townsend return winner sealing the break back.

In the ensuing tiebreak, Townsend and Siniakova's power proved too hot for Dabrowski and Routliffe to handle at net on two key points, and Townsend converted her first match point with a service winner.

"I did a couple of mistakes and that's how they get the break," Siniakova said of the second set. "So, I was like, 'I need to focus, I need to keep it together,' and I was just so happy that Taylor held me up."

Babos, Stefani reverse their fortune to get on the board in Riyadh

Three-time champion Timea Babos and her partner, Luisa Stefani, didn't let memories of their opening loss at the 2025 WTA Finals rattle them, at least not outwardly. Despite dropping the second set, the duo regrouped to defeat Mirra Andreeva and Diana Shnaider 7-5, 2-6, [10-7] in 1 hour and 37 minutes, earning their first win in Riyadh.

"At this stage, every match is very dramatic," Babos said after the match. "And overall, I feel like our matches (in particular) are sometimes dramatic. But we always hold each other's hands, let's say...and we just get through our tough moments. And yeah, I'm still not in a calm and relaxed mood to be super happy, but maybe in a few minutes.

"But of course, it's great that we still have a chance to win this thing."

Stefani echoed her partner's sentiments and praised their resilience.

"I'm really glad we stayed with it, especially in the second set," she said. "We had a few low moments, but I guess in the first match, too, it was a bit of a roller coaster from us. With the conditions here, things can change really quickly, so I'm happy about how we faced the breaker and gave ourselves the best chance possible. And at the end, we finished strong."

"Roller coaster" was an apt description for Tuesday's match as well.

After trading breaks twice, the teams were knotted at 5-5. Babos and Stefani held serve to go up 6-5 and apply additional pressure to Andreeva's serve, and it worked as Andreeva -- who had already dropped serve twice -- committed a double fault to hand the first set to Babos and Stefani.

Momentum shifted on a dime in the second set, however. After Babos and Stefani held for a 1-0 lead, Andreeva and Shnaider reeled off five straight games to go up 5-1 before closing out the set to force a match tiebreak.

Refusing to squander another opportunity, Babos and Stefani fell behind 3-1 in the breaker before winning four consecutive points to lead 5-3. They never trailed again, as Stefani put away a winner on match point to keep their title hopes alive, while eliminating Andreeva and Shnaider in the process.

Their next challenge: the defending champions Dabrowski and Routliffe.

The stakes couldn't be higher. The winner will advance past the group stage, while the loser's season will come to an abrupt end.