Elina Svitolina held her nerve to seal her place in the semi-final of the WTA Finals with a commanding third set against Aryna Sabalenka.

It marked a disappointing end to the season for Sabalenka, who fell short of completing a comeback as Svitolina triumphed 6-3 3-6 6-1 in just under two hours.

Sabalenka started well, getting a break in the opening game, but Svitolina quickly fought back, going on two three-game winning streaks in the first set to take the lead.

But the former world number one soon got back into her groove, with consecutive breaks of serve putting her in a commanding position

Though Svitolina cancelled out one of those advantages, it was not enough as Sabalenka forced a decider.

Sabalenka again hit the front with a break in the third set, but Svitolina did not look back after that, reeling off the final six games and getting over the line on her fourth match point, having held off the Belarusian's two break points moments before.

"It was an extremely tough match, especially mentally. I was just trying to play one point at a time," said Svitolina.

"This is the tournament where you bring everything to the table and try to play every game as if it's the last."

The final four standing on #TheUltimateStage #FAGEWTAFinals https://t.co/vqMKuL2WYg

— wta (@WTA) November 14, 2026

Svitolina finished second in her group and will face Linda Noskova in the final four, while Mirra Andreeva will face Jessica Pegula after completing a perfect group stage.

She faced Diana Shnaider in her final match due to the already eliminated Karolina Muchova dropping out through injury.

And the Russian, who thrashed Sabalenka by winning each of the last 11 games two days earlier, prevailed 6-2 6-1 in just 56 minutes.

Svitolina piles more misery on Sabalenka

Svitolina is the first former champion to reach the semi-finals at the WTA Finals since she herself did so in 2019, and she is hoping to cap 2026 in some style.

Since the reintroduction of the round-robin format in 2003, only Venus Williams (2009-2017) has a longer gap between consecutive semi-final appearances at the WTA Finals than Svitolina (2019-2026).

This year, she has returned to the top 10 for the first time since 2021, and she impressed during the group stage, with her only defeat coming against Andreeva.

Svitolina is now the player with the joint-most top-10 wins in 2026 (10, equalling the current reigning world number one, Elena Rybakina).

But it was a disappointing end to the campaign for Sabalenka, who has failed to win a grand slam title in 2026 (reached the Australian Open and US Open finals), and lost her number one ranking.

Sabalenka took out her frustration on her racquet during the match, and despite a fairly consistent season in which she still claimed three titles, she will be aiming to bounce back at the start of next year.