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Rybakina dominates Alexandrova after Keys withdrawal at WTA Finals | The Express Tribune
Elena Rybakina reacts after her win over US’ Madison Keys in their WTA Finals tennis tournament in Riyadh on November 5. PHOTO: AFP
RIYADH:
Elena Rybakina stayed unbeaten at the WTA Finals with a 6-4 6-4 victory over second alternate Ekaterina Alexandrova on Wednesday after Madison Keys withdrew from their final round robin meeting with illness and Mirra Andreeva was not fit to play.
Rybakina arrived for the clash after victories over Amanda Anisimova and Iga Swiatek but the former Wimbledon champion came under pressure against a fresh Alexandrova, before breaking in the ninth game and then claiming the opening set with a hold.
The Kazakh, who staved off three breakpoints in the first set, cranked up her big serve and heavy hitting early in the second to go 3-1 up and applied the squeeze to close in on another win ahead of the semi-finals.
Another break courtesy of a powerful return of serve left Rybakina one game away and the 26-year-old eventually wrapped up the victory despite some struggles on her own delivery late in the clash at King Saud University Sports Arena.
Swiatek and Anisimova meet later on Wednesday in a winner-takes-all match to decide who joins Rybakina in the last four as the second-best player from the Serena Williams Group at the end of the round robin stage.
It will be their third meeting this season, with Swiatek having crushed Anisimova 6-0 6-0 in the Wimbledon final in July to claim her first All England Club title before the American gained revenge in the U.S. Open quarter-finals in September.
Keys withdraws
Madison Keys has withdrawn from her WTA Finals clash against Elena Rybakina on Wednesday due to a viral illness and has been replaced in the draw by Ekaterina Alexandrova.
The Australian Open champion suffered two defeats in round-robin play this week in Riyadh, to Swiatek and Anisimova, and had no chance of advancing to Friday’s semi-finals.
At the end of her match against Anisimova on Monday, Keys wouldn’t shake her opponent’s hand, indicating she was feeling unwell and didn’t want to pass on the virus.
“I’m really disappointed to not be feeling my best and ultimately having to withdraw from the tournament. It’s a huge accomplishment to make it this far and I’m very proud of myself for doing that and having a great year. I hope to be back next year,” said Keys in a statement.
Alexandrova is the second alternate in Riyadh. The first alternate, Mirra Andreeva, who is already competing in the doubles at this year’s WTA Finals, elected not to sign in due to not being fit to play on Wednesday.
Andreeva has a doubles match on Thursday, alongside her partner Diana Shnaider, and might be called in for duty as an alternate to replace Jasmine Paolini in singles, given the Italian is no longer in contention for a semi-final spot and is also feeling unwell.
Wednesday’s schedule features the third and final set of round-robin matches in the Serena Williams Group, with Rybakina taking on
Alexandrova and Swiatek facing off with Anisimova.
Rybakina has already secured her place in the semi-finals as the group winner, while Swiatek and Anisimova will battle it out for the other ticket to the final four.
Inter Miami forward Luis Suárez will be suspended for the final game in the Round 1 MLS playoff best-of-three series against Nashville SC.
Suárez earned the one-game ban for kicking Nashville’s Andy Nájar in the second half of the match on Nov. 1 at Geodis Park, where Inter Miami lost 2-1. At the time of the incident, the referee did not issue the player a yellow or red card.
“The MLS Disciplinary Committee has suspended Inter Miami CF forward Luis Suárez for one match and fined Suárez an undisclosed amount under Disciplinary Committee Parameter 3 for violent conduct in the 71st minute of Inter Miami’s match against Nashville SC on November 1st. Suárez will serve his one-match suspension on November 8 during Miami’s match against Nashville SC,” the MLS Disciplinary Committee said in a statement.
Major League Soccer rules allow, however, for postgame disciplinary action to be enforced when a match official fails to issue a card for an offense on the field.
Suárez will now serve his second suspension from MLS action in 2025, after initially receiving a three-game ban for spitting on a member of the Seattle Sounders‘ staff following the Leagues Cup final on Aug. 31.
“Inter Miami CF accepts and respects the decision made by the MLS Disciplinary Committee,” the club said in a statement on Wednesday. At the same time, the club wishes to express its concern about the precedent set by re-refereeing a play that had already been judged by the match officials and VAR, and its confidence that the same standard will be applied in the future to all on-field situations, in any match and involving any team.”
Inter Miami will now enter the decisive final game of the playoff series without Suárez, as the team looks to qualify to the next round of the postseason. The Round 1 series is tied 1-1 after Inter Miami won the first game but lost the second.
THE CHAMPIONS!
We are back with some UEFA Champions League action as we get the second day of Matchday 4 underway with some great matches, such as Manchester City vs. Borussia Dortmund, Club Brugge vs. Barcelona, and Newcastle United vs. Athletic Club.
Enjoy live updates of all of Wednesday’s matches.
The women’s college volleyball season is in the stretch run. We will run weekly updates on the field of 64 until it’s officially revealed by the selection committee on Nov. 30 (6 p.m. ET, ESPN).
There are 31 automatic bids with 33 at-large teams chosen by the NCAA volleyball committee. Volleyball seeds the top eight teams in each region, and the top four in each region serve as first- and second-round hosts. The rest of the bracket is filled out to balance it competitively and geographically. The highest-remaining seeds also host the regionals, and the 2025 Final Four is in Kansas City, Missouri, on Dec. 18 with the finals on Dec. 21.
Bracket watch
Halloween weekend was a scary one for previously unbeaten Texas with a pair of losses. The Longhorns lost their grip on the SEC race after falling to Texas A&M in five sets and then suffered a sweep to Kentucky. That further solidified Nebraska’s spot as the No. 1 overall team in the country. The Cornhuskers, who haven’t lost a set since mid-September, are the only undefeated team left in the country. Meanwhile, Texas did not fall off the top line. With a No. 2 RPI ranking, the country’s top-rated schedule and eight top-25 RPI wins, the Longhorns remain a firm No. 1 seed. The win for the Wildcats did catapult them to the top line. Kentucky is unbeaten in conference play with four matches to play.
Top seedings
No. 1 seeds: Nebraska, Kentucky, Texas, Pittsburgh
No. 2 seeds: Stanford, Texas A&M, Purdue, Arizona State
No. 3 seeds: Louisville, SMU, Creighton, Minnesota
No. 4 seeds: Indiana, Colorado, USC, BYU
No. 5 seeds: Miami, Wisconsin, North Carolina, Kansas
No. 6 seeds: Tennessee, TCU, Iowa State, Baylor
No. 7 seeds: Penn State, Florida, Xavier, UTEP
No. 8 seeds: Missouri, UCLA, Michigan, South Dakota State
Rest of the field (alphabetical): American, Auburn, Ball State, Campbell, Coppin State, Cornell, Dayton, East Tennessee State, Fairfield, Georgia Tech, Illinois, Jacksonville, James Madison, Kansas State, Long Island, Marquette, UMBC, Michigan State, Morehead State, Northern Arizona, Northern Iowa, Northern Kentucky, Prairie View A&M, Rice, San Diego, South Florida, Stephen F. Austin, UC Davis, Utah State, Utah Valley, Western Kentucky, Winthrop
(The rest of the field teams wouldn’t be seeded)
Bubble watch
Marquette fell to the fringes of the bubble with losses in three of its past four. Auburn strung together three wins since the last Bracketology to sneak into the field. With Texas A&M and Texas on the schedule in the next week, the Tigers’ stay in the field could be a short one. Cincinnati lost three times to probable NCAA tournament teams (Kansas, Baylor and TCU) to tumble out of the field, but with Colorado, Iowa State and Arizona State still to come, the opportunities to get back are plenty.
Last Four In: Illinois, Michigan State, Auburn, Marquette
First Four Out: Cincinnati, Florida State, Villanova, Arizona
Next Four Out: Oregon, Georgia, Utah, Tulsa
Conference breakdown
Big Ten: 11
Big 12: 8
ACC: 7
SEC: 7
Big East: 3
American: 2
CUSA: 2
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