Jun 1, 2025; Paris, FR; Iga Swiatek of Poland celebrates winning her match against Elena Rybakina of Kazakhstan on day eight at Roland Garros Stadium.

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WTA Finals 2025 Day-1 Results – Iga Swiatek and Elena Rybakina Deliver Crushing Blows in Statement Riyadh Wins

All you need to know about Saturday’s results from the Serena Williams Group.

Jun 1, 2025; Paris, FR; Iga Swiatek of Poland celebrates winning her match against Elena Rybakina of Kazakhstan on day eight at Roland Garros Stadium.

The opening day of the 2025 WTA Finals in Riyadh witnessed four superstars in action. World No. 2 Iga Swiatek took on Australian Open champion Madison Keys in the first encounter, and Elena Rybakina faced American powerhouse Amanda Anisimova to close out the evening. After an action-packed set of duels in the Serena Williams Group, here are the results from Day-1 of the WTA Finals:

Iga Swiatek Powers Past Madison Keys in Riyadh Opener

Off to a strong start 💪@iga_swiatek | #WTAFinalsRiyadh pic.twitter.com/uDuQfGZnMY
— wta (@WTA) November 1, 2025

Six-time Grand Slam champion Iga Swiatek announced herself at this year’s season-ending championships with a monumental win over Madison Keys. Having won the tournament in 2023, the 24-year-old needed just 61 minutes to send out a warning to the rest of the playing field on Saturday. Swiatek was aided by an error-prone Keys, who was playing her first match since losing at the US Open.

The Polish superstar broke Keys early, and conceded just three points en route to a 5-0 lead in the opening set. Despite holding serve for the first time, Swiatek led 6-1 in just 23 minutes. At the start of the second set, the 30-year-old American had just 1 winner and 15 unforced errors to her name. While she did make some minor improvements towards the end of the encounter, it was too little too late.

Result: Swiatek def. Keys 6-1 6-2.

Elena Rybakina Dismantles Amanda Anisimova in Baseline Masterclass

Amanda Anisimova may have reached two major finals this year, but Elena Rybakina proved why she is a Grand Slam champion. The Kazakh powerhouse dominated this baseline-heavy affair to pick up vital points on the opening night. After some quality exchanges in the early stages of the match, Rybakina raced ahead to take the first set 6-3. The 24-year-old seemingly had no answers to her opponent’s groundstrokes on the day.

Rybakina d. Amanda Anisimova 6-3 6-1 at the WTA Finals in Riyadh

Elena is picking up where she left off in the Asian swing.

7th consecutive win.

7 aces today… she dropped just 4 points on her first serve.

Demolishing the ball corner to corner and firing down relentless… pic.twitter.com/qfiw0rR9B8
— The Tennis Letter (@TheTennisLetter) November 1, 2025

There is no doubting the fact that Rybakina is currently in her best phase of 2025. She lost just four points on first serve throughout the match – notching seven aces along the way. As the cross-court exchanges became more fierce, the 2021 Wimbledon champ was not afraid to play the low percentage shots down the line to test Anisimova’s defensive abilities. Within 57 minutes, the result became a formality.

Result: Rybakina def. Anisimova 6-3 6-1.

(Image Credits: Susan Mullane, Imagn Images)

Amanda Anisimova

Elena Rybakina

Iga Swiatek

Madison Keys

Tennis

WTA

WTA Finals 2025

Sankalp Harikrishnan

A passionate sports fan through and through, I am currently pursuing my MA in Global Sports Journalism. I specialise in tennis and football writing at The Playoffs News, and I have prior experience working at EssentiallySports and Sportskeeda. Born and raised in Bengaluru, India, sport was my safe space right from my childhood. After trying my hand at multiple sports and representing my educational institutions in cricket, badminton and table tennis, I found sports media to be my calling.