Dabrowski and Stefani to meet Siniakova and Townsend in WTA Finals doubles semifinal
The top-seeded Canadian-Brazilian pair faces the second-seeded Czech-American team after both advanced from their groups.
Gabriela Dabrowski and Luisa Stefani will play Katerina Siniakova and Taylor Townsend in the WTA Finals doubles semifinal. Dabrowski and Stefani went 3-0 in Group 1, while Siniakova and Townsend finished second in Group 2 with a 2-1 record.
Key takeaways
- Dabrowski and Stefani are the No. 1 seeds and won Group 1 with a 3-0 record.
- Siniakova and Townsend are the No. 2 seeds and finished second in Group 2 with a 2-1 record.
- The semifinal takes place on Saturday at Indian Wells Tennis Garden.
- Dabrowski is making her eighth WTA Finals appearance and won the title in 2024 with Erin Routliffe.
- Stefani is playing at the WTA Finals for the second time.
Canada's Gabriela Dabrowski and Brazil's Luisa Stefani advanced to the doubles semifinals at the WTA Finals after defeating Latvia's Jelena Ostapenko and Taiwan's Su-Wei Hsieh 2-6, 7-6 (2), 10-3 on Friday in Indian Wells, Calif.
Doubles semifinals set
The top-seeded Dabrowski and Stefani, who went 3-0 in round-robin play, will face American Taylor Townsend and Kateřina Siniaková of the Czech Republic on Saturday.
Dabrowski and Stefani are making their first appearance together at the WTA Finals, although both have previously reached the championship match with different partners. Dabrowski is making her eighth appearance at the season-ending tournament, having won the title in 2024 alongside Erin Routliffe.
The pair defeated Siniakova and Townsend in the final that year. Stefani is competing at the WTA Finals for the second time, having reached the final last year with Timea Babos.
Singles results
In singles play, Elina Svitolina overcame Aryna Sabalenka 6-3, 3-6, 6-1 to reach the semifinals earlier on Friday, winning on her fourth match point. Both players had more errors than winners.
Svitolina hit 21 winners, made 24 errors and won six of eight break points in beating Sabalenka for the first time in six years and just the second in their eight career meetings.
Sabalenka, who was runner-up at last year's Finals, rallied to take the second set and was up an early break in the third before coming undone with 35 errors. She didn't speak to the media afterward.
Other semifinal matchups
Svitolina will face Wimbledon champion Linda Noskova in the semifinals Saturday at Indian Wells Tennis Garden. Mirra Andreeva won 12 of the final 13 games to cruise past Diana Shnaider 6-2, 6-1 and will play Jessica Pegula in the other semifinal. The Russian teenager dropped just 11 games total in winning Group 2 with a 3-0 record.
Tournament context
Shnaider, the second alternate, was a late replacement for Karolina Muchova, who withdrew with a gastrointestinal illness. Shnaider made her WTA Finals debut in singles after qualifying in doubles last year with fellow Russian Andreeva. They went 0-3 in round-robin play a year ago.
Muchova, a Wimbledon finalist this year, already lost her first two matches and could not have advanced to the semifinals even if she had played Friday. Muchova is the second withdrawal of the eight-day, $10 million event.
Top-ranked Elena Rybakina dropped out before the tournament began last Sunday, citing a viral illness and exhaustion.
Doubles semifinal matchup
Team | Seed | Group record |
|---|---|---|
Gabriela Dabrowski / Luisa Stefani | 1 | 3-0 |
Katerina Siniakova / Taylor Townsend | 2 | 2-1 |
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