WTA Finals Riyadh 11/1 - 11/8 2025

[mick1303]

I'm wondering what will be the odds for all semifinalists. Should be close - no clear favorite.

[ponchi101]

Sabalenka 30%
Elena 25
Amanda 25
Jessie 20 (least power of the 4).

[ti-amie]

Friday Order of Play

Center Court
Starts at 7:30 AM

TPE Hsieh /LAT Ostapenko (6) vs HUN Babos /BRA Stefani (7)
Starts: 15:30 (Venue) 07:30 (Your time)
Upcoming
USA J. Pegula (5) vs KAZ E. Rybakina (6)
Not before: 18:00 (Venue) 10:00 (Your time)
Upcoming
BLR A. Sabalenka (1) vs USA A. Anisimova (4)
Follows previous match
Upcoming
RUS Kudermetova /BEL Mertens (4) vs CZE Siniakova /USA Townsend

[jazzyg]

I hesitate to make a prediction . Last year at this stage I popped in after a long absence and insisted Zheng was going to win, and how did that turn out?

But when Sabalenka is at her best, she is better than everyone. I will go with her 22-2 tiebreak record.

[JTContinental]

I also think Sabalenka will when as long as she doesn’t get crabby if someone plays her close.

[ponchi101]

She is the favorite.
But Elena is playing well, and Amanda is crushing the ball. Not set in stone.

[Owendonovan]

Whoever takes first crack at the ball takes the Sabalenka/Anisimova match. Me thinks the return of serve will be the key.

[mick1303]

It is getting progressively difficult to collect tennis results. Websites are making more and more sophisticated defenses and traps that hinder the batch copying of results. The reason is that betting becomes more and more lucrative business and previous history is a valuable data, that the holders of data are selling to betting companies. It is possible to look them up, but to copy-paste the whole tournament like 20 years ago - not a chance. My last resort was/is Jeff Sackman, but he stopped posting data on his github page at the end of 2024. And his tennisabstract project became a closed entity. He probably hopes to make it profitable, but it is a tall order - the audience is narrow and it is a very niche product.
WTA data is even harder to get by. For ATP I managed to create a "parser" that helps me to collect data from their website. But I fully expect them to tight the screws even more and change the data formatting in a way that it will soon be impossible to collect it.
With WTA unfortunately I'm already at this stage ((( So I didn't collect September BJK Cup results and missed the last match between Pegula and Rybakina, which the latter won. Strangely WTA website also does not have this match included in their H2H. Anyway - I have to correct myself, their H2H is now 3-2 in favor of Pegula.

[ponchi101]

Every week I ask some AI to give me the schedule for the NFL games for the next week (for our NFL challenge). None of the AI's ever gets it right, when I ask for the teams' record.
So, as you say. Who knows how all that data are handled.

[mick1303]

AI just makes a summary of what is posted on Internet on the issue. If someone posts the result incorrectly, AI will repeat it. It is not an intelligence in a proper sense. Just an advanced tool that has its deficiencies.

[ponchi101]

I am more and more convinced that, in tennis, it is better NOT to hit errors than to hit winners.
Elena is clearly the better striker of the ball. But the errors count is extreme. Those flat strokes have no margin.

[mick1303]

I disagree. Offensive player controls his destiny. Defensive player reacts. If good offensive player has a good day - defender is at his mercy. Of course, it is a very simplified take. There are no 100% offensive and 100% defensive players. And it is harder to be offensive in the pressure moments from the psychological standpoint. Don't forget the entertainment aspect - when bold offense wins it looks "sexier" and generates more buzz.

[ti-amie]

Saturday Order of Play – Finals

Center Court Starts at 8:00 AM

Final
HUN Babos /BRA Stefani (7) vs RUS Kudermetova /BEL Mertens (4)
Starts: 16:00 (Venue) 08:00 (Your time)
Final
Upcoming
BLR A. Sabalenka (1) vs KAZ E. Rybakina (6)
Not before: 19:00 (Venue) 11:00 (Your time)

[ponchi101]

Rybakina just won the first set 6-3.
Aryna went for the customary extra-long toilet break.
And Vukov just gave Elena a 2 minutes long talk of advice.
She is winning. How about if you just shut up and tell her she is doing fine?

[ti-amie]