Anisimova and Keys Qualify for 2025 WTA Finals Riyadh
The Women’s Tennis Association (WTA) announced Friday that Amanda Anisimova and Madison Keys have officially qualified for the 2025 WTA Finals Riyadh presented by PIF, becoming the fourth and fifth singles players to secure their places at the prestigious season-ending championship.
The pair now join PIF WTA World No. 1 Aryna Sabalenka, Iga Świątek, and Coco Gauff in the elite eight-player singles field, which will feature a total of $15.5 million in prize money. Anisimova will make her WTA Finals debut, while Keys returns to the tournament for the first time since qualifying in 2016.
Breakthrough Season for Anisimova
For Anisimova, qualification caps a remarkable year that has seen her rise to new heights. The 24-year-old American has reached four finals this season and claimed the biggest title of her career at the WTA 1000 Qatar TotalEnergies Open in Doha. She also made her first-ever Grand Slam finals appearances, reaching the championship matches at both The Championships, Wimbledon and the US Open.
Anisimova’s consistency has been a defining feature of her 2025 campaign. In addition to her Grand Slam success, she finished runner-up at the inaugural WTA 500 HSBC Championships in London, a result that cemented her standing among the year’s most successful players. With her qualification, Anisimova joins fellow Americans Coco Gauff and Madison Keys, marking the first time since 2002 that the United States will have three singles representatives at the WTA Finals. That year, six Americans—Serena Williams, Venus Williams, Jennifer Capriati, Monica Seles, Lindsay Davenport, and Chanda Rubin—qualified, underscoring a rich legacy that the 2025 trio now continues.
Keys’ Return to the Elite Stage
For Madison Keys, the 2025 season has been a story of resilience and redemption. The 30-year-old captured her first Grand Slam singles title at the Australian Open, one of the most emotional victories of her career. She also opened her season with a title at the WTA 500 Adelaide International, setting the tone for a strong campaign.
Keys’ powerful performances at major tournaments further strengthened her position in the PIF Race to the WTA Finals Leaderboard, with semifinal runs at both the WTA 1000 BNP Paribas Open (Indian Wells) and the WTA 500 HSBC Championships (London). Her qualification marks her second appearance at the WTA Finals—nearly a decade after her first—and reaffirms her place among the sport’s top competitors.
About the 2025 WTA Finals Riyadh
The 2025 WTA Finals Riyadh presented by PIF will take place from November 1–8, 2025, in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia. The event brings together the top eight singles players and doubles teams based on their season-long performance on the PIF Race to the WTA Finals Leaderboard. Under the tournament’s qualification rule, the eighth spot in singles or doubles is reserved for a Grand Slam champion ranked between No. 8 and No. 20.
Players and teams will compete in a round-robin format, with two groups of four. The top two in each group advance to the knockout semifinals. The singles champion will raise the prestigious WTA Finals Billie Jean King Trophy, while the doubles champions will receive the WTA Finals Martina Navratilova Trophy.
The Riyadh edition marks the second year that Saudi Arabia hosts the WTA’s crown-jewel event, following its successful debut in 2024. The partnership with the Public Investment Fund (PIF) underscores the WTA’s ongoing efforts to expand its global footprint and deliver new opportunities for women’s tennis in emerging regions. The tournament not only showcases the season’s best performers but also represents the pinnacle of excellence, determination, and international competition.
With three singles spots still to be filled, the race to Riyadh remains fiercely competitive. The qualification of Anisimova and Keys adds another layer of excitement to what promises to be an unforgettable conclusion to the 2025 WTA season — a celebration of the sport’s finest talents and a defining moment in the women’s tennis calendar.
