Russian tennis player Veronika Kudermetova, together with Belgian Elise Mertens, reached the semi-finals of the WTA 2025 Final Tournament in Riyadh. For Veronica, this is the second consecutive appearance in the playoffs of the main tournament of the year. The path to this stage was not easy, but the duo coped with the task confidently and in a businesslike manner.

The Italian barrier and the history of the confrontation

In the match of the third round of Martina Navratilova’s group, Kudermetova and Mertens met with Italians Jasmine Paolini and Sara Errani. Before this confrontation, the score of personal meetings was 2-1 in favor of Paolini and Errani – all three meetings took place this season on clay. In the spring, the Russian and Belgian confidently won in Madrid, but then lost in the finals of Rome and Roland Garros.

Therefore, expectations before the match in Riyadh were cautious: the Italians are an experienced pair, capable of pulling out the most difficult match, and even seeded number one. At the same time, Veronica and Elise clearly left more energy for the end of the season.

Quickly seize initiative

The start of the match turned out to be equal – the duos exchanged games on their serve, and it was clear from the game that no one wanted to give up the initiative. However, then Mertens and Kudermetova improved: they confidently took a game on Errani’s serve, and then strengthened the lead thanks to the Belgian’s powerful serves and Veronica’s aggressive actions at the net – 3:1.

Veronika Kudermetova and Elise Mertens / Photo: © Matthew Stockman / Staff / Getty Images Sport / Gettyimages.ru

The Italians tried to get a hold of it – Sara Errani acted consistently on the receiving end, and Paolini began to play more actively on the back line – but errors along the length and unsuccessful plays on break points prevented them from getting closer. Kudermetova caught the rhythm: the serve worked, the plays at the net looked confident. With the score 4:2, the Russian-Belgian duo made a break again, taking advantage of their opponents’ mistakes, and confidently brought the game to victory – 6:3.

Tension and control in the ending

After the break, the Italians took the first game – Errani acted competently at the net, and Paolini powerfully took Mertens’ serve. But they failed to maintain the advantage for long: a double fault on the decisive point restored the balance again.

In the second set the game became more nervous. The pairs often exchanged blows from the baseline, trying to wait for their opponents to make a mistake. During this period, Kudermetova’s confidence was especially noticeable: she not only finished off balls at the net, but several times she managed to break rallies with powerful overhead shots.

Veronika Kudermetova and Elise Mertens / Photo: © Clicks Images / Contributor / Getty Images Sport / Gettyimages.ru

With the score 4:2, Mertens had a tense moment on serve – “exactly”, Errani accepted, but Paolini made a mistake in the key attack. This episode was decisive. The Italians lost their concentration, and after several inaccurate shots they allowed Kudermetova and Mertens to approach match points. Veronica didn’t waver on her serve: the rally ended with Paolini’s forehand error. After 1 hour and 21 minutes, the match ended with a score of 6:3, 6:3 in favor of Veronica and Elise.

Two steps to the title

The victory brought Kudermetova and Mertens into the semi-finals. They came out of Martina Navratilova’s group in second place, losing first place to Xie Shuwei (Taiwan) and Elena Ostapenko (Latvia). In the semi-finals, Veronica and Elise will face a strong pair – Kateřina Siniakova (Czech Republic) and Taylor Townsend (USA), who took first place in the Liesel Huber group.

Last season, Kudermetova lost to Sinyakova and Townsend at the same stage, but then she performed together with Chan Haoching from Taiwan, but in a duet with Mertens, our tennis player became the title holder in 2022. And the girls have everything to repeat the resounding success three years later.