Second seed Aryna Sabalenka of Belarus and unseeded Zheng Saisai of China won their semifinal matches in straight sets and are now set to face each other in the $876,183 Mubadala Silicon Valley Classic final on Sunday.
Last year, then-36th-ranked Sabalenka lost in the first round of qualifying in San Jose, but after that her steep rise started and now she’s come full circle by reaching the final of the Premier-level event as a player firmly grounded in the Top 10. The 21-year-old is now through to her second final of the year, having won the Shenzhen Open in January.