Portugal Colonial - Pegula sweeps past Paolini to reach WTA Finals last four

The American world number five's semi-final opponent will be decided by the final standings of the Stefanie Graf Group after the later showdown between Coco Gauff and Aryna Sabalenka.

"I'm really happy and excited to be through to the semis here. I knew I needed to win today, especially in straight sets, so that was kind of my main motivation and I'm glad I was able to play some really good tennis," said the 31-year-old Pegula.

Pegula improved to 4-1 head-to-head against Paolini, and avenged her recent defeat to the Italian in the Billie Jean King Cup Finals in Shenzhen.

The former US Open runner-up is competing in the WTA Finals for a fourth consecutive season and believes the calibre of the field this year is stronger than ever.

"I felt like this year was so competitive. I felt like this group has been so strong all year and we've all had a time of the year where we've played such a high level," said Pegula, who has won three titles on three different surfaces this campaign.

"I do feel like the level has been crazy, crazy deep this year. It feels a little bit harder than maybe past years."

In the final match of the round-robin stage, Gauff and Sabalenka are fighting it out for the last remaining spot in Friday's semi-finals.

Elena Rybakina and Amanda Anisimova have already punched their tickets to the final four by finishing in the top two spots of the Serena Williams Group.

V.Dantas--PC