Russian tennis star Veronika Kudermetova has reached her first WTA singles final at the Women's Tennis Open in Abu Dhabi.

The 23 year-old entered the competition unseeded and won 7-6(8) 6-4 against Ukraine’s Marta Kostyuk in the semi-final.

She said: "I think it was a really tough match today.

"I think we were a little bit nervous. It was really tough, but I tried to be focused until the end."

She will now play No 4 seed Aryna Sabalenka of Belarus, who won against Maria Sakkari to reach her spot in the final.

The pair have only played each other once before which was on the ITF Challenger circuit in 2015, where Sabalenka sealed victory.