WTA Finals looking for a new host as contract with Saudi Arabia comes to an end at the end of the year

Ben Rothenberg, one of the world's most renowned tennis journalists, announced that Saudi Arabia will no longer host the 2027 WTA Finals starting in 2027. The tournament, which concludes the year-long competition, will instead be held in North America. Here are the details.

"We signed a three-year contract, but we would gladly stay here longer than we originally planned," WTA Director General Portia Archer said some time ago, adding in "The Athletic" that talks are underway to extend the cooperation beyond 2024-2026.

According to Rothenberg, the WTA's talks with the Saudi Arabian Tennis Federation have ended in failure. This effectively means a move, and the organization is already searching for a new host for one of the most prestigious events on the tennis calendar, featuring eight of the season's best players.

Charlotte to take over the WTA Finals?!

According to media reports, North America is the new destination. Charlotte is the most frequently mentioned destination . Interestingly, the WTA Finals have been held on this continent for many years in the past, and outside the United States, the world's best tennis players have visited Mexico, among other places.

In previous years, the tournament that ends each season was also held in Schengen, Singapore, Istanbul, Doha, Madrid and Munich.

The previous tournament was won by Jelena Rybakina, who defeated Aryna Sabalenka 6-3, 7-6(0) in the final. In 2023, Iga Świątek emerged victorious, defeating Jessica Pegula 6-1, 6-0 in the deciding set. In 2015, Agnieszka Radwańska triumphed, leaving Petra Kvitová in the dust—6-2, 4-6, 6-3.

onet.pl

Having the tournament in America would certainly be advantageous for the American players not so much for the Europeans and vice versa. 

But given what's currently going on in the world with the war in the middle east, not to mention Saudi Arabia's horrendous human rights record and everything associated with that. 

It's definitely for the best that it relocates where ever it ends up being hosted. 

Even if it takes a few years to find a permanent home, it'll be better in the long run for the WTA and it's athletes. 

Iga Swiatek's WTA Finals hopes come to an end with tough loss to Anisimova

 

RIYADH, Saudi Arabia -- Sometimes, at this late juncture of the WTA Finals’ round-robin matches, the semifinal scenarios can be daunting. Calculators and slide rules -- maybe even a compass -- might not be enough to navigate the obscure tiebreakers that can come into play.

Thankfully, there was only one possible outcome on Wednesday evening when No. 2 seed Iga Swiatek

 faced No. 4 Amanda Anisimova at the King Saud University Indoor Arena:

Winner take all.

No. 6 Elena Rybakina had already clinched the Serena Williams Group’s first semifinal berth and top seed before her 6-4, 6-4 victory over alternate Ekaterina Alexandrova, leaving this match to decide the final spot.

It was a banger. In what was undoubtedly the best stroke-for-stroke match of the tournament so far, Anisimova advanced with a 6-7 (3), 6-4, 6-2 win over Swiatek.

Coming into the tournament, Anisimova was asked if she had surprised herself this season. Yes, she said.

But was she surprised by this second successive victory over Swiatek?

“No, I don’t think I was surprised or shocked at any point in the match,” Anisimova said. “I knew it was going to be really tough, and I was preparing for that. Yeah, I think I just tried to enjoy it.

“I feel like I belong at this point and I’ve played a lot of tough matches this year. I know my capabilities. And I know if I can play my best tennis, I can give it my best shot.”

Anisimova has beaten all four of this year’s Grand Slam winners, including Swiatek twice.

It was the first time in Swiatek’s career she’s lost back-to-back matches after winning the opening set.

Afterward, Swiatek was understandably upset.

“Honestly,” she said, “I did everything I could today, so like no regrets. I felt like I was really in the zone, positive mindset. I fought and really didn’t give up -- it wasn’t enough, which makes me sad.

“I don’t know, maybe I can find some understanding … when you do everything and it’s still not enough, I guess it means you just need to get your tennis better.”

Rybakina and Anisimova will await the results of Thursday’s two final round-robin matches that will determine their Friday semifinal opponents from the Stefanie Graf Group.

The first 23 games, constantly fraught with tension, did not feature a single break of serve. The match ran 2 hours and 36 minutes. Anisimova won 107 points, to Swiatek’s 103.

Anisimova is the first player to hit more than 40 winners in a WTA Finals' match since Caroline Garcia versus Daria Kasatkina in 2022 (42).

Anisimova, currently ranked a career-high No. 4, came in with some impressive credentials. She was the only player to qualify here from outside the Top 20 of the PIF WTA Rankings and the only one to beat each of the current Top 3 players -- Aryna Sabalenka, Swiatek and Coco Gauff-- this season. This is her first WTA Finals appearance.

The charged recent history between the two brought a distinct edge to this match. Swiatek was responsible for what almost certainly was the most difficult professional loss of Anisimova’s career, a 6-0, 6-0 scalding in the Wimbledon final. Showing remarkable fortitude, Anisimova returned the favor, knocking Swiatek out of the US Open with a 6-4, 6-3 quarterfinal victory.

For 59 minutes on Wednesday, it was a dead heat. Twelve straight service holds -- a rarity these days -- delivered them to a first-set tiebreak. To get there, Swiatek needed to save four break points, two of them serving at 5-all. Anisimova didn’t face even one.

It was 1-all when Swiatek asserted herself, hitting three straight winners to take a 4-1 lead that Anisimova never challenged. After playing so cleanly, a few cracks began to emerge in her game. When her last forehand soared long, an Anisimova anguished, extended groan climbed at least an octave.

And so it went, with service hold after hold. Finally, with Anisimova leading 5-4, Swiatek was broken and the match was level at a set apiece.

Swiatek saved two break points in each of her first two service games in the ultimate frame -- but not a third. A double fault gave Anisimova a 3-1 lead. Given the tightness of the match, it felt like a lot more.

This was an encouraging outing from Anisimova, who edged ahead in the head-to-head 2-1. In a season of career firsts, she’s into her first semifinal at the year-end championship.

wtatennis.com

Iga went from playing one of her worst matches at the WTA Finals vs Rybakina 2 days ago to one of her absolute best today, but sadly still wasn't enough. Came up just a bit short on the big points today. 

Had her chances in the 2nd those wasted break points proved decisive to the match. 

This marks the first time Iga has lost back to back matches in a single tournament in 4 years (mind boggling!). 

And the first time in her career she has lost back to back matches from a set up. 

That's how good her best has been.

I know a lot of people are disappointed, and there's talk as there always is of changing something in the team, when the reality is we don't know the intricacies of it and clearly it works for Iga. 

In this sport every player has one or 2 bad seasons after years of dominance. Some of the best players in the world have had it happen to them. It happened to Roger, to Rafa and to Novak even Serena. 

And now it's happened to Iga. 

But amazingly despite not being able to reach the dizzying heights of previous years she still give her fans fantastic triumphs on 2 of her worst surfaces grass and the fast hard courts of Cincinnati. 

No one expected that (least of all Iga herself) and yet she did so in spectacular fashion. 

So much so I think maybe Anisimova really took that Wimbledon double bagel very personally. 

The season is not quite over for Iga since she'll be taking part in 2 BJK Cup ties in Poland, but I'm already hoping and dreaming about big things for Iga in 2026. 

She achieved one of the biggest dreams for fans of Polish tennis, being the first ever Pole to win the prestigious Wimbledon Championship. Something I always thought she would achieve last (if ever).

Next year she'll have a chance for a Career Slam at the Aussie Open, she has been so close made the semis for 3 years now and was a point away from the final last year.

Having really figured out the quick courts this year I have big hopes for it in January.

When it comes to the WTA Finals this year Iga got dealt a bit of a bad hand with all the big flat hitters (players that give her the most trouble) ending up in her group. 

That bad loss to Rybakina was a bit of a nail in the coffin. 

Seeing Iga looking quite down in her interviews despite trying to sound positive hurts to watch a bit, wish the media would give players more time to process before asking them to order their thoughts after a heartbreak. 

Hold your head up Iga, you ended the season on a high and showed a fantastic level, even played your best tiebreak of the  year. In fact this match was the best showcased at the WTA Finals in this year thus far. 

Lot's to be proud of. 

Not the least of which making it through another grueling season injury free, when so many players didn't even finish the season due to mental of physical exhaustion. 

Your superior conditioning will always be a big plus and something to be extremely proud of. 

See you in Gorzow Iga! 

Iga Swiatek starts another season ending WTA finals with a clinical performance

RIYADH, Saudi Arabia -- There are no free lunches at the WTA Finals, not when you have the world’s best eight singles players from 2025 all gathered under the same roof at King Saud University Indoor Arena.

Right out of the box on Saturday night, in the very first singles match, two of the four Grand Slam winners faced off.

After a prematch snack of fresh strawberries, No. 2 seed Iga Swiatek, the Wimbledon winner, defeated No. 7 Australian Open champion Madison Keys 6-1, 6-2.

“Kind of [happy] with everything,” Swiatek said. “Mostly my serve and overall focus. I was in the zone from the beginning to the end, and I really wanted to keep it that way.”

Did Swiatek think Keys’ extended layoff was a factor in the result?

“I’m not in her head -- so I can’t really say,” she said. “But from my experience, yeah, not playing for a longer time can make you a bit rusty.”

Keys, who hadn’t played in 68 days after losing in the first round of the US Open, looked sluggish and her timing seemed off. Coaches will tell you it’s difficult to replicate the intensity of match play in practice.

Swiatek won 12 of 15 games and 58 of 87 points, converting five of eight break points. It was over in 61 minutes. The 24-year-old from Poland now leads the head-to-head 6-2. Previously, they had split this year’s two matches. Swiatek has won 62 tour-level matches so far in 2025, the most on tour.

After winning on the red clay at Roland Garros four times in five years (2020-24), Swiatek lost in semifinals earlier this year to World No. 1 Aryna Sabalenka.

 What followed was a stunning victory at Wimbledon, a slick surface she wondered if she’d ever master.

One of this year’s initiatives under coach Wim Fissette, Swiatek explained, was playing more aggressively on hard courts. In essence, she accepted more risk to reap greater rewards.

“I think technically for sure the way I played on faster surfaces, the way I handled sometimes faster balls that were an issue for me in previous seasons,” Swiatek told reporters Friday. “This was something that I felt improved totally.

“Also the speed of the serve. I don’t know, I think I was in some kind of a ranking of fifth or something in aces this year. That's impossible. But my serve improved. I would love for my percentage to always be consistent. That’s the next goal.”

The more immediate target is a title here, to go with her 2023 victory in Cancun. Swiatek recorded her first win in the Serena Williams Group, while Keys may well have to win her last two matches, against No. 4 Amanda Anisimova and No. 6 Elena Rybakina, to advance to the semifinals.

Keys, who returned to the practice courts after Saturday's match, said she picked up a minor injury during the summer.

“I just kept trying to play through it,” she said. “It was just one of those things where I couldn't ever be 100 percent. Just felt like the best decision for me to have the best opportunity for the Finals was to kind of take some time, get healthy.”

Keys is participating in her second year-end championship, going back to her initial breakthrough in 2016. Her record is now 1-3.

wtatennis.com

69 consecutive tournaments without losing the opening match 73 consecutive tournaments winning at least one match

Iga Swiatek is now undefeated in opening matches at WTA events in four years - including United Cup and WTA Finals: 69 events played since losing to Maria Sakkari at the WTA Finals 2021 in Guadalajara. Welcoming.

10 - Only Maria Sharapova (17), Serena Williams and Martina Navratilova (14 each) have now won more WTA Finals in Round Robin matches than Iga Swiatek (10). Group.

Iga Swiatek has won the most WTA-level matches in 2025 (61) becoming the first player with 60+ wins for 4+ consecutive seasons (2022-2025) since Martina Hingis (1997-2001) and Lindsay Davenport (1998-2001). Countdown.

WTA Finals 2025 top 8 in Riyadh

 

Women’s tennis thriving on the court as season wraps but WTA must catch up

Sabalenka and Swiatek head to Saudi finals after epic year yet organisers remain dire at marketing their product.

The final weeks of the women’s tennis season showcased one last twist in the furious race to determine the qualifiers for the WTA Finals. Elena Rybakina, the 2022 Wimbledon champion, finally caught fire after a year of near misses, bulldozing through her opponents to win a title in Ningbo, China that solidified her spot in Riyadh among the eight best players in the world.

Just as significant as Rybakina’s qualification, though, was its consequences for the player she usurped. Mirra Andreeva, the 18-year-old prodigy who won WTA 1000 titles in Dubai and Indian Wells this year, had seemed like a sure bet to qualify in singles for the finals. Her failure to do so underscores the fact that this year has been the toughest and most competitive women’s tennis season in years.

At the top, Aryna Sabalenka and Iga Swiatek have further strengthened their claims as the two greatest players of their generation. While the former put together another supremely consistent year as the best player in the world, winning her fourth grand slam title at the US Open and reaching the Australian and French Open finals, the latter captured the one tournament she never imagined she could win, earning her sixth grand slam title at Wimbledon.

Still, the other top players have allowed them no rest and the intense competition has inspired countless epic high-stakes matches throughout the year. It took consecutive colossal performances from Madison Keys against Swiatek and Sabalenka to finally win her first grand slam title at the Australian Open. In Paris, Coco Gauff outsmarted Sabalenka in a dramatic, wind-afflicted three-setter to win her second grand slam title aged just 21. Two days earlier, Sabalenka ended Swiatek’s three- year reign in another unforgettable duel.

At the US Open, women’s semi-final day turned out to be one of the best days of tennis this year as Sabalenka overcame Jessica Pegula in a breathless, high-quality battle before Amanda Anisimova continued her long-awaited breakthrough season by dragging herself past Naomi Osaka to reach a second consecutive grand slam final. Even Swiatek’s 6-0, 6-0 demolition of Anisimova in the Wimbledon final turned out to be part of one of the most compelling storylines this year. Two months later, Anisimova showed her toughness by exacting revenge on the Pole at the earliest opportunity in New York.

This may have been a great year for women’s tennis on the court, but on the eve of another finals, the eternal question remains whether the tour can provide its talent with a strong enough platform to turn the sport into a thriving product again. As the Women’s Tennis Association’s flagship event, in recent years this tournament has reflected the tour’s struggles. It should actually be in the middle of a 10-year residency in Shenzhen but the Covid-19 pandemic and the WTA’s fleeting objections to the disappearance of Peng Shuai led to the cancellation of their agreement after the first edition in 2019.

The event then bounced between different countries each year, with various difficulties, a period that also left the WTA in a deep financial hole. Its inevitable embrace of Saudi Arabia addressed some of those financial issues and in recent years the organisation has been restructured. In 2023, the private equity firm CVC Capital Partners acquired a 20% stake in the WTA’s new commercial arm, WTA Ventures. Last August, it appointed Portia Archer as its chief executive.

For all the recent changes at the WTA, which included a significant image rebrand at the beginning of the year, it remains to be seen if it can put itself on the right path. Aside from changing the graphics of their website alongside a beige new slogan – Rally The World – not so much has changed to its public offering since that rebrand. The WTA marketing budget remains a fraction of that of the men’s Association of Tennis Professionals (ATP) and it shows in its paltry output on social media and lack of original content on YouTube.

Eight years after initiating its own bespoke subscription-based streaming product, WTA TV, the service still does not have its own app or a global presence. This also contrasts starkly with Tennis TV, the ATP’s streaming platform, which suffocates viewers with content. A particularly concerning development at the WTA, which does not reflect well on the organisation’s judgment, was the decision to end its WTA Insider initiative, one of the few ways that it effectively showcased the storylines within the sport. Otherwise, the WTA has been dire at marketing its players and their personalities for so long.

At a time when women’s sport is enjoying significant growth and momentum around the world, the WTA should be leading the way. Instead, it is still stunted by its own problems and the path forward is unclear. What is certain, though, is the quality provided by the athletes on the court. As play begins on Saturday, with Gauff attempting to defend her title in a brutal field composed of the best players in the world, there will be more great tennis to come.

the guardian.com

Now this is the kind of reporting more people need to read because it is the absolute truth. The WTA likes to pretend it's making progress but in reality it continues to be stagnant when compared to the ATP.

All these years later and despite plenty of progress it still feels like women are still being treated as 2nd class citizens. 

Whether it's prize money or money spent on marketing to sell the sport better. It is beyond sad, and perhaps more importantly incredibly frustrating. 

In 2025 WTATV still doesn't have an app (I have to watch the matches through the Amazon Silk browser). While the ATP app has had at least 3 revamps over the years and continues to improve. 

What's worse is that the WTA app still isn't global and only available in North America. Talk about an opportunity missed. 

How are people suppose to follow their favourite player around the world if it's not available to watch anywhere. 

It is such a simple and smart business solution yet no one in the organization seems to see it. Or maybe it's just that they don't much care.

And that's heartbreaking. As a woman I wouldn't even be a tennis fan if it weren't for the WTA.

Iga Swiatek loses to Gauff in WTA Finals Round Robin still with a shot to make the semis

On Thursday, three players will be competing for two semifinal spots out of the Orange Group at the WTA Finals Riyadh presented by PIF. Sort of.

One of those spots is assured of going to Coco Gauff, whose straight-sets win over Iga Swiatek on Tuesday -- just her second over the Pole in 13 career meetings -- ensured that the World No.3 has a place in the knockout rounds. But her position is up in the air -- though the American largely controls her own destiny in the race to finish as group winner.

One of those spots is assured of going to Coco Gauff, whose straight-sets win over Iga Swiatek on Tuesday -- just her second over the Pole in 13 career meetings -- ensured that the World No.3 has a place in the knockout rounds. But her position is up in the air -- though the American largely controls her own destiny in the race to finish as group winner.

Swiatek, and Wimbledon champion Barbora Krejcikova, are in contention for the remaining spot. On Thursday, Gauff will face Krejcikova and Swiatek will face 2023 WTA Finals runner-up Jessica Pegula, who has no chance of repeating that feat in Riyadh, having already been eliminated from semifinal contention with two straight-set losses to Gauff and Krejcikova.

Let's break the road to the semifinals down for all three women.

How can Gauff win the group?

A win for Gauff against Krejcikova will put her into the semifinals as the group's winner with a 3-0 record, no matter the result between Swiatek and Pegula.

Crucially, the first-place finisher in the Orange Group will avoid a semifinal against World No.1 Aryna Sabalenka, who has qualified for the semifinals as the winner of the Purple Group.

Gauff can also finish in the top spot if Krejcikova beats her in three sets AND Swiatek beats Pegula.

What is Swiatek's path to the semifinals?

Swiatek, the 2023 WTA Finals champion, has only one path to the knockout rounds: She must beat Pegula, and Gauff must also win, for Swiatek to qualify in the second spot.

 
Where does Krejcikova fit in?

Krejcikova -- who lost a 6-4, 3-0 lead to Swiatek earlier in the week -- put herself back in contention with her 6-3, 6-3 win over Pegula. The Czech can clinch the top spot in the group for herself -- and avoid a match against Sabalenka, whom she's lost to six times in seven matches, in the semifinals -- if she beats Gauff in two sets and Swiatek beats Pegula, or if she beats Gauff and Pegula beats Swiatek.

Krejcikova will qualify behind Gauff if Pegula beats Swiatek.

wtatennis.com

Well I did say it would come down to who's more solid on the forehand and serve and it kind of did. 

Despite Iga having plenty of chances in set 2 in particular (and being up a break twice) Gauff won all the important point and subsequently won the match in straights. 

Quality wise the match was all over the place from both. I'd say only the first half of set 1 was good.

Iga definitely didn't have her rhythm today on serve or forehand, and once again made too many unforced errors very much the result of lack of match play.

As I said I didn't have high expectations with this tournament but I'm still hopeful for her match against Pegula on Thursday. 

If she plays one solid match this tournament without getting broken that will be a win for this tournament.

Regardless of how the result with Saba in the semis would go. Selfishly I just want to see her play a bit more before the season comes to a close.

But of course it's not only up to Iga. It's up to the woman that beat her. She wins Iga goes through (round robin math is confusingly ridiculous).

Jazda Iga, go out there and play without any pressure. Plenty of players have won this thing even though they were down and out. Never say never.

Iga Swiatek gets hard fought first win at WTA Finals after 2 months absence from tour

I have  missed this outfit very much love the shoes

RIYADH, Saudi Arabia -- Down a set and two service breaks in the second, No.2 seed Iga Swiatek rallied to stun No.8 Barbora Krejcikova 4-6, 7-5, 6-2 on Sunday at the WTA Finals Riyadh presented by PIF.

The unlikely victory kept alive Swiatek’s flickering hopes of reclaiming the No.1 ranking from Aryna Sabalenka.

The first step was nearly a staggering misstep, as Swiatek, who hadn’t played a match in two months and arrived here with a new coach, at times looked flustered. It wasn’t until she was down 3-0 in the second set that she began to look like a five-time Grand Slam singles champion.

“Even though I played a lot of those [practice] matches,” Swiatek said afterward. “I kind of forgot for a while how it is to feel all those things, a bit different stress and emotions. For sure, I needed some time to adapt. The most important thing was that even though it happened, I managed to fight through that. And was patient enough to wait to get better.”

In a season marred by injury, Krejcikova had played only 29 matches coming into these WTA Finals. But seven of them, all victories, happened at Wimbledon and, based on new rules, she qualified for her second year-end tournament in singles.

Krejcikova pounced immediately in this one, breaking Swiatek’s opening service game when the 23-year-old from Poland launched an awkward forehand long. Swiatek’s best chance to level the set came with Krejcikova serving at 3-2. A double fault -- the first sign of nerves -- gave Swiatek three break points. Krejcikova saved them all and escaped with the game when Swiatek’s return was long.

In the second set, Krejcikova again started quickly, breaking Swiatek in her first two service games and taking what looked to be an insurmountable 3-0 lead. But just as suddenly, after Swiatek scored two breaks, it was 3-all.

They continued on serve until, with Krejcikova serving to force a tiebreak, Swiatek broke through once more. She converted her second set point when a Krejcikova backhand soared long. After 107 minutes, it was one set apiece -- and both players had won 69 points.

The momentum continued for Swiatek when she broke Krejcikova to take a 2-0 lead, which soon ballooned to 5-0. Krejcikova extended it with one last break.

Swiatek won 13 of the final 17 games. Overall, she hit 10 aces and finished with 40 winners. Match time: 2 hours, 32 minutes.

“Honestly, I just focused on getting the balls in,” Swiatek said of the early going. “I needed to focus on the easy stuff. My main goal was just to be solid.

“I’m happy that I won because at the beginning I felt a little bit rusty. “

She's now 10-3 in matches at the WTA Finals, a winning percentage of 76.9, equaling Elina Svitolina’s standard for active players, with a minimum of 10 matches. Swiatek is now 60-8 (.882), the WTA Tour’s best winning percentage.

“It definitely wasn’t the best tennis I can play, but I was really quite solid,” Krejcikova said afterward. “I just feel I lost a little bit the momentum of the match and obviously, I’m not really sure if it was me or Iga. She just came up and started to play more aggressive, started to hit her targets better.

“Yeah, unfortunately, it’s Iga -- and you have to play two sets better than her.”

Even if Swiatek goes on to win the year-end event, Sabalenka can wrap up the top spot by winning her two remaining matches in group play.

In advance of the WTA Finals, for the first time in a couple of years, Swiatek actually practiced with Sabalenka -- the player who snatched away her No.1 ranking near the end of the past two seasons.

In 2023, Swiatek put together a blazing 11-0 run -- that included the title at the WTA Finals in Cancun -- and took it back. But this year, the gap was larger and the task more daunting. Swiatek needed another title at the year-end championships, along with some help from Sabalenka.

“Obviously we’re both fighting for this spot,” Swiatek said ahead of play. “Yeah, it’s been us basically kind of over the past few years. I mean, I am in the tournament. I obviously want to play my best game here and win this tournament.

“I’m just going to focus on my first match and do everything step by step.”


wtatennis.com

Well it wasn't a pretty start, but in tennis it's not really how you start but how you finish. And as the match went on and Iga calmed down she got into a better rhythm and took it to Krejcikova. 

I really didn't know what to expect after such a long absence, and I definitely knew there would be some rust as was apparent in the first set and a half. I'm actually really impressed with how Iga was able to not panic and regroup despite not having to feel this sort of stress for 2 months. 

It made me sad to hear in Polish interviews that she had to stop thinking about a lot of external factors coming from Poland during her match. 

Which I can only speculate might have something to do with how the media was abusively criticizing her mental coach in particular. 

It's also possible that whatever else was happening was of a very personal nature that effected her greatly. The fact she was able to overcome and block it mid-match just shows her incredible mental resilience. 

Perhaps most impressive today was how many aces Iga hit. 10 in one match is a personal record (don't think I've seen her hit double digits in a match before). Amazingly she had more aces than Sabalenka and Rybakina combined. 

Which is a little mind blowing, but very much welcome. If this is a sign of working with Wim Fisette, more of that please!. And all this before they even get to truly work on things like the serve and her game in the off season. 

Coco Gauff up next for Iga who had a solid 2nd career win over Pegula. Even though Iga has an overwhelming H2H I never take their matches lightly especially since Coco has been playing solidly after the U.S. Open. So it'll come down to who's more solid on the forehand and serve-wise. 

Hopefully Iga will have a much better start and is able to feel the court better after a lengthy battle. 

Most of all I'm just so damn happy to see her back on court, I'm aware I'm coming off very biased as I say this but she has breathed a bit of life to the end of this season. 

Which at times  has lacked energy and intrigue in the last few months.

Top 8 Women of the 2024 WTA Finals all glamoured up in Riyadh

 

WTA Finals defending champion Iga Swiatek lands in Orange Group with Pegula and Gauff

Defending champion Iga Swiatek was on hand for the draw ceremony at the WTA Finals Riyadh presented by PIF to see how this year's groups shook out for the season-ending championships.

For the second straight year, the year-end No.1 ranking will come down to the final event of the season, as World No.1 Aryna Sabalenka looks to hold off No.2 Swiatek down the final stretch.

 
Singles Draw

Purple Group
[1] Aryna Sabalenka
[4] Jasmine Paolini
[5] Elena Rybakina
[7] Zheng Qinwen

Orange Group
[2] Iga Swiatek
[3] Coco Gauff
[6] Jessica Pegula
[8] Barbora Krejcikova

Tournament format: Round-robin play begins on Saturday, Nov. 2 at 3:30 p.m. on the indoor hard courts at the King Saud University Sports Arena. The top two finishers out of each group will advance to the semifinals on Friday, Nov. 8, with the winners advancing to the final on Saturday, Nov.9.

Top-seeded Sabalenka and the Purple Group will get underway on Saturday, with the Orange Group set to begin on Sunday.

Order of Play: Day 1

[3] Hsieh/Mertens vs. [6] Melichar-Martinez/Perez
[1] Sabalenka vs. [7] Zheng
[4] Paolini vs. [5] Rybakina
[1] Kichenok/Ostapenko vs. [8] Siniakova/Townsend

Order of Play: Day 2

[2] Dabrowski/Routliffe vs. [7] Chan/Kudermetova
[2] Swiatek vs. [8] Krejcikova
[3] Gauff vs. [6] Pegula
[4] Errrani/Paolini vs. [5] Dolehide/Krawczyk

In the 53rd staging of the Hologic WTA Tour's crown-jewel event, this season's eight best singles players and doubles teams will battle it out for a record-setting total prize money purse of $15,250,000, with an undefeated singles champion set to take home over $5 million.

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Iga Swiatek reunited with the Christ Evert trophy as year-end World #1

Iga Swiatek sweeps WTA Finals takes back year end #1 ranking

 

CANCUN, Mexico -- How do you top a season that's already rewritten the record books?

For Iga Swiatek, you don’t. Or perhaps, you do.

Last year, Swiatek famously ran off with 37 straight wins, more than anyone else this century. She had no competition for her No.1 ranking and, quite frankly, was in a league of her own.

But then this year happened. In September, her 75-week run as the No.1 player came to an end after the US Open. Swiatek was visibly shaken. It turned out the downturn hurt more than she had let on. Afterward, she said all the right things. She was in no rush to take the No.1 back from Aryna Sabalenka. Her focus was to play more freely, to improve herself -- as a player and a person. If she did that, the top ranking would return.

And it did. On Monday, she finished off another ridiculous stretch. A day after routing Sabalenka, Swiatek dropped only a game against Jessica Pegula in the championship match of this year’s WTA Finals. Altogether, Swiatek did not drop a set in Cancun -- this against the best competition in the world.

"2022 was so amazing that I don't know if it's gonna be possible for me to repeat a season like that," Swiatek said. "So I just didn't feel at the end like I'm in the shadow anymore because I knew that I'm having another great season. And honestly, I kind of accepted that I'm not going to have a season like that, like in 2022, and I just looked forward."

Dating back to Tokyo, her first event after the US Open, Swiatek went on to win 12 of her last 13 matches to finish the year. She rolled to the title in Beijing. Then in Cancun, knowing she would likely need to run the table to have a chance at No.1, she became a wrecking ball.

"I learned my lesson and this time I didn't want [the No.1 ranking] to have an impact on me," Swiatek said. "It did a little bit -- it's hard not to think about stuff like that -- but actually, when I went on court, I knew that I had to focus on different things. And actually, the conditions here that were kind of tricky, also helped me to just focus on my footwork, my shots, and that just kept me busy from thinking about all of that."

Against Sabalenka in the semifinals, Swiatek put in one of the most emphatic matches of her career to win 6-3, 6-2. She then outdid that with a 6-1, 6-0 victory over Pegula, a player who beat her twice this season. Swiatek bested the marks set by Martina Navratilova in 1983 and Kim Clijsters in 2003 (both of whom lost two) for the fewest games conceded in a WTA Finals title match.

"She's been, in my mind, the one to beat the last couple years,” Pegula said. “She's showing that even when she loses some matches or doesn't win the tournament, that she's still bouncing right back and is playing at a high level every single week.

"That's what a top player does, what a champion does, and I think she showed that."

And with that, Swiatek put an exclamation point on her 2023 season by completing the most dominant run in the year-end championships since the round-robin format was reintroduced in 2003. It was a fitting end for the player with more wins, titles and victories over Top 10 opponents than anyone on tour.

To appreciate what Swiatek has done not just in 2023, but in her back-to-back seasons, look at the company she keeps in the stat books.

The stats that matter:

20: Number of games lost by Swiatek across five matches in Cancun, the fewest games lost since the round-robin format was reintroduced in 2003. She shattered Serena Williams' 2012 run, in which the American dropped 32 games. Swiatek lost just 20.

68: Match-wins for Swiatek in 2023. That's one more win than her 2022 campaign and the most for any player since Williams won 79 in 2013. Swiatek is the first player under 23 to win 65 or more matches in back-to-back seasons since Martina Hingis (1997-2000).

3: Players to win titles at every WTA tournament level in a single season. With her titles in Warsaw (WTA 250), Stuttgart and Doha (WTA 500), Beijing (WTA 1000) and Roland Garros (Grand Slam), she joins Williams (2013) and Petra Kvitova (2011) as the only players accomplish the feat.

33: Top 10 wins since the start of 2020 for Swiatek. How does that compare to the rest of the field? The next most over that time span is Maria Sakkari with 19.

4: Players who won the WTA Finals before turning 23: Kim Clijsters, Maria Sharapova, Kvitova and Swiatek.

2: Number of players in the Open Era to win 17 tournaments in their first 21 finals. With a 17-4 record in finals, Swiatek matched Chris Evert as the only other player to do so.

20: Number of 6-0 sets Swiatek dished out in 2023. She is the first player to register 20 or more in back-to-back seasons since Stefanie Graf and Monica Seles in 1991-92.

13: Number of Top 10 wins this season for Swiatek. She is the first player since Serena Williams (2013- 14) to tally 10 or more Top 10 wins in consecutive seasons.

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What a way to finish the season!. 

I mean you can't get anymore emphatic than that. It's all made especially impressive when you factor in the elements and all the other outside factors she had to deal with this tournament. 

I mentioned earlier in the year that I didn't think Sabalenka would hold on to that #1 ranking for long because Iga would be getting it back in the future. 

The year hasn't even ended yet and here she is back at #1.

Honestly if I ever hear one more person say that Iga's 2023 season was bad and that nothing compares to 2022 I will just point them to all the stats listed in this article because it proves otherwise. 

One of my fave stats missing from the list ending the year as #1 for 2 years running.

This 22 year old does nothing but write herself into the tennis history books with every passing year. 

And it's a real pleasure to witness (still hoping I will get to witness it live one day).

Thank you Iga, for your fight, your drive, your resilience and most of all thank you for all the emotions throughout this season. 

It has been a pleasure to watch you grow as a person and a player. The sport is better with you in it. Get some well deserved rest and all the Tiramisu that you want. 

See you in 2024. 

Jazda! 

Iga Swiatek topples World #1 Sabalenka to reach career first WTA Final

CANCUN, Mexico -- Iga Swiatek defeated World No.1 Aryna Sabalenka 6-3, 6-2 on Sunday at the GNP Seguro WTA Finals.

If Swiatek wins Monday’s championship match against Jessica Pegula, she’ll regain the top spot she relinquished two months ago and finish as the year-end No.1 for the second straight time. If Pegula prevails, Sabalenka will finish on top for the first time in her career.

It’s only the fifth time this century that the No.1 ranking was in play at the WTA Finals, the last occurring in 2009, when Serena Williams caught Dinara Safina at the finish line.

Swiatek is now 6-3 in career matches against Sabalenka -- and has won all four of her matches in Estadio Paradisus, all against Top 10 players. Going back to her recent title in Beijing, Swiatek has won 10 consecutive matches.

The 22-year-old from Poland has dropped a total of only 19 games in Cancun, the fewest by any player to reach the WTA Finals championship match since Justine Henin in 2007. Swiatek is also the youngest player to reach the WTA Finals championship match since Petra Kvitova and Victoria Azarenka in 2011.

Pegula, meanwhile, is also 4-0, winning all her Top 10 matches in straight sets. She’s the first to face the Nos.1, 2, 3 and 4-ranked players in the same tournament since the WTA Tour rankings came into being in 1975 -- and, of course, could be the first to defeat them all.

Swiatek has now won a total of 67 matches this year, besting her marvelous 2022 campaign by one.

The match resumed on Sunday, with 18 minutes elapsed and Sabalenka serving to level the first set at 2-all, 30-all. Swiatek needed only two points to break her serve, setting a tone for the rest of the match.

Swiatek served out the set, hitting a sharp backhand down the line that Sabalenka couldn’t quite track down, sending a running forehand long. While the wind wasn’t as substantial as it had been all week long, it was a factor. There were a number of times when Sabalenka was swinging off-balance along the baseline. Swiatek, with flawless footwork, rarely looked out of sync.

The third game of the second set was a test of wills, won by Swiatek. She converted her fourth break point with another error from Sabalenka. Later, in the seventh game, Swiatek broke Sabalenka for the third time in the match before serving out the win.

The final statistics underlined the narrow margins at play in this match. Sabalenka finished with only five winners -- and 18 unforced errors. Swiatek clocked in with nine and nine, typical of her consistent game.

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Sabalenka wanted a battle for the world #1 at the U.S. Open and Ostepenko spoiled the party. 

Well she finally got it here. And I don't think she enjoyed it much.  

That was about as flawless a performance from Iga as I've ever seen. Might just be her best one of the season. 

She came out a woman on a mission, focused and determined from the get go. 

I think she really wanted her first career win over a world #1. It's almost like she said to herself I may be playing a world  #1 but I'm the one who's actually still the best in the world. 

And then she went on to prove it.

Just another phenomenal showing from this amazing 22 year old.  

A real pleasure to watch.

I will be proud no matter what happens tomorrow, but I will also be cheering with all my heart.

One last push to the finish.

Jazda!

1 - Iga Swiatek became the first Polish female player since WTA Rankings were published in 1975 to defeat the World No. 1 in straight sets (retirements excluded). Pioneer.


19 - Since the current Round Robin format was introduced in 2003, Iga Swiatek is now the player with the fewest games dropped to reach the final (19, level with Justine Henin in 2007). Shocking.

Iga Swiatek sweeps WTA Finals group stages sets up semi final rematch with Sabalenka

CANCUN, Mexico -- No.2 Iga Swiatek and No.3 Coco Gauff secured their spots in the semifinals of the GNP Seguros WTA Finals Cancun on a wind-strewn Friday evening.

Gauff won a battle of two of the Grand Slam champions from this season at the GNP Seguros WTA Finals, defeating Marketa Vondrousova 5-7, 6-7(4), 6-3 in the final round of group play on Friday night.

The win eliminated the Wimbledon champion's hopes of advancing to the semifinals. Gauff is the first teenager to make the final four of the year-end championships since Caroline Wozniacki in 2009.

Later in the evening, Swiatek confirmed her position as the group winner after defeating No.6 seed Ons Jabeur 6-1, 6-2 to go 3-0 in the Chetumal Group.

On Saturday, Swiatek will face No.1 Aryna Sabalenka in a match that could decide the year-end No.1 ranking. If Sabalenka wins, she will finish the year at No.1. If Swiatek prevails, she can retake the top spot only by winning the title. This is a rematch of last year's semifinal in Fort Worth, where Sabalenka won 6-2, 2-6, 6-1. The two have split their two meetings this season, both on clay. Swiatek won the Stuttgart final, while Sabalenka took Madrid.

"We'll see what the conditions are going to be," Swiatek said. "Against Aryna it's never easy. I'm just gonna do my best and focus on myself and what I want to do on court. We usually have these matches that are really exciting and really tough, both mentally and physically."

The other semifinal will showcase Gauff against No.5 Jessica Pegula. It will be the first all-American semifinal at the WTA Finals since the reintroduction of the round-robin format in 2003. Both players are making their semifinal debuts at the year-end tournament. Last year in Fort Worth the duo went winless in both singles and doubles. This will be the third meeting of the year between the two top-ranked Americans. Gauff won on the grass in Eastbourne and Pegula got her revenge during her title run in Montreal this summer.

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76.9% - Iga Swiatek won 20 of her 26 serving games at the WTA Finals 2023 (76.9%): the highest ratio in the Round Robin at the tournament so far. Unbreakable.


4 - Iga Swiatek (66), Jessica Pegula (56), Aryna Sabalenka (55) and Coco Gauff (50) are the only four players with 50+ WTA main draw wins in 2023. Lineup.


4 - The World No. 1 (Sabalenka) and World No. 2 (Swiatek) will face each other at the WTA Finals SFs for the 4th time in the last 40 years after Wozniacki-Zvonareva (2010), Azarenka-Sharapova (2012) and Barty-Pliskova (2019). Show.

Honestly the conditions at this year's WTA Finals have to be the worst in the tournaments history. Rain delays/stoppages for 3, 4 days straight. Gale force winds. A badly constructed court. Lack of crowds due to the late construction and lack of promotion. 

You name it this tournament pretty much has it. A circus is the best way to describe what's been happening this week. And somehow the 8 best women's players are expected to perform with it all. 

It's a damn miracle no one has gotten injured.  

Through it all somehow the 2 best players in the world have made it, and will battle each other for the year end #1 ranking. 

In that sense you can't write a better script (except for maybe having it in the final instead of the semis). 

But it's just sad that instead of enjoying quality tennis we're getting the result of whoever deals with the conditions better. 

That is not what the WTA Finals was designed for and it's not what it's suppose to be about. 

Whoever thought it was a good idea to play the final tournament of the year on an outside court in a tropical city at this time of year should A. be fired and B. never do it again. 

The WTA leadership needs a serious overhaul starting with getting rid of Steve Simon because he has been failing time and time again especially when it comes to this event post pandemic. 

They need someone who not only cares about the sport itself (the business side of it) but the women playing it. Because this whole week has been abhorrent.