The WTA Finals continues this week as Iga Swiatek faces Coco Gauff while Jessica Pegula goes up against Barbora Krejcikova in the group stages. Damien Kayat previews.
2024 WTA Tour – WTA Finals
WTA Finals
King Saud University Indoor Arena
Selected Orange Group 2 matches – 5 November
Iga Swiatek 44/100 | Coco Gauff 7/4
Defending WTA Finals champion Iga Swiatek kept her faint hopes of reclaiming the World No.1 spot alive with an incredible comeback win over Barbora Krejcikova.
Swiatek was down a set and two breaks against the Czech but showed remarkable resilience to power home to victory. It’s little wonder that she looked rusty in the early stages: she hasn’t played a match since her quarterfinal exit at the US Open.
She has also hired a new coach in Wim Fisette. That new partnership has been working on making some improvements on her serve and it showed against Krejcikova: Swiatek served 10 aces and 40 winners throughout the match. Swiatek has improved to 10-3 in WTA Finals action. This has been a bit of a surreal season for Swiatek.
She utterly dominated the clay-court season, winning that triptych of titles in Madrid, Rome and Paris. She also won titles in Qatar and Indian Wells. Yet, the ascendance of Aryna Sabalenka – coupled with her shock Olympic final defeat to Zheng – has left a bit of a sour taste in the mouth. Victory in this tournament will go some way to assuaging that lingering feeling of disappointment.
Coco Gauff just produced one of her most complete performances of the season, easing past Jessica Pegula 6-3, 6-2 in her opening Orane Group match. Gauff has been dogged by serving issues all season (serving an incredible 21 double faults in her Wuhan Open semifinal defeat to Aryna Sabalenka).
She only served two double faults against Pegula and just looked solid from the baseline. Gauff has come into a little bit of form in recent times, winning her 2nd title of the season in Beijing before a semifinal finish in Wuhan.
But you get the impression that she will feel quite deflated with her season as a whole. She just couldn’t quite get to grips in the elite matches, going down at the semifinal stage in two slams and three WTA 1000 events. She will be hoping to alleviate some of that frustration with a strong showing in this season-ending event.
However, she will need to overcome a remarkable head-to-head disparity if she wishes to see off World No. 2 Pole.
The Verdict: Swiatek to win in three 3/1
Swiatek has absolutely dominated this rivalry, leading Gauff 11-1 in their head-to-head meetings. Gauff picked up a morale-boosting win at last year’s Cincinnati Open. But Swiatek has won four times since then. In fact, all 11 of Swiatek’s victories have been straight-sets affairs.
Yikes! I personally think that this could go to three sets (which is a rarity in this rivalry). Swiatek is somewhat rusty, and Gauff’s serve appeared to be in fine working order against Pegula. Still, Swiatek’s huge head-to-head advantage should help her through in three.
Jessica Pegula 58/100 | Barbora Krejcikova 13/10
This has turned into a must-win encounter for both women as they aim to secure a semifinal berth. Jessica Pegula was thoroughly outplayed by Coco Gauff, and she will be hoping to rediscover the form that propelled her exceptional North American hardcourt campaign.
The durable baseliner enjoyed an incredible American summer, retaining her Canadian Open title before runner-up finishes at the Cincinnati and US Open.
She has gone slightly off the boil since that runner-up finish at Flushing Meadows, going 3-3 in her last six matches. Pegula finished runner-up at last season’s WTA Finals in Cancun and will look to come out firing here.
28-year-old Czech Barbora Krecikova will feel somewhat deflated after throwing away such a massive advantage against Iga Swiatek. The versatile Czech only qualified for these season-ending events due to a questionable new rule that prioritizes the Grand Slam champions from the season.
She ended the season ranked 13th but gained automatic qualification for these finals because she won Wimbledon and was ranked between 9 and 20. The two-time Grand Slam champion has enjoyed some excellent success in a few big events this season.
She reached the quarterfinals of the Aussie Open before that awe-inspiring run to Wimbledon glory. She also came within a whisker of competing for Olympic silverware, reaching the quarterfinals in Paris. But she doesn’t arrive here in particularly good form, going 2-5 on hardcourts since that Wimbledon victory.
She has also battled fitness issues of late, having to withdraw from her Ningbo Open clash with Mirra Andreeva due to a back injury.
The Verdict: Pegula to win in three 28/10
This will be their 3rd meeting, and they currently share the head-to-head spoils at one win apiece. The Czech won their most recent encounter at last year’s Dubai championships.
This will be a real grind, with both players keen to contest long-winded rallies. Krecikova may look to get to the net occasionally, putting those well-honed volleying skills to good use. Still, I think that Pegula’s superior recent hardcourt form should give her the edge in three.
