During the current edition of the WTA Finals, Iga Świątek defends the title she won last year in Cancun. In the first match against Barbora Krejcikova, the 23-year-old was in huge trouble, but eventually she managed to win 4:6, 7:5, 6:2. Unfortunately, she did not repeat her success against Coco Gauff.
Will rival Świątek make a sensational decision? Here's the latest news
– I think that a person cannot create such an atmosphere during training, even though I trained at a high level for several weeks, as during a match. Some things just need to be worked on on the court. There are no easy matches in this tournament. After the match against Krejcikova, I thought that I had prepared myself physically and mentally, and when I go out today, I will have what I usually do – concentration and discipline. But that wasn't quite the case – said the Pole immediately after the clash with the American, in which she lost 3:6, 4:6.
Therefore, Świątek is still not sure about leaving the group. The last match will be crucial, the result of which will determine the second semi-finalist from the orange division. For several days, it has been clear that the third rival of the second-placed world ranking in Riyadh is to be Jessica Pegula. The sixth racket in the world is also after two matches, although both ended with a defeat. First she lost to her compatriot Gauff, and then to Krejcikova.
Fans and experts immediately noticed that Pegula's form left much to be desired. The American sometimes looks on the court as if she was already thinking about a post-season vacation. For this reason, the media increasingly began to speculate whether he would miss the last match against Świątek and leave Riyadh. In such a situation, the Pole's rival would be Daria Kasatkina, who is on the reserve list. Joanna Sakowicz-Kostecka recently spoke on this topic and talked to Flavio Cipolla, the coach of the Russian player.
– He (Kasatkina's coach – ed.) admitted that it would be very difficult to get here from a waiting position. He said that if they had any suspicions, they rather thought that they could possibly replace Yelena Rybakina. So I guess there is little chance that Daria Kasatkina will play – said the Canal+ Sport journalist in one of the recent programs. Nevertheless, on Wednesday afternoon we received some sensational news!
Due to a knee injury, Pegula decided to withdraw from the competition, as revealed by Żelisław Żyżyński. In such a situation, at approximately 1:30 p.m. on Thursday, November 7, Iga Świątek will play with Daria Kasatkina. At stake will be advancement to the semi-finals of the WTA Finals. Our player played against the Russian six times. She left the court as the winner five times.