Thursday was the last day of competition in the group stage of the WTA Finals in Riyadh. Iga Świątek, after her victory over Barbora Krejcikova and defeat against Coco Gauff, was supposed to face Jessica Pegula, but the American withdrew due to a knee injury. She was replaced by Daria Kasatkina, who only scored a game. This, however, did not matter much, because the Pole was dependent on the next meeting anyway.
The Czechs are hotly writing about what happened to Świątek
For Iga Świątek to advance to the semi-finals of the WTA Finals, Coco Gauff had to defeat Barbora Krejcikova. However, this did not happen. The American played a poor match and lost to the very well-disposed Czech Republic 5:7, 4:6. Thus, Barbora Krejcikova won the orange group, and Coco Gauff took second place. Behind them was Iga Świątek.
Krejcikova was close to recording a complete set of victories, but in the opening round against the Pole she gave up the lead 6:3, 3:0. Despite this, it deservedly took first place, which is delighted by the Czech media. “Krejcikova defeated Gauff in the tournament of champions and sent Świątek home,” says TenisPortal. “The Czech tennis player is celebrating after her victory over Coco Gauff, and at the same time she arranged the elimination of last year's champion and world number two, Iga Świątek, even though she lost to her at the beginning of the tournament. Additionally, with a victory in two sets, she secured first place in the group, thanks to which she will avoid Aryna Sabalenka and in the final fight he will face Qinwen Zheng,” they emphasize.
TenisPortal also drew attention to the earlier performance of Iga Świątek, who “performed masterfully”, outclassing Kasatkina, but the earlier duels were not successful. “She did not look convincing in the previous matches. In the opening match, she made up for losing a set and two breaks against Krejcikova, and then clearly lost to Gauff, thus losing the chance to return to the number one position in the world,” we read.
“Great Krejcikova! She dominated the group at the tournament of champions and avoided the favorites” – this is isport.cz. “The victory of the Czech tennis player also meant the elimination of the defending champion Iga Świątek. For the Pole, the tournament in Riyadh ended with an easy victory over the harmless Kasatkina,” they add.
The world media also presents Krejcikova's triumph as the elimination of Świątek. “Krejcikova sends Świątek home and avoids Sabalenka in the semi-finals. A small earthquake in the WTA world,” writes the French portal welovetennis.com. “Świątek sidelined” – this is tennis.com.
The WTA Finals semifinals will take place on Friday. Aryna Sabalenka will face Coco Gauff, while Barbora Krejcikova will face Qinwen Zheng.