Defending champion Iga Swiatek crashed out of the WTA Tour Finals despite demolishing Daria Kasatkina in only 51 minutes on Thursday. Swiatek trashed Kasatkina 6-1, 6-0, but that meant she needed Coco Gauff to beat Barbora Krejcikova. Unfortunately, the American star stuttered and struggled with her serve, falling to a 5-7, 4-6 loss. Gauff’s defeat against Krejcikova means that Swiatek is heading home from the tournament in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia.
Iga Swiatek was Smashed by the Bad News
Krejcikova’s victory over Gauff was bad news for Swiatek. It is the first time since 2021 that World No. 2 will be eliminated at the group stage of the WTA Finals. All three women finished the group stage with two wins from three matches. Krejcikova, the lowest-ranked player at the tournament, topped the pool by virtue of the best sets percentage, with Swiatek the one to miss out.
Coco Gauff has already guaranteed herself the spot in the Orange Group in the last four. She just needed to determine whether she finished the group in first or second place. Meanwhile, a Gauff victory was the only way Swiatek would have advanced due to a complicated tiebreaker in the tournament’s rules. Krejcikova also needed two sets to win and put her first in the group.
The Scenario Missed
Originally, Swiatek was scheduled to play Jessica Pegula in her last match of the Orange Group. Her only qualifying match demanded a victory and a later win by Gauff over Krejcikova. But when Pegula pulled out with an injured left knee, Swiatek’s match was no longer part of the semi-finals calculation.
Swiatek revealed that she was unaware she needed Gauff to defeat Krejcikova and seemed confused when the rules were presented to her. However, Swiatek left the tournament with style. She overcame Kasatkina in Swiatek’s second-shortest match of the year. This was also the fastest match at the WTA Finals in eight years.
Swiatek’s shortest match was a 6-0, 6-0 win over Anastasia Potapova in the Round of 16 at Roland Garros that required 40 minutes. Swiatek has been the dominant player in the past two years. She started this season strongly by winning the Doha, Indian Wells, Madrid, Rome, and French Open titles.
Without Iga Swiatek, the Semi-finals Will be Interesting
Krejcikova’s excellent run at the group stage meant the semi-finals should be fun to watch. The Czech found her best form at the right time to reach the last four of the WTA Finals for the first time. She started with a lead slip in a three-set defeat by Swiatek. Then, Krejcikova recovered with back-to-back wins against two Americans, Jessica Pegula and Coco Gauff.
The winner of the Orange Group, Krejcikova completes a last-four lineup that already included top-ranked Aryna Sabalenka, Zheng Qinwen, and Coco Gauff. Krejcikova’s excellent run at the group stage meant the semi-finals should be fun to watch. The Czech found her best form at the right time. In the Swiatek-less semifinals, Krejcikova will face Zheng, while Gauff will take on Purple Group winner Sabalenka. None of the players will have a chance at the ultimate money prize for going through the tournament undefeated. Each lost a match in the round-robin stage.
All four players have a chance to win. Only Gauff came to this semi-finals without a major event title. Zhang won the Olympic Games, Krejcikova won Wimbledon, and Sabalenka won the Australian and US Open. The only thing left for the players is who will take home the record $4.45 million purse for winning the WTA Finals.
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