2021 WTA Finals: Guadalajara

Who will win the WTA Finals?

  • Total voters
    40
Kralingen

Kralingen

Talk Tennis Guru
How is there no thread on this? The tournament starts tomorrow and groups were just released today. Genuinely as excited for this tournament as I am the men's one.

Courts: outdoor hard court in Guadalajara, Jalisco, Mexico.

Group A (Chichén Itzá)
1. Aryna Sabalenka
4. Maria Sakkari
5. Iga Swiatek
7. Paula Badosa

Group B (Teotihuacán)
2. Barbora Krejcikova
3. Karolina Pliskova
6. Garbine Muguruza
8. Anett Kontaveit

Format: Round Robin matches from Wednesday, November 10th - Monday, November 15th - top 2 players qualify from each group
Semi Finals: Tuesday, November 16th: #1 from Group A vs. #2 from Group B, and #1 from Group B vs. #2 from Group A
Finals: Wednesday, November 17th: SF winner vs. SF winner

Some interesting matchups there: Group A is full of young players, with Sakkari the 'elder' stateswoman at age 26. Group B has the red-hot Kontaveit, Krejcikova, and big-serving Pliskova+Muguruza who usually do well in formats such as this.

Interestingly none of these players has ever been a WTA Finals finalist or winner - both Pliskova and Muguruza are semi-finalists. A lot of new faces and a guaranteed first-time champion.
 
octobrina10

octobrina10

Talk Tennis Guru
The WTA Finals Gala on Monday:

Singles:

GettyImages-1352177687.jpg

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Singles & Doubles:

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Doubles:

GettyImages-1352177824.jpg
 
Tennisfan339

Tennisfan339

Professional
No poll? Please include one if you still can (or I guess it's too late once you've sent the thread, IDK).

The co-favorites IMO are Kontaveit and Sabalenka. Close 3rd is Badosa, then (in order) Krecikova, Swiasek, Sakkari, Pliskova and Muguruza.

Funny to think that the only slam winner is Krejcikova. Osaka and Raducanu didn't qualify and Barty withdrew. (+ Other slam finalists Brady, Pavlyuchenkova and Fernandez aren't there either. )
 
Kralingen

Kralingen

Talk Tennis Guru
great stuff @octobrina10 - I'm impressed with how nice the venue looks on short notice. Guadalajara and Valisco in general are gorgeous places.
Tennisfan339 said:
No poll? Please include one if you still can (or I guess it's too late once you've sent the thread, IDK).

The co-favorites IMO are Kontaveit and Sabalenka. Close 3rd is Badosa, then (in order) Krecikova, Swiasek, Sakkari, Pliskova and Muguruza.

Funny to think that the only slam winner is Krejcikova. Osaka and Raducanu didn't qualify and Barty withdrew. (+ Other slam finalists Brady, Pavlyuchenkova and Fernandez aren't there either. )
Click to expand...
Poll added :) To be honest I literally could see every single player here winning the finals, no joke. This might be the most wide open WTA finals tournament I can remember.

Probably leaning Sabalenka if forced to choose. But the player with the worst chance (Swiatek or Pliskova) could still easily win it.
 
Tennisfan339

Tennisfan339

Professional
Kralingen said:
great stuff @octobrina10 - I'm impressed with how nice the venue looks on short notice. Guadalajara and Valisco in general are gorgeous places.

Poll added :) To be honest I literally could see every single player here winning the finals, no joke. This might be the most wide open WTA finals tournament I can remember.

Probably leaning Sabalenka if forced to choose. But the player with the worst chance (Swiatek or Pliskova) could still easily win it.
Click to expand...

Thanks :)

Yes everyone can win. That's how it is in WTA. The ATP Finals are less open, I can only see 3 potential winners.
In WTA everyone has a chance. But still, I think Muguruza and Pliskova are last on the list.
Pliskova is in very bad form since that horrible match against Sakkari in NY. She has never won a slam, has already played multiple WTA finals and not even 1 final.
Muguruza's last results are also terrible. Her title in Chicago is a lot misleading. She benefitted from TWO walkovers (Azarenka and Vondrousova). Her opponent in QF was ranked #200. After that, she lost against Tomljanovic in IW and ... 6-1 6-1 against Kontaveit in Moscow.

The most in form players are clearly Kontaveit and Badosa. Kontaveit is on fire since August. 4 WTA titles with wins against multiple top-20 and top-10. She won Cluj without dropping a set including a 6-2 6-3 against Halep in final. Badosa hasn't played since IW but hard court is her best surface and her level of confidence must be very high. But I still rank Sabalenka above Badosa. She is the best player this year after Barty.

Krejickova just lost her 2 matches in the BJK cup but those were not bad defeats. Bencic and Kerber are in good form and the matches were close. I think she can beat Pliskova and Muguruza in her group. She beat Muguruza twice in recent matches.

My picks for the SF are Sabalenka-Krejcikova and Badosa-Kontaveit.
 
Kralingen

Kralingen

Talk Tennis Guru
coolcamden said:
Given Guadalajara altitude, will they play with high altitude balls?
Click to expand...
That's a very interesting storyline here. I personally don't have any information on the balls being used, but the venue does host a WTA 250 event (Abierto Zapopan). I watched a bit of that tournament this year, Genie Bouchard of all people actually made the final, lol. The surface seemed to be a lot quicker in the sunlight than at night -- but the altitude does mean the balls can fly on players. I expect to see a fair amount of UEs going long.

if you'd like to see what the courts will look like.
 
coolcamden

coolcamden

Hall of Fame
I live at sea level. A few times when I go up to mountain towns, playing with regular balls, they are so bouncy. But then, I would imagine the top 8 women’s players would adapt a lot quicker and better than me. Still… wonder if the tournament would use high altitude balls to even the playing field, or regular balls to see who can adapt best??!!…
 
nounforcederrors

nounforcederrors

Hall of Fame
Nostradamus said:
is this tournament held outside ? i thought WTA finals were always indoor tennis tournament ??
Click to expand...
It will be held indoors. Not very favorable conditions for the players, due to high altitude and "pressure-less balls" to be used. These balls tend to thud when they land, rather than bounce normally, and they fly through the air.
 
Nostradamus

Nostradamus

Bionic Poster
nounforcederrors said:
It will be held indoors. Not very favorable conditions for the players, due to high altitude and "pressure-less balls" to be used. These balls tend to thud when they land, rather than bounce normally, and they fly through the air.
Click to expand...

Pressureless balls???? that's ridiculous. we don' t use pressureless even in practice because it causes your arm to fall off or get injured
 
Kralingen

Kralingen

Talk Tennis Guru
nounforcederrors said:
It will be held indoors. Not very favorable conditions for the players, due to high altitude and "pressure-less balls" to be used. These balls tend to thud when they land, rather than bounce normally, and they fly through the air.
Click to expand...
No, it's being held on outdoor courts, specifically the ones in the video I posted above.

You can see the players practicing on the courts here :
https://twitter.com/i/web/status/1457236104789200902
 
nounforcederrors

nounforcederrors

Hall of Fame
Kralingen said:
No, it's being held on outdoor courts, specifically the ones in the video I posted above.

You can see the players practicing on the courts here :
https://twitter.com/i/web/status/1457236104789200902
Click to expand...
Possibly I got the wrong information from tennismajors.com. If you go to that site, find WTA, and then their article titled "Players, tickets, prize money, Guadalajara: 10 Questions about the Guadalajara Finals," you can scroll down to:
WHAT SURFACE ARE THE WTA FINALS PLAYED ON?
The WTA Finals are played on indoor hard courts.
 
Aussie Darcy

Aussie Darcy

Bionic Poster
6 of the 8 women are making their debut which is just crazy to me. Completely different field which unfortunately is lacking without Aus Open champ Osaka and Wimbledon champ Barty. Would have been great to see some slam champs facing eachother and other top 10 players but with Raducanu also not qualifying we just have Krejcikova to do the job. Muguruza and Swiatek the only former slam champs in the draw, wouldn’t mind Iga or Garbiñe winning it but I hope Krejcikova gets it done to cap her great year off.
 
nounforcederrors

nounforcederrors

Hall of Fame
Aussie Darcy said:
6 of the 8 women are making their debut which is just crazy to me. Completely different field which unfortunately is lacking without Aus Open champ Osaka and Wimbledon champ Barty. Would have been great to see some slam champs facing eachother and other top 10 players but with Raducanu also not qualifying we just have Krejcikova to do the job. Muguruza and Swiatek the only former slam champs in the draw, wouldn’t mind Iga or Garbiñe winning it but I hope Krejcikova gets it done to cap her great year off.
Click to expand...
My thoughts exactly. We all know Kontaveit has been having an incredible winning streak, but she may be running on fumes at this point. Krejci's somewhat fresher, despite her recent losses. So I went out on an unpopular limb and chose Krecji in the SDL over Kontaveit, which may be my exit. We'll see who's strong enough to use those pressureless balls - will Plish's serving arm hold out, or will Mug welcome the slower hard court?
 
Aussie Darcy

Aussie Darcy

Bionic Poster
nounforcederrors said:
My thoughts exactly. We all know Kontaveit has been having an incredible winning streak, but she may be running on fumes at this point. Krejci's somewhat fresher, despite her recent losses. So I went out on an unpopular limb and chose Krecji in the SDL over Kontaveit, which may be my exit. We'll see who's strong enough to use those pressureless balls - will Plish's serving arm hold out, or will Mug welcome the slower hard court?
Click to expand...
A H2H stat I didn't know about which completely surprises me is that Pliskova leads Muguruza 8-2 which is a pretty big margin. One of those wins was way back in 2013 before they were top players and the other was the 2017 Cincy SF.

Pliskova's year has been beyond bizarre which completely matches her personality cause she just seems so indifferent. At the start of Wimbledon she dropped out of the top 10 for the first time in 5 years and then she just out of nowhere makes the Wimbledon final and now she's #4 in the world.
 
Aussie Darcy

Aussie Darcy

Bionic Poster
I'll probably be focusing on the doubles more than normal watching Stosur/Zhang.

The pair come in on an 11 match winning streak after winning Cincy and the USO.

The pair won the 2019 Australian Open, made the Miami final and the YEC SF.

They didn't get to play at all together in 2020 and only played the Aus Open this year until Cincinnati where they won the title and then the USO.

There's also RG and Madrid champs Krejcikova/Siniakova as well as Wimbledon champs Hsieh/Mertens. The AO champs were Mertens/Sabalenka but Mertens is playing with Hsieh.
Miami champs Aoyama/Shibihara are making their debut, they played a whopping 19 tournaments this yearHsieh/Mertens in comparison played 9 while Stosur/Zhang played just 4. And then there's a few other teams with some smaller results.

Babos/Mladenovic were the 2019 champs but failed to qualify.
 
nounforcederrors

nounforcederrors

Hall of Fame
What with Hsieh/Mertens playing, and Krejci/Siniakova, I'll be paying more attention to doubles. If only for the great net skills these people have. I used to watch doubles much, when Sania Mirza and Bethanie Mattek-Sands (together and separately), Dodig, Tecau, Sock, etc., were in their prime, but not too much lately. Hsieh and Krejci are fun to watch, great court sense.
 
D-Lite

D-Lite

Hall of Fame
Muguruza has awful H2Hs vs her group. She's been unable to find a way through Krejcikova since the Czech won RG, and Kontaveit thrashed her the other week. Her H2H vs Pliskova is particularly abysmal.
I suppose this is at least an opportunity for her to get her own back and tighten those H2Hs, but we will see. Being in a Spanish speaking country, I wonder if Mugu and Badosa will feel more 'at home'?

My favourites for the title (given Krejcikova was reportedly carrying a light injury at the BJK Cup in Prague and her general dip in form at the end of the season) have to be Kontaveit, Badosa and Sabalenka. This line-up really is one of those where you feel you're picking players based on form but due to inconsistency and week to week peaks, turn ups at big events... This really is anyone's to win. I am particularly interested to see who the conditions/balls suit most. Kontaveit is on a hot streak but if these vary drastically from the European indoor swing, she could go from a top 3 pick to a favourite to be sent packing early.
 
Nostradamus

Nostradamus

Bionic Poster
nounforcederrors said:
It will be held indoors. Not very favorable conditions for the players, due to high altitude and "pressure-less balls" to be used. These balls tend to thud when they land, rather than bounce normally, and they fly through the air.
Click to expand...

It doesn't look like Indoor to me... There is Sky and clouds and everything...
 
Aussie Darcy

Aussie Darcy

Bionic Poster
Even though she's only 25, Kontaveit's been a player that's really built her career up consistency wise. Didn't have a huge big breakthrough or anything, worked her way into the top 50 then 30 then 20 and now top 10.

With her win over Krejcikova today she's now on an 11 match winning streak.
 
D-Lite

D-Lite

Hall of Fame
Aussie Darcy said:
Even though she's only 25, Kontaveit's been a player that's really built her career up consistency wise. Didn't have a huge big breakthrough or anything, worked her way into the top 50 then 30 then 20 and now top 10.

With her win over Krejcikova today she's now on an 11 match winning streak.
Click to expand...
It almost seems that the pressure on the cusp of something big here is her biggest threat.
 
Aussie Darcy

Aussie Darcy

Bionic Poster
D-Lite said:
It almost seems that the pressure on the cusp of something big here is her biggest threat.
Click to expand...
Yep. Sakkari is quite similar, I dare say she may be the one to watch this week. She has the most top 10 wins this season with seven(!). Even stranger but, she hasn't won a title in 2 and a half years. The WTA YEC would be some statement.
 
ScentOfDefeat

ScentOfDefeat

G.O.A.T.
I just can't watch the WTA Finals with same interest since it's no longer an indoor tournament.
If it can just be anything, what's the point?
Have it on grass or clay, why not? If you're changing from indoor to outdoor, you might as well change the surfaces too.
 
M

Moose Malloy

G.O.A.T.
ScentOfDefeat said:
I just can't watch the WTA Finals with same interest since it's no longer an indoor tournament.
If it can just be anything, what's the point?
Have it on grass or clay, why not? If you're changing from indoor to outdoor, you might as well change the surfaces too.
Click to expand...

The WTA finals was outdoor from 2008-2010(Doha)
ATP Finals were outdoor 2003-2004(Houston)
 
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