2024 WTA Finals - General Discussion

[Aussie Darcy]

Tournament kicks off in just over 24 hours.

In the singles we have:
#1 Sabalenka
#2 Swiatek
#3 Gauff
#4 Paolini
#5 Rybakina
#6 Pegula
#7 Zheng
#8 Krejcikova

Alternates are Kasatkina and Collins. Navarro qualified as an alternate but withdrew before the tournament.

The number 1 ranking is in play and with Swiatek as the defending champ from last year, she needs to do more than Sabalenka to try to be YE #1 once again.

It's a debut in the tournament for Zheng and Paolini. All the rest have played before. Iga is the only former champ having won last year as mentioned.

The groups are:
Sabalenka, Paolini, Rybakina and Zheng
Swiatek, Gauff, Pegula and Krejcikova

So who do you have in the singles? Poll is up


As for the doubles:

We have:
#1 Kichenok/Ostapenko
#2 Dabrowski/Routliffe
#3 Hsieh/Mertens
#4 Errani/Paolini
#5 Dolehide/Krawczyk
#6 Melichar-Martinez/Perez
#7 Chan/Kudermetova
#8 Siniakova/Townsend

Alternates are Kenin/Mattek-Sands and Schuurs/Stefanini.

 

[Nostradamus]

coco should win this one

 

[Aabye5]

Can anyone challenge Sabs?

 

[Purestriker]

Can anyone challenge Sabs?

Is Rybakina healthy? If so, she can.

 

[spystud]

Elena healthy?! Surely, you jest.

 

[Purestriker]

Elena healthy?! Surely, you jest.

Yeah, it is certainly a stretch to think she can string together a a few without being injured or sick.

 

[D-Lite]

I just wish Gauff had been drawn in the same group as Sabalenka, Zheng and Rybakina. The Rybakina-Zheng-Gauff match ups are intriguing to me as they don't play one another often. Equally each match would be a tough one for Sabalenka if the draw had gone that way. It'll be interesting to see if Zheng can continue to improve against her, if Gauff can get over her serving issues, and if Rybakina has any kind of form with so many weeks off the tour.

 

[boredone3456]

Sabalenka seems to be in a much easier group

 

[Pheasant]

This is interesting.

Swiatek: Will her new coach Fissette improve her game enough to help her defend her title there? I won't rule out Swiatek
Sabalenka: She won 2 of the last 3 Masters events. She looks poised to end the year at #1. She's the favorite in my book.
Rybakina: She's a big hitter. But she' coming off of a back injury, along with insomnia(maybe caused by burnout). She's at a disadvantage, which is why I'm hoping that she makes a deep run.
Gauff: Coco has the speed and strength to beat anybody, IF she solves her services yips,, and that's a massive IF, then she will win. But man, she's had her doublefault% in double digits for way too many matches now. She has an outside chance to win this title.
Zheng: She's dangerous. But I don't think that she's quite ready to win this title yet.

I think that we'll have a Sabalenka vs Swiatek final with Swiatek defending her title to make a huge statement here. Swiatek will serve like a boss to win in straights.

 

[Aussie Darcy]

This is interesting.

Swiatek: Will her new coach Fissette improve her game enough to help her defend her title there? I won't rule out Swiatek
Sabalenka: She won 2 of the last 3 Masters events. She looks poised to end the year at #1. She's the favorite in my book.
Rybakina: She's a big hitter. But she' coming off of a back injury, along with insomnia(maybe caused by burnout). She's at a disadvantage, which is why I'm hoping that she makes a deep run.
Gauff: Coco has the speed and strength to beat anybody, IF she solves her services yips,, and that's a massive IF, then she will win. But man, she's had her doublefault% in double digits for way too many matches now. She has an outside chance to win this title.
Zheng: She's dangerous. But I don't think that she's quite ready to win this title yet.

I think that we'll have a Sabalenka vs Swiatek final with Swiatek defending her title to make a huge statement here. Swiatek will serve like a boss to win in straights.

Hoping that we finally get Swiatek v Sabalenka at a big final this year after missing out at the slams.

 

[NaomiKonjuhPotapova]

Imagine Bara beat Iga again

 

[Aussie Darcy]

Imagine Bara beat Iga again

Both have the same amount of slams this year, that's equal right?

Actually to be honest, their slam results really aren't even that far apart for 2024.

Swiatek:
3R AO
Champ RG
3R Wimbledon
QF USO

Krejcikova:
QF AO
1R RG
Champ Wimbledon
2R USO

Really speaks to Iga's year at the slams. Only 3 more wins than Krejcikova overall.

 

[JJGUY]

Both have the same amount of slams this year, that's equal right?

Actually to be honest, their slam results really aren't even that far apart for 2024.

Swiatek:
3R AO
Champ RG
3R Wimbledon
QF USO

Krejcikova:
QF AO
1R RG
Champ Wimbledon
2R USO

Really speaks to Iga's year at the slams. Only 3 more wins than Krejcikova overall.

Krejcikova has collected 2814 points this season for 14 events and olympics (no points), 2000 points alone from Wimbledon, the rest of 3 slams contributed 510 points, that left 304 points for 10 WTA tournaments she played, among them, she exited in either R1 or Bye/R2 in 7 tournaments, so for most part of the year, Krejcikova was sleep walking, she only woke up to play 3 slams and 3 tournaments.

 

[bezs]

The venue doesn't look that big crowd capacity wise.

 

[NaomiKonjuhPotapova]

seems the court is quite fast

 

[tennis4me]

Sabalenka quickly finished set 1. Looking sharp so far.

Zheng press interview.

x.com

x.com

 

[D-Lite]

Sabalenka takes out Zheng 3 and 4. Seems the set in Wuhan could have been a home crowd factor otherwise Sabs owns Zheng in the H2H. A lot to work on over the off season for a lot of the top players if they're to challenge Sabalenka and Swiatek.

 

[tennis4me]

Interesting awkward moment after Saba won the match. She went to the net for a handshake and was waiting there while Zheng was busy with towels wiping her sweat and racquet as if the match is not over. She finally realized it was over, smiled and walked to the net , then gave her usual fast handshake.

Sabalenka continues to be "the mountain that she has yet to overcome"

Aryna's serve was a big advantage in starting many points. She also opened up the court better than Zheng.

 

[flyingboris]

Rybakina Paolini getting started. A 21cm (8") height difference, that's just not fair.

 

[tennis4me]

It's just a shame that they have this tournament in a country where women's rights don't exist. And also where organisers have to pay spectators to fill the stadium.

Pay spectators? Source? Only saw article about ATP final from Rothenberg. Low attendance was an issue in 2022 in Ft. Worth as well.

 

[flyingboris]

So far very competitive, Jasmine up 5-4, still on serve.

Not looking too worried while receiving serve

 

[spystud]

Breaker, breaker 1-9.

 

[spystud]

Little Italian takes it.

 

[AM75]

Pay spectators? Source? Only saw article about ATP final from Rothenberg. Low attendance was an issue in 2022 in Ft. Worth as well.

It's in German and under the paywall. But the message is that no one is interested in tennis in Arabia but sheiks.

Exotische Tennis-Welt: Sie werden einzig dafür bezahlt, dass sie Sitze füllen – und still sind

Immer mehr Tennisevents finden in Saudiarabien statt. Doch das interessiert dort niemanden. Kein Problem! Dann karrt man die Leute in die Arena und bezahlt sie.

www.tagesanzeiger.ch

 

[spystud]

4/16 & 17/36 W/UE in that set. You can guess which is which.

 

[flyingboris]

4/16 & 17/36 W/UE in that set. You can guess which is which.

36UE in one set takes some real effort. That's nine whole games' worth of UE, impressive.

 

[flyingboris]

Interesting awkward moment after Saba won the match. She went to the net for a handshake and was waiting there while Zheng was busy with towels wiping her sweat and racquet as if the match is not over. She finally realized it was over, smiled and walked to the net , then gave her usual fast handshake.

That was pretty funny. For those that missed it:

https://www.reddit.com/r/tennis/comments/1gi1kmv

 

[tennis4me]

It's in German and under the paywall. But the message is that no one is interested in tennis in Arabia but sheiks.

Exotische Tennis-Welt: Sie werden einzig dafür bezahlt, dass sie Sitze füllen – und still sind

Immer mehr Tennisevents finden in Saudiarabien statt. Doch das interessiert dort niemanden. Kein Problem! Dann karrt man die Leute in die Arena und bezahlt sie.

www.tagesanzeiger.ch

Yeah, this is quoting Rothenberg's article and it's about the ATP final. Maybe the same for WTA final? Not sure.

So much money in there. The average Joe who took picture with Paolini & Rybakina was wearing a $900 T-shirt.

 

[spystud]

And that's a wrap.

Real question is will Elena play her next match?

 

[AM75]

Yeah, this is quoting Rothenberg's article and it's about the ATP final. Maybe the same for WTA final? Not sure.

So much money in there. The average Joe who took picture with Paolini & Rybakina was wearing a $900 T-shirt.

I still do believe they won't get enough revenues from ticket sales.

 

[tennis4me]

I still do believe they won't get enough revenues from ticket sales.

And it probably won't make a dent in PIF or they won't care. I think it's about presence and sporting domination, the latest supposedly being Liverpool, Chelsea, and Barcelona.

 

[jmnk]

This is interesting.

Swiatek: Will her new coach Fissette improve her game enough to help her defend her title there? I won't rule out Swiatek
Sabalenka: She won 2 of the last 3 Masters events. She looks poised to end the year at #1. She's the favorite in my book.
Rybakina: She's a big hitter. But she' coming off of a back injury, along with insomnia(maybe caused by burnout). She's at a disadvantage, which is why I'm hoping that she makes a deep run.
Gauff: Coco has the speed and strength to beat anybody, IF she solves her services yips,, and that's a massive IF, then she will win. But man, she's had her doublefault% in double digits for way too many matches now. She has an outside chance to win this title.
Zheng: She's dangerous. But I don't think that she's quite ready to win this title yet.

I think that we'll have a Sabalenka vs Swiatek final with Swiatek defending her title to make a huge statement here. Swiatek will serve like a boss to win in straights.

I think this might be a bit too optimistic take as far as swiatek prospects. I'm thinking her getting out of the group stage would be a good result already. She has never had a break in playing like now. You can't recreate a real tennis match in practice. New coach, still it is not entirely known what happened with the coach change.
On the other hand no matter what ultimately the result does not matter that much. It seems she is going to be focused on getting non French open slam, so anything she does right now is with that goal in mind.

 

[spystud]

11-9 in the match breaker for Siniakova/Townsend over Kichenok/Ostapenko.

 

[spystud]

1-6, 6-1, (10-6) for Melichar/Perez over Hsieh/Mertens in the other match.

 

[Bill Lobsalot]

I still do believe they won't get enough revenues from ticket sales.

They don't give a ****e, this all politically motivated.

 

[Bill Lobsalot]

It's a shame the WTA finals are tainted by the venue. This event should be in Spain, Italy, France, or the USA. Nobody cares about tennis in this crappy desert. WTA are greedy idiots.

 

[Lauren_Girl']

Both have the same amount of slams this year, that's equal right?

Actually to be honest, their slam results really aren't even that far apart for 2024.

Swiatek:
3R AO
Champ RG
3R Wimbledon
QF USO

Krejcikova:
QF AO
1R RG
Champ Wimbledon
2R USO

Really speaks to Iga's year at the slams. Only 3 more wins than Krejcikova overall.

2023 was just as "bad" for Swiatek in Grand Slams, to be honest. 4R, W, QF, 4R. This year 3R, W, 3R, QF. What if Osaka had converted one of her match points in RG, it'd have been a terrible season... Will she ever win another non-clay Slam again? We have reasons to question it. . And I still think she was a bit "lucky" to win that USO22 (Niemeyer and Sabalenka chocked hard)

At the same time she is only 23 and is already the biggest active Slam winner (I don't count Venus as active). So I can't really criticize her, she is still better than anyone else in the 2020s. Maybe she is satisfied with just 1 Grand Slam and a couple of other tournaments per year and is unable to peak in the other 3 GS.

 

[tennis4me]

So much money in there. The average Joe who took picture with Paolini & Rybakina was wearing a $900 T-shirt.

So, I was ignorant. The "average Joe" turns out to be the famous Brazilian soccer player whose 2024 salary itself is € 100 million. That explains the Balenciaga T-shirt.

Reportedly Zheng's team was so excited about Neymar's presence, that they left her exercising alone with her fitness coach to take pictures with Neymar. She found out while looking for the team during exercise.

 

[marc45]

is that RIYADH behind the baseline the biggest block print of any city that advertises during a tournament?....maybe should ad a few exclamation points to go along with it

 

[D-Lite]

A couple of months off the tour for Swiatek and Rybakina not looking like a particularly good omen so far. I really hope Krejcikova, Muchova and Vondrousova are in good form for RG next year along with Sabs, Zheng and Rybakina. I'd love to see Swiatek face some solid opposition at RG finally.

 

[octobrina10]

Yeah, this is quoting Rothenberg's article and it's about the ATP final. Maybe the same for WTA final? Not sure.

So much money in there. The average Joe who took picture with Paolini & Rybakina was wearing a $900 T-shirt.

The article is written by Swiss journalist Simon Graf (a Fed worshipper), who quotes Rothenberg's article about the 2023 Next Gen Finals. Rotenberg quotes his 'informant' whom he calls Fahd.

The Swiss journalist says in the article: “Unlike normal tennis tournaments, the Six Kings Slam, financed by the Saudi sovereign wealth fund, was not dependent on ticket revenue. Financially, it is a major loss-making business. The benefit for the Saudis is something else: that the most prominent tennis players were bought by them and used for promotional activities. Even Rafael Nadal, who had announced his retirement shortly beforehand.” The sentence about Rafa is proof that the journalist offers incorrect information, he has no idea that it was announced already in February that Rafa would participate in the Six Kings Slam (was held last month)

 

[octobrina10]

So, I was ignorant. The "average Joe" turns out to be the famous Brazilian soccer player whose 2024 salary itself is € 100 million. That explains the Balenciaga T-shirt.

Reportedly Zheng's team was so excited about Neymar's presence, that they left her exercising alone with her fitness coach to take pictures with Neymar. She found out while looking for the team during exercise.

You can read about this "average Joe" in this post (#42,470):

https://tt.tennis-warehouse.com/index.php?threads/nadal-news-2-0.496732/page-850#post-18432492

 

[octobrina10]

...

So much money in there. The average Joe who took picture with Paolini & Rybakina was wearing a $900 T-shirt.

Another "average Joe" took picture with Ons Jabeur (he plays for a football club based in Riyadh):

View this content on Instagram

View this content on Instagram

 

[tennis4me]

A few errors by Krejcikova during critical points, now going on 3rd with Iga.

 

[tennis4me]

The stadium is REALLY quite empty, even in the area where in the premium seats area. I'd think this would've been considered one of the marquee match. The lighting technician didn't get the memo not to shine the seating area.

 

[D-Lite]

A few errors by Krejcikova during critical points, now going on 3rd with Iga.

Understandable that she needs to find her groove after so long out. I'm intrigued to see if she's rushy enough, and if Gauff is steady enough on serve to actually give Gauff a shot at a 2nd win against Iga. Right now I expect Iga will waltz to the SF after this match given this turnaround.

 

[Aabye5]

Gauff looked pretty great against Pegula today. Her supporters were wringing their hands after the Open, but things have been looking up since then.

 

[spystud]

Little Italians tried to replicate the Melichar/Perez scoreline from yesterday. 1-6, 6-1, (10-4) over Dolehide/Krawczyk.

 

[AM75]

Another "average Joe" took picture with Ons Jabeur (he plays for a football club based in Riyadh):

View this content on Instagram

View this content on Instagram

Gosh, he doesn‘t look good.

 

[tennis4me]

It'll be quite a feat if Paolini can sweep both Singles and Doubles. She's the only one in both events. That's a big IF.