WTA Finals: Iga returns to #1 off a dominant performance

[RaulRamirez]

The WTA Finals were held this past week, and I'm not sure how many took notice. The hastily constructed court followed by ridiculously windy/rainy conditions put a literal damper on the tourney. The weather did calm down for the final, and Iga Swiatek -- coming off her semifinal defeat of then-#1 Aryna Sabalenka -- faced a red-hot Jessica Pegula who had defeated #1, #3 and #4 (and #8), dropping only 22 games in the process.

Swiatek, meanwhile, after a first set (versus Vondrousova) where she she came back to force a tiebreak which she won), won her next seven sets by scores of 6-0, 6-0, 7-5, 6-1, 6-2, 6-3, 6-2.
Two very in-form players, but only one was in great from today -- Swiatek who won 6-1, 6-0, winning (if I saw this right) 51 of 72 total points.
This was one of the best hard-court matches I've ever seen her play, and for the tourney, she set a record, dropping only 20 games in 5 matches.
(i felt a little bad for Pegula, who I find to be very likable - and who was playing, arguably, her best tennis until she ran into Swiatek.)

Congrats to Iga who - at age 22 - has 4 slams (tied for 13th, OE) , two YE#1s (tied for 10th in OE) and 76-and-counting weeks at #1 (tied for 10th).

 

[Underdog]

She’s a very good player. I hope she keeps it up! Bia Haddad, Iga and Ons are my favourite WTA players.

 

[Azure]

Good for her. This is the exact confidence match and tournament win she needed.

After this atrocious tournament conditions though, I hope the WTA wakes up.

 

[RaulRamirez]

Good for her. This is the exact confidence match and tournament win she needed.

After this atrocious tournament conditions though, I hope the WTA wakes up.

Agreed..and perhaps, new leadership?

 

[Aussie Darcy]

Abysmal tournament that should never have happened in Cancun but a massive well done to the consistent and dominant Iga Swiatek.

Some week she had against the top 8 women in the world.

Definitely deserving of the year end #1 and regains her spot at the top of the WTA Rankings.

Great 2023 with 6 titles. The French Open, WTA Finals, Beijing Open (1000), Stuttgart (500), Doha (500) & Poland (250) titles.

 

[Underdog]

She’s a very good player. I hope she keeps it up! Bia Haddad, Iga and Ons are my favourite WTA players.

Let me add Muchova there as well.

 

[RaulRamirez]

Let me add Muchova there as well.

It's a shame that Muchova has been so prone to injuries -- she plays a great all-court game.

 

[Mark-Touch]

The only player in the field who appealed to me was Vond, so I didn't watch the matches.
And I'm a huge WTA fan!
Oh well.
I enjoyed the Dow Tennis Classic (Midland) matches more.
Congrats to Kalinskaya!

 

[Kralingen]

I almost always watch the WTA finals but didn’t see a single second of this one. Really disappointed with Steve Simon and the product they put out.

 

[RaulRamirez]

I almost always watch the WTA finals but didn’t see a single second of this one. Really disappointed with Steve Simon and the product they put out.

I hear you. I think that the players did their best under the circumstances.

 

[Nostradamus]

This is really no surprise,, Iga has been the best most dominant player all year long.... Coco was bit lucky she didn't have to play Iga at the US open... if she did,, she probably would not have won. But fate had it that she didn't have to play Iga and noone else could beat Coco at the US open so it all turned out for the best

 

[RaulRamirez]

This is really no surprise,, Iga has been the best most dominant player all year long.... Coco was bit lucky she didn't have to play Iga at the US open... if she did,, she probably would not have won. But fate had it that she didn't have to play Iga and noone else could beat Coco at the US open so it all turned out for the best

I'm happy for her, as I am a fan of her play, and don't care for Sabalenka.
Saba was definitely a bit better at the slams, and she only had to advance to the finals (or otherwise do as well as Iga in this tourney) to hold onto YE#1.

Fortunately for Iga, Pegula won her group, so Iga got a shot at Saba in the semis - and did beat her handily.
But if Saba held on to #1, it would have been deserved.

 

[Gizo]

Swiatek returning to beast mode in finals. I much prefer her over Sabalenka, so I’m delighted to see her snatching the year end no. 1 ranking.

Through the overly reactionary nature of tennis, I felt that she received too much criticism this season. Yes there were occasions when she looked increasingly rattled when things went against her, but ultimately she had another very successful and consistent (with a stellar number of match wins) season. I thought she also received too much criticism in 2021 for that matter. On the back her triumph as a teenager in Paris in 2020, and thus having a target on her back, I don’t think that was a bad ‘sophomore year) at all (winning Rome and another title and qualifying for the YEC).

And what she is achieved at the age of 22 is tremendous no matter how you look at it.

 

[marc45]

I almost always watch the WTA finals but didn’t see a single second of this one. Really disappointed with Steve Simon and the product they put out.

Simon got booed by the crowd as he spoke after the match...reading tennis writers online saying unlikely he'll be around much longer

 

[Gizo]

Simon got booed by the crowd as he spoke after the match...reading tennis writers online saying unlikely he'll be around much longer

Yes his position is surely untenable now.

As I’ve said many times, I draw a clear dividing line between women’s tennis (which I think is great) and the WTA administration (which I think is pathetic).

The WTA even make a bad job of running and maintaining their website and YouTube channel.

On a side and selfish note, given that I’m currently in Mexico, staying with in-laws, it was very convenient for me to follow and watch this tournament. Clearly it was a complete shambles though.

 

[RaulRamirez]

Swiatek returning to beast mode in finals. I much prefer her over Sabalenka, so I’m delighted to see her snatching the year end no. 1 ranking.

Through the overly reactionary nature of tennis, I felt that she received too much criticism this season. Yes there were occasions when she looked increasingly rattled when things went against her other, but ultimately she had another successful and consistent (with a stellar number of match wins) season.

And what she is achieved at the age of 22 is tremendous no matter how you look at it.

Very much agree.
She's not yet a completely finished product, but she's definitely...to this point...the best player to hit the women's tour since...not sure. I'd give her a slight edge over Barty, but in any case, she's a special player.

 

[Pheasant]

Congrats to Swiatek for a fantastic tournament. She destroyed all of the top players. She’s rightfully earned back the #1 ranking.

 

[Gizo]

https://twitter.com/i/web/status/1721659610405486791

Since the 5 match RR format was introduced from 2003, I believe that that this is the only the second time, after Serena in 2012, that a player has won the tournament without dropping a set. It’s only happened once on the men’s side (under a 5 match RR format), Lendl in 1986. Winning 5 straight matches against direct rivals for the world no. 1 ranking, top 3, top 5 or top 10 opponents, without dropping a set along the way, is definitely a noteworthy achievement.

The series of matches between Pegula and Swiatek this season was interesting, with a dominant, one sided win for Pegula at the United Cup at the star of the year, plus a 3 set win in Montreal (most memorable for the fact that Cotton Eye Joe was blasted out mid-point), and with dominant wins for Swiatek in the Doha and YEC finals.

 

[Bambooman]

What exactly was the complaint about the court itself?

 

[RaulRamirez]

https://twitter.com/i/web/status/1721659610405486791

Since the 5 match RR format was introduced from 2003, I believe that that this is the only the second time, after Serena in 2012, that a player has won the tournament without dropping a set. It’s only happened once on the men’s side (under a 5 match RR format), Lendl in 1986. Winning 5 straight matches against direct rivals for the world no. 1 ranking, top 3, top 5 or top 10 opponents, without dropping a set along the way, is definitely a noteworthy achievement.

The series of matches between Pegula and Swiatek this season was interesting, with a dominant, one sided win for Pegula at the United Cup at the star of the year, plus a 3 set win in Montreal (most memorable for the fact that Cotton Eye Joe was blasted out mid-point), and with dominant wins for Swiatek in the Doha and YEC finals.

She truly smashed the record for fewest games dropped -- and after starting her fist match with a somewhat fortunate 7-6 set. From then on, she dropped 14 games in 9 sets. Quite impressive! I didn't realize so few players - men or women - had won without dropping a set.

 

[nolefam_2024]

Iga deserves to bring stronger era in WTA and others including AO finalists and Gauff can follow the leader.

 

[RaulRamirez]

What exactly was the complaint about the court itself?

Here's one item on that. Essentially, it was a temporary court in which they had very little time to practice on it beforehand. That, and the weather conditions (though fine last night) were very windy with lots of rain interruptions.

Sabalenka slams WTA for court conditions in Cancun

World number one Aryna Sabalenka said she did not feel safe playing on the newly-constructed tennis courts in Cancun, Mexico, where the season-ending WTA Finals got underway on Sunday and put the blame squarely on the WTA.

www.reuters.com

 

[jm1980]

What exactly was the complaint about the court itself?

The chief complaints -- no fewer than half of the eight singles players have spoken out, and Monday was just the second day of action -- are that the temporary outdoor hard court in Cancun, built atop a golf course, does not allow for solid footing, the balls bounce oddly and the surface wasn't ready early enough to allow for sufficient practice time before matches began.

Read more here: https://www.espn.com/tennis/story/_...emporary-hard-court-built-cancun-season-ender

And then there's the weather, which caused frequent interruptions and strong winds even when play was possible