In the performance that closes the era of women’s tennis theater, the Riyadh WTA Finalsthe best player of recent campaigns reappears on the scene, the Polish Iga Swiatekwhose chances of finishing the year as number one now involve winning all his matches, including the final, if he does not want to rely on the fearsome Belarusian racket. Aryna Sabalenka.
The absence of Swiatek courts since the last US Open, focused on rebuilding a technical team now led by the Belgian Wim Fissettemade it possible to obtain the Sabalenka tops the rankings and both have a chance of finishing 2024 at the top of the table, based on their performance in Riyadh.
They will be joined, not in search of number one but for the title of teacher of teachers and a share of the juicy purse of 15.2 million dollars, six players with an overall bad balance against the two favorites.
In the group he leads Sabalenka the Italian will also play Jasmine Paolini (4 WTA), the Kazakh Elena Rybakina (5) and the Chinese Zheng Qinwen (7); and where he headed Iga Swiatek Americans will do it Coco Gauff (3) and Jessica Pegula (6) and the Czech Barbora Krejcikova (8).
The ninth hero of the finals will be the headquarters of Riyadhcontroversial for taking the organization, checkbook in hand (an increase of six million dollars in prizes compared to last year in Cancun), in a country that ignores women’s rights. The tournament director, the Spaniard Garbine Muguruzawas calm about the final result and convinced that it would be positive for the development of women’s tennis.
To secure the number one Sabalenka does not need to win the tournament, but Swiatek does. It was enough for the Belarusian to win his three matches in the group stage, or at least one and advance to the final.
The Pole, on the other hand, has to win the title. But if she loses a match in the first round, two victories for Sabalenka will favor her crowning. And if Swiatek loses two group games, a win for his rival will secure him the number one spot.
Sabalenka won the Australian and United States Open this year and Swiatek won at Roland Garros. They have four and five titles so far this year, with three head-to-head matches favoring Warsaw on two occasions, including the memorable final in Madrid.
If the state of form with which Swiatek will return to the courts is a mystery, that of the Kazakh Ribakina is even more so, with an outstanding first part of the season (3 titles) but with only three matches played and one winner since Wimbledon.
Coco Gauff, who has two titles this year, could be a decisive factor in her matches against the favourites, especially if she plays Sabalenka, with whom she has a balanced record of 4-4.
Italian Paolini arrived in Riyadh at the best moment of his career, promoted to number four for the first time. After reaching the Wimbledon final, he achieved a certain regularity that allowed him to attend the finals as more than a cover. He is the only one of the singles finalists who will also be playing in the doubles tournament, which could spell ruin.
That London grass final was for Krejcikova, who won her only title of the year there in unexpected fashion. With no outstanding results in recent weeks, it would be equally surprising if they finished in one of the first two places in their group and reached the semi-finals in Riyadh.
Another arrival at a good time is Zheng, who started the year as a finalist in Australia, mid-course he was proclaimed Olympic champion and just finished a great Asian tour. Last week she won the Tokyo tournament and last week she lost to Sabalenka in three sets in the Wuhan final.
Last year’s finalist Jessica Pegula, who has been inactive since the United States final, which she lost to Belarusian, completes the group.
A remarkable fact is that in these finals each of the matches from the Grand Slam finals of the year can be repeated.
The financial rewards for these players are astronomical. Equivalent to what will be distributed in the ATP finals, but distributed in a different way, so that a winner who has not lost a single match in the previous stage leaves Riyadh with 5.15 million dollars, compared to 4.88 of the same assumption in the case of men. The starting price is 335,000, the victory in the first stage is paid in 350,000, in the semifinals in 1.27 million and in the final in 2.5.
The double player is playing for an empty throne
The doubles crown is vacant, as last year’s champions Laura Siegemund and Vera Zvonareva did not qualify.
One group will consist of Lyudmyla Kichenok (UCR)/Jelena Ostapenko (LET) (1), Hsieh Su-wei (TWA)/Elise Mertens (BEL) (3), Nicole Melichar-Martinez (USA)/Ellen Perez (AUS ) ( 6) and Katerina Siniakova (RCH)/Taylor Townsend (USA) (8). And others Gabriela Dabrowski (CAN)/Erin Routliffe (NZL) (2), Sara Errani (ITA)/Jasmine Paolini (ITA) (4), Caroline Dolehide (USA)/Desirae Krawczyk (USA) (5) and Chan Hao-ching (TWA)/Veronika Kudermetova (RUS) (7).
Errani and Paolino are the Olympic champions. Su-wei and Mertens won the Australian Open this year, Siniakova and Townsend won Wimbledon and Kichenok and Ostapenko the US Open. Roland Garros is also for Siniakova, but with another partner, Coco Gauff.
Source: La Verdad
I’m Robert Maynard, and I am a passionate journalist with experience in sports writing. For the last few years, I have been writing for Today Times Live. My main focus has been on sports-related stories and features. With my strong background in journalism and extensive knowledge of the industry, I am able to provide readers with well-crafted pieces that are both informative and engaging.
