CANCUN, Mexico – No. 2 Iga Swiatek will battle No. 5 Jessica Pegula for the title at the GNP Seguros WTA Finals in Cancun .
Monday’s game will determine the fate of the year-end No. 1 seed. If Swiatek wins her tour-leading sixth title of the season, she will overtake No. 1 Aryna Sabalenka and remain at the top of the list for the second consecutive season.
Here’s what you need to know about the high-stakes showdown in Cancun.
When will the women’s final be held?
The finals will all take place on Monday 6 November.The doubles final will be played at 1:30 p.m., with No. 6 Laura Sigmund and Vera Zvonareva taking on No. 8 Nicole Melichar-Martinez and Ellen Perey. Sri Lanka
The final single will air at 4:30 p.m.
What points and bonuses are there?
Points and prize money for the WTA Finals are distributed based on participation and wins. With a 3-0 record in the round robin, Swiatek and Pegula advanced to the finals and each received $1,602,000 in prize money. They also earned 1,080 points.
The winner of the WTA Finals will receive an additional $1,476,000 in prize money and 420 ranking points.
If Swiatek wins, she will end the year ranked No. 1 in the world.
How did Swiatek and Pegula get here?
Swiatek capped off her regular season with a victory in Beijing, her fifth title of the season. Swiatek was placed in the Chetumal group in Cancun and did not drop a set in the round robin. She defeated Wimbledon champion Matata Vondrousova 7-6(3), 6-0 and US Open champion Coco Gauff 6-0, 7-5, 6-1, 6-2. Defeated sixth seed Ons Jabr. She only lost 14 games. Since the return of the round-robin format in 2003, players have lost 14 or fewer games in the group stage only twice: Justin Henin and Swiatek last year.
After entering the semifinals, Swiatek defeated Sabalenka 6-3, 6-2 to retain the world’s No. 1 spot. The game was postponed for more than two days due to rain. The victory extended his current winning streak to 10 games.
Pegula was also streaking. After winning in Seoul to claim his second title of the year, Pegula remains undefeated in Cancun, extending his winning streak to nine games. Pegula was placed in a tough Bacalar group consisting of Sabalenka and fourth-ranked Rybakina, but Pegula did not lose a set.
Pegula defeated Sabalenka 6-4, 6-3, her third victory over the defending No. 1 player this year after defeating Swiatek twice on hard courts this year. With her wins over No. 3 Gauff and No. 4 Rybakina, Pegula is now 6-1 against top-five opponents this season. She won in Guadalajara last year and now has a 9-0 record in Mexico.
How do they stack up?
Swiatek leads the series 5-3, but Pegula is one of only two players to beat Swiatek twice this year. Pegula defeated her at the Fed Cup, winning 6-2, 6-2 in the semi-finals, while Swiatek won 6-3, 6-0 in the title match in Doha a month later. Revenge for defeat.
Recently, Pegula and Swiatek met in the semifinals in Montreal, and the American team narrowly defeated them 6-2, 6-7(4), 6-4.
In Cancun, both women dominate. Both remain undefeated and have not lost a set. Swiatek lost 19 games, tying him for the fewest losses heading into the finals (Justine Henin, 2007). Pegula lost 22 games.
What’s the danger?
Both players are seeking to win the end-of-season title for the first time.
In addition to being ranked No. 1, Swiatek is also competing for his sixth championship of the season and 17th of his career. A win would extend her current winning streak to 11 games. She became the second Polish player to lift the end-of-season trophy after Agnieszka Radwanska in 2015.
The winner of Warsaw (WTA 250), Doha and Stuttgart (WTA 500), Beijing (WTA 1000) and Roland Garros (Grand Slam), Swiatek will be on the Hologic WTA Tour this season if he wins the WTA Finals Win the championship in each level of the competition. The last player to accomplish this feat was Serena Williams in 2014.
If she returns to No. 1 in the world, Swiatek will become the sixth youngest player to be No. 1 in two consecutive seasons. Only Chris Evert in 1976, Steffi Graf in 1988 and 1989, Monica Seles in 1992, Martina Hingis in 2000 and Cardiff in 2011. Rowling Wozniacki is younger.
Pegula is competing for her third title of the season and fifth of her career. She has two WTA 1000 titles in Guadalajara in 2022 and Montreal in 2023, and the WTA Finals will be the biggest title of the 29-year-old American’s career. She hopes to become the first American to win the award since Serena Williams in 2014.
Pegula already has nine wins against top-10 opponents this year and could become the next in line for Venus Williams, Jennifer Capriati, Lindsay Davenport and Serena ·After Williams, only the fifth American since 2000 to achieve 10 wins in a calendar year.
What are they talking about?
Pegula: “Winning her two games this year gives me a lot of confidence. But again I think when she’s hot, she can overwhelm everybody and I feel like that’s what she’s doing right now. She also I think, in She’s probably the best player in the wind in this situation because her footwork is so good. After winning in Beijing, I think she has a lot of confidence as well.”
Swiatek: “I feel like there’s still a long way to go (for first place) because tomorrow’s game should be the toughest one. It’s not going to be easy against Jesse. She really showed that she can play in any conditions. So, There’s still a long way to go.” Right now, I’m really focused on continuing what I’ve been doing the past few days and I managed to do that tonight, even though there’s a lot of hype and everything about this game as well. So I’m pretty sure I’ll be in a similar mindset tomorrow. “
Pegula: “I had such a successful year last year, it’s hard to imagine it could be so successful again. I’ve managed to do my job well at the end of the year, had a great week in Seoul, in Asia, and then I think I’m here Good job keeping up the momentum. I think I’ve improved a lot compared to last year, it’s a new experience for me and I’m not sure what I’m doing or how to do it”
Swiatek: “It’s not like the biggest final, but it’s one of the biggest finals I’ve ever been in. So for sure it’s exciting and a little bit of a different challenge because I’ve never been in the WTA The final of the year-end finale. So you know, the last game of the whole season and all that stuff. All the fuss around the tournament makes it special.
“But overall, I feel like me and Jesse, we played really smart and we really stayed calm. We were really focused and just getting the best out of these games and conditions. So I really think we both It deserves to be in the finals.”