At the WTA Finals in Cancun, Iga Swiatek beat Aryna Sabalenka in the semi-finals to get closer to becoming the world No 1. She will now compete against Jessica Pegula in the final. Martina Navratilova is urging WTA leadership to make changes following a problematic tournament.
Iga Swiatek, currently ranked No 2, defeated Aryna Sabalenka, the current No 1, in the WTA Finals. This victory sets up a final match against Jessica Pegula in Cancun.
With her straight sets win over Sabalenka in the WTA Finals, Swiatek is closer to becoming world No. 1 again.
World No 2 Swiatek won her 67th match of the year and her 10th consecutive victory against current No 1 Sabalenka on Sunday in Mexico with a score of 6-3 6-2.
The match started on Saturday but was suspended after the fourth game because of the wet weather that has been present throughout the tournament.
When play resumed on Sunday, Swiatek immediately broke Sabalenka’s serve and went on to win the match in a little over 90 minutes.
“I’m really, really happy, I think that was the toughest and nicest match that I have played here,” Swiatek said afterwards.
The Polish player, who is 22 years old, didn’t lose her service game during the match and won over 75% of her service points.
She will face Jessica Pegula, who is ranked No 5 in the world, in the final on Monday. If she wins, she will have a chance to become the world No 1 at the end of the year.
Pegula defeated her doubles partner, Coco Gauff, in just one hour on Saturday with a score of 6-2, 6-1. Her performance in the tournament has been outstanding.
Both Pegula and Swiatek have had a perfect run in the tournament, winning every match without losing a single set.
Martina Navratilova believes that Steve Simon should be replaced as the head of the WTA.
Simon, who has been the chairman and chief executive of the WTA for eight years, has faced criticism from players recently. One of the reasons for this criticism is the decision to hold the Finals outdoors in Cancun, Mexico.
“Maybe it’s time for new leadership,” 18-times Grand Slam singles champion Navratilova told broadcaster Amazon Prime.
“For me personally, this being a woman’s association and being involved for such a long time from the beginning, we’ve only had two women at the head of it. I think it’s time, hopefully, when we get a new leader, that it’s a woman.
“There’s plenty of them that are qualified for the job. It’s going to be hard for Steve to stay in the job somehow because everything is pointing the other way right now.”
Cancun was chosen as the location for the $9m WTA Finals. This event brings together the top eight singles players and doubles partnerships to end the season. The tournament started on October 29, less than two months after the venue was announced.
World Number 1 Sabalenka criticized the WTA for the poor court conditions on the first day of group play. She expressed feeling “disrespected” by the low level of organization at the prestigious event.
The tournament was supposed to end on November 5, but bad weather caused the semi-final between Swiatek and Sabalenka to be postponed until that day. As a result, the final was delayed until Monday.
“The players adjusted, they had to,” Navratilova added. “But to come to Cancun in the rainy season? You cannot be hoping it’s not going to rain at the premier event for the WTA Tour.
“You have to own the bad decisions you made and make some choices after that.
“There was a sequence of bad decisions. Ultimately, Steve Simon has been the boss for eight years and here we are.”
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