A surprising change in Iga Świątek’s match. It was an injury!
On Wednesday afternoon, it seemed that Jessica Pegula would be Iga Świątek’s rival in the last group match of the WTA Finals 2024. However, there was a change.
This is certainly not how Jessica Pegula imagined the season ending in Riyadh. The American ended her visit to Saudi Arabia with two defeats, first to Coco Gauff and then to Barbora Krejcikova. The player from the USA will not play against Iga Świątek again. Official version? Knee injury.
WTA Finals: Iga Świątek will play against Daria Kasatkina for advancement
If a “basic” player withdraws from the tournament, a “reserve” player enters the WTA Finals. In this case it will be Daria Kasatkina. Świątek will face the Russian tennis player on Thursday. Is this good news? Kasatkina will certainly be more motivated to perform well in Riyadh, which – with all due respect to her achievements – could not be expected from Pegula, who looked resigned to her fate in Saudi Arabia.
Thanks to the entry of another tennis player into the game, the Pole may have a chance to advance even if she loses. Several scenarios and variants have appeared that may make the matter of Świątek a little easier. However, it is difficult to suspect that the Pole intentionally intended to lose the match or that she did not expect to win against Kasatkina. Świątek, above all, needs to return to regularity after a long break from the US Open 2024.
The match between Iga Świątek and Daria Kasatkina starts on Thursday (November 6) at 1:30 p.m. After this match, the match between Coco Gauff and Barbora Krejciková will start at 4 p.m. at the earliest. In the case of this match, the best solution for the Pole would be for the American to win. In this case, Świątek will advance regardless of the result of his match with Kasatkina.
It is worth adding that Aryna Sabalenka and Qinwen Zheng from the second group of the tournament in Riyadh advanced to the semi-finals. Both finished the group games with a record of two wins and one loss. Zheng lost the direct match with Sabalenka, and the tennis player from Minsk turned out to be weaker in the competition with Yelena Rybakina.
If Świątek advances to the semi-finals, the Pole will meet Sabalenka. If such a match takes place, it will be a clash between the former and current number 1 of the WTA ranking.
