Swiatek completes victory in WTA final against Kasatkina but falls short of semi-finals

RIYADH, Saudi Arabia – When Iga Swiatek beat substitute Daria Kasatkina 6-1, 6-0 on Thursday, she played as if her continued presence at the WTA Finals in Riyadh presented by PIF depended on it.

As it turned out, the game had no bearing on their passage to the semi-finals due to some complicated tiebreakers.

“Um,” a stunned Swiatek said later, “you mean it didn’t matter? What?”

Originally scheduled to play Jessica Pegula, Swiatek's only qualifying scenario required a win and an eventual win by Coco Gauff over Barbora Krjcikova. But when Pegula withdrew due to a left knee injury, Swiatek's match no longer played a role in the semi-final calculation.

“Huh,” Swiatek said after a long pause, prompting reporters to burst into laughter.

“Honestly, I don’t think it matters. Just like we go out there to win every game anyway, so… I didn't think about that. I didn't know that was the case.

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“You know,” she said seriously, “I’m professional enough to always give 100 percent, no matter what’s at stake.” So no.”

Unfortunately for Swiatek, her path to the semifinals was cut short when Krejcikova defeated Gauff in straight sets, ending Swiatek's hopes of a place in the last four. Had she advanced, the 23-year-old Swiatek would have become the youngest player to reach three WTA Finals semifinals since Maria Sharapova, who reached four straight from 2004 to 2007.

The results definitely confirm this. It was over in 51 minutes, Swiatek's second-shortest match of the year, following a 6-0, 6-0 victory over Anastasia Potapova in the round of 16 at Roland Garros that lasted 40 minutes.

She won an extraordinary 51 out of 74 points and broke Kasatkina's serve five out of six times.

That gave Swiatek a 2-1 record in group play and made her a keen observer of the second singles match between Gauff and Krejcikova, a match she said she might be too nervous to watch.

Pegula struggled in her first two games but had beaten Swiatek four times in the previous games. Kasatkina, meanwhile, had lost five of six games against Swiatek. After winning their first meeting three years ago in Eastbourne, Kasatkina has failed to win a set in five matches in 2022 – in Melbourne, Dubai, Doha, Roland Garros and the WTA Finals in Fort Worth. In fact, Kasatkina averaged fewer than four games in these encounters.

The trend continued when Swiatek broke Kasatkina's first serve game. And then the second. Swiatek won 28 of 35 points in the contest to take a 5-0 lead before Kasatkina won her first game after 22 minutes. Three minutes later, Swiatek converted her second set point with a stunning ace.

Swiatek had lost four consecutive games this year against top 10 players – Zheng Qinwen (Paris Olympics), Aryna Sabalenka (Cincinnati), Pegula (US Open) and Gauff (WTA finals) – the longest such streak in her career.

Only Aryna Sabalenka (11) has more WTA top 10 wins in 2024 than Swiatek, who is now 10-4.