Iga Swiatek bested her probably biggest rival on the WTA Tour currently, Aryna Sabalenka, to reach the 2023 WTA Finals final.
Since the Pole’s domination as the world no. 1 in the WTA Rankings started last year, seemingly no one was able to get anywhere close to her. Swiatek spent 75 weeks as the world no. 1, and no one managed to get anywhere close to her except for one woman.
That woman is Aryna Sabalenka, who actually took over the spot, but only a few weeks after climbing to the top of the WTA Tour, the Belarusian had to defend it at the 2023 WTA Finals.
Swiatek got within striking distance, and with her killer instinct, the Polish player didn’t need a second invitation. After cruising through the round-robin stage without losing a match, the world no. 2 set up a showdown with Sabalenka.
The Belarusian said that she wanted to fight for the world no. 1 spot, and she got her fight in Cancun, but it didn’t go her way, as Swiatek proved to be the better player, but that doesn’t mean that she’ll be the world no. 1.
The match started on Saturday, but after the rain delay stopped it at 2-1 for Swiatek and 30-30, it had to be finished on Sunday, as the whole schedule got postponed by one day, including the final match, which was moved to Monday.
Once the players returned to the court on Sunday, Swiatek never seemed to consider losing. She broke her opponent’s serve immediately, and maintained the one-break advantage throughout the opening set, winning it 6-3.
Sabalenka’s frustration was growing, as she seemingly couldn’t find any holes in her opponent’s armour, and the frustration boiled over in the second set, when the world no. 1 destroyed her racquet.
The reason was simple, she couldn’t create any break point chances, while Swiatek was just superb in every aspect, including the return, breaking the Belarusian in the third game, and adding another break in game number seven.
As a result, Swiatek was able to beat Sabalenka 6-3, 6-2, and that means that she’ll take on Jessica Pegula in the 2023 WTA Finals final. Should she win the match, she’ll regain her world no. 1 spot.
