Match report
Here is Tumaini Carayol’s verdict – stay tuned for the full report.
Iga Swiatek continued on the path to becoming one of the greatest tennis players of her time as she demolished Jessica Pegula 6-1, 6-0 to win the WTA Finals for the first time in her young, brilliant career.
With her sixth title of the season and 17th overall, the 22-year-old will finish 2023 as the year-end No 1 for the second consecutive season. The coming week will mark her 76th at the top, a count that already places her 10th on the list of all-time weeks at No 1.
Pegula, the fifth seed, had arrived in her first final at the WTA Finals in brilliant form of her own, having dismantled all four opponents en route to the final. Her 2-1 record against Swiatek this year further demonstrated her growth. When Swiatek is in full flow, though, almost nobody in the world can live with her.
From the very beginning, the Pole completely overwhelmed Pegula with her vicious, heavy strokes, her brutal topspin forehand constantly picking Pegula’s defence apart. Swiatek’s greater speed and athleticism provided her with the edge on every extended point and she returned spectacularly, eviscerating Pegula’s serve throughout.
You could say nerves got the better of Jessica Pagula, but the story here is the dominance of the world’s clear-cut No. 1. Iga Swiatek had a few hiccups this year, but she won at Roland Garros for the third time in four years, and she just won her sixth WTA event of the year. She won her last 11 matches of the year and dropped only one set along the way.
Pegula will finish the year ranked fifth, two places behind her fellow American and doubles teammate Coco Gauff. Can she continue the surge she has made in her late 20s and take a breakthrough major?
For Swiatek, the question might be how many majors she wins next year. I’ll say two, and I’d bet most people wouldn’t bet against that.
Thanks for following along through what turned out to be a brief match. I’ll be back in the live-commentary chair this weekend for a game that will be at least twice as long.
Iga Swiatek wins the WTA final 6-1, 6-0
Would that be the WTA finals’ final?
Pegula shows some feistiness in the last game with an opportunistic forehand winner, and Swiatek makes a rare error on the next point to give Pegula a 30-15 lead and a glimmer of hope. The window shuts quickly, though, as Swiatek dominates the next point.
But Pegula forces that window back open with a precise forehand winner to set up her first break point of the match. Can she at least avoid the bagel in the second set?
She squanders the opportunity with a backhand into the top of the net. Deuce. Pegula does well to return a couple of Swiatek smashes, but the last one is unreturnable, and it’s set point, match point, championship point, No. 1 ranking point and probably best player of the current era point.
Pegula nearly hits a miraculous return in the next rally, but it sails long. That’s it.
Updated
*Swiatek 6-1 5-0 Pegula (* – serves next game)
Pegula wins the first point by reaching for a smash, and the crowd – though seemingly favoring Swiatek – roars in appreciation of the effort. Swiatek takes the next two points, though, then hits a clean return winner to set up double break point.
Give Pegula a lot of credit for fighting back to win a long rally that nearly ended early when Swiatek pounced on her second serve. But Swiatek simply isn’t missing much, and Pegula hits wide in the next rally. Break, and just like that, Swiatek is serving for the match.
Swiatek 6-1 4-0 Pegula* (* – serves next game)
A player would probably need error-free tennis to beat Swiatek when she’s in this form, and Pegula is not playing error-free tennis. Swiatek races ahead 40-0. She misses her next serve, but Pegula deposits the second-serve return into the net. Hold at love.
*Swiatek 6-1 3-0 Pegula (* – serves next game)
Oh dear. The wheels have come off. The error-prone Pegula falls behind 0-40. She hits a couple of promising shots on triple break point, but a sharp-angled passing shot gives Swiatek another break.
Swiatek 6-1 2-0 Pegula* (* – serves next game)
Lob … hanging … hanging … hanging … smash. Swiatek takes the first point.
Swiatek gives one back on an unforced error, but she smashes her way to 30-15.
Somehow, Pegula hangs in on the next point and gets to 30-30. Is this the game that turns the tide?
It is not. Swiatek paints the line to put one out of Pegula’s reach, and Pegula can only return her next serve into the net. Hold.
*Swiatek 6-1 1-0 Pegula (* – serves next game)
First set stats: Just the one ace (for Swiatek). What stands out, though, is Swiatek’s win percentage on her first serve – 92.3%. “Hope Swiatek misses her first serve” is not a winning strategy.
But Pegula won’t be an easy out here. Down 15-30, she outlasts Swiatek in a baseline rally. She loses her patience on the next point, though, and hits one wide.
Swiatek bails her out, though, with a rash shot into the net. We’re at deuce for the first time in this match.
Pegula can’t capitalize. Her body language is quite negative as she hits an unforced error, her 12th. Her next serve goes long, and Swiatek wins with ease on Pegula’s second serve. Break
First set: Swiatek 6-1
The rout is on. Swiatek breezes through the first three points, then blasts her next serve straight at Pegula. The return goes wide. Swiatek holds at love, and she’s halfway back to No. 1.
*Swiatek 5-1 Pegula (* – serves next game)
I am pleased to report that I was able to fuel up on candy corn between games. Yes, I’m the guy who likes candy corn.
Pegula is struggling now. She’s just not troubling Swiatek with her serve. Swiatek gets one break point, and that’s all she needs, forcing Pegula into an awkward shot at the net that goes long. Pegula angrily takes another ball and swats it away. Break, and Swiatek is serving for the set.
Swiatek 4-1 Pegula* (* – serves next game)
The guile of a veteran can only take someone so far against a player with Swiatek’s poise, and the once-and-probably-future world No. 1 races to a 40-0 lead. Pegula puts a good forehand down the line to get one back, but a shot on the next point glances off the net cord and goes wide. Hold.
*Swiatek 3-1 Pegula (* – serves next game)
Shaky start to the game for Pegula. Fault. Error returning Swiatek’s strong shot off her second service. Double fault. 0-30. But she cleverly mixes up her shots from the baseline to take a point back.
Swiatek’s power shows on the next point, though, and Pegula barely gets a racket to it. Double break point, and she only needs one. Break
Swiatek 2-1 Pegula* (* – serves next game)
Pegula takes a few strides toward the net to hit a smart winner to even up the game at 15-all, but Swiatek takes the next point. Swiatek faults on her next serve, and Pegula moves well inside the baseline for the second serve. Swiatek will have none of that, thank you very much. Her second serve forces an awkward return, and Swiatek puts it away for 40-15. One more routine point, and it’s another short game. Hold.
Updated
*Swiatek 1-1 Pegula (* – serves next game)
Pegula has a solid start on her own serve and gets to 30-0. Swiatek approaches the net on the next point and forces a wild Pegula shot for 30-15. Pegula wins the next, and then Swiatek launches a moonshot on the next rally, which is strange considering that Pegula was nowhere near the net. The American watches the ball land near her feet and long. Hold.
Swiatek 1-0 Pegula* (* – serves next game)
Swiatek seems very deliberate as she steps up to serve. You wouldn’t think nerves would affect her. She’s a killer in finals – 16-4 in her career. Her first serve is out, but she rebounds to win on her second serve and is quickly up 30-0. An ace makes it 40-0.
The next serve is in the net, and Pegula pounces on the second serve to make it 40-15. Swiatek then double-faults, and it’s 40-30. Pegula aggressively returns the next serve, but Swiatek is ready and drives the ball toward the far corner, far out of reach. Hold.
Hey, remember when this match had a 4:30 ET start time?
Finally, we appear to be ready to go.
Pegula won the toss and will receive. Interesting choice.
Updated
Quite a contrast in approaches for the coin toss. Pegula stood still and listened intently. Swiatek looked like she was warming up for an MMA match.
Weather update
82 degrees Fahrenheit. In Celsius, that translates to “a bit warm.”
More importantly, it’s not raining. It’s not even particularly windy. We should have an actual tennis match to enjoy shortly.
From the stat file …
1 - Jessica Pegula will be the first player to face the World No. 1, No. 2, No.3 and No. 4 in a single event since the WTA Rankings were published in 1975. Dream or Nightmare @JPegula?#WTAFinalsCancun | @WTA @WTAFinals @WTA_insider pic.twitter.com/7RzTJxnWqN
— OptaAce (@OptaAce) November 6, 2023
Head-to-head
Though Swiatek has spent more time hovering around the top of the sport, Pegula has held her own in matchups between the two. Swiatek has won five of their eight matches, but Pegula has won two out of three this year.
Who is Jessica Pegula?
Here’s how Tumaini Carayol describes her game:
Although Pegula’s game may lack the flamboyance or dynamism of other top players, it is well-built and solid. Her technique off both groundstrokes is clean, efficient and smooth, which she pairs with contained, intelligent attacking tennis.
In a sport that tends to favor youngsters, Pegula is a rare late bloomer. She didn’t crack the top 100 until she was 25. She finished 2021 ranked 18th, obliterating her career high of 55. She finished last season ranked third.
She’s also ranked No. 1 in doubles, playing with Coco Gauff – whom she defeated in the semifinals to reach this match today.
Updated
Who's No. 1?
The WTA finals aren’t exactly the tennis equivalent of the Super Bowl or the Champions League final. But this year, the No. 1 ranking happens to be at stake – for one of the finalists.
If Iga Swiatek wins, she will regain the No. 1 spot in the WTA rankings. If not, Arnya Sabalenka will retain the spot despite her loss to Swiatek in the semifinals.
Jessica Pegula cannot take the top spot, but a win here would be the biggest of the 29-year-old American’s career. She has never advanced past the quarterfinals of a Grand Slam, but she has slowly worked her way into the top five in the world and has a major opportunity today in Cancun.
Beau will be here shortly. In the meantime, here’s Tumaini Carayol on a troubled tournament so far:
In the leadup to the WTA’s season finale each year, the competing players normally hope to spend their days making final preparations on the stadium court. There are, after all, countless details to fine-tune, from adapting to the speed of the court surface, to the wind and sun.
Not this time. As the eight best tennis players in the world arrived in Cancún for the WTA Finals, the stadium was still a messy building site and the hard court surface had yet to be laid. The venue is a temporary structure erected at short notice on the grounds of a luxury hotel resort and, to the displeasure of the players, it was not ready until the day before play began on Saturday morning.
“I’m not very happy that this is the first day we hit on the stadium,” said Ons Jabeur. “This is such a big event. We should have been able to be ready and hit on the court. Hopefully this will never, ever, ever happen again. Like, ever …”
You can read the full article below:
