SWIATEK DOMINATES WTA FINALS

Iga Swiatek captures first WTA Finals and reclaims no.1 ranking after demolishing Jessica Pegula

By Stephen Higgins | 6th November 2023

After a week that verged on nightmarish due to the unpredictable court and weather, Iga Swiatek eventually emerged as the unbeaten queen of Cancún and secured her first WTA Finals trophy.

The Pole’s delayed Monday final against Jessica Pegula turned out to be a rout as Swiatek overwhelmed her opponent 6-1 6-0 in just 59 minutes. It is the most one-sided WTA Finals championship match in the event’s history.

Swiatek dominated from the off, dragging Pegula from side-to-side with wonderful shape on her shots as she took advantage of the calmer conditions. The rock solid 22-year-old won almost 82% of her first serves and 69% off her second delivery. Swiatek broke Pegula five times and only faced one breakpoint during the match.

However, the one-sided nature of the final was not a fair reflection of Pegula’s efforts over the course of the week, as the 29-year-old put together a brilliant run of results.

The American won all of her matches in Group Bacalar with impressive victories over Aryna Sabalenka, Elena Rybakina and Maria Sakkari in difficult conditions. Pegula then defeated her doubles partner, Coco Gauff, 6-2 6-1 in the semis.

Swiatek had a similarly destructive run as she roared through Group Chetumal. The Pole beat Coco Gauff, Ons Jabeur and Marketa Vondrousova without dropping a set. She then convincingly bested her great rival, Sabalenka, 6-3 6-2 in the last four.

Going into the final, Swiatek enjoyed a 5-3 lead in their head-to-head and had won 16 of her 20 previous finals. Meanwhile, Pegula had a 4-5 record in finals and had never made it past the quarter-finals of a major compared with three-time grand slam champion Swiatek.

Thanks to her title win in Cancún, Swiatek matches the feat of her compatriot Agnieszka Radwanska in 2015, and finishes the year as world no.1 after dethroning Sabalenka. All told, Swiatek ends 2023 with six titles (Doha, Stuttgart, Roland Garros, Warsaw, Beijing, WTA Finals) and around $10 million in prize money.