(Cancún) Iga Swiatek gave herself a chance to win her first WTA Finals title and regain the world No. 1 ranking by eliminating favorite Aryna Sabalenka 6-3, 6-2 on Sunday after a semi-final -finale interrupted by rain.
Second seed Swiatek will face fifth seed Jessica Pegula on Monday in the final of the end-of-season tournament.
Both players were undefeated in the preliminary round and did not miss a round in Cancun.
The final was to be played on Sunday, but several showers during the week delayed its holding. Swiatek’s semifinal started Saturday, but was halted after the fourth game.
When the match resumed on Sunday, Swiatek quickly scored a break. She increased her lead to 4-1 and never looked back.
The 22-year-old Pole constantly surpassed the power of Sabalenka, finalist of the previous edition of the Finals, from the baseline. She finished with more winners (16-13) while committing less than half the unforced errors (23-10).
PHOTO CLAUDIO CRUZ, AGENCE FRANCE-PRESSE
Aryna Sabalenka
Swiatek, a four-time Grand Slam champion, also withstood two break points at her expense while winning three games when Sabalenka had the balls in hand.
Sabalenka, who won her first major title at the Australian Open in January, would have retained the world No. 1 ranking by winning this duel. Now, a victory against Pegula would allow Swiatek to regain the first place in the WTA rankings which she occupied from April 2022 to last September.
Swiatek has won their last 10 matches, while Pegula has won nine in a row.