Jessica Pegula stretched her winning streak to eight matches and clinched a spot in the semi-finals of the WTA Finals with a 6-3 6-2 victory over Maria Sakkari on Thursday night in Mexico.
A year after going 0-3 in the round-robin singles play at the event, Pegula went 3-0 in Cancun, including a win over No 1-ranked Aryna Sabalenka. Pegula, the fifth seed in the tournament, has not yet lost a set.
The late match between Sabalenka and Elena Rybakina is to be finished on Friday morning after rain delayed it numerous times. In a rematch of the Australian Open final won by Sabalenka, the top-ranked player led Rybakina 6-2 3-5 when play was suspended.
The winner will join Pegula in the semi-finals, qualifying out of the Bacalar Group. Sabalenka will retain her No 1 ranking if she goes undefeated in round-robin play or makes the final.
Also on Friday, Iga Swiatek faces Ons Jabeur, while Coco Gauff plays Marketa Vondrousova to determine who will progress from the Chetumal Group.
Iga Swiatek is back in action on Friday and hoping to book a semi-final spot
Swiatek is within touching distance of the last four after winning both of her matches – but all four players could still qualify.
Against Sakkari, Pegula dominated second serves, winning on 11 of 19 second serves and 19 of 30 second-serve returns (Sakkari won just eight of 19).
Pegula also made about half as many unforced errors – 18 to Sakkari’s 35 – on a windy evening that featured some rain early and a lot late.
The 29-year-old will play in the semi-finals on Saturday.
“Getting through 3-0 is really kind of a cool accomplishment, especially coming off of last year, where it was the opposite,” said Pegula.
Sakkari was already eliminated before playing Pegula; she lost all three matches, not winning a set.
“That’s not the way I wanted my season to end,” Sakkari said. “I think that physically and mentally, I was paying a toll for how much I travelled and how much I played and how emotional this season was.”
WTA concedes Finals ‘not a perfect event’ after player complaints
The complaints about the Cancun event have brought to a head widespread dissatisfaction with the way the WTA has been managing the tour
The WTA has conceded that this year’s edition of the tour Finals is “not a perfect event” and signalled changes to the operation of the circuit after a series of complaints from top players about how they are treated.
WTA chief Steve Simon said the late selection of the Mexican resort of Cancun to host the WTA’s showpiece tournament was “based on a number of complicated factors”.
“It is clear you are not happy with the decision to be here in Cancun. I understand that and you have been heard,” he wrote in a letter to the players leaked to Sports Illustrated, after thanking the players for attending a meeting in Cancun.
“It is not a perfect event, we understand the conditions are a challenge and the WTA accepts responsibility for that.”
Cancun was named as venue for the $9m tournament, which brings together the top eight singles players and doubles partnerships to conclude the season, less than two months before it started on October 29.
Bencic announces she is expecting her first child
Olympic tennis champion Belinda Bencic is expecting her first child.
The 26-year-old Swiss player and her partner Martin Hromkovic, a former professional football player who is also her fitness coach, announced the news on their Instagram accounts on Friday.
“Expecting our little miracle soon! We can’t wait to meet you,” Bencic wrote.
She did not state when their baby is due or any plans to return to playing with next year’s Olympic tennis tournament starting on July 27 in Paris at Roland Garros.