Swiatek beats Pegula to win WTA Finals, seal No.1 ranking

Poland’s Iga Swiatek returns the ball to US’ Jessica Pegula during their women’s singles final tennis match at the WTA Finals Championship in Cancun, Mexico on November 6, 2023. | Photo by CLAUDIO CRUZ / AFP

Cancún, Mexico—Poland’s Iga Swiatek thrashed Jessica Pegula to win the WTA Finals on Monday, sealing her return to world number one.

Second seed Swiatek dominated Pegula from start to finish to clinch a 6-1, 6-0 victory in a 59-minute masterclass.

The 17th win of Swiatek’s career ensures that the four-time major singles champion from Warsaw will finish the season as world number one for a second straight year.

Swiatek, 22, had beaten outgoing world number one Aryna Sabalenka in the semi-finals on Sunday.

Pegula defeated Swiatek in the two players’ previous meeting in Montreal in August, and had impressed on her way to reaching Monday’s weather-delayed final.

But the 29-year-old American from New York never looked capable of pulling off a repeat of her Canadian victory against three-time French Open champion Swiatek, who was sharper in every facet of her game.

The Polish star dominated on serve, and pulled Pegula all over the court with whipped groundstrokes that left her opponent flailing.

Pegula also struggled on serve, being broken five times while coughing up 23 unforced errors compared to Swiatek’s six.

Swiatek — who gave up only one break point opportunity in the entire match, which Pegula was unable to convert — sealed victory in the sixth game of the second set when the American pulled a backhand return long.

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