WTA Finals draw: Swiatek, Gauff set for round-robin showdown; Sabalenka, Rybakina to fight in same group
The season-ending championships will see eight top women compete amongst themselves from November 2-9 in Riyadh in a round-robin competition followed by the knockouts
AI/ Reuters/ Panoramic
The 2024 season is fast approaching a closure as the WTA Finals rolled out its eight-woman draw recently. The season-ending championships brace for a round-robin showdown between arch rivals Iga Swiatek and Coco Gauff in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, with world No 1 Aryna Sabalenka and Elena Rybakina also drawn in one group.
The WTA Finals draw ceremony was organised on Tuesday in the presence of Swiatek, the defending champion from Poland. The eight qualified women were split into two quartets, with Sabalenka leading the Purple Group as the No 1 seed and the Pole put atop the Orange Group.
The remaining contenders were drawn at random and here’s how the women filled up the groups:
Purple Group
- Aryna Sabalenka (1)
- Jasmine Paolini (4)
- Elena Rybakina (5)
- Zheng Qinwen (7)
Orange Group
- Iga Swiatek (2)
- Coco Gauff (3)
- Jessica Pegula (6)
- Barbora Krejcikova (8)
The tournament will begin on Saturday, November 2, on the hard court of King Saud University in Riyadh. Belarusian Sabalenka will headline the Day 1 with a round-robin battle against Chinese Zheng, whereas Swiatek will start her campaign against Czech Krejcikova on Day 2.
Round-robin matches to Follow
Iga Swiatek vs Coco Gauff: Swiatek and Gauff will clash for a round-robin showdown in Orange Group. It will be the duo’s 13th meeting on the WTA Tour, with the Pole holding a dominant 11-1 head-to-head lead as of now. Notably, they fought against each other in the 2023 WTA Finals group stages, where Swiatek registered a 6-0, 7-5 victory.
Aryna Sabalenka vs Elena Rybakina: Sabalenka and Rybakina have also formed an intense rivalry over the years. Thus far, they have met on the court nine times and the Belarusian has prevailed on six occasions. Drawn in the Purple Group, the duo will battle against each other in a rematch of previous year’s WTA Finals, where the world No 1 recorded a 6-2, 3-6, 6-3 win.
Much like 2023, this season’s tournament will also decide the year-end No 1 ranking. As of now, Sabalenka rules over the WTA singles rankings with 9,016 points, 1,046 more than Swiatek in the second spot. The order can, however, change as a total of 1,500 ranking points are up for grabs in Riyadh.
