Swiatek Tops Sabalenka at WTA Finals to Reach Title Match and Get Shot at No. 1 

Poland's Iga Swiatek returns the ball to Belarus' Aryna Sabalenka during their women's singles semifinal tennis match at the WTA Finals Championship in Cancun, Mexico on November 5, 2023. (AFP)
Poland's Iga Swiatek returns the ball to Belarus' Aryna Sabalenka during their women's singles semifinal tennis match at the WTA Finals Championship in Cancun, Mexico on November 5, 2023. (AFP)
TT

Swiatek Tops Sabalenka at WTA Finals to Reach Title Match and Get Shot at No. 1 

Poland's Iga Swiatek returns the ball to Belarus' Aryna Sabalenka during their women's singles semifinal tennis match at the WTA Finals Championship in Cancun, Mexico on November 5, 2023. (AFP)
Poland's Iga Swiatek returns the ball to Belarus' Aryna Sabalenka during their women's singles semifinal tennis match at the WTA Finals Championship in Cancun, Mexico on November 5, 2023. (AFP)

Iga Swiatek gave herself a shot at her first WTA Finals title and the year-end top ranking by eliminating No. 1 Aryna Sabalenka 6-3, 6-2 in a rain-suspended semifinal Sunday.

The second-seeded Swiatek, a 22-year-old from Poland, will meet the fifth-seeded Jessica Pegula, a 29-year-old from the United States, on Monday for the trophy at the tour's season-ending championship. Both players went undefeated during round-robin play and have claimed all eight sets they've played on the outdoor hard court in Cancun.

“I feel like it’s still a long way,” Swiatek said, “because tomorrow’s match should be like the toughest one.”

The final was supposed to be held Sunday, but a series of showers throughout the week continued Saturday, when Pegula defeated Coco Gauff in the first semifinal. The second semifinal, Swiatek vs. Sabalenka, was stopped in the fourth game.

Sabalenka surely spoke for everyone involved in the event when she said: “First big question is: What are we doing here in the middle of the hurricane season?”

When they resumed Sunday, Swiatek quickly broke, then moved out to a 4-1 lead and never really looked back.

“I definitely want to give credit to Iga. She adjusted really well in these conditions. And on this court, she was definitely way, way better than me,” Sabalenka said. “She just started putting so much pressure on me.”

Swiatek consistently out-hit the powerful Sabalenka, the runner-up at last year's WTA Finals, from the baseline and wound up with more winners, 16-13, while also making fewer than half as many unforced errors, 23-10.

Swiatek, a four-time Grand Slam champion, also saved both break points she faced and won three of Sabalenka's service games.

Sabalenka, who won the Australian Open in January for her first major title, could have guaranteed herself remaining at No. 1 by beating Swiatek. Instead, a victory over Pegula would allow Swiatek to rise from No. 2 to regain the top spot she held from April 2022 to this September, when Sabalenka overtook her.

Swiatek carries a 10-match winning streak into Monday; Pegula has won nine in a row.

And they've been dominating their opponents at a tournament for the top eight women in tennis: Swiatek has ceded only 19 games so far — the fewest en route to the final at the WTA Finals since Justine Henin dropped the same number in 2007 — and Pegula just 22.

“Overall, I feel like me and Jessie, we played really in a smart way, and we’ve really kept calm. We're pretty focused and just taking the most we can from these matches and conditions,” said Swiatek, who is 5-3 head-to-head against Pegula. “So I truly think that we kind of both deserve to be in a final.”



Wimbledon Tennis Tournament Replaces Line Judges with Technology

(FILE) - A line judge follows the action on Centre Court during the Wimbledon Championships at the All England Lawn Tennis Club, in London, Britain, 30 June 2016 (re-issued 09 October 2024). EPA/HANNAH MCKAY
(FILE) - A line judge follows the action on Centre Court during the Wimbledon Championships at the All England Lawn Tennis Club, in London, Britain, 30 June 2016 (re-issued 09 October 2024). EPA/HANNAH MCKAY
TT

Wimbledon Tennis Tournament Replaces Line Judges with Technology

(FILE) - A line judge follows the action on Centre Court during the Wimbledon Championships at the All England Lawn Tennis Club, in London, Britain, 30 June 2016 (re-issued 09 October 2024). EPA/HANNAH MCKAY
(FILE) - A line judge follows the action on Centre Court during the Wimbledon Championships at the All England Lawn Tennis Club, in London, Britain, 30 June 2016 (re-issued 09 October 2024). EPA/HANNAH MCKAY

Wimbledon is replacing line judges with electronic line-calling, the latest step into the modern age by the oldest Grand Slam tennis tournament.
The All England Club announced Wednesday that technology will be used to give the “out” and “fault” calls at the championships from 2025, eliminating the need for human officials to make them, The Associated Press reported.
Wimbledon organizers said the decision to adopt live electronic line calling was made following extensive testing at the 2024 tournament and “builds on the existing ball-tracking and line-calling technology that has been in place for many years.”
“We consider the technology to be sufficiently robust and the time is right to take this important step in seeking maximum accuracy in our officiating,” said Sally Bolton, chief executive of the All England Club. “For the players, it will offer them the same conditions they have played under at a number of other events on tour.”
The move makes the French Open the only Grand Slam tournament without some form of electronic line-calling. The Australian Open and US Open already had eliminated line judges and only have chair umpires on court.
Line judges at Wimbledon were dressed in famously elegant uniforms and, for traditionalists, were part of the furniture at the All England Club.
Bolton said Wimbledon had a responsibility to “balance tradition and innovation.”
“Line umpires have played a central role in our officiating set-up at the championships for many decades,” she said, "and we recognize their valuable contribution and thank them for their commitment and service.”
Line-calling technology has long been used at Wimbledon and other tennis tournaments to call whether serves are in or out.
At the US Open, there has been no line judges — and only chair umpires — since 2021, with Hawk-Eye Live electronic line-calling used for all courts.
The All England Club also said Wednesday that the women's and men’s singles finals will be scheduled to take place at the later time of 4 p.m. local time on the second Saturday and Sunday, respectively — and after doubles finals on those days.
Bolton said the moves have been made to ensure the day of the finals "builds towards the crescendo of the ladies’ and gentlemen’s singles finals, with our champions being crowned in front of the largest possible worldwide audience.”