“She won two of the four majors, and the rest of it is just mind-blowing,” the legend told WTATennis.com.
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Tennis legend Martina Navratilova believes Iga Swiatek is the clear favourite to win the WTA Finals because there will be no pressure on her, but she warns the world No. 1 not to be too relaxed after such a successful year. Swiatek had a dream 2022 season, becoming world No. 1 for the first time in March and winning eight titles, including the French Open and US Open, to bring her WTA career total to 11. The Pole is 64-8 this season and will be looking to add title No. 9 to her growing trophy cabinet at the WTA Finals this week at Dickies Arena in Texas.
Swiatek has competed in two tournaments since winning the US Open at Flushing Meadows in September, finishing runner-up at the Ostrava Open and winning the San Diego Open a fortnight ago, before taking a break before the season finale in the US. Navratilova, who has won eight end-of-season titles, believes Swiatek will be able to play free tennis in Fort Worth.
“She won two of the four majors, and the rest of it is just mind-blowing,” the legend told WTATennis.com. “When I had a great year, at the year-end championships, you relaxed. It’s ‘I had a great year, I don’t have to prove anything.’ She’s had a couple of weeks off. There’s absolutely no pressure on her, so she could play probably the most free tennis of anybody there.”
Ons Jabeur, Jessica Pegula, Coco Gauff, Maria Sakkari, Caroline Garcia, Aryna Sabalenka, and Daria Kasatkina will join Swiatek at the WTA Finals. The 21-year-old is in Group Tracy Austin with Gauff, Garcia, and Kasatkina.
Read More – Swiatek vs Kasatkina: 2022 WTA Finals preview, where to watch, date, live streaming
Iga Swiatek will open her WTA Finals campaign against eighth seed Daria Kasatkina. Swiatek is having a fantastic season, having won 64 out of 72 matches and an incredible eight titles. The Pole won the French Open and the US Open as well as four WTA 1000 tournaments. Swiatek’s most recent WTA Tour appearance was at the San Diego Open, where she defeated Zheng Qinwen, Coco Gauff, and Jessica Pegula before falling to Donna Vekic in the final.
Kasatkina has been in fantastic form this season, helping her to a career-high ranking of No. 8. She won the Silicon Valley Classic as well as the Granby Open. Her most notable performance, however, was reaching the French Open semifinals, where she was defeated by Swiatek. The Russian also advanced to the quarterfinals of the Italian Open. Kasatkina’s most recent WTA Tour appearance was at the Guadalajara Open, where she was the seventh seed. She advanced to the last 16 before falling to Anna Kalinskaya 6-2, 2-6, 6-3.
The eight players at the WTA Finals 2022 have been divided into two groups, these are the Tracy Austin Group and the Nancy Richey Group. Each player will play one match against everyone in their group and the top two from each will make it through to the semi-finals. The top finisher of one group will face the second finisher of the other. The winner of those two matches will then meet in the final to decide who will win the 2022 WTA Finals crown.
| Tracy Austin Group | Nancy Richey Group |
|---|---|
| Iga Swiatek | Ons Jabeur |
| Coco Gauff | Jessica Pegula |
| Caroline Garcia | Maria Sakkari |
| Daria Kasatkina | Aryna Sabalenka |
