The semi-finals of the WTA Finals in Guadalajara, Mexico is all set and we are guaranteed to have a new champion.
Iga Swiatek, who came in as the defending titlist, is no longer in the running following her negative WTA Finals 2021 results against Maria Sakkari and Aryna Sabalenka at the start of this competition.
Paula Badosa, Anett Kontaveit, Garbine Muguruza, and Maria Sakkari are the last women standing and this is shaping up to be one of the more memorable tournaments in recent memory.
The reason why it is so is because none of them were favoured in the pre-tournament WTA Finals 2021 odds, which means that anyone can bring home the season-ending trophy.
As we’re reaching the climax of the season finale, read on below as SBOTOP takes a look into these two upcoming matchups in the semi-finals.
Paula Badosa and Garbine Muguruza duel for their country’s pride
The matchup between Paula Badosa and Garbine Muguruza marks the first-ever all-Spaniard final four showdown at the year-end championships. Since these two have never locked horns prior to tomorrow, this encounter is hard to call.
Paula Badosa, who is the youngest among the final four, came into this tournament banging in form as she entered Guadalajara on an six-match winning streak.
At the start of the 2021 season, Badosa had zero WTA singles titles and Top 10 wins. Fast forward to today, she now has two titles and six victories over Top 10 opponents.
She started her campaign with a convincing victory over Aryna Sabalenka and a tighter win over Maria Sakkari.
Her win streak may have ended by Iga Swiatek a while ago on her 24th birthday. But overall, her recent form can be attributed to her stronger mentality and maturity – which will come in handy against the more-experienced Garbine Muguruza.
Garbine Muguruza, on the other hand, started her campaign with a heartbreaking loss to Karolina Pliskova. However, she bounced back with wins against Barbora Krejcikova – an opponent she had lost twice this year – and the red-hot Anett Kontaveit.
The stakes are high for this upcoming matchup since the winner from this is going to make history. The winner is going to be the first Spanish woman to reach the WTA Finals since Arantxa Sanchez Vicario – who finished as the runner-up in 1993 against Steffi Graf.
“I didn’t know all of this history since I was born in 1993. It’s amazing that there are four players left and two of them are Spaniards. That just shows that Spain has a great level of tennis,” said Muguruza in a recent interview.
A win for Muguruza would mean that she’s still the best Spaniard in the WTA. However, a victory for Badosa would signify a changing of the guard of sorts.
Can Anett Kontaveit sustain her torrid form?
Anett Kontaveit is arguably the favourite to win the season-ending tournament given her fantastic run. Prior to this semis matchup, the Estonian has won 28 of her last 31 matches.
However, Maria Sakkari is already familiar with her and their overall head-to-heads indicate that they’re in for a highly-contested affair.
Maria Sakkari has a 6-5 lead over Anett Kontaveit. In 2021 alone, they’ve met three times where Sakkari won in Madrid and at the Tokyo Olympics while Kontaveit won in their most recent encounter at the Ostrava final last September.
The victory over Sakkari in the Ostrava final started Kontaveit’s hot streak which has helped her gain three titles and her first spot in the WTA Finals.
Kontaveit’s unbeaten run was ended recently by Garbine Muguruza in a match that she looked understandably weary, so it makes you wonder if the Estonian still has enough juice left.
“I wish I had a way to measure it. Definitely, I would agree that she looked a little more tired. But when your back is against the wall, you play different tennis. We’ll see tomorrow,” said Kontaveit’s coach Dmitry Tursunov.
The good thing for Kontaveit, however, is that she had an extra day of rest while Sakkari is coming off of a slugfest against Aryna Sabalenka in which she won.
“We all know that Anett had a hell of a run lately. I actually told her in Moscow before she qualified that I’d see here in Guadalajara. She didn’t believe me,” said Sakkari.
This will be the biggest finals of their respective careers so far. Regardless of the outcome, there’s no denying that Anett Kontaveit and Maria Sakkari have put the whole WTA on notice since they’ve come a long way this season.
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