Push Admin

US' Coco Gauff returns to Croatia's Donna Vekic during their women's singles third round tennis match on Court Philippe-Chatrier at the Roland-Garros Stadium during the Paris 2024 Olympic Games, in Paris on July 30, 2024. Patricia de Melo Moreira, AFP/File

US' Coco Gauff returns to Croatia's Donna Vekic during their women's singles third round tennis match on Court Philippe-Chatrier at the Roland-Garros Stadium during the Paris 2024 Olympic Games, in Paris on July 30, 2024. (Photo by PATRICIA DE MELO MOREIRA / AFP)

Article (news)

PARIS OLYMPICS

Agence France-Presse

<div><img src="https://od2-image-api.abs-cbn.com/prod/editorImage/1730701753855AFP__20240730__367H263__v2__Preview__TennisOlyParis2024.jpg" style="width:960px" class="fr-fic fr-dib" alt="US&#x27; Coco Gauff returns to Croatia&#x27;s Donna Vekic during their women&#x27;s singles third round tennis match on Court Philippe-Chatrier at the Roland-Garros Stadium during the Paris 2024 Olympic Games, in Paris on July 30, 2024. Patricia de Melo Moreira, AFP/File"/>US&#x27; Coco Gauff returns to Croatia&#x27;s Donna Vekic during their women&#x27;s singles third round tennis match on Court Philippe-Chatrier at the Roland-Garros Stadium during the Paris 2024 Olympic Games, in Paris on July 30, 2024. Patricia de Melo Moreira, AFP/FileRIYADH, Saudi Arabia -- Iga Swiatek and Coco Gauff enjoyed winning starts to their WTA Finals campaigns in Riyadh on Sunday, albeit in contrasting fashion.</div>Swiatek began her title defense with an almighty comeback, rallying back from a set and a double-break down to overcome eighth-seeded Barbora Krejcikova 4-6, 7-5, 6-2 in two hours and 33 minutes.The win was crucial for the Polish second seed to keep her hopes of wrestling back the number one ranking from Aryna Sabalenka alive.Meanwhile, third-ranked American Gauff had a more straightforward evening, completing a 6-3, 6-2 win over her compatriot and US Open finalist Jessica Pegula in 75 minutes.&quot;She&#x27;s always a tough opponent. And these conditions against her, it&#x27;s tough,&quot; said Gauff, who snapped a three-match losing streak to Pegula.&quot;But overall, I think I&#x27;m just happy with how I played. Sometimes it was sloppy, sometimes it was great, but that&#x27;s tennis. I thought we both were playing at a high level. I think I just was able to break through on some of the more important points.&quot;Earlier at King Saud University Indoor Arena, making her first competitive appearance in two months, Swiatek fell behind 4-6, 0-3 before she mounted a successful comeback against Krejcikova.&quot;For sure it wasn&#x27;t easy. At the beginning I felt a bit rusty but I&#x27;m happy I found a way to play a little bit more solid,&quot; said Swiatek, who finished the match with 10 aces.&quot;I tried to do the usual stuff that I do to control the ball a bit more because it was flying like crazy off my racquet.&quot;I knew I had this game in me, I just needed to find it. It was hard to be patient with that but at the end I&#x27;m glad I just kept it going and didn&#x27;t think what the score was.&quot;Swiatek, a five-time major champion, skipped last month&#x27;s Asian swing and hadn&#x27;t played a match since her US Open quarter-final exit in early September.The 23-year-old Pole parted ways with her coach of three years Tomasz Wiktorowski and debuted her new partnership with Belgian coach Wim Fissette at these WTA Finals.Krejcikova is ranked 13 in the world but claimed a place in Riyadh as one of the tour’s best eight players due to a new rule implemented this season that gives priority to a Grand Slam champion that maintains a ranking between nine and 20 over the eighth-ranked player in the race to the tournament.<div><a class="fr-green fr-strong" href="https://news.abs-cbn.com/sports/2024/11/3/sabalenka-maintains-zheng-stranglehold-in-winning-wta-finals-start-1417">READ: Sabalenka maintains Zheng stranglehold in winning WTA Finals start</a></div>- Fightback -<div><img src="https://od2-image-api.abs-cbn.com/prod/editorImage/1730701730409tennis_Iga Swiatek_AFP.jpg" style="width:960px" class="fr-fic fr-dib" alt="Poland&#x27;s Iga Swiatek hits a return against Canada&#x27;s Leylah Fernandez during their women&#x27;s singles match at the Adelaide International tennis tournament in Adelaide on January 6, 2022. Brenton Edwards, AFP/File"/>Poland&#x27;s Iga Swiatek hits a return against Canada&#x27;s Leylah Fernandez during their women&#x27;s singles match at the Adelaide International tennis tournament in Adelaide on January 6, 2022. Brenton Edwards, AFP/FileSwiatek stared down three consecutive break points in her opening service game. She saved the first two but overcooked a forehand, sending it long to get broken at the start of the match.</div>A costly double fault saw Krejcikova fall behind 0-40 but the Czech swept the next five points to get out of trouble and inch ahead 4-2.Swiatek saved a set point with a good serve in the ninth game to hold but Krejcikova was unnerved as she comfortably served out the set to take the lead in 47 minutes.The two-time Grand Slam champion looked on her way to a comfortable straight-sets victory when she went up 3-0 with a double-break in the second set, punishing Swiatek&#x27;s second serve and benefiting from her opponent’s mistimed shots.But that only sparked a fightback from Swiatek, who erased her deficit by grabbing the next four games to take the lead for the first time in the match.Krejcikova double-faulted at a crucial moment, handing Swiatek two set point opportunities in game 12. Swiatek converted her second chance to clinch the set and force a decider.That took the wind out of Krejcikova&#x27;s sails as Swiatek quickly carved a 5-0 gap.Swiatek got broken while serving for the match but quickly self-corrected, breaking Krejcikova in game eight to seal the win.With Sabalenka&#x27;s opening round win over Zheng Qinwen on Saturday, Swiatek will now need to win the title, while winning at least two round robin matches, in order to secure the year-end number one ranking.<div>© Agence France-Presse</div>

Iga Swiatek and Coco Gauff enjoyed winning starts to their WTA Finals campaigns in Riyadh on Sunday, albeit in contrasting fashion.

Iga Swiatek and Coco Gauff enjoyed winning starts to their WTA Finals campaigns in Riyadh on Sunday, albeit in contrasting fashion.

Tennis: Swiatek, Gauff make winning WTA Finals starts on day of contrasts

News

Entertainment

Lifestyle

Sports

Metro.Style

More

BINI

Sudoku

Word of the Day

Lotto

Horoscope

Sports

Tennis: Swiatek, Gauff make winning WTA Finals starts on day of contrasts

Agence France-Presse,

Reem Abulleil

Published November 04, 2024 02:30 PM PHT

Read More:

abssports

tennis

WTA Finals

Coco Gauff

Iga Swiatek

ABS-CBN Newsletter

Your go-to source for the latest news, entertainment highlights, exclusive interviews, and updates on your favorite Kapamilya stars.

ABS-CBN Newsletter

Your go-to source for the latest news, entertainment highlights, exclusive interviews, and updates on your favorite Kapamilya stars.

Sign Up

I have read and agree to the Terms and Privacy Policy.

Haven't received our newsletter?

Check your inbox to verify and confirm your subscription.

ABS-CBN is the leading media and entertainment company in the Philippines, offering quality content across TV, radio, digital, and film. Committed to public service and promoting Filipino values, ABS-CBN continues to inspire and connect audiences worldwide.

Corporate

Investors

Governance

International Distribution

Corporate

Governance

Investors

International Distribution

NPC Seal of Registration

Privacy Policy

AI Policy

Terms of Service

Advertise with Us

© 2026 ABS-CBN Corporation. All Rights Reserved.

NPC Seal of Registration

Privacy Policy

Terms of Service

AI Policy

Advertise with Us

© 2026 ABS-CBN Corporation. All Rights Reserved.

NPC Seal of Registration

Privacy Policy

Terms of Service

AI Policy

Advertise with Us

© 2026 ABS-CBN Corporation. All Rights Reserved.