Swiatek dominated Kasatkina in the final round-robin match, fate awaits in the semifinals

RIYADH, Saudi Arabia – Iga Swiatek probably knew that her game on Thursday against substitute Daria Kasatkina would have no impact on her chances of reaching the semifinals.

You would never have guessed it based on the intensity she showed at the WTA Finals in Riyadh presented by PIF.

Swiatek won 6-1, 6-0 in a game that ended in 51 minutes, the fastest year-end finale game in at least eight years. She won an extraordinary 51 out of 74 points and broke Kasatkina's serve five out of six times.

That gave Swiatek a 2-1 record in group play and made her a keen observer of the second singles match between Coco Gauff and Barbora Krejcikova.

Swiatek was actually supposed to play Jessica Pegula 0-2, but had to withdraw from the last group game on Wednesday evening due to a left knee injury. This meant that Swiatek would now play against Kasatkina, ranked No. 9 in the world.

WTA finals Riyadh: results | Schedule | Ranking

Originally, Swiatek would have needed a win over Pegula – and later a win for Gauff over Krejcikova – to advance. However, due to the changed tiebreak permutations, Swiatek's result against Kasatkina became meaningless. This means that Gauff alone holds the key to Swiatek's rise. If the 20-year-old American beats Krejcikova, Swiatek will reach the semifinals. If Krejcikova wins, she will advance.

In the end, Swiatek's earlier comeback win 4-6, 7-5, 6-2 over Krejcikova set this scenario in motion. Swiatek came back from a set down and had two breaks.

Pegula struggled in her first two games but had beaten Swiatek four times in the previous games. Kasatkina, meanwhile, had lost five of six games against Swiatek. After winning their first meeting three years ago in Eastbourne, Kasatkina has failed to win a set in five matches in 2022 – in Melbourne, Dubai, Doha, Roland Garros and the WTA Finals in Fort Worth. In fact, Kasatkina averaged fewer than four games in these encounters.

The trend continued when Swiatek broke Kasatkina's first serve game. And then the second. Swiatek won 28 of 35 points in the contest to take a 5-0 lead before Kasatkina won her first game after 22 minutes. Three minutes later, Swiatek converted her second set point with a stunning ace.

Swiatek had lost four consecutive games this year against top 10 players – Zheng Qinwen (Paris Olympics), Aryna Sabalenka (Cincinnati), Pegula (US Open) and Gauff (WTA finals) – the longest such streak in her career.

Only Aryna Sabalenka (11) has more WTA top 10 wins in 2024 than Swiatek, who is now 10-4.

Swiatek, 23, could become the youngest player to reach three consecutive semi-finals at the WTA Finals since Maria Sharapova, who reached four in a row between 2004 and 2007.