WTA Finals

A week after falling to Jessica Pegula in the Guadalajara final, Maria Sakkari defeated the World No.3 in straight sets to kick off the WTA Finals.

Sakkari rolled out to a 3-0 lead in the second, but Pegula gradually reeled her in. A year ago, Sakkari reached the semifinals at the WTA Finals in Guadalajara. When it ends next Monday, there will be nearly two months to reflect on the week in Fort Worth. Back in March, Sakkari reached the Indian Wells 1000 final -- and then the curve flattened dramatically. I beat [Elena] Rybakina but because of the [Wimbledon] points that are not counting she doesn’t have the real ranking she’s supposed to. The balls are different. And so, an energized Sakkari drew first blood in the Nancy Richey Group. “I was very aggressive,” Sakkari said in her post-match press conference. “I think it’s always easier for the player that loses the first match than the player that wins. Eight days ago, Jessica Pegula defeated Maria Sakkari in the final of the Guadalajara 1000 event by a 6-2, 6-3 score. The player that wins has all the pressure. This time, the tank was unquestionably full.

Aryna Sabalenka beat world number two Ons Jabeur 3-6 7-6(5) 7-5 at the WTA Finals in Fort Worth, Texas on Monday while Maria Sakkari edged Jessica Pegula to ...

However, she was unable to send the match to a deciding set. She's an amazing player, she's very confident right now," world number five Sakkari said. Tunisian Jabeur, a Wimbledon and U.S. Gold Trip won the A$8 million ($5.14 million) Melbourne Cup at Flemington Racecourse on Tuesday, thundering home in the final straight to win Australia's "race that stops the nation" by a length and a half from Emissary. "I knew it was going to be extremely tough but I fought hard and trusted my game." Register for free to Reuters and know the full story

The other four–Iga Swiatek, Maria Sakkari, Caroline Garcia and Aryna Sabalenka–have a combined record of 6-8. 16 – Combined titles won in 2022 by the eight ...

Since the Round Robin format was re-introduced in 2003. 33 – Serena Williams is the oldest ever WTA Finals champion (2014). Before you get your popcorn popped for today’s action, take a dive inside the numbers with us. 16 – Monica Seles is the youngest ever WTA Finals champion (1990). 0-5 – WTA Finals debutante Pegula is 0-5 against the top-5 in 2022, and 2-11 in her career. 51 – 2022 marks the 51st staging of the WTA Finals.

The 2022 WTA Finals kicked off on Monday evening, with Maria Sakkari edging out Jessica Pegula in the first match of the group stage.Sakkari prevailed in a ...

The World No.5 raced to a 3-1 lead in the second set, but Pegula fought back, leveling the score at 4-4. With no more breaks of serve, a second tiebreak ensued. The Greek star was assisted by some poor serving from Pegula, who hit four double faults in the opening set.

Aryna Sabalenka took two-and-a-half hours to notch a comeback win over Ons Jabeur in round-robin play at the WTA Finals.

In the tiebreak, Jabeur led 5-3 before fiery groundstrokes gave Sabalenka three points in a row and her second set point. However, Jabeur battled into a tiebreak, saving a set point at 5-3 in the process. Sabalenka pulled off the win despite having 16 fewer winners and one less service break than Jabeur. By eking out the tight victory, Sabalenka nudges just over .500 to a 14-13 win-loss record in three-set matches this season. However, Sabalenka stormed back on each occasion to collect the fourth win of her career over a player ranked inside the Top 2. In last year's round-robin portion, Sabalenka defeated Iga Swiatek, but lost her two other matches to Sakkari and Paula Badosa.

Aryna Sabalenka pulled off a “miracle” comeback as she shocked world No. 2 Ons Jabeur on the opening night of the WTA Finals in Forth Worth, Texas.

There were many [deciding points], which I think we did really well. I expected it would be tricky and we would have a lot of tough moments. The player that wins has all the pressure. “I think it’s always easier for the player that loses the first match than the player that wins. “I was very aggressive,” said Sakkari. Again it was Sakkari who stepped up as she secured an impressive opening victory.

The Czech duo, who won three major championships together this season and completed a career Grand Slam, beat Desirae Krawczyk of the U.S. and Demi Schuurs of ...

Sakkari had an opportunity to close out her first win against a top-five opponent this year when she held two match points at 6-5 in second. It’s nice, sometimes, to (be with) people that you love and people that are very close to you and were (there) since the beginning.” Sakkari won the first two games. Sakkari broke to lead 6-5 and serve for the first set. Sure, the No.5-ranked Sakkari was excited about the 7-6 (6), 7-6 (4) victory on a temporary indoor hard court at Dickies Arena against No. To spend my time a little bit with her and my parents.

FORT WORTH, Texas (AP) — Maria Sakkari couldn't help but smile a wide smile after taking a pair of tiebreakers to edge Jessica Pegula across more than...

Sakkari had an opportunity to close out her first win against a top-five opponent this year when she held two match points at 6-5 in second. It’s nice, sometimes, to (be with) people that you love and people that are very close to you and were (there) since the beginning.” Sakkari won the first two games. Sakkari broke to lead 6-5 and serve for the first set. To spend my time a little bit with her and my parents. In the day’s other doubles match, defending champions Barbora Krejcikova and Katerina Siniakova defeated Desirae Krawczyk and Demi Schuurs 6-4, 6-3. Sure, the No.5-ranked Sakkari was excited about the 7-6 (6), 7-6 (4) victory on a temporary indoor hard court at Dickies Arena against No. Later on Day 1, Sabalenka came back to beat two-time Grand Slam runner-up Ons Jabeur 3-6, 7-6 (5), 7-5 after being two points from defeat. But she dropped a backhand into the net on the first, and Pegula delivered a backhand winner on the second. That was a very high-level match.’ She knows tennis really well, because my grandfather was a coach, then my mom was a player, so she traveled with her on the tour. To be with her. It’s not like she’s watching her first tennis match ever,” a beaming Sakkari said.

The two lower-seeded players pulled off upsets Monday as the WTA Finals got underway in Fort Worth, Texas.

Head to our [sports betting section](https://nationalpost.com/category/sports/sports-betting) for news and odds. T1. Sabalenka lost serve to open the match against Jabeur, who went on to control the opening set. She’s going to hit the ball very hard, and it’s over. Sakkari served for the first set at 6-5, Pegula broke to force a tiebreaker. The winner of each group will play the runner-up from the opposite group in the semifinals, with the victor in those two matches heading to the final on Nov.