Riyadh: Poland’s Iga Swiatek will not successfully defend her WTA Finals title after being knocked out of the season-ending tournament in the group stage on Thursday.
Barbora Krejcikova of the Czech Republic beat American Coco Gauff 7-5, 6-4, meaning the 23-year-old Pole cannot now progress from the Orange Group to Friday’s semi-finals.
Earlier on Thursday, Swiatek had kept her hopes alive by beating Russian Daria Kasatkina 6-1, 6-0.
But despite winning two of her three matches in the group, Swiatek’s defeat against world number three Gauff on Tuesday ultimately cost her.
The WTA Finals in Riyadh was Swiatek’s first tournament since she was knocked out of the US Open quarter-finals by Jessica Pegula in September.
The five-time Grand Slam winner is expected to end her season by representing her country at the Billie Jean King Cup from Nov. 13-20 in Malaga, Spain.
Wimbledon champion Krejcikova will take on China’s Zheng Qinwen, while Gauff will face world number one Aryna Sabalenka in the semi-finals.
Sinner avoids rival Alcaraz in ATP Finals groups: Jannik Sinner avoided his key rival Carlos Alcaraz in the ATP Finals group draw on Thursday, as the Italian aims for his first title at the season-ending event on home soil.
World number one Sinner was drawn in the Ilie Nastase Group with Daniil Medvedev, Taylor Fritz and Alex de Minaur at the tournament in Turin, which starts on Sunday.
Reigning French Open and Wimbledon champion Alcaraz, ranked three in the world, was drawn in the John Newcombe with Alexander Zverev, Casper Ruud and Andrey Rublev.
The top two players in each group will qualify for the semi-finals.
Sinner, who lost last year’s final to Novak Djokovic, tops the world rankings after a stunning season in which he claimed the Australian and US Opens -- his first Grand Slam victories -- and won five more ATP titles.
However he has been dogged by controversy after twice testing positive for traces of the steroid clostebol in March. He was initially cleared by the International Tennis Integrity Agency but at the end of September the World Anti-Doping Agency appealed, seeking a ban of up to two years.
Meanwhile, Greek tennis star Stefanos Tsitsipas believes the decision to extend several Masters 1000 events from one week to two is having a detrimental effect on players and tournaments alike.
Agencies