The championship match for the 2023 WTA Finals has now been pushed to Monday in order to allow time to complete semifinal matches in singles and doubles on Sunday.
Saturday was the worst day in terms of inclement weather that interrupted the first single semifinal between Jessica Pegula and Coco Gauff on two occasions, lasting not more than 15 minutes. The two Americans had actually started their match at least an hour late.
Pegula weathered the storm by demolishing Gauff and keeping her unblemished campaign intact to reach the final. She is now one match win away from pocketing the $3,024,000 prize money as an undefeated champion.
Tennis fans and players have voiced their complaints and annoyance at the state of the tournament, ranging from poor scheduling to the court surface. Former players who turned pundits believe there were at least two viable places to stage this event than hosting it in a Mexican city in the middle of a hurricane season.
Aryna Sabalenka and Iga Swiatek could only play three games in the second semifinal when the rain started to fall again heavily. Both players, who have been critical of the state of the court, struggled to play with any sort of rhythm due to heavy winds.
At this point, this year's WTA Finals has completely tarnished what ought to have been a celebratory moment of women's tennis commemorating its 50th anniversary year since the tour was formally incepted.
Sunday's Order of Play will now feature three doubles matches, one of which will determine the last semifinalist. Jessica Pegula and Coco Gauff are a set away from qualifying for the semifinals for the first time as a doubles pair at the WTA Finals.
They'll resume at 12:30 p.m. local time taking on US Open doubles runners-up Laura Siegemund and Vera Zvonareva. Whoever is successful, will return to the court a few hours later to play in the second semifinal. That means Sabalenka and Swiatek are scheduled as the final match on the court, not before 4:30 p.m. local time for their singles semifinal.
0 Comments