Coco Gauff achieved a significant milestone on Tuesday by defeating Iga Swiatek with a score of 6-3, 6-4, thereby securing her place in the semifinals of the WTA Finals.
This victory marks Gauff’s second win against Swiatek, the previous one occurring at the 2023 Cincinnati Open, and it interrupts Swiatek’s impressive six-match winning streak in this tournament.
With this latest match result, Gauff improved her standing to 2-0 in the Orange Group, while Swiatek’s record now stands at 1-1.
In her first match in two months, Swiatek had previously fought hard to defeat Barbora Krejcikova in a three-set battle on Sunday.
Krejcikova, who recently claimed the Wimbledon championship, kept her hopes of progressing in the tournament alive by defeating Jessica Pegula with a score of 6-3, 6-3.
This loss for Pegula meant her elimination from the competition, especially after her own straight-set defeat to Gauff in their earlier encounter in Saudi Arabia.
With her recent performance, Krejcikova became the last player to qualify for the prestigious year-end event, which gathers the top eight players on the tour.
Moreover, she made history by becoming the lowest-ranked player to win a match at the WTA Finals in the last 22 years, a record last held by Magda Maleeva.