Iga Swiatek and Coco Gauff win to advance to WTA Finals semi-finals

On a windy Friday evening, No.2 Iga Swiatek and No.3 Coco Gauff advanced to the semifinals of the GNP Seguros WTA Finals Cancun.

Swiatek clinched the Chetumal Group title with a 6-1, 6-2 victory over No.6 seed Ons Jabeur.

Earlier in the evening, Gauff defeated Marketa Vondrousova 5-7, 6-7(4), 6-3 in the final round of group play on Friday night at the GNP Seguros WTA Finals in a battle of two Grand Slam champions from this season.

Swiatek will face No. 1 Aryna Sabalenka on Saturday in a match that could determine the year-end No. 1 ranking. Sabalenka will finish the year ranked first if she wins. If Swiatek wins, she will be able to reclaim the top spot only if she wins the title.

This is a rematch of last year's semifinal in Fort Worth, which Sabalenka won 6-2, 2-6, 6-1. This season, the two have split their two meetings, both on clay. Swiatek triumphed in Stuttgart, while Sabalenka triumphed in Madrid.

Gauff will face No. 5 Jessica Pegula in the other semifinal. It will be the first all-American semifinal at the WTA Finals since the round-robin format was reinstated in 2003. Both players are making their semifinal debuts at the year-end tournament.

In Fort Worth last year, the duo went winless in both singles and doubles. The two top-ranked Americans will meet for the third time this year. Gauff won on the grass in Eastbourne, and Pegula avenged herself this summer during her title defense in Montreal.

SportsLigue