The Polish Iga Swiatek dominated the Belarusian Aryna Sabalenka 6-3, 6-2 on Sunday in the semi-final of the WTA Masters in Cancun (Mexico) and will steal her place as world No.1 in the event of victory in the final on Monday.
Swiatek will face in the final the American Jessica Pegula, who qualified on Saturday by beating her compatriot Coco Gauff (6-2, 6-1) during a match interrupted several times by rain. Swiatek and Sabalenka started their semi-final on Saturday evening, without being able to finish the match due to terrible weather conditions (2-1 for Swiatek in the first set).
The final was therefore postponed to Monday (4:30 p.m. local time, 10:30 p.m. Paris time).
Swiatek was uncompromising on Sunday, knowing how to take advantage of his opponent’s numerous errors. A break was enough for him in the first set before flying away at the start of the second set and folding the match at his first opportunity.
The winner of Roland-Garros took her revenge, a year after being beaten at the same stage of the competition by Sabalenka, defending champion of the Australian Open.
Swiatek had been world No.1 for 75 weeks between April 2022 and September 2023 when Sabalenka toppled her. She will return to the top of the hierarchy in the event of a final victory in Cancun.
“The prospect still seems distant to me, I have the impression that tomorrow’s match (Monday) is going to be the most complicated,” said the Pole.
“I don’t yet know what the key points of this match will be, I will think about it.”
The poor playing conditions and the quality of the courts fueled criticism from players and part of the tennis world this week, as well as the choice of an outdoor tournament in Cancun in the middle of the rainy season.