Favorite Iga Swiatek starts strong at WTA Finals | Sport

Iga Swiatek has convincingly won her first match at the WTA Finals. The world number 1 was far too strong for Daria Kasatkina from Russia on the indoor hard court track in Fort Worth (Texas): 6-2 and 6-3.

Swiatek has already won eight WTA titles this year and is the big favorite at the final tournament, in which the best eight tennis players of the season can participate.

The 21-year-old Polish player won Roland Garros and the US Open in 2022. Swiatek lost only one final, in Ostrava. At the WTA Finals she will also meet Coco Gauff and Caroline Garcia in her group, which bears the name of American former tennis player Tracy Austin. The American and French will compete against each other in their first group match.

Swiatek and Kasatkina have met four times before this year; the Polish always won with clear figures. She did that in the semifinals of Roland Garros, among other things. Kasatkina is in eighth place in the world ranking. The 25-year-old Russian has won two tournaments this year.

Swiatek participated in the WTA Finals for the first time last year. Then she got stuck in the group stage in the Mexican city of Guadalajara.

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