In a stunning display of resilience, World No. 2 Iga Swiatek clawed her way back from the brink to defeat Barbora Krejcikova 4-6, 7-5, 6-2 in a gripping encounter at the 2024 WTA Finals. The match began with Krejcikova, the reigning Wimbledon champion, firmly in control. The Czech star broke Swiatek’s opening service game and maintained her lead to take the first set 6-4. In the second set, Krejcikova quickly established a 3-0 lead, putting Swiatek on the verge of a potential upset.
“Even though I played a lot of those [practice] matches, I kind of forgot for a while how it is to feel all those things—a slightly different stress and emotions,” Swiatek admitted after the match. “For sure, I needed some time to adapt.”
But the Polish powerhouse refused to go down without a fight. Drawing on her championship pedigree, Swiatek slowly worked her way back into the contest, breaking Krejcikova’s serve twice to level the second set at 3-3. The two players traded blows until Swiatek seized the crucial break at 6-5 to take the set and level the match.
Sensing the momentum shift, Swiatek carried that energy into the decider, breaking Krejcikova twice to race out to a commanding 5-0 lead. Despite Krejcikova’s attempt to regain one of the breaks, Swiatek won the match 6-2 in the third set. “I just focused on getting the balls in,” Swiatek said of her early struggles. “I needed to focus on the straightforward stuff. My main goal was just to be solid.”
The victory was a significant one for Swiatek, who had not played a competitive match in two months and was working with a new coach. The win kept alive her slim hopes of reclaiming the World No. 1 ranking from Aryna Sabalenka, who had defeated Qinwen Zheng the previous day.
“It definitely wasn’t the best tennis I can play, but I was really quite solid,” Krejcikova acknowledged. “I just feel like I lost a bit of the momentum of the match, and I’m not really sure if it was me or Iga,” Krejcikova said. “She just came up and started to play more aggressively, and she started to hit her targets better.”
Swiatek’s triumph was all the more impressive given her 1-11 head-to-head record against Gauff prior to this match. The only time the American had managed to beat the Polish star was last year in Cincinnati.
“I’m happy that I won because at the beginning I felt a little bit rusty,” Swiatek said. “I just wanted to focus on the straightforward stuff and be solid. I’m pleased that I found a way to play a little bit more solid.”
The win marked Swiatek’s 10th victory in 13 matches at the WTA Finals, a winning percentage of 76.9% that equals Elina Svitolina’s standard for active players with a minimum of 10 matches. Swiatek’s overall WTA Tour winning percentage now stands at an impressive 82%.
Despite the heroic comeback, Swiatek’s path to regaining the World No. 1 ranking remains a steep one. Sabalenka needs to win only two of her remaining group matches to secure the top spot, leaving Swiatek with little margin for error as she prepares to face Coco Gauff and Jessica Pegula in her next two matches.
Nonetheless, Swiatek’s remarkable resilience and ability to adapt under pressure have once again proven to be her greatest assets. As the WTA Finals continue to unfold, the Polish star will be determined to maintain her momentum and potentially pull off another stunning comeback.