Swiatek stunned by Rybakina with a comeback victory at WTA Finals

On Monday, Elena Rybakina delivered a gorgeous comeback and overcame world No. 2 Iga Swiatek 3-6, 6-1, 6-0 at the WTA Finals in Riyadh. The Kazakh star came back after a slow start to her second consecutive victory, which moved her to the first place in her group and brought her to a semifinal position.

After the first set, Swiatek, who is normally a player who controls and plays consistently, seemed out of rhythm. The four-time Grand Slam winner made 36 unforced errors in the second and third sets, which was only 17 by Rybakina. It was not a typical off-day of the Polish superstar who had been dominant in their previous four matches until Rybakina turned it around.

I did not want to be down in the early stages, but I forced myself to be aggressive when I was down, said Rybakina after the match. The second set improved my serve, and I was very pleased with the way I was doing it point by point.

The match started in the favor of Swiatek who rushed to the lead, as she served the body of Rybakina with her accurate shots of 3-0. Rybakina had problems with backhand returns and tended to reach the net, and Swiatek was back in the first set 6-3 without hesitation.

But the thrust soon changed. After a couple of mistakes, Rybakina defeated Swiatek at the beginning of the second set, capitalizing on a flaw and a sequence of mistakes. She struck the ace and at 3-0 she never looked back. Her steady play at the baseline and heavy serves started to drag Swiatek who grew more and more frustrated as the set got out of control 6-1.

Rybakina dominated totally in the decider. With 17 additional unforced errors, Swiatek had her game slip away, and Rybakina remained focused to finish the set 6-0 her first victory over the world No. 2 in 2022.

Rybakina will then finish her round-robin group Serena Williams with Madison Keys, and Swiatek, who defeated Keys in the tournament earlier, will have to play Amanda Anisimova. Both keys and Anisimova will also play later on Monday what might determine the final results of the group.

It was a bad night to remember Swiatek, but to Rybakina, it was a statement game – and a reminder that she is a serious contender to the WTA Finals title.

Also Read: Rybakina Fights her way back to win Ningbo Title, approaches WTA Finals