Near-perfect opener: Iga Swiatek crushes Madison Keys to start WTA Finals campaign in style

Iga Swiatek begins her campaign at the WTA Finals with a commanding victory over the American Madison Keys 6-1, 6-2. In a duel between the Australian Open and Wimbledon champions, Swiatek ended up prevailing in just 61 minutes, and the significant game differential will be a boost for advancing to the semi-finals.

The Pole also achieved a remarkable record, being undefeated in opening matches for the last four seasons – including tournaments like the United Cup and the WTA Finals. In total, there are 69 consecutive events where she took the victory in her first match, with the last time she lost being at the 2021 WTA Finals in Guadalajara against Maria Sakkari.

The 6-time Grand Slam champion, in her 5th consecutive appearance at the WTA Finals, started with her foot on the accelerator against a Keys who failed to get into the match during the first set. Swiatek won 20 of the first 23 points and took a commanding lead up to 5-0 – with two consecutive breaks.

Keys managed to hold serve in the 6th game, but her opponent did not hesitate to close the set on her serve 6-1. Swiatek’s numbers were simply remarkable – she won 84% of points on her serve (16/19) and 67% on the return (10/15), winning a total of 76% of the points played after just 23 minutes. On the other hand, Keys' service effectiveness was minimal. On her 73% of first serves in, she won only 45% – plus 0% on the second serve.

At the start of the second set, another break came for Swiatek , who looked set for an easy win. However, the opportunity arrived for Keys to get back into the match after securing a break back – which leveled the score at 1-1 and suggested that Swiatek's serve could also be vulnerable.

The Polish World No. 2, however, maintained her composure over the following games, capitalizing on her opponent's errors, and especially dominating with forehands to take four consecutive games up to 5-1. Keys had conceded 5 breaks in just 6 service games; her service was far from its usual level, and her powerful forehand was overshadowed – between errors and the speed of play from her opponent. Swiatek finished by closing the victory on her serve 6-1, 6-2 and securing the first win in these WTA Finals.

Within the Serena Williams Group, Swiatek immediately takes the lead with a commanding victory. Recall that the two players with the most wins in the Round Robin advance to the semi-finals, and in case of a tie, criteria such as head-to-head record in the tournament, or even percentage of sets and games won, are applied. Conceding just three games could end up making the difference for the Pole, who was eliminated from the Round Robin last year despite achieving two wins, as the number of sets ended up costing her.

The second match of the day will be between Amanda Anisimova (No. 4) and Elena Rybakina (No. 6), which will define who joins Swiatek at the top of the group.