PREVIEW | 2023 WTA Finals Day One as Bacalar Group begins with SABALENKA-SAKKARI and RYBAKINA-PEGULA
WTA
The opening day of action is here at the 2023 WTA Finals with the Bacalar Group taking centre stage with the first two matches set to take place.
Featuring Elena Rybakina, Aryna Sabalenka, Jessica Pegula and Maria Sakkari, the WTA Finals kick off with the so called Group of Death in our Day One preview.
Match One - Elena Rybakina v Jessica Pegula
First up in terms of the singles matches on the main stadium court which is fairly brand new to players given the off court chaos this past week is Elena Rybakina who alongside Aryna Sabalenka will be the favourite to get out of a anyone can win group.
First up for the Kazakh is Jessica Pegula. But there are some interesting storylines developing with this contest as the American was spotted with heavy strapping on both shoulders in photos taken at yesterday's practice.
This will add concern for Pegula who has been one of the most consistent players on tour all season and was one of the last to win a title, the Hana Bank Korea Open only a few weeks ago.
While Elena Rybakina has only played limited with Tokyo being off the cards after issues with performance byes and the 24-year-old then reached the semi-final of the China Open and hasn't played since early October.
In terms of head to head though, it is 2-1 to Pegula with the American also winning in Mexico over Rybakina before back in 2022 en route to the title. A facet that both Pegula and Sakkari will be happy about in this group is their love of Mexico and their title winning form in the country and so strapping or no strapping, Pegula will aim to kickstart her campaign against a player who some see as a future winner next week.
Match Two - Maria Sakkari v Aryna Sabalenka
The second match of the day sees Aryna Sabalenka, the World Number One begin her campaign against a tough albeit not head to head wise opponent in Maria Sakkari.
Tough because Sakkari was the last player to win in Mexico sealing her second career title only last month in Guadalajara and the Greek Spartan is loved in the country which could provide a home favourite boost for her.
Also as Martina Navratilova even said, Sakkari is almost playing with house money due to the fact that she was a late replacement for Karolina Muchova and so wasn't even expecting to play another tournament this season. Perhaps she was given she didn't play the WTA Elite Trophy but still it is win-win for her.
Sabalenka on the other hand comes in as the defending World No.1 who could even lose the spot to Iga Swiatek and will be under pressure to deliver in this tournament in many ways. So it could be a banana skin-type match early on for her.
In terms of Head to Head, it is very much an interesting one in terms of this tournament. Maria Sakkari has won three times and lost six, but two of those wins came last year during the WTA Finals so she will hope to recapture that magic from last year.
But since then, Sabalenka has had her number losing only 10 games over two matches. High profile too in Madrid and Indian Wells albeit during the start of a slump for the Greek, so while it seems like a horrific opener for Sakkari, she will hope to harness multiple factors en route to the win.
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Samuel Gill is the Chief Content Officer (CCO) of TennisUpToDate.com, a role he has held since 2020. He is responsible for editorial governance across the platform, including setting content standards, overseeing accuracy and consistency, and guiding long-term editorial strategy. Since joining, he has contributed more than 10,000 articles and editorial pieces across the TennisUpToDate network, playing a central role in the daily operation and development of the site.
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