Wednesday at the WTA Finals in Shenzhen could see defending champion Elina Svitolina qualify for the semi-finals. However, she faces a stern test in the form of Wimbledon Champion Simona Halep. Meanwhile, Karolina Pliskova is on the verge of elimination heading into her crucial match with Bianca Andreescu.
Simona Halep (5) vs. Elina Svitolina (8)
The lower seeds in the Purple Group both prevailed on Monday, meaning they’ll now play to decide who will remain the only undefeated player in the group. Halep earned her biggest win since her Wimbledon triumph on Monday in taking out Andreescu, coming back from a set down with the help of several insightful coaching visits from Darren Cahill, who is now permanently back on her team. Svitolina meanwhile won her sixth straight match at this event. The defending champion outlasted Pliskova 14-12 in the first set tiebreak, and used that momentum to close out the match in straights. Halep and Svitolina have a storied history, with Simona owning a slight 5-4 edge overall. Elina has twice prevailed in the Rome final in recent years, while Halep made a miraculous comeback at the 2017 French Open when Svitolina got tight with a huge lead. Outside of the clay, Halep leads 3-2 on hard courts. Notably, Svitolina defeated Halep at this event two years ago, while Simona took their most recent match in the semifinals of Doha earlier this year. I expect another dramatic match is this rivalry to take place today, as there’s not much to separate these two. But I slightly favor Halep coming off her big win over Andreescu two days ago.
Karolina Pliskova (2) vs. Bianca Andreescu (4)
Their only previous meeting was earlier this year in Toronto, when the Canadian teenager got the duke 6-4 in the third on her way to the Rogers Cup title. Andreescu though is now facing a new challenge in her career, coming off back-to-back losses at this level. She was up a set against Naomi Osaka in Beijing as well as against Halep earlier this week, but lost both those matches. Bianca also complained of suffering from a back injury during her third set against Halep on Monday. Let’s hope we don’t have another withdrawal today, on the heels of Naomi Osaka’s withdrawal yesterday. If Andreescu is healthy, she has a lot more variety in her game than Pliskova, and is a much better mover, all of which should result in a Bianca victory. And while Karolina has earned 50 match wins throughout a steady year, which includes four titles, she’s currently on a three-match losing streak.
The scenarios
As per the WTA, below are the advancement scenarios for Wednesday’s matches:
- Svitolina qualifies if she wins in straight sets.
- Pliskova is eliminated if she loses in straight sets.
- If Svitolina and Pliskova win today, Svitolina qualifies as the group winner and Andreescu is eliminated. Pliskova and Halep would play for the second advancement spot on Friday.
- If Halep and Andreescu win today, Halep qualifies as group winner and Pliskova is eliminated. Svitolina and Andreescu would play for the second advancement spot on Friday.
- Any other combination of results will mean qualification comes down to the final matches on Friday.
