WTA Finals 2019 Day 6 Preview: Who Will Join Elina Svitolina In The Semi-Finals?

With Bianca Andreescu’s withdrawal from the tournament due to a knee injury, the advancement scenarios today in the Purple Group are simple: the winner of the Pliskova/Halep match will move on.  In today’s other match, Elina Svitolina, who has already qualified for the semifinals with a 2-0 record this week, will face alternate Sofia Kenin in the young American’s WTA Finals debut. However, that match will have no impact on who advances to the semifinals.  Will it be Pliskova or Halep that joins Svitolina, Ash Barty, and Belinda Bencic in the semis?

Karolina Pliskova (2) vs. Simona Halep (5)

Halep leads their head-to-head 7-3, though Pliskova has taken two of their their last three matches.  That includes their most recent meeting, earlier this year in Miami. The slower courts will strongly favor the movement and defense of Halep, and take some pace off the groundstrokes of Pliskova.  And this week Simona has played her best tennis in months with Darren Cahill back as her full-time coach. The Czech players are 1-4 this week in singles play, with Pliskova getting the sole victory for her country over an injured Andreescu.  Simona Halep is a strong favorite to advance beyond the round robin stage of this tournament for the first time since 2014.

Head-to-head

Elina Svitolina (8) vs. Sofia Kenin (Alt)

Svitolina has already solidified the top spot in the Purple Group, and will face Belinda Bencic in the semifinals regardless of the result here.  This will be Svitolina and Kenin’s fifth match against each other, with all of them played this year. They’ve split the previous four, all on hard courts.  Kenin beat Svitolina in back-to-back weeks in North America this summer, though Elina avenged those losses with a three-set win just a few weeks ago in Beijing.  I expect Kenin to be highly motivated for what she knows will be her only match at this event, and she’ll have absolutely nothing to lose. But Svitolina is playing with so much confidence here, having now won eight straight matches at this tournament dating back to 2017.  I like Elina’s chances of extending that streak in a competitive match against Kenin today.

head-to-head