Poland's Iga Swiatek ended a masterful WTA Finals run with a crushing victory over the USA's Jessica Pegula in the Championship match to regain her status as world number one.
The French Open champion had not dropped a set en route to the final and did not rest on her laurels against fifth seed Pegula, thrashing the American 6-1 6-0 in Cancun.
"Coming back to world number one, it's a dream come true, for sure," the 22-year-old said after hoisting the trophy aloft. "I would say I wasn't expecting that right now, this season. I was hoping that maybe next year is going to be my year, but it seems like you know, just working hard and focusing on the right things at the end worked. So I'm really happy."
Despite successfully defending her Roland-Garros title, Swiatek's fourth-round exits at the Australian Open and US Open - as well as a Wimbledon quarter-final elimination - had seen the Pole relinquish her status as the world's best.
However, Swiatek swept aside the competition in the group phase, seeing off Coco Gauff, Marketa Vondrousova and Ons Jabeur to sail into the semi-finals, where she came face-to-face with then-world number one Aryna Sabalenka.
The 22-year-old's powers did not wane in a comprehensive beating of the Belarusian, and after Pegula enjoyed an opening hold to 15 in Monday's delayed final, the Swiatek onslaught began.
Victory is yours, Iga 🏆@iga_swiatek defeats Pegula, 6-1, 6-0 to claim the 2023 GNP Seguros @WTAFinals title in Cancun!#WTAFinals #GNPSegurosWTAFinalsCancun pic.twitter.com/rhJw0WFIvo
— wta (@WTA) November 6, 2023
The American only won three more points on serve in the opening set as Swiatek stormed to the double break, and the French Open champion was unwavering during a thoroughly dominant second set, winning 78% of points behind her second serve.
Pegula feebly attempted to delay her opponent's coronation by bringing up her first break point as Swiatek was serving for the championship, but a backhand return into the net saw that opportunity pass her by.
On her first match point, Pegula displayed tremendous athleticism to meet a venomous Swiatek cross-court backhand, but the fifth seed's return was a fraction too long as Swiatek collapsed to the ground in ecstasy.
Swiatek's victory guaranteed the 22-year-old the year-end number one ranking for the second time in a row, while she became the first player since Serena Williams in 2012 to win the WTA Finals without dropping a set.
In addition, no champion since Elina Svitolina in 2018 managed to win the WTA Finals with a 100% success rate throughout the competition, while a total of 20 games dropped is the fewest on record since the round-robin format came into effect again in 2003.
Meanwhile, Pegula - who is the first player to meet each of the four top-ranked contenders in the WTA Finals - has now lost six of her nine top-level meetings with Swiatek, who earned a slice of revenge for her defeat to the 29-year-old in August's Canadian Open semi-final.
Ben Knapton
