WTA Finals 2024: Draw Analysis, Prize Money and Where to Watch
Aryna Sabalenka and Elena Rybakina are grouped together for the 2024 WTA Finals while Coco Gauff and Iga Swiatek are in the other group.
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Aryna Sabalenka, Iga Swiatek, and Coco-Gauff (Images via Tennis Infinity, WTA, The New Yorker)
The 2024 season for the WTA Tour has reached its end with the year-ending championships, the WTA Finals, scheduled to take place in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia from November 2-9. The draw for the same was announced on Tuesday (October 29).
Eight players have been divided into two groups – Orange and Purple. Players in the two groups will compete against each other in a round-robin format, with the top two in each at the end of the group stage advancing to the semifinals.
The player finishing first in a group will take on the second-rank holder from the other group in the semifinals. The winners will then fight it out for the title in the final. Last year, Jessica Pegula and Iga Swiatek locked horns in the final, with the Polish ace clinching the trophy.
This year, the eight singles players to have qualified for the prestigious event are Aryna Sabalenka, Swiatek, Coco Gauff, Elena Rybakina, Jasmine Paolini, Barbora Krejcikova, Pegula, and Qinwen Zheng.
2024 WTA Finals Draw Analysis
Orange Group
Iga Swiatek, Coco Gauff, Jessica Pegula, and Barbora Krejcikova have been clubbed together in the Orange group. While Swiatek is the second seed, Gauff is the third seed, Krejcikova is the eighth seed, and Pegula is the sixth seed. The four players will play against each other in the group stage.
Action in the Orange group will get underway on Sunday with Swiatek and Krejcikova facing each other. The second match of the day will be between Gauff and Zheng. Swiatek has a better head-to-head record against all three of her group members and thus looks certain to make it into the top two of her group.
However, the fight for the second semifinal spot is expected to be a thrilling one. Gauff trails against all three of her group members. Krejcikova and Pegula, on the other hand, are tied in their head-to-head record. Krejcikova, with her impressive performances this season, looks well set to take the second spot.
Purple Group
Aryna Sabalenka, Qinwen Zheng, Elena Rybakina, and Jasmine Paolini have been drawn in the Purple group. The top seed Sabalenka takes on seventh seed Zheng in the opening match of the group on Saturday (November 2). This will be followed by a clash between Paolini and Rybakina.
Sabalenka has been phenomenal this season, achieving the targets she set for herself, be it the US Open title or the World No. 1 ranking. She clinched the title in Wuhan as well and now is headed to Riyadh to protect her throne.
The Belarusian has an upper hand over all three of her group-stage opponents and thus is expected to take the top spot at the end of the group stage. For the second spot, Zheng might surprise Paolini and Rybakina to make it her own.
The Chinese ace clinched the gold medal at the Paris Olympics and also won the title at the recently concluded Japan Open. On the other hand, Rybakina has been out of action for a while. Paolini has been in great form this season but has struggled against Zheng.
The Italian trails 0-3 in the head-to-head record against Zheng. The recent defeat at the Wuhan Open might have affected her confidence and she could finish out of the top two.
Semifinals
Iga Swiatek, Aryna Sabalenka, Barbora Krejcikova, and Qinwen Zheng are expected to be the four semifinalists at the 2024 WTA Finals. Sabalenka might take on Krejcikova for a spot in the final while a repeat of the Paris Olympics semifinals is expected between Zheng and Swiatek.
However, the Pole is not expected to repeat her mistakes from Paris and seal a spot in the final with a handsome win over her Chinese opponent. In the clash between Sabalenka and Krejcikova, the Belarusian looks like an outright favorite considering her 6-1 head-to-head record against the Czech player.
Final
The final of the 2024 WTA Finals will be more than just for the trophy. Iga Swiatek and Aryna Sabalenka will be fighting for the year-end No. 1 ranking as well. Having dethroned the Polish ace from World No. 1 position, Sabalenka goes into the tournament full of confidence.
Meanwhile, Swiatek will be focused on getting her crown back. The five-time Grand Slam champion does lead Sabalenka in their head-to-head record (12-8).
However, the reigning US Open champion is in the middle of a great season and Sabalenka also beat Swiatek at the Cincinnati Open. The final match will be a thrilling one and although Swiatek is ahead statistically, she won’t have an easy time getting past Sabalenka.
WTA Finals 2024 Prize money
The total prize money on offer is $15.25 million (£11.76m), which is a record for the event. Prize money is allocated per match win and is structured in such a way that the winner will take home a whopping $5.15m (£3.96m) if they win all their five matches on the way to the title win (three round-robin wins, a semifinal win, and then victory in the final).
The winner of the final will receive $2.5m (£1.9m) while the winner of each semifinal will receive $1.27m (£978,000). The prize money for a round-robin match win is $350,000 (£269,500) and each player receives $335,000 (£257,900) just for appearing at the event.
Where to watch WTA Finals 2024?
- USA – Tennis Channel
- UK – Sky Sports
- Canada – DAZN
- Australia – beIN Sports
- Japan – DAZN
- Brazil – ESPN Brazil
- India – Tennis Channel
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Ritesh Pathak
(2150 Articles Published)