Iga Swiatek free of pressure at the WTA Finals 2023 believes Martina Navratilova as she looks forward to the Pole’s rivalry with Aryna Sabalenka for the World No. 1 spot

The WTA Finals kicks off on 29 October.

Iga Swiatek free of pressure at the WTA Finals 2023 believes Martina Navratilova as she looks forward to the Pole’s rivalry with Aryna Sabalenka for the World No. 1 spot

Martina Navratilova, Iga Swiatek (Images via CNN)

The year’s most-awaited women’s tennis tournament, the WTA Finals is due to start in just a few hours from now. The top eight players from across the globe will be competing against each other to lay hands on the elusive trophy and a whopping prize money of $ 9 million. Just like every tournament, the WTA Finals also have favorites and Martina Navratilova has talked about the same. She picked Iga Swiatek as one of the top favorites.

Navratilova talked about the Pole’s chances at the most competitive tournament on the tour. The American legend feels not being the top-ranked player in the world will ease the pressure off Swiatek and it will eventually help her in doing well.

Talking in Beijing, Iga almost seemed relieved to not be No.1. The No.2 ranking is a smaller crown to bear. I get that, but I still would rather be No.1 than No.2. That said, the pressure is just a little bit smaller and maybe that makes it easier for her.
Martina Navratilova told WTA in an interview.

Martina Navratilova excited for Iga Swiatek’s battle with Aryna Sabalenka

Martina Navratilova also talked about Iga Swiatek’s matchup with World No.1 Aryna Sabalenka. The former American ace believes it will be a close battle between the two players for the No.1 ranking. Navratilova backed Swiatek to go all out to reclaim her throne which she lost to Sabalenka after an early exit at the 2023 US Open.

Iga-Swiatek-World-no.1
Iga Swiatek win the title in Beijing (Images via China Open X)
I’m sure she’ll be trying her best to get back to the No.1 again. If it stays that way, it will be Sabalenka No.1 and Swiatek No.2 when the Australian Open rolls around. It’s so close now, we have a great rivalry, and I’m excited about that.
Martina Navratilova said.

It is worth mentioning that Sabalenka ended Swiatek’s 75-week reign at the top of the WTA rankings to become the 29th World No.1 player. Now, the two players enter the WTA Finals with a chance to end the tournament as the No.1 and eventually the year-end No.1. While Sabalenka has 8,425 points on the Race to the WTA Finals leaderboard, Swiatek has 7,795 points.

If Aryna Sabalenka is to defend her crown, she will need to reach the final with a 2-1 record in the round-robin format. Meanwhile, Iga Swiatek will have to win the title in order to dethrone the Belarusian. There are quite a few other scenarios that can help Iga Swiatek reclaim the World No.1 ranking.

Now, talking about the two players’ campaign at the 2023 WTA Finals, Aryna Sabalenka has been drawn into the Bacalar group with Elena Rybakina, Jessica Pegula, and Maria Sakkari. Meanwhile, Iga Swiatek is in the Chetumal group with Coco Gauff, Ons Jabeur, and Marketa Vandrousova.

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