Who will be the 2024 queen of the women’s circuit? The last act of the fight for the place of world No.1 begins on Saturday between Aryna Sabalenka (N.1) and Iga Swiatek (N.2), during the Masters hosted for the first time by Saudi Arabia.
“It’s going to be a fierce battle.”anticipated tournament director and former world premiere Garbine Muguruza at the start of the week. “I can’t wait to see how they handle this pressure”added the Spaniard.
The draw placed the Pole, dislodged from her throne by Sabalenka in October, in the group of Americans Coco Gauff (3rd) and Jessica Pegula (6th), and the Czech Barbora Krejcikova (13th).
Belarus will face Italy’s Jasmine Paolini (4th), Kazakhstan’s Elena Rybakina (5th) and China’s Qinwen Zheng (7th).
Before the start of the tournament, which will bring up to 1,500 points to its winner, 1,046 units separate Sabalenka from Swiatek in the WTA rankings.
Titled at the Australian Open and the US Open and winner of the WTA 1000 tournaments (the most prestigious after the Grand Slams) in Cincinnati and Wuhan, the Belarusian will be sure to finish the year at the top of the world rankings if she wins its three group matches or if it reaches the final.
Winner of Roland-Garros and four WTA 1000s (Doha, Indian Wells, Madrid and Rome), Swiatek is obliged to win the tournament if she wants to have a chance of recovering her throne.
The last few weeks have been hectic for the Pole, between her withdrawal from the WTA 1000 in Beijing and Wuhan for “personal reasons” and the end of his collaboration with his trainer Tomasz Wiktorowski.
“New country, new market”
Garbine Muguruza
Now coached by the Belgian Wim Fissette, former mentor of her compatriot Kim Clijsters and the Japanese Naomi Osaka, Swiatek has not played since her defeat in the quarter-finals of the US Open against Jessica Pegula.
Apart from sporting issues, the Masters will take place for the first time in Saudi Arabia, a state regularly accused by NGOs of human rights violations, particularly those of women.
According to Garbine Muguruza, the players present in Riyadh are “impatient” to play the tournament there.
Despite criticism from Tennis legends Chris Evert and Martina Navratilova over the choice of host country, “I’ve only heard positive things”assured the Spaniard.
“It’s a new country for us, a new market”insisted Garbine Muguruza.
President of the Saudi Tennis Federation, Arij Mutabagani hopes that the event “inspire” the premises.
The «but» The goal is to reach one million tennis players in the country by 2030, she told AFP.
The winner of the tournament will leave Riyadh with the biggest jackpot in the history of the Masters: between 4.46 and 5.16 million dollars depending on her career.
The previous record was held by Australian Ashleigh Barty, paid $4.42 million for her victory in Shenzhen, China, in 2019.
In mid-October, Saudi Arabia, already organizer of a Formula 1 Grand Prix and the lucrative LIV golf circuit, attracted the stars of men’s tennis during an exhibition tournament, the Six Kings Slam, also richly endowed.
Asked about his motivations for participating, in an already particularly busy men’s calendar, world No.2 Carlos Alcaraz admitted on Monday that money was part of it.
“If I said that I participated just for fun or to play matches, without thinking about money, I would be lying”declared the Spaniard during a press conference at the Masters 1000 in Paris.
“Saudi Arabia offered the highest prize money in history”it was “good motivation”conceded Alcaraz.
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