Right from the start, when Anett Kontaveit defeated Karolina Pliskova and Paula Bardosa defeated Aryna Sabalenka, experts said that these were accidents of the top seeds at the 2021 WTA Finals. They will return in the following rounds to affirm their value.
However, after 5 days of competition, surprise is truly the keyword of this year's tournament. At the end of the group stage, the top 3 seeds - in addition to Sabalenka (number 1), Pliskova (3) and Barbosa Krejcikova (2), all had to say goodbye early. In a way, the seeds to the semi-finals are No. 4 (Maria Sakkari), No. 6 (Garbine Muguruza), No. 7 (Badosa) and No. 8 (Kontaveit).
And then, after the semi-final matches on the morning of November 17 (Vietnam time), the final match recorded the presence of Muguruza and Kontaveit.
In the first semi-final, Muguruza and Badosa created an all-ishing match for Spain, ending after 1 hour and 25 minutes with a 6-3, 6-3 victory for Muguruza. This match is certain to be a Spanish player in the final and for the second time in the history of the WTA Finals, there will be an athlete from the Iberia peninsula, after former world No. 1 Arantxa Sanchez Vicario in 1993 (losing to German Stefanie Graf in the final).
The 2-time Grand Slam champion, continued his excellent form in Mexico to get a 13-2 win- loss when competing in this country. This is also the 6th win for Muguruza this year and the 41st victory of their career against players in the Top 10. Badosa is the latest addition to the Top 10. Muguruza have now won 41 games this season, just behind 2017 (45-18).
In the second semi-final, Kontaveit continued his dream journey to reach the "Paradise" in his first time participating in the WTA Finals. The Estonian played overwhelmingly in the first set to win 6-1. The Greek representative responded with a score of 6-3 in set 2, but with the same result, Kontaveit entered the final.
In 2021, the 25-year-old tennis player's results in the semi-finals were very impressive - winning 7, losing 0, and is aiming for his third consecutive championship and fifth title. Currently 8th in the world, if they win the trophy named Billie Jean King, Kontaveit's position will be improved by 2 places.
However, opponent Muruguza will be a big obstacle, because in the group meeting, Kontaveit lost 4-6, 4-6.
With Muguruza and Kontaveit entering the final, this will be the 5th time in the last 6 WTA Finals that the championship has belonged to the seeds in the 5th to 8th place. Recent winners include Agnieszka Radwanska (number 5 in 2015), Dominika Cibulkova (number 7 in 2016), Caroline Wozniacki (number 6 in 2017), Elina Svitolina (number 7 in 2018), Ashleigh Barty (number 1 in 2019).
