In a fitting ode to the depth and unpredictability of women’s tennis, the two undefeated players from the group stages – Iga Swiatek and Maria Sakkari – in Fort Worth are out of the competition. As such, our WTA Finals final prediction features Aryna Sabalenka and Caroline Garcia. A new WTA Finals champion will be crowned on Monday in the final WTA Tour singles match of the year. So, let’s take a look at who that champion should be come the end of the day’s play.
WTA Finals Final Prediction
Caroline Garcia vs Aryna Sabalenka
Head-to-head: 2 – 2
Garcia is capping of an incredible return to the top of the women’s game in some style here in Fort Worth. The French superstar started 2022 ranked #74 in the world on the back of some average years on the tour. However, she finishes it ranked either fourth or fifth depending on whether she wins or loses. Her aggressive ground strokes have been firing in the second half of the year and her potency on serve has returned as well. This match is a chance for her to lift her fourth trophy in an already historic year. She will need to bring her best against a dangerous opponent in Sabalenka if she is to lift the title. Nonetheless, this has been an incredible year for Garcia and she can be proud of what she’s accomplished.
By contrast, Sabalenka may well be a little disappointed with her 2022 campaign. That’s an odd thing to say for someone who made the WTA Finals and will finish in the top five in the women’s game once again. However, the Belarusian started this year ranked #2 in the world. She had a superb year in 2021 and performed in several big tournaments. As such, may expected her to kick on and challenge for Grand Slams this time round. Instead, she’s given us a trophy-less season and questions about her second serve that simply won’t go away. Her game remains one-dimensional and she doesn’t appear to have the mental toughness to get over the line consistently in big tournaments. That being said, her power off the ground is immense and nobody on the WTA Tour can live with her when she’s firing on all cylinders.
The Prediction
This one looks like it’s going to be a tight match. Sabalenka will need to keep control of her second serve throughout if she wants to win. Equally, Garcia needs a strong serving performance to stop her opponent dismantling her serve. Both are powerful off the ground and enjoy dictating play wherever possible. Sabalenka is undoubtedly the more powerful of the two, but she is also more erratic. I think Garcia brings too much confidence into this match to lose it. She’ll find good spots regularly enough on return to put doubts in Sabalenka’s head and that should be enough to steal it in a close one.
Prediction: Garcia in 3
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