RIYADH, Saudi Arabia – World No. 6 Jessica Pegula has withdrawn from the WTA Finals in Riyadh presented by the Public Investment Fund due to a left knee injury. She will be replaced in the Orange Group by top alternate and world No. 9 Daria Kasatkina.
“I had a little injury, and for whatever reason, it flared up this week,” Pegula said. “I’m not really sure why. The few days leading up to training, I felt really, really good, but it started creeping up right before my first match, and I feel like I’m not feeling… Comfortable while moving on the field.
Kasatkina will face world number two Iga Swiatek in the final match of the group stage on Thursday. Swiatek will look to bounce back from her straight sets loss to Coco Gauff, which dropped her to 1-1 in the Orange set. A win over Kasatkina combined with a win over Gauff over Barbora Krejcikova would send Swiatek into her third straight WTA Finals semifinal, where she will face world number one Aryna Sabalenka.
Any other set of results on Thursday would eliminate Swiatek and put Krejcikova in the quarterfinals with Gauff.
Pegula qualified for her third WTA Finals after a strong second half of the season, which saw her climb to titles in Berlin, Toronto and the final in Cincinnati, before breaking through to reach her first Grand Slam final at the US Open. In Riyadh, she suffered two losses in straight sets to Gauff and Krejkova, ending the tournament with a score of 0-2.
Earlier in the week, Pegula also announced her withdrawal from next week’s Billie Jean King Cup in Malaga, Spain.
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