In an encounter of players who rank first and second for hard-court wins this season, Garbine Muguruza defeated Anett Kontaveit 6-3 7-5 to become the first Spaniard to win the WTA Finals title.
After beating eighth seed Kontaveit during the round-robin phase in Group Teotihuacan, sixth seed Muguruza repeated the feat against the Estonian in Wednesday’s final to win the Billie Jean King Trophy.
The in-form Kontaveit had dropped serve just twice against other opponents during the week in Guadalajara, while Muguruza managed to break her seven times — twice during the round-robin stage and five times in the final.
Muguruza, who was born and spent the first six years of her life in Caracas, Venezuela, was extra motivated to qualify for the WTA Finals this year as the tournament was held in Latin America. The two-time Grand Slam champion now owns a 14-2 main-draw win-loss record on Mexican soil.
The Akron WTA Finals Guadalajara triumph, Muguruza’s 10th career title, will take her from No.5 to No.3 in the WTA rankings.
Muguruza’s winning outfit: the Adidas Marimekko Dress, featuring designer Maija Isola’s famous Unikko (poppy) pattern, and the Adidas SoleMatch Bounce women’s tennis shoes.
Earlier on Wednesday, Czechs Barbora Krejcikova and Katerina Siniakova defeated Hsieh Su-Wei and Elise Mertens 6-3 6-4 to clinch the WTA Finals doubles title undefeated. (photos: Jimmie48)
BTW, Marija, rumor has it that Garbi has a new bf who was sitting in her box at Guadalajara. You heard anything about this?
Jim, here’s some more info about him and a couple of photos: https://womenstennisblog.com/2021/11/18/garbine-muguruza-boyfriend-photos/