Swiatek, Gauff land in same group

CANCUN, Mexico — The draw is out for the GNP Seguros WTA Finals Cancun, the Hologic WTA Tour’s season-ending championships.

The top two seeds, Aryna Sabalenka and Iga Swiatek, lead the Bacalar and Chetumal groups, respectively.

Here’s how the rest of the groups shook out:

Bacalar Group

1. Aryna Sabalenka
4. Elena Rybakina
5. Jessica Pegula
8. Maria Sakkari

Chetumal Group

2. Iga Swiatek
3. Coco Gauff
6. Ons Jabeur
7. Marketa Vondrousova

The Bacalar Group will witness a rematch of two significant finals of the season, with Sabalenka and Rybakina drawn together. The two have competed against each other three times this season, with Sabalenka emerging victorious in the Australian Open final, Rybakina clinching the Indian Wells final, and the Beijing quarterfinals. Familiar adversaries Pegula and Sakkari, who have squared off nine times before, will also go head-to-head.

“Obviously with Aryna and Elena, it’s a battle of power games and big servers, so it’s going to be intriguing,” Pegula said. “But I’m content with my group. Aside from Maria, I haven’t played Aryna or Elena that much, so it will be interesting.”

The Chetumal Group features three major champions of the season, including French Open champion Swiatek, US Open champion Gauff, and Wimbledon champion Vondrousova. Swiatek and Gauff will clash for the 10th time in their careers. The group will also witness a rematch of the Wimbledon final, with Jabeur scheduled to face Vondrousova.

“You’re not going to have any easy matches in WTA Finals,” Swiatek said. “Obviously I faced Coco and Marketa in Beijing and the US Open, so the only player I haven’t played recently is Ons. I just have to focus on myself and adapt to the conditions here, and everything should be fine.”

The top two finishers from each group will advance to the semifinals. The top finisher from each group will face the second-place finisher from the other. The semifinals and final will follow a standard knockout format.

In doubles, top seeds Coco Gauff and Jessica Pegula top the Mahahual group, with Storm Hunter and Elise Mertens leading the Maya Ka’an group.

Mahahual Group

1. Coco Gauff & Jessica Pegula
4. Barbora Krejcikova & Katerina Siniakova
6. Vera Zvonareva & Laura Siegemund
7. Gabriela Dabrowski & Erin Routliffe

Maya Ka’an Group

2. Storm Hunter & Elise Mertens
3. Shuko Aoyama & Ena Shibahara
5. Demi Schuurs & Desirae Krawczyk
8. Nicole Melichar-Martinez & Ellen Perez

Round-robin play begins on Sunday, Oct. 29.