WTA Finals 2021 - Aryna Sabalenka, Iga Swiatek in same group, Barbora Krejcikova, Karolina Pliskova together

ByJames Walker-Roberts

Published 09/11/2021 at 09:13 GMT

The draw for the WTA Finals was made on Monday with players put into groups named after ancient Mexican cities. World No 2 Aryna Sabalenka and 2020 French Open champion Iga Swiatek have been drawn together while Czech pair Barbora Krejcikova and Karolina Pliskova are in the same group. The event starts on November 10.

Aryna Sabalenka and Iga Swiatek will meet for the first time on the WTA Tour after being drawn in the same group at the WTA Finals in Guadalajara.

The world’s top eight singles and doubles players are competing at the season-ending event, which has been moved from China to Mexico due to Covid-19 concerns. The round-robin draw was conducted on Monday with all four groups named after ancient cities in Mexico - Chichén Itzá, Teotihuacán, Tenochtitlán, and El Tajín.

World No 2 Sabalenka and 2020 French Open champion Swiatek are in Group Chichén Itzá, along with Maria Sakkari – the first Greek woman to play at the tournament – and Indian Wells champion Paula Badosa.

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Czech duo Barbora Krejcikova and Karolina Pliskova are both in Group Teotihuacán, along with two-time Grand Slam champion Garbine Muguruza and in-form Anett Kontaveit, who qualified for the finals with a stunning run that has seen her win 26 of her last 28 matches.

Muguruza is the only player in the group that has beaten former world No 1 Pliskova, who boasts a win-loss record of 13-2 against the three players in the group.

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The WTA Finals get underway on Wednesday, November 10 with the round robin. The semi-finals of both the singles and doubles take place on Tuesday, November 16.

The finals of the singles and doubles bring the event to a close on Wednesday, November 17.

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WTA Finals singles and doubles groups

Group Chichén Itzá

1. Aryna Sabalenka (BLR)

4. Maria Sakkari (GRE)

5. Iga Swiatek (POL)

7. Paula Badosa (ESP)

Group Teotihuacán

2. Barbora Krejcikova (CZE)

3. Karolina Pliskova (CZE)

6. Garbiñe Muguruza (ESP)

8. Anett Kontaveit (EST)

Group Tenochtitlán

2. Shuko Aoyama (JPN) & Ena Shibahara (JPN)

4. Nicole Melichar-Martinez (USA) & Demi Schuurs (NED)

5. Samantha Stosur (AUS) & Zhang Shuai (CHN)

7. Darija Jurak (CRO) & Andreja Klepac (SLO)

Group El Tajín

1. Barbora Krejcikova (CZE) & Katerina Siniakova (CZE)

3. Hsieh Su-Wei (TPE) & Elise Mertens (BEL)

6. Alexa Guarachi (CHI) & Desirae Krawczyk (USA)

8. Sharon Fichman (CAN) & Giuliana Olmos (MEX)

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