Jabeur, Pegula, Sabalenka battle for one semifinal spot

FORT WORTH, Texas — No.5 Maria Sakkari took control of the Nancy Richey Group on Wednesday after improving to 2-0 with zero sets lost at the WTA Finals and securing her advancement out of the group. But there is still a lot on the line on Friday. No.2 Ons Jabeur, No.3 Jessica Pegula and No.7 Aryna Sabalenka still have a chance of qualifying for the semifinals. Meanwhile, Sakkari still has work to do to win the group, which would assure her a semifinal showdown with the No.2 qualifier out of the Tracy Austin Group. 

Round 2 Roundup: Sakkari secures her semi spot | Jabeur rallies to stop Pegula

With all four players still in the mix going into the final day of group play for the Nancy Richey Group, every match, set, and game could determine the group’s final standings. Both Jabeur and Sabalenka carry a 1-1 record into the final round, while Pegula sits at 0-2. With the possibility of all three players finishing with a 1-2 record in round-robin play, the last qualifier could be determined by the percentage of games won.

Friday Order of Play for the Nancy Richey Group (Singles) and Rosie Casals Group (Doubles)

1:30 pm
(6) Yifan Xu & Zhaoxuan Yang vs. (8) Desirae Krawczyk & Demi Schuurs 
Not before 3:30 pm
(3) Jessica Pegula vs. (7) Aryna Sabalenka
7:00 pm
(2) Ons Jabeur vs. (5) Maria Sakkari
(1) Barbora Krejcikova & Katerina Siniakova vs. (3) Coco Gauff & Jessica Pegula

Scenarios for the Nancy Richey Group (Singles)

— Maria Sakkari has already secured her semifinal berth, with her position to be determined by Friday’s results.

— If Sakkari and Sabalenka win, Sakkari will win the group with Sabalenka qualifying in the second position. 

— If Sakkari wins in straight sets and Pegula wins in straight sets, Sakkari will win the group with Pegula qualifying second.

— If Sakkari wins in straight sets and Pegula wins in three sets, Sakkari will win the group and the second qualifier will be determined by percentage of games won.

— If Sakkari wins in three sets and Pegula wins, Sakkari will win the group with Jabeur qualifying second.

— If Jabeur wins in straight sets and Sabalenka wins in straight sets, Sakkari will win the group with Jabeur qualifying second.

— If Jabeur wins in three sets and Sabalenka wins in straight sets, Sakkari will win the group with Jabeur qualifying second.

— If Jabeur wins and Sabalenka wins in three sets, Sakkari will win the group with Jabeur qualifying second.

— If Jabeur wins and Pegula wins, Jabeur will win the group with Sakkari qualifying second.

** Qualification tiebreaker: If three players are tied in match wins and the percentage of sets won, the next criteria will be the percentage of games won. If two players remain tied, the head-to-head winner will prevail. 

Scenarios for the Rosie Casals Group (Doubles)

— Krejcikova & Siniakova have won the group. Gauff and Pegula cannot advance. 

— The winner between Krawczyk and Schuurs and Xu and Yang will claim the second position.