Coco Gauff defended after accusations of purposely losing to knock Iga Swiatek out
Iga Swiatek's fate was in Coco Gauff's hands at the WTA Finals.
Serena Williams’ ex-coach has jumped to defend Coco Gauff after she was accused of trying to knock one of her rivals out of the WTA Finals.
The 20-year-old won the season-ending championships last weekend after ending with a 2-1 record in her group-stage matches. Her one loss came when Iga Swiatek’s fate was in her hands.
Had Gauff won the match against Barbora Krecjickova, Swiatek also would’ve made it out of the group. And some fans alleged that the American tanked on purpose.
The round-robin permutations at the WTA Finals always get a bit tricky and that was the case this year in the Orange Group. The eight players are divided into two groups and the top two players from each group advance to the semi-finals.
Gauff had already cemented her spot in the semi-final when she beat Swiatek in their second match of the week. It gave her a 2-0 record while the Pole was 1-1 and left one spot up for grabs in the Orange Group.
The scenarios changed when Jessica Pegula pulled out and was replaced by Daria Kasatkina, who had to face Swiatek last Thursday.
It meant Swiatek’s result was irrelevant – she would stay in the group if Gauff beat Krejcikova in the second match of the day and would be knocked out if Gauff lost.
The American ultimately suffered a 7-5 6-4 defeat to Wimbledon champion Krejcikova, meaning Swiatek could not advance to the semi-final and was dumped out in the group stage.
