1 (or more) stat(s) for each semi-finalist in Beijing

Get prepped for the final WTA 1000-level semi-final of the season in Beijing with these stats…

Liudmila Samsonova in Montreal (ICON SMI/Panoramic)

October 6, 2023

The final 1000 event of the WTA season has already put an end to the Race to Cancun – all eight spots are now locked up – but there’s still plenty to play for, and a few ripe milestones to be achieved. Let’s have a look at the four semi-finalists and one or two stats that define each player’s push for the title.

Starting with the top half, where No 5 seed Elena Rybakina will meet Liudmila Samsonova:

Rybakina:

The 2022 Wimbledon champion has won each of her last seven matches against top-3 competition. That streak dates all the way back to Rybakina’s win over Ons Jabeur in the 2022 Wimbledon final.

d. No. 2 Jabeur in 2022 Wimbledon F, 3-6, 6-2, 6-2
d. No. 1 Swiatek in 2023 Australian Open 4th Rd, 6-4, 6-4
d. No. 1 Swiatek in 2023 Indian Wells SFs, 6-2, 6-2
d. No. 2 Sabalenka in 2023 Indian Wells F, 7-6 (11), 6-4
d. No. 3 Pegula in 2023 Miami SFs, 7-6 (3), 6-4
d. No. 1 Swiatek in 2023 Rome QFs, 2-6, 7-6 (3), 2-2 RET
d. No. 1 Sabalenka in 2023 Beijing QFs, 7-5, 6-2

Rybakina was 1-4 against the top 3 prior to the start of this remarkable streak. She could potentially face No 2 Iga Swiatek or No 3 Coco Gauff in the final at Beijing.

Samsonova:

The Russian improved to 12-3 lifetime in WTA quarter-finals with her 6-3, 6-2 win over Jelena Ostapenko.

Even more remarkable? Samsonova is 8-0 against players ranked inside the top 50 in WTA quarter-finals.

Impressively, Samsonova has been good in semi-finals as well – she is 5-1 in her last six tour-level semi-finals, including a 1-6, 6-1, 6-2 victory over Rybakina in the Montreal semis.

Now we move to the bottom half, where Coco Gauff and Iga Swiatek are set to meet for the ninth time.

Swiatek:

Swiatek, the WTA’s win leader in 2023 thus far, has crossed the 60-win plateau once again in 2023. Last year the Pole became the first player to hit 60 victories in a calendar year since Caroline Wozniacki finished 2017 with 60. Swiatek went 67-9 in 2022, and recorded the most victories in a single-season on tour since Serena Williams won 78 in 2013.

This year she’s done it again, and will enter the semi-finals with a 61-11 record on the season.

Swiatek has won 15 of her last 20 WTA semi-finals but lost her last two, against Jessica Pegula in Montreal and Coco Gauff in Cincinnati (both 6-4 in the third set).

Gauff:

The American rides a personal best 16-match winning streak into her clash with Swiatek. It is the longest streak on the WTA Tour this season. Swiatek notched the longest streak on the WTA Tour in 2022, winning 37 straight at one point.

During her streak, Gauff has won six three-setters, handed out three bagels, and lost two or fewer games in a set 13 times. She has rallied from a set down three times during the streak, all of those comebacks coming at the US Open, including in the final against Aryna Sabalenka.