WTA Finals: What you need to know about this year's semifinalists

FORT WORTH, Texas -- The semifinals are set at the WTA Finals, where No.1 Iga Swiatek will face No.7 Aryna Sabalenka and No.5 Maria Sakkari takes on No.6 Caroline Garcia.

Here's what you need to know about the final four ahead of Sunday's showdowns:

Schedule of play

• Not before 3:30 p.m.: [5] M. Sakkari vs. [6] C. Garcia
• Not before 7 p.m.: [1] I. Swiatek vs. [7] A. Sabalenka

[1] Iga Swiatek vs. [7] Aryna Sabalenka 

How Swiatek advanced: Won the Tracy Austin Group, going 3-0 without the loss of a aset (d. No.4 Gauff, No.6 Garcia, No.8 Kasatkina)

How Sabalenka advanced: Finished second in the Nancy Richey Group, going 2-1 and losing three sets (d. No.2 Ons Jabeur, No.3 Jessica Pegula; l. No.5 Sakkari). 

Head-to-head: Swiatek leads Sabalenka 4-1 and has won all four of their prior meetings this season

Fast facts: Swiatek is the first player to advance to the semifinals at the WTA Finals before turning 22 years old since Petra Kvitova in 2011 ... Swiatek won 40 of her 1st 45 matches as World No.1, bested only by Serena Williams winning 42 of her first 45 ... Swiatek has now won 15 consecutive matches vs. Top 10 opposition, tied for the longest single-season stream in the 2000s.

The World No.1 has picked up right where she left off when she finished the regular season by winning 14 of her past 15 matches, winning the US Open and the San Diego Open to take her tour-leading title court to eight. As she has been throughout her season, Swiatek is the one to beat. 

While the rest of the tour was grinding it out at the Guadalajara Open Akron, Swiatek was resting and training in Florida. The results have been evident. Swiatek lost just 13 games during an undefeated run through the Tracy Austin Group, defeating Caroline Garcia, Daria Kasatkina and Coco Gauff. 

There will be no secrets when Swiatek faces Sabalenka in the semifinals. It will be their fifth meeting of the season, with Swiatek winning all four this year. It will also be their second meeting at the WTA Finals. Sabalenka bested Swiatek last year in Guadalajara in three tough sets. 

Despite the head-to-head, Swiatek is thoroughly aware of the threat Sabalenka presents. Their last meeting came in the US Open semifinals, where Swiatek came from a break down in the third set to win 3-6, 6-1, 6-4. 

Sabalenka advanced to her first knockout stage at the WTA Finals with a little help from her friends. The No.7 seed went 2-1 in the Nancy Richey Group, with wins over No.2 Ons Jabeur and No.3 Jessica Pegula. But she needed Maria Sakkari to take a set off Jabeur in the last group match to book her advancement, and much to her relief, Sakkari won in straight sets to eliminate the Tunisian. 

[5] Maria Sakkari vs. [6] Caroline Garcia

How Sakkari advanced: Won the Nancy Richey Group, going 3-0 without the loss of a set (d. No.2 Jabeur, No.3 Pegula, No.7 Sabalenka). 

How Garcia advanced: Finished second in the Tracy Austin Group, going 2-1 and losing three sets (d. No.4 Gauff, No.8 Kasatkina; l. No.1 Swiatek).

Head-to-head: Garcia leads Sakkari 2-0, winning their last meeting at 2022 Cincinnati en route to the title. 

Fast facts: Garcia has won 34 WTA matches since June 2022, at least 11 more than any player during that run.... Sakkari and Garcia are the first players since Samantha Stosur in 2010 and 2011 to make back-to-back semifinals in their first two WTA Finals appearances.... Garcia leads the tour in aces with 377.... In each instance in which Garcia has faced Sakkari, the Frenchwoman went on to win the tournament.

No.5 Maria Sakkari made two WTA 1000 finals this season and is poised to finish her rollercoaster 2022 campaign inside the Top 5, the best year-end ranking of her career. She's also two wins away from the biggest title of her career. So she could only offer a sheepish smile when she was reminded that she nearly chose to end her season after San Diego.

"After a loss in San Diego and I just told Tom [Hill, her coach], let's call it," Sakkari said. "I cannot do that again. But he said take your time and let's take a decision tomorrow morning. Thank God I went to Guadalajara, everything would have been different."

Since that decision to trudge on, Sakkari has posted a 7-1 record, which included a run to the Guadalajara final. Playing in her second WTA Finals, Sakkari has now advanced to the semifinals in back-to-back seasons.

Playing aggressive tennis throughout the week, Sakkari put down statement performance after statement performance to go undefeated in the Nancy Richey Group. Now she faces the tricky task of withstanding the offensive firepower from Cincinnati champion Caroline Garcia. 

Garcia advanced to her second WTA Finals knockout round with a dramatic 4-6, 6-1, 7-6(5) comeback over No.8 Daria Kasatkina. The only player to win titles on all three surfaces this season, the 29-year-old Frenchwoman is also into her second WTA Finals knockout round. And like Sakkari, she's reached the semifinals in each of her first two tournament appearances. 

Garcia is undefeated against Sakkari, having won their only meeting the season during her title run in Cincinnati. This is a different Sakkari in Texas, but even she concedes she won't be able to match Garcia power for power. 

"I think that Caroline has a game style that no one else has in the game," Sakkari said. "She's just one meter inside the baseline, taking everything on the rise and hitting very hard."