Swiatek vs. Pegula: Everything you need to know about the Cancun final

CANCUN, Mexico -- No.2 Iga Swiatek will face No.5 Jessica Pegula for the title at the GNP Seguros WTA Finals Cancun. 

Monday's bout will decide the fate of the year-end No.1 ranking. If Swiatek wins her tour-leading sixth title of the season, she will overtake No.1 Aryna Sabalenka to finish in the top spot for the second consecutive season. 

Here's what you need to know about the high-stakes showdown in Cancun.

When is the women's final?

The finals will both be played on Monday, Nov. 6. The doubles final, which features No.6 Laura Siegemund and Vera Zvonareva against No.8 Nicole Melichar-Martinez and Ellen Perez, will be played at 1:30 p.m.

The singles final will follow at 4:30 p.m.

What are the points and prize money at stake?

Points and prize money at the WTA Finals are distributed based on participation and wins. By virtue of going 3-0 in round-robin play, Swiatek and Pegula have each already earned $1,602,000 by making the final. They have also earned 1,080 points. 

The WTA Finals champion will add an additional $1,476,000 in prize money and 420 ranking points. 

If Swiatek wins, she will finish the year at World No.1. 

How did Swiatek and Pegula get here?

Swiatek capped off her regular season with a title run in Beijing, her fifth title of the season. Drawn into the Chetumal Group in Cancun, Swiatek did not lose a set in round-robin play. She defeated Wimbledon champion Marketa Vondrousova 7-6(3), 6-0, US Open champion Coco Gauff 6-0, 7-5 and No.6 seed Ons Jabeur 6-1, 6-2. She lost just 14 games. Since the round-robin format was reinstated in 2003, a player has lost fewer than 14 games in group play only twice: Justine Henin and ... Swiatek last year. 

Into the semifinals, Swiatek kept her bid for the No.1 ranking alive by defeating Sabalenka 6-3, 6-2 in a match that lasted over two days because of rain delays. The victory extended her current win streak to 10. 

Pegula is also streaking. After finishing off her regular season with a title run in Seoul for her second title of the year, Pegula extended her winning streak to nine consecutive matches with her unbeaten run in Cancun. Drawn into the tough Bacalar Group that included Sabalenka and No.4 Rybakina, Pegula did not lose a set.

Pegula's 6-4, 6-3 win over Sabalenka was her third victory over a reigning No.1 this year, having beaten Swiatek twice on hard courts this year. Along with her wins over No.3 Gauff and No.4 Rybakina, Pegula is now 6-1 against Top 5 opponents this season. A champion in Guadalajara last year, she is now 9-0 in Mexico. 

How do they stack up?

Swiatek leads the head-to-head series 5-3, but Pegula is one of just two players to defeat Swiatek twice this year. Pegula bested her at the United Cup, winning 6-2, 6-2 in the semifinals, and Swiatek avenged the loss a month later during her title run in Doha, where she won 6-3, 6-0 in the final. 

Most recently, Pegula and Swiatek faced off in the semifinals in Montreal, where the American edged out a 6-2, 6-7(4), 6-4. 

In Cancun, both women have been in dominant form. Both went undefeated and neither has lost a set. Swiatek has lost 19 games, matching the fewest games dropped en route to the final (Justine Henin, 2007). Pegula has lost 22.

What's at stake?

Both players are bidding to win the season-ending championships for the first time. 

In addition to the No.1 ranking, Swiatek is bidding for her sixth title of the season and 17th career title. A win would extend her current win streak to 11 matches. She would become the second Polish player to lift the season-ending trophy, joining Agnieszka Radwanska in 2015. 

A champion in Warsaw (WTA 250), Doha and Stuttgart (WTA 500), Beijing (WTA 1000) and Roland Garros (Grand Slam), a win at the WTA Finals would give Swiatek a title at every Hologic WTA Tour level this season. The last player to accomplish this feat was Serena Williams in 2014.

If she returns to No.1, Swiatek would become the sixth-youngest player to finish at No.1 in back-to-back seasons. Only Chris Evert in 1976, Steffi Graf in 1988 and 1989, Monica Seles in 1992, Martina Hingis in 2000 and Caroline Wozniacki in 2011 were younger.

Pegula is bidding for her third title of the season and fifth of her career. With two WTA 1000 titles under her belt, at 2022 Guadalajara and 2023 Montreal, the WTA Finals would be the biggest title of the 29-year-old American's career. She is looking to become the first American to win since Serena Williams in 2014.

Pegula has posted nine wins against Top 10 opponents this year and could become the fifth American since 2000 to claim 10 victories in a calendar year, after Venus Williams, Jennifer Capriati, Lindsay Davenport and Serena Williams.

What are they saying? 

Pegula: "Having two wins over her this year is going to give me a lot of confidence. But again, I think she's someone where when she's hot, she can kind of steamroll everybody, and I feel like that's what she's doing right now. She's also I think, probably the best player in the wind in these conditions, because her footwork is so good. And coming off the Beijing win, I think she has a lot of confidence as well."

Swiatek: "I feel like [the No.1] is still a long way because tomorrow's match should be like the toughest one. It's not going to be easy against Jessie. She really showed that she can play in any conditions. So, still a long way. For now, I'm just like really focused on just continuing what I have been doing for the past days, and I managed to do this tonight, even though this match was also with a lot of hype and everything. So I'm pretty sure tomorrow is going to be similar for me in terms of my mentality."

Pegula: "I had such a successful year last year, it was hard to imagine making it that much more successful. And I've managed to really get my act together at the end of the year, have a great week in Seoul, do well in Asia and then I think I did a good job of carrying that momentum here. I think I improved that a lot compared to last year, where it was a new experience for me, and I wasn't sure what I was doing or how I was playing. And it's not fun to leave 0-6. So I'm glad I'm definitely turning the tables this year." 

Swiatek: "It's not like the biggest final, but it's one of the biggest finals that I played. So for sure, exciting and a little bit different challenge, because I've never been in the final of WTA Finals. So you know, last match of the season and all that stuff. All the fuss around the tournament makes it special.

"But overall, I feel like me and Jessie, we played really in a smart way and we really kept calm. We're pretty focused and just taking the most we can from these matches and conditions. So I truly think that we both deserve to be in a final."