WTA Finals flashback: Former champions share their unforgettable moments

RIYADH, Saudi Arabia -- Caroline Garcia finished the 2021 season ranked No.74 among WTA Tour Hologic players. More than seven months later, she was up to No.45 but harbored no dreams of playing at the WTA Finals in Fort Worth.

Then in late July she won the title in Warsaw. In August, she had to qualify in Cincinnati -- and wound up winning the tournament. Then Garcia reached the semifinals at the US Open and, eventually, she thrust her way into the elite Fort Worth field.

“I could not really believe I was playing the tournament,” Garcia told wtatennis.com in a recent interview. “I wasn’t normally expecting to make it to the WTA Finals. I was playing some good tennis, I don’t know if it was confidence, but my game was quite automatic the last couple of weeks.”

Seizing on that momentum, the overlooked No.6 seed in Fort Worth, Garcia won four of five matches at the year-end tournament, including the taut, memorable final over Aryna Sabalenka.

With the WTA Finals Riyadh presented by PIF in the dramatic closing stages, here’s a sneak peek at the emotions the winners in singles and doubles might feel when they triumph on Saturday.

Iga Swiatek, 2023 Cancun

After losing the World No.1 ranking to Sabalenka after the US Open, Swiatek won 11 straight matches, needing each one, to regain the top spot.

In her words: “I think there honestly were like three matches. Against Caro Garcia [quarterfinals] in Beijing that was probably, I would call it one of the best WTA matches last year. I remember how tight it was. After being a little bit down after US Open, it showed me that maybe I can go up again [in the rankings]. After this match I remember winning against Coco [Gauff in the semifinals], it was one of these matches where I played almost perfectly. It was a great boost of confidence. And in Cancun, playing the semifinals against Aryna. It rained, our match was pushed to next day and adjusting to that was pretty tough. I remember I played with big confidence and thought nothing could stop me.’’

Caroline Garcia, 2022 Fort Worth

After winning her first match in a third-set tiebreak over Daria Kasatkina, Garcia didn’t drop another set in beating, in order, Coco Gauff, Iga Swiatek, Maria Sakkari and Aryna Sabalenka. What follows is an almost clinical explanation of an athlete’s being in the zone.

In her words: “In the week of the WTA Final it was very like … I was on court, my path was clear. I knew what I wanted to do. It was very clear in my mind. There was no bad thinking or doubts. I just wanted to go there and play my game, go through it, fight. I had no expectation at all. I was never expecting that I can win the tournament, obviously. And, yeah, it was just like, I won’t say easy, but I had something that was bringing me this deep confidence, a lightness, kind of.”

Garbiñe Muguruza, 2021 Guadalajara

The tournament director in Riyadh, Muguruza qualified for the WTA Finals for the fourth and final time that year. After winning her first two matches, she fell to Karolina Pliskova in a third-set tiebreak but still advanced to the semifinals. There she took out Paula Badosa and then, for the second time, Anett Kontaveit.

In her words: “It’s already hard just qualifying for the tournament, insane, really. The only thought is, ‘I need to qualify, I need to qualify.’ And then you’re there playing. It’s the climax of one of my best seasons, winning many tournaments, qualifying and winning in Mexico. It was an amazing, amazing finish.” 

Barbora Krejcikova, 2021 Guadalajara (doubles)

The Czech Republic team of Krejcikova and Katerina Siniakova were the doubles champions that year, winning all five matches, defeating Elise Mertens and Hsieh Su-Wei in the final. The match took place on Nov. 17, the anniversary of the beginning of the Velvet Revolution -- a non-violent transition of power to a parliamentary republic from a communist regime. 

In her words: “Definitely the last point and getting the trophy from [Czech hero] Martina [Navratilova]. I liked my speech [because] that day was very big for the Czech citizens.” 

Dominika Cibulkova, 2016 Singapore

The diminutive player from Slovenia lost her first two group matches to World No.1 Angelique Kerber and Madison Keys. But Cibulkova rallied to defeat Halep in straight sets -- and Kerber managed to beat Keys. That advanced Cibulkova to the final four. After a victory over Svetlana Kuznetsova, she faced Keber in a rematch.

In her words: “She had just beaten me. I had to change small details -- I had to go backhand down the line on return that she did not expect. I was playing really, really good. I don’t want to say the best match of my career because it’s hard to tell, but … one of them, for sure. Everything was working so well. This was the best moment of my career. Even now, eight years ago. … I really, really, really remember a lot. Of course, the favorite memory is the winning moment. I can’t beat that, ever.” 

Agnieszka Radwanska, 2015 Singapore

After Agnieszka Radwanska lost her first two matches, to Maria Sharapova and Flavia Pennetta, her odds of advancing to the semifinals were long, indeed. She would have to defeat Simona Halep in straight sets -- and hope that Maria Sharapova could do the same to Pennetta. When Halaep took a 5-1 lead in the first-set tiebreak, her chances appeared to be close to zero.

In her words: “Definitely was a crazy set. Losing 5-1 in first-set tiebreak, pressure is less and you’re almost already home. Body and the hand loosen up. OK, let’s play but I know I’m done. Was actually easier for me at that point because I played unbelievable from that moment. I remember those set points against me, those rallies were incredible because we played similar tennis, a lot of running and tight point. I win 7-6, 6-1 and when Sharapova wins in straights, I had a second life. Beat Muguruza in the semis -- maybe one of the best matches in my career. The final, over Kvitova, was also three sets. For me in my career, played Finals six times, two times as an alternate … that is one of the best things that happened in my career.”

Martina Navratilova, 1978-79, 1981, 1983-86 New York

The WTA Finals came to Madison Square Garden in 1978 -- and took up residence for more than two decades. Navratilova, the 18-time Grand Slam champion, won the inaugural tournament, defeating Evonne Goolagong in the final. She defended her title against Tracy Austin and went on to win eight singles titles at the year-end tournament -- and 13 more in doubles.

In her words: “When I think back, it’s not a specific year, but the vibe at Madison Square Garden championships. The energy there was pretty cool. The New York crowds were pretty rowdy, the fans came, rather than the corporate types that you see at the [US] Open. The Garden, the history of all the other sports, the other performers were there meant something. Anybody that was anybody -- if they were big enough to fill the Garden, they were big. We were filling the Garden. For me, that was the pinnacle.”