Barbora Krejcikova kicks Iga Swiatek out of WTA Finals by defeating Coco Gauff

Barbora Krejcikova can mark herself safe from bouncing out of the WTA Finals before the knockout rounds. After dropping her first match at the event, she needed to win her last two matches to have a chance at bigger money by making the semifinals. Not only did she do that, but she swept through the two matches and ended up with a better overall record of win-losses in terms of sets than any other player.

In defeating Coco Gauff 7-5 6-4, Krejcikova also made sure WTA No. 2 Iga Swiatek's time at the tournament was done. Swiatek needed the Czech to lose to the American. Instead, Krejcikova used a fantastic backhand to keep Gauff from gaining much consistent traction. Gauff was forced to chase balls for most of the match while the Czech stayed calm and took advantage of all her chances.

In the Swiatek-less semifinals, Krejcikova will face Zheng Qinwen, while Gauff will take on WTA No. 1 Aryna Sabalenka. None of the players will have a chance at the ultimate money prize for going through the tournament undefeated, however. Each lost a match in the round-robin stage.

The WTA Finals semifinals are set after Barbora Krejcikova defeats Coco Gauff

The excellence Krejcikova showed against Gauff on Thursday is repeatable. This should mean the semifinals should be fun to watch. Every player has a chance to win. Only Gauff hasn't won a major event of the final four as Zheng won the Paris Olympics, Krejcikova won Wimbledon, and Sabalenka won the Australian Open and the US Open.

Still, Gauff knows she is capable of defeating any other player. She won the US Open in 2023, and while she struggled this past summer, her change of coaches appears to have fixed most of her issues with forehand inconsistency. Her serve is still a challenge for her at times, but she limited her double faults against Krejcikova. The Czech was just the better player on Thursday.

Sabalenka has already cemented her year-end No. 1 ranking, though. The only thing left for the players is who will take home the record $4.45 million for winning the WTA Finals. No matter what, each of the semifinalists will have greatly increased their bank accounts.

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