Svitolina rallies past Muchova to keep WTA Finals semi-final hopes alive

Elina Svitolina fought back from a set down to beat Karolina Muchova 3-6, 6-2, 6-2 at the WTA Finals, keeping alive her hopes of reaching the semi-finals.

The sixth seed had lost her opening group match 6-4, 6-0 to Mirra Andreeva. Against Muchova, she took a medical timeout for a right hip injury after dropping the first set, then saved an early break point before turning the match around.

Muchova, the Wimbledon runner-up, made 39 unforced errors, most of them on her forehand. She gave up an early break in the deciding set and later double-faulted to hand Svitolina another.

“I was really angry at myself after the first match and the first set,” Svitolina told Sky Sports. “I tried to direct my anger towards the ball and I found my game in the end.”

It was Svitolina’s ninth win over a top-10 player this year and her first victory at the Finals since winning the title in 2019. She will learn what she needs to do to qualify for the last four after Aryna Sabalenka’s match against Andreeva.