Pegula Beats Kostyuk to Keep Semi-Final Hopes Alive at WTA Finals

Jessica Pegula beat Marta Kostyuk 6-2, 7-5 at the WTA Finals, the season-ending event for the world's leading women's players. The win keeps Pegula in the hunt for a place in the semi-finals. Kostyuk is out. The Guardian reported the result.

The tournament is played in groups. Players face the others in their group, and the strongest finishers in each group move on to the semi-finals. Pegula's first match there was a loss to Coco Gauff, so the Kostyuk win was a must-have result rather than a bonus.

The first set went quickly. Pegula took it 6-2, winning games at a pace that gave Kostyuk little time to settle. The second set was far tighter. Kostyuk fought back to make it a contest, but Pegula held on to win it 7-5. Winning a set 7-5 means taking the final game of a close set after a run of back-and-forth service games, and it takes nerve to do it.

Pegula's next task is Linda Noskova, the Czech eighth seed, in her last group match. A seed is a ranking given to players at the start of an event, and it is used to decide who meets whom early on. Noskova's seeding means she is one of the stronger players in the field. A win for Pegula in that match would take her through to the semi-finals.

For fans, the picture is simple. Pegula has one match left that decides her tournament. She has already shown she can win a set when the score gets tight, and her last group match will test whether she can do it again when the stakes are at their highest.

Kostyuk's exit ends her week at the event. She had to win to stay in contention, and she could not turn the match around.