Elina Svitolina beat Karolina Muchova 3-6, 6-2, 6-2 in their second round-robin match at the WTA Finals in Indian Wells on November 11 local time. Svitolina improved to 1-1 while Muchova fell to 0-2. Svitolina will face Aryna Sabalenka on November 13 local time as she continues to pursue a semifinal place.
Adjusting after a difficult opening set
Muchova used drop shots, varied forehands and approaches to the net to pressure Svitolina, who spent more time at the baseline. Svitolina acknowledged that her opponent’s serve, forehand and slice presented a difficult challenge and that her own tactical execution had been poor in the first set.
She settled into the second set, adapting to the variety and leading 4-2. Muchova’s errors increased, and Svitolina held serve to close the set 6-2 and force a decider.
Their third consecutive meeting went to three sets. Svitolina carried her improved rhythm into the last, winning it by a double break and dropping only four games across the final two sets. Muchova said she had allowed her opponent back into the match after the opener, losing rhythm while Svitolina gained it.
The balance of winners and errors changes
Svitolina hit five winners against 14 unforced errors in the first set, then 12 against 11 in the second. Seventeen of her 22 winners came in the final two sets, reflecting the improvement in her striking as the match progressed. Muchova finished with eight double faults.
The result ended Muchova’s 32-0 record this season after taking the opening set, comprising 26 straight-set wins and six three-set victories. Svitolina improved to 19-5 in deciding-set matches this year and extended her overall head-to-head lead from 3-1 to 4-1.
Sabalenka awaits in the group finale
Svitolina said she kept looking for small openings. She felt she struck the ball better in sets two and three than during their Stuttgart encounter, where a missed opportunity had allowed Muchova to take over. This time she sustained her adjustment through the finish.
It was Svitolina’s first WTA Finals victory since 2019 and her 11th at the event overall. She will enter the group finale against Sabalenka with the 1-1 record earned by this comeback.
