Eighth seed Krejcikova’s victory was bad news for Swiatek, who has been eliminated from the group stage of the WTA Finals for the first time since 2021.

Swiatek has been the dominant player on Tour for most of the past two years and started this season strongly, winning the Doha, Indian Wells, Madrid, Rome and French Open titles.

However, her high level dropped in the second half of the season, allowing Sabalenka to overtake her at the top of the rankings.

In her search for answers, Swiatek decided to change coaches and replaced Tomasz Wiktorowski with Wim Fissette in the run-up to the WTA Finals.

Improving the four-time French Open champion’s service game and adapting her skills in an effort to achieve greater success on the faster surfaces are the priorities.

On a fast court at the King Saud University Indoor Arena, Swiatek battled Gauff on Tuesday – an outright defeat that ultimately proved costly.

But there were positive signs against Kasatkina. Swiatek played with more pace and intensity to get past the Russian, who looked undercooked after her late call-up.

“I hit the ball really well and chose the right shots to play faster,” Swiatek said.