2026 WTA Finals, Elina Svitolina downs Karolina Muchova: Key stats
What's the story
Elina Svitolina staged a stunning comeback to beat Karolina Muchova in their second round-robin match at the 2026 WTA Finals. The match, like their last two encounters, went to a third set. Svitolina won 3-6, 6-2, 6-2 and will now have a shot at reaching the semi-finals when she faces Aryna Sabalenka on Friday.
Match details
Svitolina breaks Muchova's winning streak
Svitolina's victory not only marked her first win of the tournament but also ended Muchova's incredible 32-match winning streak this season.
The Czech star had won all her previous matches in straight sets except for six that went to three sets.
As per WTA, with this win, Svitolina improved her three-set record this season to 19-5 while Muchova suffered just her third loss in deciding sets out of 17 this year.
Game plan
Svitolina adjusts to Muchova's style
Ahead of the match, Svitolina had acknowledged Muchova's diverse shot selection. She said, "We all know that she has a very big variety of her game."
The Ukrainian adjusted to Muchova's style in the second set and won 6-2.
She carried that momentum into the third set, winning by a double break and ending with 22 winners - 17 of them coming in the last two sets.
Recovery
Svitolina reflects on her performance and next match
After the match, Svitolina reflected on her performance and the challenges of being in the last tournament of the season.
She said, "It's the last tournament of the season, so I just have to really put my head down and deal with all the small injuries."
The Ukrainian also talked about how she would recover in time for her next match against Sabalenka.
Records
Svitolina enters record books
As per Opta, since 2017, when she made her debut at the event, only Sabalenka (currently 13) and Iga Swiatek (12) have won more WTA Finals matches than Svitolina (11).
Svitolina and Jessica Pegula have won a WTA Finals match after turning 32 in the same edition for the third time since the event's inception in 1972 after 1978 (Virginia Wade and Betty Stove) and 1988 (Martina Navratilova and Chris Evert).
Information
Svitolina goes 4-1 ahead over Muchova in H2H record
In terms of the head-to-head record between the two players, Svitolina now leads Muchova 4-1 from 5 meeting on the WTA Tour. The pair's last meeting came at Stuttgart Open 2026 where Muchova prevailed in three sets.