 Let's talk about the groups because the groups very interesting I just went through the betting I just went through the favorites very very even. Let's go see who has the best and the worst group for them Okay, so here are the groups so the Sabalenka group That's what I'm gonna call it because I'm not pronouncing those names again Sabalenka group the number two in the world Sabalenka She is going to have to play against number five Sarkari she's gonna have to play number six in the world Sfiantech and also the number eight in the world Bodosa that group for me is fire it's almost like that is the I Wouldn't say like that's almost like the new generation group and then the next group is the more of the veteran group because Sabalenka's early 20s I think Sarkari's in her mid 20s Sfiantech early 20s Bodosa early 20 So it's the young group up the top there. Then you've got in the second group the Kredjikova group She is number three in the world. She is gonna be playing plush Kiva who's number four in the world Muga Ruta who's number seven and a net conservator is number nine in the world and that second group I think Kredjikova is like 26 Plush Kiva Muga Ruta they're hitting 30 and Conturbates in her late late 20s as well. So the the bottom group are the experienced players the veterans I guess you could call them so it's weird that it's kind of worked out that way But like I said the two best players from each group. So let's say Kredjikova and plush Kiva Win the most matches. They will go into the semis and let's say they play against Sarkari and Sabalenka who played the best in their group. So that's how it works in this Okay, let's start with the world number two the number one seed the best player in the competition this year Sabalenka so here is Sabalenka's Resume I guess you could call it a profile against everybody else and a head-to-head record So her best result never played this event. This is her debut at this event now She's gonna be playing Sarkari, Bedossa and Sveontek. She's a 4-1 record against Sarkari So she'll be loving her chances against Sarkari. She has a losing record against Bedossa But they've only played the one time and she's never actually played Sveontek. She's kind of weird I would have thought they would have crossed paths seeing their similar age and they've also come up at the same time You know the both kind of over the last two years Really, you know shot up the rankings never played. They are gonna be playing though at least once in this tournament. So Not a bad not a bad draw for Sabalenka Not a bad group because you think she can beat Sarkari Bedossa is gonna be a tough one because Bedossa is in good form and with Sveontek she's never played So that's gonna be a maybe a random that she could win that one as well usually if you win two matches you get to the semi so You think she's gonna get at least one of them and maybe she can get either Bedossa or Sveontek if she can already beat Sarkari The second group she's playing. This is the semi finals of the final who she might meet Kredjikova 2-0 record wouldn't mind playing her plushkiva. She has a 2-2 record They've actually played a lot this year as well including that Wimbledon semi-final then Mugaruta She has a losing record against 1-2 so she's probably lucky that she's avoiding Mugaruta and Contivate she has a 4-0 record against so Contivate gets through to the semis and plays against Sabalenka Sabalenka would love that so there you go Sabalenka that is her Record by the way her combined record against everybody combined 13 wins 6 losses And that is a 68% win-loss ratio percentage I should say against everybody in the competition, which is actually the second highest out of All the players so she has the best record against everybody And that's why she is the one of the favorite or the favorite Maria Sarkari. She is again a debutante at this event hasn't played this event before We've just went through the Sabalenka Matchup that's her worst matchup 1-4 Sabalenka is gonna be a tough one. So if Sarkari Doesn't it does in fact lose to Sabalenka. She's gonna have to beat Bedossa and Sveontek. Luckily against Bedossa She's never played Bedossa. So that's always gonna be a Fresh, you know a fresh start. We don't know what's gonna happen in that one But she has a good record against Sveontek 2-0 so she could get those that win and the Bedossa win might be the crucial one If she does end up losing to Sabalenka So never know maybe she upsets Sabalenka and then she'll be liking her chances even more against the other group She has a 0-3 record against Kredgikova So she's probably really excited that she doesn't have to play her until maybe the semis She has a 2-1 record against Pushkova 1-1 record against Mugaruta and she actually has a pretty decent rivalry with Contovate 6-5. They played more More times than any two players in the competition or in this competition So if she does play Contovate in the semis, that'll be an epic matchup as it has proven to be over their career so far So Sarkari look she's the second Second least favorite to win the event behind Mugaruta. So it's probably because she has a pretty tough tough group to play through Egas Sveontek she is also making her debut here She would have played last year of course if she had had the tournament, but the French Open champion from last year She gets her try this year She has never played Sabalenka as I said before. It's very kind of crazy to me I would have thought they would have at least crossed parts once but no they are crossing parts for the first time Today or this week. She has a losing record against Sarkari So that's gonna be a tough one for Sveontek to get through. She also has a losing record against Bodosa So she's gonna have to beat Either Bodosa or Sarkari and if she does get the Sabalenka win So it's gonna be a tough one for Sveontek. So a lot of people that you think that Sveontek is gonna win I don't know if she can get through the group. You know, she has a losing record against two of the three And she hasn't played the other one. So I don't know Could she win? Of course she could. Of course she could get through all of those players She could be 3-0 against all those players, but just based on head-to-head record It's a little bit a little bit dangerous against the other group She's actually got a decent record, which is kind of a shame for her 2-0 against Kredjikova 1-0 against Pleszkova. 0-1 against Mughurutha and 2-2 against Conservate so she would have really liked her chances against the other group Unfortunately, she doesn't get to play any of them until maybe the semi. So if she does sneak through She might like her chances from the semi finals onwards, but it's gonna be a tough one for Sveontek to get through the group The final player of this group Is Bodosa who snuck in because of the Indian Wells win So a great win to finish the season and has a pretty decent record against the players in her group She's beaten Sabalenka 1-0 never played Sarkari and she's beaten Sveontek 1-0 So she does have winning records against two of the three players So she might be able to get through and with the form of Indian Wells and the confidence of that and the way that she won The final against Azarenka She probably like her chances against everybody in her group and she could definitely make the semi-finals No doubt about that against the other group if she does make the semi. She's gonna have to play One of these players Kredjikova. She's got 2-0 Record against so that's really good to see against a fresh open champion So we'll see if she can do well if she does play her a 0-2 against Pushkova So she wants to avoid Pushkova never played Mugavruta and against Contavate 0-1 So she's lost had the loss to Had the loss against Contavate So like I said, she has a good record against the players in her group and she'll be liking her chances And who knows semi-finals are definitely on the cards, but who knows maybe she can make the final All right, let's go to the other group now the Kredjikova group. So let's start with Kredjikova French open champion. It's her debut as well. So look at that. Everybody's making their debut in So far right against her own group. She has a pretty good record. It's it's it could it's okay Mugavruta, she's got a 2-1 record against and who doesn't want to see that match up I mean, we all know what happened at the US Open. These two players don't like each other Well, at least Mugavruta doesn't like Kredjikova. So we're gonna see the fireworks in that one I'm sure 2-1 record as well. So she liked that her chances there 0-2 against Pushkova. They're not not a great record there, but You know, maybe she could Maybe she could get through Pushkova. I don't know it depends on I guess it depends on how Pushkova is feeling and Contavate she's never actually played. So she'll be liking her chances I reckon Kredjikova and a lot of you like her chances, too The only problem I have is that she's playing this the doubles as well So is she playing too much tennis? Remember, it's usually one day on one day off She'll be playing every second every day So she's gonna play twice as much as everybody else in the entire competition. Is that gonna be too much? We'll find out against the other group Sabalenka. She's got a 0-2 record against so she's happy that she's avoiding her Sakuri, she's actually got a 3-0 record against so she wishes she could have played Sakuri 0-2 against Bedosser and 0-2 against Feontech So to be honest if you'd replaced Pushkova with Sakuri, it would be the perfect group for Kredjikova but She avoids a lot of the killers that she's lost to in the past And has a bad record against she's gonna have to play some of them Maybe in the semis well, she's gonna have to play one of them in the semis But who knows it might be Sakuri if she gets lucky. So there you go, Kredjikova Her group is is decent, but she's playing a lot more tennis than the rest All right, Caroline Pushkova the first player in our group here to to actually have played this tournament before Her best result has this is the semi-finals. She made it three times in a row 2017-2018 the last one was 2019 so two years ago and she has a really good group like I don't know if anyone said Pushkova to win But Pushkova could get out of the groups quite easily I think she's making the semis again. She has an 8-2 record against Muguruta So that's a confidence. I mean that's not a fluke 8-2. It means that she knows how to beat Muguruta Kredjikova, she's got a 2-0 record against and a 3-0 record against Contobate. So I Don't think Pushkova is I think Pushkova is getting out of the group I think she's coming first or second She might be the favorite to get out of the group based on those head-to-head records. So yeah Muguruta That 8-2 is is massive It's a massive Muguruta's gonna have to do something special to beat Pushkova in that one against the other group She actually got a decent record against the other group as well So Sabalenka, it's 2-2 as I said before they played a couple times this year as well against Sarkari 1-2 Against Padosa, it's 2-0. So that's not bad And some of you think Padosa is gonna get through the group which means that she'll be playing possibly Pushkova Anyway, so Pushkova like her chances there and against Vjontek 0-1 and of course against Sveontek It was this year in Rome and she lost six love six love So she does not want to play against Vjontek and remember those nightmares that she had during that event So it's obviously a hardcore event. So it's a little different But still you don't want to play someone who beat you up six love six love at all So yeah, so I look I think Pushkova is a legit chance of Getting out of the group minimum But like probably maybe even making the final if she gets a good matchup in that semi If she plays Sabalenka in the semis, I'm put money on Pushkova. Pushkova beats Sabalenka in the semifinals I just I just think Pushkova is a very She's actually the the second least likely to win With Sarkari, but I would put money on Pushkova. I think she's I'm very bullish on her the way that she's got, you know, look at her head I mean look at her record. So yeah, Pushkova and also her recent results as in at this tournament She's done well here in the past. She's always made she's made three semi-finals. I mean, that's not a fluke Okay, let's go to Muga Ruta now another player that a lot of you think it's gonna get through but look at her record It's not great against the team or the players in her group Her best result here was the semi-finals back in 2015 So the only other player besides Pushkova to actually have played this event and that'll count for something But against Pushkova like I said 2-8 is the record against Muga Ruta So that's not great against Kredgikova 1-2. That's not great either because remember they played the US Open Kredgikova was kind of dominating until she had that, you know, until that second set and then she was in trouble Then she time out. We all know what happened but Kredgikova, she knows how to beat Muga Ruta and it gets Contovate. It's even at 2-2 It's gonna be a tough one for for Muga Ruta, right? I can't see her getting out of the group Unfortunately, she's gonna have to beat a couple of players that she struggled in against in the past It's gonna be tough. It's gonna be tough for Muga Ruta And that's probably why she's the least favorite to win because her group is probably the worst for her It's the worst for her but when she if she does get through the semis She's gonna be playing one of these players in the other group Sabalenka. She's got a 2-1 record against. So that's good Sarkari, it's 1-1 but Dosa never played but Dosa and 1-0 against Feontex So if she does get through the this group and make the semis She might be able to go on and win the whole thing based on her results against other players from the other group But unfortunately, she's gotten the probably the worst group out of everybody. She has gotten this short straw that's for sure and Contovate a player that everybody in the chat was going crazy for when she won the event back in Transylvania a couple of weeks ago to get Into this WTA finals and it's her debut of course just like everybody else pretty much and she's got an okay record, but it's Not great. She is the second favorite to win as well. By the way, so a lot of people think that she is going to win But she her record is okay. It's okay 2-2 against Muga Ruthas. So that's a 50-50. She's a losing record against push cover zero and three So there's something to worry about if you're if you're going to for Contovate and it gets credit covers She's never played her so there's always a chance if you've never played somebody there's always a chance You could win that of that first matchup So look Can she get through yeah, of course she can She might not beat push give up, but she has to beat Muga Ruther and Kredgikova. Look, maybe she can do that But it is a pretty tricky group for Contovate She would have liked to play in the other group I think some of the other players from the other group that have maybe a little bit less experience then got like she's got to play two players that have played this event before and A Grand Slam champion in Kredgikova. So she's playing against players that know how to play on the big stage And you know not only play on the big stage, but also win on the big stage Against the other group if she does make it through she'll play one of these players Sabalenka she has a terrible record against zero and four so she wants to avoid Sabalenka at all costs She has a like I said a decent rivalry against the Sarkary Five and six so that'll be a blockbuster. I hope we get that I don't know if we will but if we get Sarkary versus Contovate that is an absolute blockbuster She's a 1-0 record against Podosa and 2 and 2-2 Against Sveontech so look if she does get away out of the out of the group Then maybe if she avoids Sabalenka, maybe she can get into the final and win the whole thing, but I don't know if she gets out of her group That's the only thing I'm a little worried that you know those 50-50 matchups if she does lose against Pleskov She's gonna have to win those two 50-50 matchups because I like I said two wins gets you through Three guarantees you through but two gets you through pretty much So there it is That is the WTA finals and they're the groups now. Does anyone want to rethink their their picks because It's it's not as simple as oh well that person's informed that they're gonna win. It's all about matchups It's all about head-to-head records and head-to-head records matter Pleskova is my Based on all of that Pleskova is looking Strong to me just because she's got a good record against everybody in her group She's got a good record at this event. She's made the semi-finals here three years in a row