WTA Finals Shenzhen Purple Group Preview: Pliskova vs. Svitolina

After blitzing to a 4-0 head-to-head lead in their WTA-level meetings, Karolina Pliskova has lost three straight matches to Elina Svitolina, most recently at last year's WTA Finals. It’s been nearly three years since the Czech defeated Svitolina, dating back to the her title run at the 2017 Brisbane Open.

The defending champion, Svitolina entered the 2018 edition as a bit of an afterthought. She lost consecutive opening-round matches in Wuhan and Beijing, but ended up running the table en route to her biggest career title, rallying past Sloane Stephens in the final.

This year, Svitolina enters with even lower expectations. Her 35 season wins is the fewest among the eight competitors and she holds the lowest winning percentage at 62.5 %. To make matters worse, Svitolina is the only player without a title to her name in 2019.

Pliskova boasts four singles titles on the year, and has been the better player throughout. But still, only a fool would write off the rock-solid Ukrainian, especially after last year. Plus, Svitolina did reach back-to-back major semifinals at Wimbledon and the US Open.

The perennial WTA ace leader will need her fair share of free points if she is to overcome her three-match losing skid against Svitolina. This match is a true pick-em, but expect Pliskova to restore order in this matchup. Winner: Pliskova

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