Advancing to the final in Mexico is a career's best achievement for the 26-year-old Fręch. The Łódź-born player, who until now was ranked 43rd in the world ranking, played her first WTA 250 tournament final in July, just before the Summer Games in Paris. She lost it to her compatriot, Magda Linette, in Prague.
Earlier, in August 2021, Fręch won the WTA 125 challenger in the American Concord, where the prize pool was USD 115,000. In the Czech capital, USD 267,000 was up for grabs, and now in Mexico, this amount is USD 922,500. The Pole has already secured USD 87,600, and in the event of a win, she will go home with USD 142,000.
Thanks to her successes in Guadalajara so far, 325 points have been added to Fręch's ranking - which has allowed her to move from 43rd to her career-high 36th place in the "virtual" WTA ranking. In the event of a final triumph, she may even find herself as WTA 31st - while her best achievement so far was reaching the 42nd spot.
"It's really hard to describe what I'm feeling right now, because I'm still full of emotions. This is my first WTA 500 final, so it's a truly exceptional achievement - and undoubtedly, a big step in my career"
- Fręch commented after the two-hour-and-eight-minute semi final match, in which she claimed the pass to the final.
In the second semi-final, the Australian with the Polish-sounding surname Gadecki defeated the Colombian Camila Osorio 6:2, 6:3 and will play for the WTA title for the first time.
The "Polish Final" in Mexico will be Fręch's first confrontation with the five-year-younger and 152nd-ranked Gadecki. The match is scheduled to start around 1 AM from Sunday to Monday, Polish time.
(mm)
Source: IAR, PAP
