Anett Kontaveit Keeps Rolling, Sets Up High-Stakes WTA Finals Showdown With Kremlin Cup Win/Title

By: Thomas Cluck

The fall tennis season on the WTA has been all about Anett Kontaveit and the Estonian number one cemented her status as possibly THE form player in women’s tennis right now with her third title in the last two months at the Kremlin Cup in Moscow. Kontaveit defeated Russian Ekaterina Alexandrova- playing at home- in a three-set battle, winning 4-6, 6-4, 7-5 to hoist the trophy of this historic tournament on the tennis calendars. 

Only two other players have more titles in 2021 on tour than Kontaveit: French Open champion Barbora Krejickova with three as well and world number one and Wimbledon winner Ashleigh Barty with a tour-leading five. 

It’s been a brilliant run of late for the Estonian since pairing up with former ATP pro Dmitry Tursunov- who helped guide Aryna Sabalenka into the top of the sport- winning three titles and 21 of her last 23 matches. 

After falling in the finals of Eastbourne in June just before Wimbledon, Kontaveit went on a six-match losing streak before everything seemed to click in Cleveland in August ahead of the U.S.Open. Kontaveit began her title run at the inaugural Tennis in the Land getting bageled 6-0 by Lauren Davis before storming back to win her first title in three years there. 

The Estonian- who will rise back to her previous career-high of number 14 in the world on Monday- has now won three titles in her last five tournaments with wins in Cleveland, Ostrava, and now Moscow, with the latter two the biggest trophies of her still young career so far. 

It wasn’t easy going in the finals though against a very capable and dangerous opponent in Alexandrova like it had been in her previous matches where Kontaveit had yet to drop a set including a 6-1, 6-1 thrashing of Garbine Muguruza. The Estonian found herself down 6-4, 4-0 to her Russian foe today, however her newfound confidence in finals and in big moments like these helped her comeback.

This fall surge from Kontaveit capped by her title today has catapulted the Estonian into the race for the WTA Finals at the 11th hours and sees her just behind Tunisia’s Ons Jabeur for the final spot in Guadalajara next month. The scenario is simple: for Kontaveit to qualify in the last spot, she must win the title next week at her tournament in Cluj-Napoca and then Jabeur most lose before the semifinals at her stop in Courmayeur.  A place at the highly-coveted WTA Finals will no doubt be the goal for Kontaveit, but the Estonian has already rediscovered the best tennis of her career in these final stages of 2021 and set herself up as one of the name’s to look for to win even bigger in 2022. Either way, it’ll be a thrilling sprint to the finish as the WTA calendar concludes.