Garbine Muguruza beats Anett Kontaveit to lift maiden WTA Finals title

Garbine Muguruza made light work of Anett Kontaveit to register a 6-3, 7-5 victory over the Estonian star to win the WTA Finals title for the first time in her career and improve her record playing in Mexico at 14 wins and two losses.

Muguruza, who won back-to-back titles in Monterrey in northern Mexico in 2018 and 2019, became the first Spaniard to win the women´s season-ending tournament.

“I remember when (WTA CEO Steve Simon) and I were in the U.S. Open and he told me that Guadalajara could be a possibility for the Finals and I was like ‘Oh my God, I have to make it,’ and look now, we’re here,” said Muguruza, before hoisting the Billie Jean King Trophy in front of an adoring crowd.

“For me it was a dream come true to play here.”

It was Muguruza’s fourth appearance at the season-ending finals and her first in the championship match. Her win gave Spain its first-ever WTA Finals title and will see her end the year as the world number three when the rankings are updated on Monday.

She won in Chicago last month and defeated Czech Barbora Krejcikova in March’s Dubai final for her biggest title since picking up her second major title at Wimbledon in 2017.

Earlier, Barbora Krejcikova and Katerina Siniakova defeated Hsie Su-wei and Elise Mertens 6-3, 6-4 to win the WTA Finals doubles title undefeated. Krejcikova and Siniakova won titles at Roland Garros and Madrid, and the gold medal at the Tokyo 2020 Olympic Games.

The WTA Finals were played in Guadalajara for this year only, with the event scheduled to return in 2022 to Shenzhen, China.