WTA Elite Trophy Semi-Final Analysis
12/28/2023
Beatriz Haddad Maia has been a contender at the top of the women’s game for the better part of the last 18 months. In August of 2022, Haddad Maia cruised to a top 20 ranking in both singles and doubles. She accomplished this by reaching the singles final of the Canadian Open followed by a third round finish in Cincinnati in doubles.
In June of this year, Haddad Maia faced Iga Świątek at Roland Garros her first ever major semi final. Haddad Maia faced a lackluster hardcourt season after making it to the round of 16 at Wimbledon. However, Haddad Maia proved ready to bounce back at the WTA Elite Trophy. She defeated Madison Keys, Caroline Garcia, Daria Kasatkina, and Qinwen Zheng in straight sets to reach her career second highest ranking of 11. Haddad Maia also conquered the doubles pool in straight sets alongside Veronika Kudermetova.
The Matchup
Although Beatriz Haddad Maia’s shots overpowers Daria Kasatkina, the Russian is known for a scrappy and precise style capable of dismantling anyone on her day. Kasatkina’s forehand crosscourt matchup against a lefty backhand is lethal. Kasatkina is also capable of adding spin to her shots and creating angles. This makes it difficult for Haddad Maia to smash the ball down the line or generate a solid strike on her return.
Through these strategies, Kasatkina nullified Haddad Maia’s return game in the first set. As the game progressed, Kasatkina’s precision and intensity faded. Haddad Maia found more forehands down the line after dragging Kasatkina off court.
The serve matchup was also difficult for the Russian. Kasatkina does not generate a sufficient amount of power on her serve. She therefore needs to execute her strike with pinpoint precision. Kasatkina’s lack of consistent pace and accuracy on both first and second serves allowed Haddad Maia to suffocate her serve plus one.
Haddad Maia’s Strategy
Haddad Maia is not a typical counter-puncher. Although her power and excellent return game lends her to this style of play, Haddad Maia plays with her own version of variety. This is shown in the image below.
This point takes place at 4-4 in the first set. Haddad Maia is up 15-love and is playing a lefty first serve from the ad side. Her first serve has a lot of slice and drags Kasatkina off of the court. Haddad Maia then plays a looping forehand down the line off of Kasatkina’s backhand return. Although the plus one ball was not powerful, it forces Kasatkina to take the ball on the run. This drags Kasatkina off the court on her ad side and delays her change of direction. By the time Kasatkina reaches her recovery position in the center of the court, the ball has already wizzed by behind her.
Haddad Maia opted to use a forehand down the line often for her serve plus one strategy. Her lefty, wide, slice-filled serve dragged Kasatkina off court. This forced Kasatkina to play the easier option of a cross-court backhand into Haddad Maia’s forehand.
Overall, Haddad Maia has a great base game. She will need to develop different weapons to compete at the top of the sport. The Brazilian is not opposed to a drop shot, but she requires better angles and a consistent slice to beat players such as Aryna Sabalenka who possess a similar style. Nevertheless, her game against Kasatkina, and her subsequent marathon against Qinwen Zheng, shows that she already has the mentality of a champion.