Iga Świątek wins WTA Finals and regains ranking top spot

The Pole broke Pegula five times and won the final 11 games in a 59-minute slaughter to capture her first WTA Finals title in a match delayed by a day due to rain.

"I want to thank my team who have been with me for the whole season," Świątek said during the trophy ceremony.

"We've had many ups and downs but this is for sure an up, and we'll have many more if we keep working like that."

She also thanked the fans that endured countless rain delays and gusting winds over the course of the event at the coastal Mexican resort town.

"Thank you guys for coming and cheering for us, you really made it special," she said.

"Thank you for all these Polish flags and Polish people who are coming to every tournament and those from many countries. Every year I feel like I have more and more support."

Świątek came into the tournament red hot having won last month's China Open and never dropped a set over the course of her five matches at the event, which brings together the top eight players in the world.

Świątek ends the season on an 11-match winning streak and will finish the year in the top spot for the second year in a row, having lost the position to Sabalenka after the U.S. Open.

Świątek, 22, collected six out of her total 17 career titles this season. She retained the French Open crown in June to lift her fourth Grand Slam trophy.

The 29-year-old Pegula, who struggled on her serve and failed to match Świątek's energy level, was gracious in defeat.

"Congrats on ending the year number one and winning this tournament, it's really incredible" she said.

"You continue to push me to be a better player and I appreciate that aspect of it. I wish I could have done better today but that's not how it goes sometimes."

Świątek's triumph drops the curtain on a WTA Finals where players were vocal in their criticism of their sport's governing body over the slapdash nature of the event.

Cancun was named the venue for the $9 million Finals less than two months before it started and construction of the courts was only completed the weekend before it kicked off on Oct. 29.

Sabalenka was particularly outspoken, blasting the WTA over the court conditions after the opening day of group play and saying she felt "disrespected" by the organisation at the prestigious event. The Belarusian player added she did not feel safe playing on the court.

The tournament was supposed to conclude on Nov. 5 but rain and high winds meant the semi-final between Świątek and Sabalenka was not completed until that day, with the final shunted to Monday.

In a letter to the players leaked to the media last week, WTA chief Steve Simon said the late selection of Cancun to host the tournament was "based on a number of complicated factors".

Simon said the WTA accepted responsibility for the poor conditions and signalled changes to the operation of the tour after a series of other complaints from top players about how they are treated.

Świątek said the poor playing conditions in Cancun forced her to focus on her game instead of being distracted by the prospect of regaining the world number one ranking.

"The conditions that were kind of tricky also helped me to just, you know, focus on adjust my footwork, my shots ... that kept me busy from thinking about all of that," Świątek told reporters of the number one ranking on Monday.

"So I think today was ... just being narrow with your head, only thinking about the right stuff."

The 22-year-old Pole said she had been distracted by the ranking race at other tournaments and it had affected her performance.

"It played (in my mind) a lot in the US Open and the tournaments before but I kind of learned my lesson," she said.

"This time I didn't want it to have an impact on me ... it's hard not to think about stuff like that but actually when I went on court I knew that I had to focus on different things."