At the WTA Finals held in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, the best players of the year will gather in one place to compete for the final time. Just because a tournament features only the best in the game doesn’t mean close sets are guaranteed. In the last two years, there have been as many sets decided by 6-0 or 6-1 as by 7-5 or 7-6.
However, what can make or break a player’s season and season finale will be determined by a seven-point tiebreaker depending on whether or not the set is 7-6.
“Mindset is the most important part of the tiebreaker,” said Pam Shriver, Hall of Famer, ESPN analyst and coach of 19th-ranked Donna Vekic. Schreiber, who has won 21 Grand Slam titles in doubles, said having someone next to her helped her stay calm and clear during shootout matches. “If you put in the time, everything will fall into place. “A player who rushes during a tiebreak will be in trouble.”
Iga Swiatek beat Jessica Pegula 6-1, 6-0 in the final of last year’s tournament, and she is also the best in tiebreakers among the elite eight. Over the last two years, Swiatek is 6-2 in tiebreakers against top-10 players. This could give her a decisive advantage in this tournament. (No. 3 Coco Gauff may have a 4-2 advantage.)
“I need to be more focused in the tie-breaks, especially in the first one, because I want to start well,” said sixth-placed Jasmine Paolini. (She is 2-2 in tiebreakers against top 10 players over the past two years).
Shriver says most players include a tiebreaker at the end of practice, but many don’t emphasize how to deal with such situations. But Paolini said he didn’t actually practice tiebreakers.
Pere Riba, coach of seventh-placed Qinwen Zheng, said their actual tiebreaker was not just about tiebreakers, but about “playing points and working on certain things.” While others try to replicate match situations. (Zheng is 1-1 in tiebreakers against top-10 players over the past two years.)
“You just have to play and get used to managing the score line through game experience,” fourth-place Jessica Pegula said. He pointed out that the men’s tour is full of big servers who can dominate races up to 7 points. One short rest period creates more variation in a woman’s exercise volume.
But Schreiber, who believed that off-court visualization exercises could also help prepare for tiebreakers, thought it was worth practicing for more than just play points.
“You can’t recreate the crazy feeling of a tie break, but I believe that rehearsing gets the adrenaline going and can help in real life situations,” she said. “These are things you can do better.” (She noted that a slightly different mindset is needed now that Grand Slams use a 10-point super tiebreaker as the deciding factor in the third set).
This year’s US Open champion and No. 1 Aryna Sabalenka said players can prepare. (She is 3-2 in tiebreaks against top 10 players over the past two years).
“I do a lot of tie-breaks with my batting partner. My partner puts pressure on me to get me through the tough spots,” she said.
There’s also debate about the best approach when a set is at stake, which is somewhat dependent on play style.
“The mental challenge in a tiebreak is to keep playing aggressively, keep hitting shots and keep putting pressure on your opponent,” said Sabalenka, known for her aggressive style of play. “You have to believe in your game and work on it. “I don’t want to be overprotective.”
In contrast, Pegula said he played “a little safer” in the tiebreak. She said in a pool game, players have more room for error if they miss their first serve.
“In tiebreaks, I aim for a higher percentage on the first serve, so I don’t put as much pressure on the second serve, and I hit with more margin in rallies,” she said. “If you’re under pressure, your opponent will be too, so it’s a good idea to put pressure on them to take shots.”
Shriver said landing first serves and shots is especially important in tiebreakers, and the secret is to hit with more margin for error but not be tentative.
“Hanging out big hits but also hitting the middle ground is one way to do that,” she said. But some champions, like Monica Seles, have succeeded “by striking harder and bolder at those critical moments,” he added.
Ultimately, Riba said having one specific approach to tiebreakers may not always make sense. “You have to read the situation because every situation is different,” he said. “The most important thing is how the player is feeling right now.”
With courtside coaching now allowed, Schreiber said beyond keeping players calm, coaches must focus on one simple thing before and during a shootout. “It could be something like, ‘Your opponent’s forehand is starting to break down, pick that,’” she said.
Sabalenka said winning a set by two games was better because it meant breaking her opponent’s serve more, and surviving the mental armor of the tiebreaker could give her a boost into the next set. “You feel energized by the fact that you can go through something like that,” she said.
Paolini said whoever lost the tiebreaker faced an additional challenge because they were so close to winning. She said it’s important to reset mentally after losing a tiebreaker and do so quickly before the end of the next set. “It’s especially important in the first game of the next set,” she said.
Shriver noted that early on in the WTA Finals, the round-robin format meant there was actually less pressure on tiebreakers than usual in the first match. But then things change noticeably. “Tie-breaks mean a lot in the semifinals and finals, which makes the year better.”
