Iga Swiatek crushes Jessica Pegula to win WTA Finals and return to world No 1

Iga Swiatek will end the year as the world No 1 after clinching her sixth title of the season with an emphatic win over Jessica Pegula at the WTA Finals in Cancun, Mexico.

Second seed Swiatek dominated Pegula from start to finish to clinch a 6-1, 6-0 victory in a 59-minute masterclass.

The 17th title of Swiatek's career ensures that the four-time major champion will finish the season top of the WTA Tour rankings for a second straight year.

"The team that's been with me the whole season, we had many ups and downs," Swiatek said after her win.

"This is for sure an up. We will for sure have many more if we keep working like that," added Swiatek, who lost just 20 games across the tournament – a new record.

Pegula had few complaints about her defeat after an error-strewn display.

"It just was one of those days where I felt like I was going for too much," Pegula said. "And she was just playing super solid."

Swiatek, 22, had beaten outgoing world No 1 Aryna Sabalenka in the semi-finals on Sunday. Sabalenka, who won her maiden major at the Australian Open at the start of the season, took over the top ranking from Swiatek following the US Open in September.

Pegula defeated Swiatek in their previous meeting in Montreal in August, and had impressed on her way to Monday's final, which had been pushed back 24 hours after wet weather washed out play on Saturday.

But the 29-year-old American never looked capable of pulling off a repeat of her Canadian victory against three-time French Open champion Swiatek, who was sharper in every facet of her game.

The Polish star dominated on serve and pulled Pegula all over the court with whipped groundstrokes that left her opponent flailing.

Pegula also struggled on serve, being broken five times