Game, set, world-class match-ups

World's top women tennis players start final showdown of 2022 in North Texas

The top 8 singles players posed with the trophy at Fort Worth's Hotel Drover.

Photo courtesy of WTA

UPDATE 11-5-2022: The semifinalists are set. All semifinal matches take place Sunday, November 6 at Dickies Arena. The schedule is:

Day Session - 1:30 pm start:
(1) Barbora Krejcikova (Czech Republic) & Katerina Siniakova (Czech Republic) vs (5) Lyudmyla Kichenok (Ukraine) & Jelena Ostapenko (Latvia)
Not before 3:30 pm:
(5) Maria Sakkari (Greece) vs (6) Caroline Garcia (France)

Night Session - 7 pm start:
(1) Iga Swiatek (Poland) vs (7) Aryna Sabalenka
Followed by:
(4) Veronika Kudermetova & Elise Mertens (Belgium) vs (8) Desirae Krawczyk (USA) & Demi Schuurs (Netherlands)

More information is here and tickets are here.

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It's not as famous as Wimbledon or the US Open, but the WTA Finals will crown a new queen of the women's pro tennis tour in North Texas this week - and all are invited to court.

For the first time, Fort Worth hosts the prestigious year-end finale for the WTA, featuring the top eight singles players and doubles teams in the world. Singles players vying for title, and their rankings, are:

No. 1 Iga Swiatek (Poland)
No. 2 Ons Jabeur (Tunisia)
No 3 Jessica Pegula (United States)
No. 4 Coco Gauff (United States)
No. 5 Maria Sakkari (Greece)
No. 6 Caroline Garcia (France)
No. 7Aryna Sabalenka*
No. 8 Daria Kasatkina*

U.S. superstars Gauff and Pegula are also competing in doubles.

The "round robin"-style competition will take place October 31-November 7 at Dickies Arena, and tickets start at $20.

The prestigious year-end finale has been moved to Fort Worth from Shenzhen, China, for one year only, WTA officials say. It's the first time the contest has been staged in North Texas, and the first time it's in the United States in 17 years. The total prize money pool is $5 million.

Players assembled at Fort Worth's Hotel Drover for a celebration and "draw party" on Friday, October 28. (More on the groupings, draws, and prize money each player picks up throughout each round here.)

Each day in the first rounds, play starts at 3 pm, and both singles and doubles matches will be played. Friday through Sunday, play begins at 1:30 pm. The finals in both doubles and singles will take place at 5:30 pm and 8 pm respectively, Monday, November 7.

The initial order of play, on October 31 and November 1 is:

Monday, October 31
3 pm:
(1) Barbora Krejcikova (Czech Republic) & Katerina Siniakova (Czech Republic) vs (8) Desirae Krawczyk (USA) & Demi Schuurs (Netherlands)
Not before 5 pm:
(3) Jessica Pegula (USA) vs (5) Maria Sakkari (Greece)
Not before 7 pm:
(2) Ons Jabeur (Tunisia) vs (7) Aryna Sabalenka
Followed by:
(3) Coco Gauff (USA) & Jessica Pegula (USA) vs (6) Yifan Xu (China) & Zhaoxuan Yang (China)

Tuesday, November 1
3 pm:
(4) Veronika Kudermetova & Elise Mertens (Belgium) vs (5) Lyudmyla Kichenok (Ukraine) & Jelena Ostapenko (Latvia)
Not Before 5 pm:
(1) Iga Swiatek (Poland) vs (8) Daria Kasatkina
Not before 7 pm:
(4) Coco Gauff (USA) vs (6) Caroline Garcia (France)
Followed by:
(2) Gabriela Dabrowski (Canada) & Giuliana Olmos (Mexico) vs (7) Anna Danilina (Kazakhstan) & Beatriz Haddad Maia (Brazil)

"I’m super excited to be in the finals," says top-ranked Swiatek. "I feel like it’s a celebration of what we’ve done in the past year. I’m just proud to be here."

The eyes of the tennis world will be on DFW, too. According to NBC5, the matches will be broadcast in 160 countries to a projected viewing audience of 900 million people. Find coverage at tennischannel.com.

To keep up with the tournament, follow WTA on Facebook or visit the website.

(*Per WTA style, players native to Russia and Belarus do not have their country listed.)

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UPDATES per WTA:

Order of play for Wednesday, November 2 is:

Singles Nancy Richey Group • Doubles Rosie Casals Group
3 pm start:
(1) Barbora Krejcikova (Czech Republic) & Katerina Siniakova (Czech Republic) vs (6) Yifan Xu (China) & Zhaoxuan Yang (China)
Not before 5 pm:
(2) Ons Jabeur (Tunisia) vs (3) Jessica Pegula (USA)
Not before 7 pm:
(5) Maria Sakkari (Greece) vs (7) Aryna Sabalenka
Followed by:
(3) Coco Gauff (USA) & Jessica Pegula (USA) vs (8) Desirae Krawczyk (USA) & Demi Schuurs (Netherlands)

What happens now in singles:

Sakkari advances if she wins in straight sets Wednesday (Position in group tbd)

If Sakkari and Pegula win Wednesday, Sakkari advances as group winner and Jabeur is eliminated. (Pegula and Sabalenka would play for second spot Friday)

If Sabalenka and Jabeur win Wednesday, Sabalenka advances as group winner and Pegula is eliminated. (Sakkari and Jabeur would play for second spot Friday)

Pegula is eliminated if she loses in straight sets Wednesday

Any other combination of results will mean advancement comes down to the final matches.

What happens now in doubles:

Krejcikova & Siniakova advance if they win in straight sets Wednesday (Position in group tbd)

If Krejcikova & Siniakova and Krawczyk & Schuurs win Wednesday, Krejcikova & Siniakova advance as group winner and Gauff & Pegula is eliminated. (Krawczyk & Schuurs and Xu & Yang would play for second spot Friday)

If Xu & Yang and Gauff & Pegula win Wednesday, Xu & Yang advance as group winner and Krawczyk & Schuurs are eliminated. (Krejcikova & Siniakova and Gauff & Pegula would play for second spot Friday)

Krawczyk & Schuurs is eliminated if they lose in straight sets Wednesday

Any other combination of results will mean advancement comes down to the final matches.

Order of play for Thursday, November 3 is:

3 pm start:
(2) Gabriela Dabrowski (Canada) & Giuliana Olmos (Mexico) vs (5) Lyudmyla Kichenok (Ukraine) & Jelena Ostapenko (Latvia)
Not Before 5 pm:
(1) Iga Swiatek (Poland) vs vs (6) Caroline Garcia (France)
Not before 7 pm:
(4) Coco Gauff (USA) vs (8) Daria Kasatkina
Followed by: (4) Veronika Kudermetova & Elise Mertens (Belgium) vs (7) Anna Danilina (Kazakhstan) & Beatriz Haddad Maia (Brazil)

Round robin advancement scenarios in singles for Thursday:

If Swiatek and Kasatkina win, Swiatek advances as group winner, Gauff is eliminated (Kasatkina and Garcia would play for the No.2 spot on Saturday)

If Swiatek wins in straight sets and Gauff wins in three sets, Swiatek advances (position tbd)

If Garcia and Gauff win, Garcia advances as group winner, Kasatkina is eliminated (Gauff and Swiatek play for the No.2 spot on Saturday)

If Garcia wins in straight sets and Kasatkina wins in three sets, Garcia advances (position tbd)

Any other combination of results will mean qualification comes down to final matches.

Round robin scenarios in doubles for Thursday:

Danilina & Haddad Maia advance if they win in straight sets Thursday (Position in group tbd)

If Danilina & Haddad Maia and Dabrowski & Olmos win Thursday, Danilina & Haddad Maia advance as group winner and Kichenok & Ostapenko are eliminated. (Dabrowski & Olmos and Kudermetova & Mertens would play for second spot Saturday)

If Kudermetova & Mertens and Kichenok & Ostapenko win Thursday, Kudermetova & Mertens advance as group winner and Dabrowski & Olmos is eliminated. (Danilina & Haddad Maia and Kichenok & Ostapenko would play for second spot Saturday)

Dabrowski & Olmos is eliminated if they lose in straight sets Thursday.

Any other combination of results will mean qualification comes down to the final matches.

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UPDATES 11-4-2022:

Order of Play:

Friday, November 4
Singles Nancy Richey Group • Doubles Rosie Casals Group
Day Session - 1:30 pm Start
(6) Yifan Xu (China) & Zhaoxuan Yang (China) vs (8) Desirae Krawczyk (USA) & Demi Schuurs (Netherlands)
Not before 3:30 pm:
(3) Jessica Pegula (USA) vs (7) Aryna Sabalenka
Night Session - 7 pm Start
(2) Ons Jabeur (Tunisia) vs (5) Maria Sakkari (Greece)
Followed by:
(1) Barbora Krejcikova (Czech Republic) & Katerina Siniakova (Czech Republic) vs (3) Coco Gauff (USA) & Jessica Pegula (USA)

Rosie Casals Doubles Group Standings & Advancement Scenarios: Krejcikova & Siniakova have won the group. The winner Friday between Krawczyk & Schuurs and Xu & Yang will claim the second position. Gauff & Pegula cannot advance.

Saturday, November 5
Singles Tracy Austin Group • Doubles Pam Shriver Group
Day Session - 1:30 pm start
(5) Lyudmyla Kichenok (Ukraine) & Jelena Ostapenko (Latvia) vs (7) Anna Danilina (Kazakhstan) & Beatriz Haddad Maia (Brazil)
Not before 3:30 pm:
(6) Caroline Garcia (France) vs (8) Daria Kasatkina
Night Session - 7 pm start
(1) Iga Swiatek (Poland) vs (4) Coco Gauff (USA)
Followed by:
(2) Gabriela Dabrowski (Canada) & Giuliana Olmos (Mexico) vs (4) Veronika Kudermetova & Elise Mertens (Belgium)

Tracy Austin Singles Group Advancement Scenarios:
Swiatek has won the group. The winner Friday between Garcia and Kasatkina will claim the second position. Gauff cannot advance.

To keep up with the tournament, follow WTA on Facebook or visit the website.

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Movie Review

Sonic the Hedgehog 3 gives video game fans exactly what they want

Photo courtesy of Paramount Pictures

Sonic the Hedgehog (Ben Schwartz) in Sonic the Hedgehog 3

The first Sonic the Hedgehog movie in 2020 was one of the few video game adaptations that managed to appeal to both fans of the Sega game and those who just want to watch a fun movie. As the series moved into a second and now third film, though, it’s become increasingly reliant on giving the video game fans what they want, with not as much attention paid toward simply telling a good story.

In Sonic the Hedgehog 3, Sonic (voiced by Ben Schwartz) continues to live with human friends Tom (James Marsden) and Maddie (Tika Sumpter), as well as Tails (Colleen O’Shaughnessey) and Knuckles (Idris Elba), who stuck around after the events of the second film. Dispensing with any kind of narrative coherence, the trio is called away by an undefined military force to help with the escape of Shadow (Keanu Reeves), another alien hedgehog who has been locked away off the coast of Japan for many years.

Suffice it to say that the trio does not initially fare well against the powerful Shadow, forcing Sonic to do the unthinkable: Ask his nemesis, Dr. Ivo Robotnik (Jim Carrey), for help. What Sonic doesn’t anticipate is that Shadow has a history that left him with a grudge against most of human society, and he’s intent on using his powers - with a little help from his former mentor, Gerald Robotnik (also Carrey) - to exact his plans for revenge.

Made by the same team of director Jeff Fowler and writers Pat Casey, Josh Miller, and John Whittington from Sonic the Hedgehog 2, the film is a combination of manic action, jokey sequences, and a dash of heart. The addition of Shadow ups the mayhem considerably, and the filmmakers rarely slow things down (although, oddly, the super-speed of Sonic and company feels lessened this time around).

The initial casting of Carrey gave the comic actor permission to indulge in whatever wackiness he could imagine, and giving him two roles in this film means double the nonsense. Ivo and Gerald (who’s Ivo’s grandfather, for the record) face off in a number of silly scenes, none more absurd than a dance sequence aboard a space station threatening to explode Earth (yeah, this movie is a lot).

Does the plot make a lick of sense? Absolutely not, but the filmmakers seem to acknowledge that fact, throwing anything and everything at the screen to try to entertain kids and/or fans of the video game series. It should come as no surprise that the end credits tease yet more characters from the video games joining the franchise, making it abundantly clear who is expected to get the most enjoyment out of the series going forward.

In addition to Carrey, the voice actors continue to make the characters fun. Schwartz and O’Shaughnessey provide the cartoon-style acting, while Elba and now Reeves give a nice counterbalance with their deep and serious voices. Marsden and Sumpter aren’t given much to do this time around, and Krysten Ritter shows up as Director Rockwell, a character who’s mostly there to move what little plot there is further along.

A four-quadrant movie is one that appeals to all ages and genders; Sonic the Hedgehog 3 is a one or maybe two-quadrant movie at most. But it’s more fun than the other family-friendly offering this Christmas season, and fans of the video game will likely love the depiction of their favorite characters on screen, so it’s doing something right.

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Sonic the Hedgehog 3 is now playing in theaters.

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