Kristie Ahn captures Squid Game-style WTA Race with Colacatlee collaboration

Happy Hunger Games, ladies!

Kristie Ahn collaborated with artist @Colacatlee to capture the state of the WTA Race to Guadalajara, which has taken on a “Squid Game” flavor in its final weeks.

“It’s been 2 years since the WTA has had their finals, and I wanted to not only celebrate the return, but also depict how tight the race is this year using none other than the hottest topic right now: Squid Game,” Ahn wrote on Instagram. “There’s been so much history made this season, and I’m sure there’s still more to come.”

The Race to Guadalajara has indeed taken its share of dramatic turns since the US Open—though significantly less deadly than its Netflix inspiration. In the last two weeks alone, Paula Badosa launched into contention with a win at the BNP Paribas Open and world No. 1 Ashleigh Barty opted to sit out the rest of the season to prepare for the Australian summer.

Badosa officially qualified for the first post-pandemic WTA Finals, moved from Shenzhen to Gaudalajara this year, alongside Iga Swiatek and Garbiñe Muguruza—leaving Ons Jabeur and Anett Kontaveit to fight for the eighth spot.

Jabeur was originally scheduled to play the inaugural 250-tournament in Courmayeur, but withdrew due to the elbow injury that forced her to retire from her Kremlin Cup opener last week.

Kontaveit is in hot pursuit of the Tunisian after winning her third title of 2021 in Moscow, but needs a strong result in Cluj Nepoca to wrest the final spot from Jabeur.

Player reaction to the cartoon has been overwhelmingly positive and even Jabeur and Kontaveit have been able to find humor in spite of the high stakes.

Who will cross the finish line before the ultimate game of “Red Light, Green Light” comes to an end?