Using a direct cut and paste of the standard WLAN connection sta_if = network.WLAN(network.STA_IF) generates an error with the current v.1.21.0 firmware. This is consistent on multiple versions of the ESP32-S2-Saola-1. The same error occurs on the latest ESP32_GENERIC_S2-20231019-v1.22.0-preview.32.g86c7b957a.bin build. Reverting to v1.20.0 resolved the error and Wifi is functional.

Further device details per esptool.py v4.6.2

Detecting chip type... ESP32-S2
Chip is ESP32-S2 (revision v0.0)
Features: WiFi, No Embedded Flash, No Embedded PSRAM, ADC and temperature sensor calibration in BLK2 of efuse V1
Crystal is 40MHz
Manufacturer: 20
Device: 4016
Detected flash size: 4MB
Flash type set in eFuse: quad (4 data lines)