If winning a Grand Slam is a dream for every tennis player then so is to be part of the elite group at year-end championships. Only eight players make it to this prestigious tournament and the winner caps off the year as the undisputed champion. The battle is fierce and the tension is high. There are no easy matches as the best of the best compete for the ultimate prize. So, the stage is set for an incredible grand finale as the top 8 female tennis players of the year prepare for WTA year-end Championships in Singapore.
These are the 5 things to know about the WTA year-end Championships before the tournament kicks-off tomorrow.
Red and White Groups : Significance of the group name
The WTA finals follows a round-robin format with the eight players split into two groups of four each. In the first four days of the tournament, each player competes with the other three players in her group. At the end of four days, the top two players in each group advance to the semifinals. The first-placed player in one group faces the second-placed player in the other group, and vice versa. The winners of the semifinals play each other in the championship match.
Singapore is the ninth city to hold WTA Championships and the first in Asia.
wta championships singapore merlion
The two groups have been named as White and Red groups. The groups get their names from the colours in Singapore’s flag, Singapore being the place of event. The draw was announced on Friday and the two groups feature players as follows:
Red Group | White Group |
Angelique Kerber | Agnieszka Radwanksa |
Simona Halep | Garbine Muguruza |
Madison Keys | Karolina Pliskova |
Dominka Cibulkova | Svetlana Kuznetsova |
Dominika Cibulkova- The player to watch out for
At the start of the year, to qualify for WTA finals was just a dream for the 27 year old Slovak. With a ranking of 66, it was an unrealistic dream to be honest. But Cibulkova proved us all wrong. Winning three titles at the Katowice Open, Aegon International Eastbourne and Generali Ladies Linz and making it to the finals of Wuhan Open, Mutua Madrid Open and Abierto Mexicano TELCEL Cibulkova climbed the rankings to reach a career high ranking of 8. A quarter-finals appearance at Wimbledon further strengthened her performance.
Cibulkova’s impressive performances throughout the season won her the WTA Comeback Player of the year award. Experience her feelings in her own words:
“I can't describe with words what qualifying for the WTA Finals Singapore means to me. After such a tough year last year, this year has been amazing - so reaching the WTA Finals is a dream come true. It was my goal to be a consistently great player and I have achieved that this year. I want to enjoy it, play good tennis and end the year the best way I can."
Cibulkova can do some real damage at the season end tournament. She has a 17-20 Head to Head record against the rest of the group but this being her debut appearance at the tournament you never know what to expect. Speaking from what we have experienced so far this year, she might have some surprises in store for us.
2016 has been a great year for @Cibulkova now she heads into the #WTAFinals in Singapore! pic.twitter.com/NRLHL15Yrw
— WTA (@WTA) October 20, 2016
3 is the number
Not to demean the value of Grand Slams but they are won in two weeks, whereas, to book a place in the WTA finals, one needs to perform consistently throughout the year. As a matter of fact, our top 8 seeds have only three Grand Slams amongst them with 6 players having no Grand Slams in their kitty. The only player to have multiple slams(2) is the newly crowned world number 1, Angelique Kerber, who won both her Grand Slams this year.
Martina Navratilova cracked it
Martina Navratilova and 2015 doubles champions Martina Hingis and Sania Mirza The most successful player at the year-end WTA Championships is none other than the legendary Martina Navratilova. If winning 18 singles Grand Slam titles, 31 Grand Slam doubles titles and 10 Grand Slam mixed doubles titles was not enough, Navratilova bagged 8 year-end championships, most by any player. She also holds the record for maximum number of finals at year-end Championships with 14 finals, double the number of finals reached by Serena Williams.
On the other hand, we will have three debutants this year as Cibulkova, Keys and Kuznetsova will be making their first appearance in Singapore.
Angelique Kerber leads the way
Kerber ends 2016 as the World No.1 player With Serena Williams opting out of the tournament with shoulder injury, the world number 1, Angelique Kerber will be in the spotlight. She has been in terrific form all season, bagging Australian Open and U.S. Open, her first two Grand Slam victories. She was also the first player to qualify for this elite group back on 22nd August along with Serena Williams.
Kerber has a 2-7 win loss record at the event. In her draw, she has 3-4 head to head record against Halep, 4-4 against Cibulkova and 5-1 against Keys. Thus the overall record against group member is 12-9 in Kerber’s favour. The question then remains can the WTA’s Player of the Year live up to this new challenge and end the season in the best possible manner?
