The WTA Finals are already underway as the eight best female players in the world will battle it out at Singapore to see who’s numero uno at the season-ending championships. Serena William’s withdrawal from the championships opened the door for Svetlana Kuznetsova who will be participating in her first WTA Finals since 2009.
The draw for the tournament has already been out with the Red Group being a complete “Group of Death” including top seed Angelique Kerber, Simona Halep, Madison Keys and Dominika Cibulkova and the White Group consisting of reigning champion Agnieszka Radwanska, Karolina Pliskova, Garbine Muguruza, and Svetlana Kuznetsova. Let’s take a look at six players who are the favorites to win the season-ending championships.
#5. Dominika Cibulkova
She might have reached the final of the Australian Open in 2014 and the semi-finals of the French Open in 2009 but 2016 has by far, been Dominika Cibulkova’s most consistent year to date and as a result will make her debut in the WTA Finals. After undergoing an Achilles surgery last year, Cibulkova began 2016 ranked 38th in the world. After reaching the semi-finals of the Hobart International, Cibulkova lost in the first round of the Australian Open which caused her to drop out of the Top 50. However, she rebounded to reach the final of the Alberto Mexicano Telcel at Acapulco. After disappointing performances at Indian Wells and Miami, Cibulkova won the Katowice Open by defeating Camila Giorgi in the final.She continued her good form by reaching the final of the Madrid Open where she lost to Simona Halep. This caused her rankings to rise up to 25 before the French Open where she eventually lost to Carla Suarez Navarro in the third round. She began her grass-court season well by winning the Eastbourne International where she upset Agnieszka Radwanska in the quarter-finals before defeating Karolina Pliskova in the final. Cibulkova once again got the better of Radwanska in the fourth round of Wimbledon to reach her second Wimbledon quarter-final where she lost to Elena Vesnina. Cibulkova returned to the Top 10 after reaching the semi-finals at Stanford but later had to deal with injury issues towards to end of the grass-court season. She injured herself again at the US Open and was eliminated in the third round. However, she returned to fitness just in time and reached the final of the Wuhan Open but a first-round loss at the China Open put her Finals qualification hopes on the edge of the cliff. Cibulkova then confirmed her qualification for the WTA Finals by winning the Linz Open.Cibulkova has been drawn in the Red Group alongside Angelique Kerber, Simona Halep, and Madison Keys. Her chances to make it out of the group might not be massive but given her consistent form, it wouldn’t be a surprise if she does qualify for the semi-finals.
#4. Karolina Pliskova
After a string of promising performances in 2014 and making her Top 10 debut in 2015, big things were expected from the Czech in 2016. However, Pliskova began the year bluntly, falling in the third round of the Australian Open which were followed by first round exits at the Dubai Tennis Championships and the Qatar Open.
She bounced back by reaching the semi-finals of the Indian Wells Masters but was back to her patchy form as she suffered first round exits at Miami and Madrid and was knocked out of Roland Garros in the first hurdle. Pliskova gradually began to find her form during the grass-court season, winning the Aegon Open and reaching the final of the Eastbourne International where she was beaten by Dominika Cibulkova.
This was followed by a second round exit at the Wimbledon at the hands of Japanese Misaki Doi.After reaching the third round of the Rogers Cup, Pliskova pulled out of the Rio Olympics and the sacrifice paid off as she won the Cincinnati Masters, beating Angelique Kerber in the final and delaying her wait to be World No.1. Pliskova finally had a brilliant outing at a Grand Slam as she reached the final of the US Open, beating both the Williams sisters- Venus in the fourth round and Serena in the semi-finals which enabled Angelique Kerber to attain the No.1 ranking.
Pliskova eventually lost to Kerber in straight sets in the final. However, her performances at the US Open propelled her ranking to a career-best 6th. However, she couldn’t replicate her US Open performances in the tournaments that followed, falling in the second round of the Pan Pacific Open which was followed by consecutive third round exits at the Wuhan and China Opens but was able to comfortably qualify for the WTA Finals.Pliskova has been drawn in a relatively easy group alongside reigning champion Aga Radwanska, an inconsistent Garbine Muguruza, and Svetlana Kuznetsova. Pliskova arrives in Singapore well-rested and full of confidence and will be one of the favorites to at least reach the semi-finals of her maiden WTA Finals.
#3. Simona Halep
The Romanian who had two brilliant seasons in 2014 and 2015, had a very poor start to 2016, as she was beaten in the semi-finals of the Sydney International and was later knocked out in the first round of the Australian Open after losing to Chinese Zhang Shuai who was yet to win a single match in the main draw of a major and was contemplating retirement prior to the tournament. She later took a month-long hiatus from the sport to undergo surgery on her nose.
Halep then came back by reaching the quarterfinals at the Indian Wells Masters and the Miami Masters before winning the Mutua Madrid Open. Halep was then stunned in the fourth round of the French Open by 2010 runner-up and eventual semi-finalist Samantha Stosur.Halep reached the quarter-finals of the Wimbledon despite not being fully prepared for the tournament and later won the Rogers Cup before reaching the semi-finals of the Cincinnati Masters. Halep then reached the quarter-finals of the US Open where she was beaten by Serena Williams in straight sets.
This was followed by a series of deviating performances as she reached the semi-finals of the Wuhan Open but lost to Zhang Shuai yet again in the third round of the China Open. However, her semi-final appearance at the Wuhan Open was enough to see her through to her third consecutive WTA Finals.
Halep is the third seed at the tournament and has been drawn in the Red Group alongside Angelique Kerber, Madison Keys, and Dominika Cibulkova and if she can be at the top of her game, then she might even go all the way and better her runner-up performance at the 2014 WTA Finals.
#2. Agnieszka Radwanska
Radwanska ended 2015 on a high by winning the WTA Finals and continued her brilliant form in 2016 by winning the Shenzhen Open which was followed by a semi-final appearance at the Australian Open. This was followed by semi-final appearances at the Qatar Open and at the Indian Wells Masters which helped her re-attain the No.2 ranking. However, this was followed by a string of patchy performances as she lost to Timea Bacsinszky in the fourth round of the Miami Masters and was stunned by Laura Siegemund in the semi-finals of the Porsche Tennis Grand Prix. Radwanska exited the French Open in the fourth round after losing to Bulgarian Tsvetana Pironkova.Radwanska’s patchy performances continued in the grass-court season as she was knocked out in the first round of the Birmingham Classic and was beaten by Dominika Cibulkova in the quarter-finals of the Eastbourne International as well as in the fourth round of the Wimbledon. A third round shock defeat to Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova in the third round of the Rogers Cup was followed by a hectic 55-hour travel from Montreal to Rio which did not give her enough time to prepare for the Olympics, both physically and mentally and as a result she was knocked out in the first round by Zheng Saisai. She rebounded well by reaching the quarter-finals of the Cincinnati Masters and later won the Connecticut Open, beating Elina Svitolina in the final. This was followed by a surprise fourth round exit at the US Open at the hands of Croatian teenager Ana Konjuh. Radwanska bounced back during the Asian leg by reaching the semi-finals of the Pan Pacific Open which was followed by a quarter-final appearance at the Wuhan Open where she lost to Svetlana Kuznetsova in three sets. Radwanska then won the China Open to mark her third WTA title of the year and the 20th of her career. During the China Open, Radwanska confirmed her place in the WTA Finals and is one of the heavy favorites to bag the title. She has been drawn in the White Group alongside US Open runner-up Karolina Pliskova, an inconsistent Garbine Muguruza and two-time Grand Slam champion Svetlana Kuznetsova and given her current form, there’s a very good chance she might retain her title.
#1. Angelique Kerber
The German began the year by reaching the final of the Brisbane International where she lost to Victoria Azarenka. This was followed by her first Grand Slam victory at the Australian Open where she beat reigning champion Serena Williams in the final.
However, this was followed by a string of inconsistent performances as she lost her opening matches at the Qatar Open and at the Indian Wells Masters. However, she rebounded by reaching the semi-finals of the Miami Masters and winning the Stuttgart Open. This was followed by three straight first-round defeats which climaxed in a shock defeat to Kiki Bertens at the French Open.However, Kerber found her game and reached the Wimbledon final where she was beaten by Serena Williams in straight sets. Her good form continued as she reached the semi-finals of the Rogers Cup and bagged the silver medal at the Rio Olympics before reaching the final of the Cincinnati Masters where she was beaten by Karolina Pliskova. Kerber had a brilliant outing at the US Open and prior to the final, was confirmed to be the new World No.1 following the tournament. In a rematch of the Cincinnati final, Kerber beat Pliskova in three sets to win her second Grand Slam of the year and of her career. Just as her Australian Open was followed by a string of poor performances, Kerber struggled for consistency following her US Open triumph and had a poor outing at the Asian Swing where she bowed out in the third rounds of the Wuhan and China Opens and was stunned in the quarter-finals of the Hong Kong Open by Australian Daria Gavrilova. However, Kerber somehow was able to retain her No.1 ranking and arrives in Singapore having had the best year of her career so far. Kerber has been drawn into the Red Group alongside Simona Halep, Madison Keys, and Dominika Cibulkova. Kerber is undoubtedly the overwhelming favorite to win the Championships but she would have to produce more consistent performances in order to do so.
