At the Net: The ‘Road to Singapore’ is complete
Philadelphia, PA (SportsNetwork.com) – Well, it took just over nine months, but the elite eight field for the prestigious WTA Finals in Singapore was filled out this week with the additions of Wimbledon runner-up Genie Bouchard, Agnieszka Radwanska, U.S. Open finalist Caroline Wozniacki and Ana Ivanovic.
The former French Open champion Ivanovic said: “It’s been my big goal since the beginning of the year. Everyone really earns a spot there, and I feel like I’ve been playing so well the whole year. I was working really hard towards this.
“The WTA Finals is a very special tournament because it’s only eight players. And we’re all excited that it’s in Singapore this year — everything looks so beautiful. We’re all very motivated.”
Heading into this week’s action in Beijing, U.S. Open champ Serena Williams, French Open titlist Maria Sharapova, Roland Garros runner-up Simona Halep and Wimbledon winner Petra Kvitova had already qualified for the Finals. The 23- year-old Halep and 20-year-old Bouchard will be making their first appearances at the event.
“I’m excited to compete in my first WTA Finals,” said Bouchard. “The fans in Singapore were so enthusiastic when I visited in January for the launch of the Road To Singapore. I have worked hard all year on and off the court to qualify for the WTA Finals in Singapore. I am looking forward to returning later this month and hope to see some new members of the Genie Army at the WTA Finals.”
Also heading into this week, two ladies — German left-hander Angelique Kerber and Russian lefty/Grand Slam quarterfinal machine Ekaterina Makarova — had a shot at making the field, but both needed to make deep runs at the China Open, and both bowed out in the third round. Also failing to qualify was Aussie Open runner-up Dominika Cibulkova. Maybe next year.
The star-studded field in Singapore will feature no less than four current or former world No. 1s and women from eight different countries.
Singapore (a sovereign city-state/island country in Southeast Asia) will hold the WTA Finals for the first time, starting on October 20 and running through October 26. Singapore Indoor Stadium will be the venue for the extravaganza for the next five years.
Serena (surprise) is the reigning Finals champ, having won two straight and four overall titles at the former WTA Championships, where she’s also a two- time runner-up. She overcame this year’s Aussie Open winner Li Na in last year’s final in Istanbul, which hosted the event the last three years.
Note: Li will not return this year due to her retirement from professional tennis two weeks ago.
Serena will be joined in the Singapore field by only two former Finals champions — Sharapova (2004) and Kvitova (2011). Sharapova is also a two-time runner-up at the now 43-year-old season-ending event, which has been hosted now in eight different cities since its inception in 1972.
The United States hasn’t hosted since 2005, when a four-year run concluded at Los Angeles’ Staples Center.
Martina Navratilova holds the record with eight titles at this lucrative tournament, where she was also a six-time runner-up. That’s a record 14 finals if you’re counting at home.
This year’s edition of the tourney is actually called the BNP Paribas WTA Finals.
For the record, the event has also been called the Virginia Slims Championships, Avon Championships, WTA Tour Championships, Chase Championships, Sanex Championships, Home Depot Championships, Bank of America WTA Tour Championships, Sony Ericsson Championships, and TEB-BNP Paribas WTA Championships.
That’s way too many names for my liking, or I guess anyone else’s for that matter.
Anyway, keep up the good work, ladies!
Categorized in: Tennis