By Chris Oddo | Wednesday October 21, 2015
Flavia Pennetta and Angelique Kerber captured two of the final three Singapore slots on Wednesday in Moscow.
Photo Source: Lintao Zhang/Getty
The WTA Finals field is nearly complete. Angelique Kerber and Flavia Pennetta each qualified for the eight-player Singapore singles field on Wednesday. Kerber booked her spot when Karolina Pliskova was eliminated from contention at the Kremlin Cup in Moscow and Pennetta solidified her slot with a straight-sets win over Daria Gavrilova, also in Moscow.
Kerber has now reached the WTA Finals three times (and in three of the last four seasons). The German won four titles this season in four finals and has amassed 48 match wins.
"I had a great season and really pushed myself to qualify - especially as the event came closer," Kerber said in a statement.
Pennetta, a former WTA Finals doubles champion, qualified for the singles at the WTA Finals for the first time. It will be the last tour event of the Italian’s WTA career. The 33-year-old 2015 U.S. Open announced her plans to retire after claiming her first major title this September in New York.
"Qualifying for the WTA Finals is a dream come true and the perfect way to end to an amazing season for me,” Pennetta said in a statement to WTATennis.com. “It will also be a wonderful way for me to say to say goodbye to tennis - it's a spectacular stage to bow out on. Having won the WTA Finals before in doubles, I can't wait to make my debut in singles."
After defeating Gavrilova, 6-2, 6-4, on Wednesday in Moscow, the Italian promply withdrew from the event with a foot injury.
The final remaining Singapore spot will go to either Lucie Safarova or Carla Suarez Navarro. Safarova dropped a three-set decision to Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova on Wednesday in Moscow, but she’ll still end up taking the last spot unless Suarez Navarro can reach the final.