By Chris Oddo | Tuesday October 13, 2015

 

Flavia Pennetta dropped her opener in Tianjin, and Lucie Safarova did the same in Linz, leaving Singapore bids hanging in the balance

Photo Source: Tianjin Open

Flavia Pennetta and Lucie Safarova hoped to pad their slim leads in the Road to Singapore standings on Tuesday, but neither could get past the first round.

More: Venus Williams Notches Hard-Fought Win in Hong Kong

Pennetta fell in Tianjin, 6-3, 7-5, to Lyudmyla Kichenok of Ukraine. The U.S. Open champion, who plans to retire after this season, was broken four times on 13 opportunities against the World No. 414.

"I would love to have played better today," she said, according to WTATennis.com. "I had my chances but sometimes it's not coming. There are days like that. It's tennis."

Pennetta, currently in possession of the final Singapore slot, could fall out of the race if Venus Williams reaches the final in Hong Kong. Williams was a winner in first-round action on Tuesday.

Lucie Safarova, playing in her first match since the U.S. Open (she missed time with a bacterial infection), fell to Andreea Mitu, 6-3, 6-4, in Linz.

If Venus Williams wins the title in Hong Kong, Safarova would fall to 8th on the RTS leaderboard. She is not signed up to play Moscow, and would have to wait on the rest of the field to finish their seasons to know her fate.

There are currently ten players in the hunt for the final five Singapore spots, but two (Belinda Bencic and Timea Bacsinszky) aren’t likely to compete again.

Petra Kvitova (4th on RTS) and Carla Suarez Navarro (10th on RTS) are scheduled to play Moscow, but more wild cards could be on offer.

Karolina Pliskova, currently in 12th place in the RTS, was a winner in Hong Kong last night, but the Czech can’t qualify no matter how well she does there. She’ll need a wild card if she wants to finish Top-8, barring withdrawals.