By Chris Oddo | Thursday October 22, 2015

 

Lucie Safarova rounds out the WTA's elite eight for Singapore. Get to know all eight participants here.

Photo Source: Clive Brunskill/Getty

With Carla Suarez Navarro’s loss to Daria Kasatkina today in Moscow, the elite eight has been finalized for next week’s WTA Finals in Singapore. The draw is set for tomorrow. While you wait, here’s a quick breakdown of the final eight, in the order of their seeding for the event:

1. Simona Halep

The Romanian has had another stellar year, winning three titles and going 48-15 with a U.S. Open semifinal to her name. In addition to her titles in Shenzhen, Dubai and Indian Wells, Halep also reached back-to-back finals in Toronto and Cincinnati this summer.

Halep’s results have trailed off some as the season as progressed, and her Grand Slam season was a disappointment by her standards. She has lost her last four matches vs. the Top-10, and went 2-4 vs. the Top-10 this season. Last year she played some of her best tennis in Singapore, however. She defeated Serena Williams in round-robin play and reached final before finally bowing out to eventual winner Williams.

2. Garbine Muguruza

The Spaniard has surged in the second half of the year, reaching the Wimbledon final then rising again in Asia after a brief dry post-Wimbledon dry spell. With new coach Sam Sumyk, Muguruza is looking like a bona fide star in the making. She’s 38-18 for the season with one title (Beijing) on her record. Muguruza went 7-4 vs. the Top-10 in 2015, with two of those losses coming to Serena Williams.

This is Muguruza's first trip to Singapore and she'll take part in the doubles alongside partner Carla Suarez Navarro as well.

3. Maria Sharapova

Remember Maria Sharapova? The Russian will finally be back in action in Singapore, and it’s hard to predict what type of form she’ll be in. She’s gone 34-8 on the season with two titles, but the 28-year-old has only played one partial match since Wimbledon, retiring in the third set at Wuhan vs. Barbora Strycova.

Sharapova has gone 5-2 vs. the Top-10 in 2015, with her only losses coming vs. Serena Williams. She's also a combined 36-13 against the rest of the players in the field.

Appearing in the WTA Finals for the eighth time, Sharapova is a former champion who last reached the final in 2013.

4. Petra Kvitova

Despite suffering from symptoms related to mono in the second half of the season, the Czech has soldiered on, going 35-13 on the season with three titles.

Kvitova has lost two of three since the U.S. Open, but a nice rest period since falling early in Beijing could work in her favor. She went 3-1 vs. the Top-10 this season.

This is Kvitova's 5th straight appearance at the WTA Finals (Radwanska is the only other player to have reached the WTA Finals for the last five years). She won the title in her first appearance in 2011 and reached the semifinals in 2013.

5. Agnieszka Radwanska

Radwanska has been in top form for the second half of 2015, rallying back from a disconcerting beginning of the season that saw her struggle under the tutelage of Martina Navratilova. She’s gone 14-2 with two titles (Tokyo, Tianjin) since the U.S. Open and could easily be called the hottest player in the field.

Her 1-5 record vs. the Top-10 is rather unsightly, however.

Radwanska has reached the semis at the WTA Finals in two of the last three years.

6. Angelique Kerber

Strong and determined, Angelique Kerber has somehow reached Singapore without making the second week of a major all season. Much of that has to do with the fact that she’s been fantastic in finals, going 4-for-4 until finally dropping one to Jelena Jankovic in Hong Kong last week.

Since winning Stanford this summer, the German has dropped four straight vs. the Top-10, making it an even 4-4 on the season vs. the WTA’s elite.

This is Kerber's third WTA Finals appearance. She's lost five of six matches thus far.

7. Flavia Pennetta

In her last Tour event, lovable Italian Flavia Pennetta will try to capture some more of the magic that took her to the U.S. Open crown in September. She’ll no doubt be playing inspired tennis, with the finish line of her now legendary career in sight.

Pennetta has gone 4-5 vs. the Top-10 this year, but her last two victories, over Petra Kvitova and Simona Halep at the U.S. Open, really stick out.

Pennetta is making her first WTA Finals appearance.

8. Lucie Safarova

Thanks to a run to the French Open final and a solid stretch that took the experienced southpaw into the first ten for the first time, Safarova is the last player to qualify for Singapore. She’ll come in rusty, as she was down with a scary bacterial infection for several weeks after the U.S. Open and has yet to find her rhythm this fall, losing her only two matches.

Safarova has gone 4-3 vs. the Top-10 in 2015.

Safarova is making her first WTA Finals appearance and she'll also compete in the doubles alongside Bethanie Mattek-Sands.