By Chris Oddo | Friday October 14, 2016
Svetlana Kuznetsova kept alive her slim hopes to reach the WTA Finals on Friday in Tianjin. Full update here.
Photo Source: China Open
Garbiñe Muguruza became the sixth to qualify for the WTA Finals in Singapore (only 9 days left until it begins!), but there are still two spots remaining and five hungry players in the mix.
Here’s the details on what is happening this weekend in the race:
First off, here’s the standings prior to this week, courtesy of WTA Media guru, Kevin Fischer:
Now, for a quick player by player breakdown:
Keys (No. 7): Is picking up points with each win and has moved into the Linz semis. That will add 110 to her tally (she has a 0 for 16th-best total) and she could add 180 with a final and 280 with a title in Linz. Right now Keys has 3637 points (could finish with 3707 or 3807), but she isn’t clinched just yet because both Svetlana Kuznetsova and Carla Suarez Navarro are entered in the Moscow draw with a shot to earn 470 points with a title.
Keys is pretty close to a lock, so expect her to be the 7th player to clinch by the end of the weekend.
Konta (Tied for No.8): Hurt her chances significantly by pulling out of Hong Kong with an injury, but the British No. 1 still has a shot. She’s currently tied with Dominika Cibulkova at No.8 on the list, but if Cibulkova loses in the Linz semifinals, Konta will hold the tiebreaker.
Cibulkova can still pass Konta by reaching the semifinals next week in Moscow.
Cibulkova (Tied for No.8): Plays Suárez Navarro in the Linz semis tomorrow. Suarez Navarro’s chances will take a significant hit with a loss but she’ll have a slim shot at Moscow if she can take the title.
Suárez Navarro (No.10): See Cibulkova
Kuznetsova (No.11): Still alive in the hunt. She’ll face Alison Riske in the Tianjin semis and if she wins the title she will finish the week with 3250 points. Kuznetsova will then have a shot to earn another 410 points in Moscow (60 is her new 16th-best performance). Not totally sure, but if Kuznetsova loses in the semis against Riske, she may be eliminated.