With four weeks of tennis remaining until the 2015 WTA Finals in Singapore, five spots have yet to be claimed and the race seems to only get tighter.
Currrently only 199 ranking points separate Flavia Pennetta (6th, 3034 points) and Belinda Bencic (12th, 2835 points). It makes for a dramatic run-up to Singapore, and 6-12 aren’t the only players still in contention for spots. Lingering at No. 13 is Caroline Wozniacki. The dangerous Dane will keep all of her points at this week’s Dongfeng Motor Wuhan Open and could move into contention with a good effort. Other players further back (Victoria Azarenka, Madison Keys, Elina Svitolina) could also make significant strides towards the Top-8 in the next two weeks in Wuhan and Beijing.
Here are the current standings:
It’s important to note that this week’s event in Wuhan is a Premier 5 level event, which means that not all players will end up keeping all their points. Players keep their two best Premier 5 performances of the season (best of Dubai, Rome, Cincinnati, Canada and Wuhan) in the Singapore breakdown, and out of the players ranked 6 through 13 in the race, only Caroline Wozniacki and Garbine Muguruza have a one-pointer to replace.
Angelique Kerber, Agnieszka Radwanska, Belinda Bencic and Pliskova all need to earn at least 105 points (MAKE QUARTERFINALS) to see their point totals improve, while Carla Suarez Navarro would need to reach the semis. With Lucie Safarova and Flavia Pennetta not active this week, there will be big opportunities to close the gap for 9-13, and even a big performance (title or final) by Keys (16th) or Azarenka (18th) could suddenly propel them into the mix.
Pliskova, Bencic and Keys have already won their openers in Wuhan. Kerber, Azarenka, Wozniacki and Suarez Navarro will be in action on Tuesday. Agnieszka Radwanska was knocked off by Venus Williams in the final match of the day.
Next week’s calculations will be much simpler as all players will be adding whatever points they get in Beijing—it is one of the four Premier Mandatory events.
After Beijing there will be more opportunities: Linz, Tianjin and Hong Kong (Oct. 12-18) and Luxembourg and Moscow (Oct. 19-25). Stay tuned as a lot is sure to be happening.
We wouldn’t be surprised if three or even four players come from outside of today’s Top-8 to make the Singapore cut.