The 2016 WTA Finals are here. No Serena. No Azarenka. No Sharapova. Can Angelique Kerber complete the greatest year of her career, one in which she claimed the world No. 1 ranking for the first time? We’re about to find out.
The competition in the 8-player event begins on Sunday, October 23.
Event Details
Event: WTA Finals
Category: Year-End Championships
Date: October 23-30, 2016
Location: Singapore Indoor Stadium – Singapore
With a prize money allotment of $7 million, the WTA Finals have a richer purse than all but the four Grand Slam events. Players get large six-figure prizes for winning round-robin matches, and even larger prizes for winning semifinal and final matches.
The points structure for this tournament: Each player gets 70 points per round-robin match, meaning each player is guaranteed three matches, or 210 points. Each player gets 160 points for a round-robin match victory, offering a maximum of 480 round-robin points. Semifinal losers get an extra 690 points. The runner-up gets 1050 points beyond the round-robin points accumulated. The winner gets 1500 points in addition to any round-robin points won.
Former Champions and Results (5 Years)
Year Champion Runner-up Score
2015: Agneiszka Radwanska def. Petra Kvitova 6-2, 4-6, 6-3
2014: Serena Williams def. Simona Halep 6-3, 6-0
2013: Serena Williams def. Li Na 2-6, 6-3, 6-0
2012: Serena Williams def. Maria Sharapova 6-4, 6-3
2011: Petra Kvitova def. Victoria Azarenka 7-5, 4-6, 6-3
Player Info:
For the second consecutive year, the glamorous and prestigious World Tour Finals will not feature Serena Williams, who is out with a shoulder injury. The substitute was finally decided Saturday in Moscow, when Svetlana Kuznetsova won the Kremlin Cup title to beat out Johanna Konta for the eighth and the final place in Singapore.
The eight women are drawn in two groups of four. The top two players from each group will qualify for the semifinals. The world No. 1 Angelique Kerber leads the Red group while the defending champion Agneiszka Radwanska heads the White Group.
WTA Finals – Red Group
1) Angelique Kerber
Angelique Kerber may be the world No. 1, she may be a two-time major champion, but Kerber is just 2-7 in her three appearances at the WTA Finals and has never crossed the round-robin stage in Singapore. Kerber’s draw doesn’t offer any relief either: She trails Simona Halep 3-4 in the head-to-head and has split her eight meetings 4-4 with Dominika Cibulkova. The German hasn’t set the world on fire since winning the U.S. Open, but she has already done unexpected things in 2016, so why not again?
2) Simona Halep
Simona Halep’s 6-2, 6-0 thrashing of Serena in the 2014 round-robin stage is something she’ll want to think about. On the biggest of platforms, Halep hasn’t expressed herself as she would’ve liked but this is an opportunity to reinvent herself. A win in Singapore wouldn’t change how inconsistent she has been this year, but it would be a stepping stone for the bigger things in 2017.
3) Madison Keys
Madison Keys is only 21 but she is confident, stronger and faster. She is yet to match the consistency of an elite player, but she has the self-belief to reach great heights. Starting the year at No. 18 in the world, Keys made the second week of all four Slams and made quarterfinals or better at 8 of the 12 events, which has seen her jump to No. 7 in the rankings. Keys is making her Singapore debut and she is bound to be anxious, but if she doesn’t get overawed by the occasion, she is going to do a lot of damage.
4) Dominika Cibulkova
You don’t hear much about Dominika Cibulkova. Yes, she is not glamorous. Yes, she doesn’t get much coverage, but that doesn’t deter her from winning on consistent basis. The Slovakian pocket rocket has won 50 matches this season and has won three titles, which has led her to Singapore. She is 3-2 against Halep and 4-4 against Kerber. She is yet to win against Keys, whom she trails 0-3, but that can change in Singapore. She is in excellent form and has good numbers against Halep and Kerber. It wouldn’t surprise if she makes the semifinals.
WTA Finals – White Group
1) Agnieszka Radwanska
Agnieszka Radwanska is the defending champion and in Serena’s absence, she is the top favorite to clinch the title again. Radwanska is a big name in women’s tennis but she hasn’t blossomed at the Grand Slam level. As a world No. 3, she should be doing more at those events. She has quietly gone about her business winning 50 plus matches and as always had very good Asian swing. The fourth member of her group is Kuznetsova, whom she trails 4-12. That shouldn’t stop her from beating Karolina Pliskova and Garbine Muguruza. If Radwanska wins, it’ll prolong at her stay at the top and it’ll again boost her confidence to win a Grand Slam.
2) Karolina Pliskova
Karolina Pliskova was on a giant-killing run in New York, where she upset the Williams sisters on her way to the U.S. Open final. That made her instantly a hot property, but since that hot run, she has won three and lost three matches. Like Keys and Cibulkova, Pliskova too is in her Singapore debut. The stage is big but that shouldn’t bother her as she proved at the U.S. Open. For someone who serves aces at will and blasts winners with ease, she should be winning more tournaments. She has a good draw but will she make the most of it?
3) Garbine Muguruza
Garbine Muguruza has won just one title this season and that came at Roland Garros. Since, she has made herself irrelevant, bowing out of Wimbledon and the U.S. Open earlier than expected. Muguruza was in a similar slump last year but made the semifinals in Singapore. She has a losing record against Pliskova, 1-3, but she is 4-3 against world No. 3 Radwanska. Muguruza isn’t expected to win but that’s where she become dangerous. More than the win, she’ll look to make herself competent again.
4) Svetlana Kuznetsova
The situation for Kuznetsova is difficult. She has to fly directly from Moscow, where she won on Saturday afternoon, and find a flight directly into Singapore on short notice. She’ll have no real time to rest or regroup before her opening match on Monday in the White Group. It’s a great accomplishment for her to be here, but will she have anything left in the tank?
Singapore Indoor Stadium
This is a 12,000-seat stadium which opened on New Year’s Eve of 1989. The WTA Finals are not a main-draw tournament but an eight-player event, so there are no outside courts. It’s the only show in town on stadium court, which will also host the eight-team doubles tournament as well.
