SINGAPORE—The ‘Lion City’ Singapore appears to be ready for tennis action from the top-8 female players in the world. More than 40 years since the founding of the WTA and the first staging of the WTA Finals, the season-ending Championships are held for the first time in Asia-Pacific. The event held in Istanbul for the past three years and for the first time in Singapore this year, awards 2000 ranking points to the winner.
To have the year-end Championships in Singapore supports the vision of the Women’s Tennis Association and that of the tennis legend Billie Jean King, that any girl wherever she is born, could grow up to make a living from tennis, if she is good enough. Billie Jean King joins Chris Evert and Martina Navratilova as a formal advocate for the WTA’s season finale. King, one of the most respected and influential figures in tennis is announced as an official ambassador of the WTA finals and hopes to encourage physical and emotional health for young girls and women throughout the Asia-Pacific region.
The top eight tennis divas were present at the Draw Ceremony and passed signed rackets to potential future stars. Over the past few days, the youngest and brightest of the young Asian hopes were fighting among themselves. Their reward came on Saturday as their idols presented each on stage with a personally signed racket. Over the course of 2014, these teenagers and young players have played a lot of tournaments and only the best in Asia have been chosen to participate in the WTA Future Stars competition. The WTA hopes that by bringing in top athletes and having them show off their skills and athleticism, will inspire other girls in the region to pick up a racket and pursue their dreams.
Some of the top eight players are coming off the back of the big wins in Asia while others have been struggling with injuries, yet all of them said they are ready for Singapore.
The Draw
There will be two groups for the eight players, played in round-robin style, one Red and the other White. The draws were named red and white as a dedication to the Singapore flag, which carries those two colours.
Leading the Red group is the 33-year-old American and the No.1 in the world, Serena Williams who went to Europe for tests after her default in Beijing due to a knee injury. She said the knee tests went well and she hopes to win her third consecutive WTA Finals title. The health of the players is an issue after a lengthy year of tennis and travel that saw plenty of retirements and lengthy injuries.
Joining Williams in the Red Group will be Romanian World No.3 Simona Halep, Eugene Bouchard from Canada, and from Serbia, Ana Ivanovic. Ivanovic defaulted from the Wuhan tournament in China and then the Linz Open with thigh and hip injuries. Halep quit her match in Beijing due to a hip injury while Bouchard also pulled out of the Austrian event 10 days ago with a leg injury. It seems whoever is able to stay fit and injury-free during the first few days can come out of the Red Group and have a chance for the title.
The White Group is led by the Russian World No.2 Maria Sharapova who came to Singapore from her major win, just few weeks earlier at China Open in Beijing. Joining her in the group are Petra Kvitova, Agnieszka Radwanska and Caroline Wozniacki.
The French Open champion Maria Sharapova and Wimbledon champion Petra Kvitova are looking good and most likely to come on top of the White Group as they seem to be in top form, having respectively won the last two big tournaments in Beijing and Wuhan. However Caroline Woziacki is right behind them, having played and showed some strong tennis in the last few months, playing the finals at the US Open and in Tokyo while Radwanska is hoping for a strong tournament as her form deteriorated after her Montreal title win back in August.
Vlatka Jovanovic is an ex-professional WTA ranked tennis player and an independent broadcaster journalist.
