Women's tennis : Preview of the WTA Finals 2018

The year ending WTA finals is all set to start-off on October 21st as the world's leading women tennis players battle it out as they test their skills after a long and gruelling season which has seen 4 different women win at each of the 4 Grand Slam Majors. No surprises then that in each of the last 3 years, the WTA Finals has thrown up a surprise winner each time. Pole Agnieszka Radwanska won in 2015, 2016 saw Dominika Cibulkova emerge victoriously and Dane Caroline Wozniacki took the title in 2017. From how things have panned out over the course of the season one can expect the unexpected in the WTA Finals and each of the 8 women one can say have an equal chance at grabbing the headlines. Irrespective of whether one views the showpiece event as a Grand Slam equivalent or just an icing on the cake after an arduous season, we can surely expect some terrific tennis over the course of the week. World Number 1 Simona Halep will not be participating in the tournament for the first time in 5 years. The Romanian Halep was forced to end her season after a back injury. The tournament will be played in a two-group round-robin format followed by the semi-finals and the final. The Red Group comprises Angelique Kerber, Naomi Osaka, Sloane Stephens and Kiki Bertens. The White Group features Caroline Wozniacki, Elina Svitolina, Petra Kvitova and Karolina Pliskova. We take a brief look at all the eight players and access their chances :

# Kiki Bertens

Dutch woman Kiki Bertens made the cut after World Number 1 Simona Halep pulled out due to injury. Kiki Bertens broke into the top-10 for the first time in her career earlier this month and in the process became the first woman from Holland to do so in 22 years since Brenda Schultz-McCarthy in 1996. Considered to be a clay court expert, Bertens won 5 titles on clay this year and reached the semi-finals of the French Open. She has been in stupendous form in the last 4 months or so beating Wozniacki, Halep, Svitolina, Venus Williams and Kvitova. She may well be the surprise package at Singapore.

# Sloane Stephens

After tasting her first Grand Slam success at the US Open in 2017, Stephens grabbed her second biggest win at the Miami open earlier this year and broke into the Top-10 for the first time in her career. She was the runner-up in the French Open and in the ensuing process was ranked in the Top-5 and reached a career high ranking of Number 3 in July. Since then she has tasted limited success barring a runner-up finish in Montreal. However her clean hitting and powerful groundstrokes makes her a definite contender for the WTA crown.

# Karolina Pliskova

Karolina Pliskova's 3882 aces this year so far are the highest among all Women competing in the WTA Finals. Since reaching her maiden Grand Slam final at the 2016 US open, Pliskova rose to World Number 1 and later relinquished that position. She hasn't reached a Grand Slam final after that and there is a feeling that her true potential hasn't been unlocked yet. Her two titles in 2018 came at the indoor clay in Stuttgart and at the Tokyo open in Japan. The addition of Grand Slam winners Rennae Stubbs and Conchita Martinez to her coaching crew seems to have helped her evolve into a more complete player. Her strong service and aggressive strokeplay will make her one to watch out for this week.

# Petra Kvitova

Petra Kvitova has had a contrasting season so far. In the first-half, she won more titles than any other player with 5 titles including 2 back-to-back clay titles. She started Wimbledon as one of the favorites but crashed out in the very first round. This was followed by a third-round exit at the US Open. Her best performance in the 2nd half of the season so far was a semi-final appearance in Cincinnati where she beat Serena Williams in a tough 3 set match. Considering that this is her first full season since the horrific knife attack on her, the Czech has had a good season with 5 titles and a top-10 finish and she will look to add a 6th WTA title in Singapore.

# Elina Svitolina

A consistent performer over the past two years, Ukranian Elina Svitolina has made giant strides in her tennis career. She had a mathematical chance of finishing 2017 as World Number 1 and has been ranked inside the Top-5 for the past two years in succession. Like Kvitova, she enjoyed a good first half before seeing a dip in form in the latter half of the season. All her 3 titles this year have come before July at Brisbane, Rome and Dubai. Her finals record since January 2017 has been an astounding 8-0 and the Ukranian will be looking to make an impact in her second outing here.

# Naomi Osaka

In winning her first Grand Slam title at the US Open earlier this year, the 20-year old Japanese woman Naomi Osaka showed remarkable poise and composure. Her handling of herself in the controversial final was truly remarkable. Osaka has had two titles this year at Indian Wells and at US Open. Her service game conversion rate this year has been an astounding 77% - the best among all 8 contenders. With a free-flowing risk-taking approach, Osaka will look to cap off a terrific year with a win in Singapore.

# Caroline Wozniacki

The absence of a Grand Slam trophy in her trophy cabinet was the one sour point in Caroline Wozniacki's career. She silenced her critics by taking the 2018 Australian Open trophy and the Number 1 ranking in January this year. The defending champion here in Singapore, Wozniacki won the recently concluded China Open in Beijing without dropping a set. Her serve which was her weakpoint has now improved and she uses it effectively to adapt her game to the conditions. The low bounce of the Singapore courts compliments her game and it doesn't look unlikely at all that she would go on and defend her title here.

# Angelique Kerber

Since having a stellar 2016 season where she won 2 Grand Slam titles, the Olympic Silver Medal and the World Number 1 ranking, 2017 was a forgettable year for the left-handed German as she endured a torrid season with dip in form and results. Rising from the lows of 2017, Angelique Kerber has risen to Number 3 in the world rankings and captured her first Wimbledon title earlier this year where she beat Serena Williams in the final. Kerber who is widely considered to have one of the best defence in the women's game almost always makes her opponent play an extra ball. It is her ability to track down the most difficult of shots and come up with shots from tight angles that has troubled the game's best. She will be looking to add the WTA Finals trophy to her wins in Sydney and Wimbledon and will start off as one of the favorites.

Edited by Moderator -PJ