Tennis News: The Race for the WTA Finals could soon be decided

The tournament will be held from October 31 to November 7, 2022. 

Iga Swiatek and Ons Jabeur, the first names to qualify in the race

The first names to have secured qualification for the 2022 WTA Finals are world number one Iga Swiatek, US Open finalist Ons Jabeur, and the doubles duo Barbora Krejcikova and Katerina Siniakova.

Jabeur will make her maiden appearance at the season's last event, and Swiatek will compete for the second time. Held in Fort Worth in Texas, the event will return to the United States for the first time since 2005.

"I'm really excited to qualify for the WTA Finals this year for the second time in my career, and I'm really looking forward to playing in front of the fans in Fort Worth," Swiatek said. 

Swiatek, the first Polish qualifier in the WTA Finals 2021 since Agnieszka Radwanska in 2016, has clinched seven titles this season. Out of which, six titles were won against a 37-match winning streak. She also won her third Grand Slam title at the US Open.

Tunisia's, Jabeur is the first Arab woman to make it to the WTA Finals. The star, who reached a career-high ranking of number two, said, "It was my goal from the beginning of the season to play the tournament, and I can't wait to compete as one of the top 8 players in the world."

After celebrating their US Open doubles title over the weekend, the Czech duo of Barbora Krejcikova and Katerina Siniakova will be geared up for the WTA Finals as they make their fourth consecutive appearance as a team.

In 2021, they won the tournament, becoming the first all-Czech team to lift the WTA Finals Martina Navratilova Trophy. They will now bid to become the seventh team to defend the WTA Finals crown.

"We are so excited that we are going to play the WTA Finals again," Siniakova remarked. "We are really looking forward to playing in Fort Worth in Texas and hopefully defending our title," said Krejcikova.

Simona Halep to skip WTA Finals, Naomi Osaka

The most surprising aspect of the race to the WTA Finals is Simona Halep's controversial choice to bypass the tournament for medical and aesthetic purposes.

The news is essential for the other players striving to finish among the top eight. With 2,661 points, she was ranked in the eighth position. Meanwhile, tennis has revived in Tokyo after a two-year-long halt due to the pandemic. 

This means that 2019 winner Naomi Osaka the defending champion on the outdoor hard-court venue, will make it to WTA Finals. Besides the number three seed, Garbiñe Muguruza, Sofia Kenin, and Elena Rybakina, Osaka is one of four major champions on the list.