Multiple Grand Slam champions since 2000 who have not won WTA Finals, ft. Iga Swiatek, Naomi Osaka
The WTA Finals pits the eight best ladies in a season against each other in a round-robin format followed by a knockout semifinal and final.
Since the competition's first edition in 1972 in Boca Raton, Florida, the WTA Finals has been won by some of the finest players to have graced the sport. Eight-time winner Martina Navratilova, five-time winners Serena Williams and Steffi Graf, and four-time winner Chris Evert are some of the notable winners of the event.
The aforementioned quartet have won at least 18 Grand Slam singles titles, with Serena Williams (23) and Steffi Graf (22) leading the pack. However, there have been a few multi-time Major winners who have not won the WTA Finals.
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As the competition's 2022 edition in Fort Worth, Texas, gets under way, here's a look at the seven multi-time Major winners since 2000 who have not won the WTA Finals:
#1 Svetlana Kuznetsova - 2-time Grand Slam winner
Svetlana Kuznetsova is a two-time Grand Slam winner, winning the 2004 US Open and 2009 Roland Garros titles.
However, the 37-year-old — currently inactive on tour — never made the final at the WTA Finals. In fact, she failed to get out of the group in her first five appearances between 2004 and 2009.
In what turned out to be her last appearance at the season-ending tournament in 2016 (Singapore), Kuznetsova lost to Dominika Cibulkova in the semifinals.
#2 Li Na - 2-time Grand Slam winner
Li Na is another two-time Grand Slam winner who didn't win the season-ending WTA Finals.
The 2011 Roland Garros and 2014 Australian Open winner made three visits to the WTA Finals, making the final once. After getting knocked out in the round-robin stage in 2011 and 2012, Na made the final the following year but lost to Serena Williams in three sets.
The 40-year-old reached a career-high ranking of World No. 2 but retired in 2014 after a series of knee injuries. She was inducted into the International Tennis Hall of Fame in 2019.
#3 Victoria Azarenka - 2-time Grand Slam winner
Victoria Azarenka is one of five active players on this list. The two-time Australian Open winner (2012-13) has reached three other Grand Slam finals (2012-13, 2020 US Open).
However, the WTA Finals title has eluded the former World No. 1. In five visits to the season-ending event, Azarenka was eliminated in the group stage thrice. In 2011, she made her maiden WTA Finals final but lost to that year's Wimbledon winner Petra Kvitova in three sets.
Azarenka, 33, hasn't made the season-ending event since 2013, when she was eliminated in the group stage.
#4 Angelique Kerber - 3-time Grand Slam winner
Angelique Kerber is another active multi-time Grand Slam winner who has never won the WTA Finals.
The 34-year-old left-hander is a three-time Grand Slam winner (Australian Open 2016, US Open 2016, Wimbledon 2018). However, Kerber has returned empty-handed from five visits to the WTA Finals.
She failed to get past the group stage in four of those visits. The only time she did so — in 2016 (Singapore) — Kerber lost to Dominika Cibulkova in the final. The German hasn't qualified for the event since 2018.
#5 Simona Halep - 2-time Grand Slam winner
Simona Halep is another multi-time Major winner who has failed to go all the way at the WTA Finals.
The 2018 Roland Garros and 2019 Wimbledon winner reached the final on her WTA Finals debut in 2014 (Singapore) but lost to Serena Williams in straight sets. However, in four subsequent appearances at the tournament, the 31-year-old crashed out in the group stage.
Currently provisionally suspended for failing a drug test, Halep hasn't made the WTA Finals since 2018.
#6 Naomi Osaka - 4-time Grand Slam winner
Naomi Osaka has won four Grand Slam titles, but the WTA Finals is conspicuous by its absence in her illustrious resume.
The two-time Australian Open (2019, 2021) and US Open (2018, 2020) winner has made two visits to the season-ending WTA Finals. However, Osaka has won just one of her four matches across both editions.
That lone win came against Petra Kvitova in Shenzhen in 2019 before the former World No. 1 withdrew from the tournament due to injury.
#7 Iga Swiatek - 3-time Grand Slam winner
Iga Swiatek has been the player to beat on the WTA Tour this year. The three-time Grand Slam winner has lost only eight times in 72 matches this year, winning titles at two Majors (Roland Garros, US Open) and four WTA 1000 tournaments.
Unlike the others on this list, Swiatek has only played the WTA Finals once — 2021 — losing in the group stage. She opens her campaign for her maiden season-ending title against Daria Kasatkina on Tuesday in Fort Worth.
Our elite 8 making their way down the purple carpet during the Draw Ceremony!
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Coco Gauff and Caroline Garcia are the two other players in the 21-year-old's group.