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.