WTA Finals 2024 qualifications: Who are all the players who have already booked their spot in Riyadh? Ft. Iga Swiatek, Coco Gauff
All eyes of the tennis fans now turn towards the WTA Finals in Riyadh, where the World No.1 Iga Swiatek will try to bag the year-end title. After the recent China Open and the Asian swing, Coco Gauff, Elena Rybakina and Jessica Pegula also qualified for the season-end tournament, crossing the threshold of 4600 points for qualification.
Swiatek, Sabalenka, Gauff, Rybakina, Jasmine Paolini and Pegula have all qualified for the WTA Finals. The Wimbledon champion Barbora Krejcikova has an automatic qualification because of her title win at the SW19, leaving just one spot open for other contenders.
Zheng Qinwen and Emma Navarro are set to compete for the last remaining spot for a place at the WTA Finals. Zheng is currently on 3,675 points and leads Navarro (3568 points) by 107. Both the WTA stars competed at the Wuhan Open where Navarro lost in the Round of 32, while Zheng made the quarterfinals.
Qinwen has a chance to secure her qualification by winning the Wuhan Open and the last available spot for the WTA Finals. However, there could be a scenario where both Qinwen and Navarro could find themselves competing at the WTA Finals if one of the already qualified players withdraws from the tournament in Riyadh.
Currently, Elena Rybakina's participation is still unclear as she remains absent due to personal reasons since splitting up with her coach. The World No. 5 has not competed in any tournament since the US Open.
At the ongoing Wuhan Open, Aryna Sabalenka and Coco Gauff will face off in the semi-final, while Qinwen will have a chance to edge closer to securing a WTA Finals place when she faces Jasmine Paolini in the quarterfinal.
WTA Finals will determine the WTA year-end No. 1 between Iga Swiatek and Aryna Sabalenka
Iga Swiatek and Aryna Sabalenka are locked in the battle for the year-end No. 1 ranking. Both the WTA stars have enjoyed a great personal season winning at least one Grand Slam this year. Swiatek won the French Open, while Sabalenka won the Australian and US Open.
Currently, Iga Swiatek is the World No. 1 with 9,785 points with Aryna Sabalenka in second place (8,716 points). However, the Belarusian star could close the gap to just 60 points by defending her title in Wuhan. She will win 1000 points if she manages to defend her title at the Wuhan Open.
Swiatek is the defending champion at the event, however, Sabalenka will hope to go one step further at the WTA Finals this season after she was defeated in the semifinal last year.