From Seoul, South Korea, November 2018

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1. WTA Elite Trophy, Zuhai, China

ABOUT

The 2018 WTA Elite Trophy was a women's tennis tournament played at the Hengqin International Tennis Center in Zhuhai, China. It was the 4th edition of the singles event and doubles competition. The tournament was contested by twelve singles players and six doubles teams.

The field consists of the top eleven players not already qualified for the 2018 WTA Finals, plus either (a) the 12th-player not qualified for 2018 WTA Finals, or (b) a wild card. The final two alternates for the 2018 WTA Finals will be eligible to play in WTA Elite Trophy even if they participate in the WTA Finals. Point totals are calculated by combining points obtained from sixteen tournaments. Of these sixteen tournaments, a player's results from the four Grand Slam events, the four Premier Mandatory tournaments, and (for Top 20 players at the end of 2018) the best results from two Premier 5 tournaments must be included.

The singles event features twelve players in a round robin event, split into four groups of three. Over the first four days of competition, each player meets the other two players in her group, with the winner in each group advancing to the semifinal. The winners of each semifinal meet in the championship match. The six doubles teams will be split into two round robin groups, with the winner of each advancing to the final.

POINTS

SEEDS

FINALISTS

Asleigh Barty (Australia, left) defeated Wang Qiang (China, right) in two sets, score 6-3 6-4.

 WINNER 

Asleigh Barty (Australia) 

FINAL HIGHLIGHTS

***

2017 WINNER: Julia Gorges (Germany, right) defeated Coco Vandeweghe (USA) in the final

2016 WINNER: Petra Kvitova (Czech Republic, right) defeated Elina Svitolina (Ukraine)

2015 WINNER: Venus Williams (USA) defeated Karolina Pliskova (Czech Republic)

2. L&T Mumbai Open, India

ABOUT

The 2018 L&T Mumbai Open was a professional tennis tournament played on outdoor hard courts. It was the 3rd edition of the tournament. It is part of the 2018 WTA 125K series. It took place between 29 October to 3 November 2018 at the Cricket Club of India.

POINTS

Winner - 160 / Runner-up - 95 / Semifinalists - 57 / Quarter-finalists - 29

Round of 16 - 15 / Round of 32 - 1

SEEDS

FINALISTS

Luksika Kumkhum (Thailand) defeated Irina Khromacheva (Russia) in three sets, 1-6 6-3 6-3.

 WINNER 

Luksika Kumkhum (Thailand)

wtatennis.com

wikipedia.com

From Seoul, South Korea, November 2018

안녕 folks and welcome to the summary of the last major tennis event of the year!

Elina Svitolina, the last champion of Singapore

WTA Finals Singapore. It was the last edition played in Singapore. Starting next year, the finals are moving to Shenzen, China. I must say that this tournament was full of great matches, I have never seen so many quality matches concetrated in only one week. My favorite, Kiki Bertens played excellent and managed to get out of the groups. So proud of her!

The 2018 finals featured five major champions and one finalist. The competitors were divided into two groups, representing the colors of the flag of Singapore.  Following there is a table with the final standings of the two groups. Stephens and Svitolina were unbeaten in the group stage, which kind of predicted who will be in the finals. However, it was harder than everybody had thought.

In the semifinals Svitolina met Bertens and she needed 3 sets to be able to defeat the Dutch, and reach her first final at this tournament. Stephens didn't have an easy match either with Pliskova. She lost the first set 0 to 6, and everybody thought she is was out of the competition. But the Roland Garros runner-up showed why she deserves to be among the best of best. She crushed Pliskova in the following two sets, and reached the final of her first Singapore tournament. 

For the first time since the current round robin format was reintroduced in 2003, the first two matches played in each group were all won by the lower-ranked player. It also the first time that the top four seeds were eliminated in the round robin stage (group stage), leaving the fifth to eighth seeds to qualify for the semifinals.

SEEDS 

In paranthesis -  the stage the player left the competition

GROUP STAGE 

SEMIFINALS

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THE FINAL

It was the first WTA final for both players, with Svitolina at her third participation and Stephens at her first. Svitolina lost the first set, but managed to comeback and become the first player of her country who lifts the Billie Jean trophy.

FINAL HIGHLIGHTS (VIDEO) 

***

wtatennis.com

wikipedia.com

From Seoul, South Korea, October 2018

WTA FINALS, SINGAPORE

ABOUT

The 2018 WTA Finals is a women's tennistournament held in Kallang, Singapore. It is the 48th edition of the singles event and the 43rd edition of the doubles competition. The tournament is contested by eight singles players and eight doubles teams. This is also the final year for Singapore to hold this tournament.

FORMAT AND POINTS

The eight qualified players are divided into two groups, the red group and the white group. According to the points won in the groups, the players in each group will be ranked from 1 to 4. Players ranked on the first two positions will go into the semifinals. First place from one group will play second place from the other group and viceversa. 

The point system of this tournament is a bit complicated, but I'll try to explain it here.

For every match lost in the group stage +125 points

For every match won in the group stage +250 points

For semifinals +0 points (no points)

For runner-up + 330 points (added to those won in the group stage)

For the champion +750 points (added to those won in the group stage)

PARTICIPANTS AND DATES OF QUALIFICATION

Simona Halep was the first to qualify to the tournament, but unfortunately her lower back injury forced her to withdraw. Her place was taken by the world No 9, Kiki Bertens. I hope Kiki will have a good tournament! An feel very sorry for Simona. She got in top 8 for the first time in 2014, and she never missed the WTA Finals qualification. It is a shame she cannot play now, in spite of being the year-end number one. 

Now here is a picture of last year's participants. Below it, a picture with this year's participants. 4 of the players who qualified last year, managed to stay in top 8 and qualify this year, too. They are Halep, Wozniacki, Svitolina and Pliskova. 

2017 Singapore Finals Participants: Garcia, Williams, Svitolina, Pliskova, Ostapenko, Muguruza, Wozniacki, Halep. If you want to read the story of last year's tournemant go here.

2018 Singapore Finals Participants: Bertens, Pliskova, Svitolina, Kvitova, Wozniacki, Kerber, Stephens, and Osaka.

***

GALLERY OF THE CHAMPIONS

2017 WINNER: Caroline Wozniacki (Denmark) defeated Venus Williams (USA)

FINAL HIGHLIGHTS

***

2016 WINNER: Dominika Cibulkova (Slovakia) defeated Agelique Kerber (Germany)

FINAL HIGHLIGHTS

***

2015 WINNER: Agnieszka Radwanska (Poland) defeated Petra Kvitova (Czech Rep)

FINAL HIGHLIGHTS

***

2014 WINNER:  Serena Williams (USA) defeated Simona Halep (Romania)

FINAL HIGHLIGHTS

wtatennis.com

wikipedia.com

From Seoul, South Korea, October 2018

1. KREMLIN CUP, MOSCOW, RUSSIA

ABOUT

The 2018 Kremlin Cup (also known as the 2018 VTB Kremlin Cup for sponsorship reasons) is a tennis tournament played on indoor hard courts. It is the 29th edition of the Kremlin Cup for the men and the 23nd edition for the women. The tournament is part of the ATP World Tour 250 Series of the 2018 ATP World Tour, and of the Premier Series of the 2018 WTA Tour. It is held at the Olympic Stadium in Moscow, Russia, from 15 October through 21 October 2018.

POINTS

Winner - 470 / Runner-up - 305 / Semifinalists - 185 / Quarter-finalists - 100 /

Round of 16 - 55 / Round of 32 - 1

SEEDS

Kiki Bertens and Karolina Pliskova are fighting for a place in the Singapore Finals. See a live ranking of the players at the end of this post. Unfortunately Simona Halep announced that she is withdrawing from the Kremlin Cup, as her lower back issues continue to bother her. 

FINALISTS

Daria Kasatkina (Russia) defeated Ons Jabeur (Tunisia), score 2-6, 7(7)-6(3), 6-4. She lost the first set and when she was almost losing the second one too, with Jabeur leading 4 to 1, her coach came on court and told her that she has to go, serve and if it has to lose, to lose like a champion. Coaching was effective, Daria came back and pushed the set in tiebreak.  And then, she played extraoridarily in the third set, with the fans on her side, cheering at every point. Jabeur's leg injury may have helped, but in the end Daria ended it like a champon. Congratulations!

 WINNER 

Daria Kasatkina (Russia)

FINAL HIGHLIGHTS

***

2017 WINNER: Julia Gorges (Germany, left) defeated Daria Kasatkina (Russia)

2017 WINNER: Svetlana Kuznetsova (Russia, right) defeated Daria Gavrilova (Australia)

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*

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2013 WINNER: Simona Halep (Romania, right) defeated Samantha Stosur (Australia)

2. LUXEMBOURG OPEN

ABOUT

The 2018 BGL BNP Paribas Luxembourg Open is a women's tennis tournament to be played on indoor hard courts sponsored by BNP Paribas. It is the 28th edition of the Luxembourg Open, and part of the WTA International tournaments category of the 2018 WTA Tour. It is being held in Luxembourg City, Luxembourg from 15 to 20 October 2018.

POINTS

Winner - 280 / Runner-up - 180 / Semifinalists - 110 / Quarter-finalists - 60

Round of 16 - 30 / Round of 32 - 1

SEEDS

FINALISTS

Julia Goerges (Germany) defeated Belinda Bencic (Switzerland), score 6-4, 7-5

 WINNER 

Julia Goerges (Germany)

***

2017 WINNER:  Carina Witthoft (Germany, centre left) defeated Monica Puig (Porto Rico)

***

>>>> PREVIEW RACE TO SINGAPORE<<<<

STANDINGS BEFORE THE MOSCOW KREMLIN CUP:

Only the first 8 players go to the Singapore Finals. So far, Simona Halep, Angelique Kerber, Caroline Wozniacki, Naomi Osaka, Petra Kvitova are qualified, and the WTA website announces Sloane Stephens has qualified too. Among Elina Svitolina, Karolina Pliskova and Kiki Bertens, who do you think will miss the qualification? Personally I like a lot all these players, but I have only seen Bertens on court, I saw her amazing game in Seoul, so I really hope she can make it! Good luck!

wtatennis.com

wikipedia.com

live-tennis.eu

From Seoul, South Korea, October 2018

1. TIANJIN OPEN, CHINA

(and a preview of the Race to Singapore)

ABOUT

The 2018 Tianjin Open is a women's professional tennis tournament played on hard courts. It is the 5th edition of the tournament, and part of the 2018 WTA Tour. It takes place at the Tuanbo International Tennis Centre in Tianjin, China between 8 and 14 October 2018. Maria Sharapova was the defending champion but chose to end her 2018 season early due to injury.

POINTS

Winner - 280 / Runner-up - 180 / Semifinalists - 110 / Quarter-finalists - 60 /

Round of 16 - 30 / Round of 32 - 1

SEEDS

FINALISTS

 French Caroline Garcia defeated Czech  Karolina Pliskova, score 7(9)-6(7) 6-3

 Second-seeded Caroline Garcia won her first tournament of the year with a 7-6 (7), 6-3 win over top-seeded Karolina Pliskova in the Tianjin Open on Sunday. It was the 16th-ranked Garcia’s first title since she won back-to-back trophies at the Wuhan and Beijing tournaments in Asia just over a year ago. The Frenchwoman’s two titles at the end of last season earned her a spot into the year-end WTA Finals in Singapore. This year, the victory in Tianjin is not enough to put Garcia into a second consecutive year-end final appearance.

 Pliskova’s failure to take the title also kept her from confirming a berth in the WTA Finals. Currently in eighth place in the race to Singapore, the Czech will have to wait out the results from next week’s tournaments in Luxembourg and Moscow to see if she qualifies for one of the three remaining spots. Pliskova is scheduled to play in Moscow. American Sloane Stephens, Ukrainian Elena Svitolina and Dutchwoman Kiki Bertens are the other remaining contenders for Singapore.

 Garcia was down 1-5 in the first set tiebreaker before she rebounded. She saved a set point for Pliskova at 5-6 to go on to win the hour-long first set. In the second set, Garcia raced to a 5-0 lead, and first served for the match at 5-1, but had to wait for her victory to come three games later. She secured the title with her sixth ace of the match.

 WINNER 

Caroline Garcia (France)

***

2017 WINNER: Maria Sharapova (Russia, left) defeated Aryna Sabalenka (Belarus)

2. HONGKONG OPEN, CHINA

ABOUT

The 2018 Hong Kong Tennis Open (also known as the Prudential Hong Kong Tennis Open for sponsorship reasons) is a professional tennistournament played on hard courts. It is the ninth edition of the tournament, and part of the 2018 WTA Tour. It takes place in Victoria Park, Hong Kong, from October 8 to 14.

POINTS

Winner - 280 / Runner-up - 180 / Semifinalists - 110 / Quarter-finalists - 60 /

Round of 16 - 30 / Round of 32 - 1

SEEDS

FINALISTS

 Dayana Yastremska (Ukraine, centre right) defeated Wang Qiang (China) , score 6-2 6-1

 WINNER 

Dayana Yastremska (Ukraine)

***

2017 WINNER: Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova (Russia, left) defeated Daria Gavrilova (Australia)

2. LINZ OPEN, AUSTRIA

ABOUT

The 2018 Upper Austria Ladies Linz is a women's tennis tournament played on indoor hard courts. It is the 32nd edition of the Linz Open, and part of the WTA International tournaments-category of the 2018 WTA Tour. It is held at the TipsArena Linz in Linz, Austria, from 8 to 14 October 2018.

POINTS

Winner - 280 / Runner-up - 180 / Semifinalists - 110 / Quarter-finalists - 60

Round of 16 - 30 / Round of 32 - 1

SEEDS

FINALISTS

Camila Giorgi (Italy)  defeated Ekaterina Alexandrova (Russia), score 6-3 6-1

 WINNER 

 Camila Giorgi (Italy)

***

2017 WINNER: Barbora Strycova (Czech Republic) defeated Magdalena Ribarikova (Slovakia)

wtatennis.com

wikipedia.com

washingtonpost.com

From Seoul, South Korea, October 2018

China Open, Beijing

ABOUT

The 2018 China Open was a tennis tournament played on outdoor hard courts. It was the 19th edition of the China Open for the men (22st for the women). It was part of ATP World Tour 500 series on the 2018 ATP World Tour, and the last WTA Premier Mandatory tournament of the 2018 WTA Tour. Both the men's and the women's events were held at the National Tennis Center in Beijing, China, from October 1 to October 7, 2018.

POINTS

Winner - 1000 / Runner-up - 650 / Semifinalists - 390 / Quarter-finalists - 215 /

Round of 16 - 120 / Round of 32 - 65 / Round of 64 - 10

SEEDS

FINALISTS

Caroline Wozniacki (Denmark) defeated Anastasia Sevastova (Latvia) in two sets, score 6-3 6-3

 WINNER 

World No 2, Caroline Wozniacki (Denmark). She also won this title in 2010 (see the end of the article).

FINAL HIGHLIGHTS

***

2017 WINNER: Caroline Garcia (France) defeated then newly crowned No 1 Simona Halep (Romania) 

2017 Final Highlights

***

2016 WINNER: Agnieszka Radwanska (Poland) defeated Johanna Konta (Great Britain)

2015 WINNER:  Garbine Muguruza (Spain) defeated Timea Bacszinszky (Switzerland)

2014 WINNER: Maria Sharapova (Russia) defeated Petra Kvitova (Czech Republic)

*

*

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2010 WINNER: Caroline Wozniacki (Denmark) defeated Vera Zvonareva (Russia)

wtatennis.com

wikipedia.com

From Seoul, South Korea, September 2018

1. Hana Cupid Japan Women's Open, Hiroshima, Japan

ABOUT

The 2018 Japan Women's Open is a women's tennis tournament played on outdoor hard courts. It is the tenth edition of the Japan Women's Open, and part of the WTA International tournaments of the 2018 WTA Tour. It is held at the Regional Park Tennis Stadium in Hiroshima, Japan, from September 10 through September 16, 2018. This is the first year that the tournament is held in Hiroshima.

POINTS

Winner - 280

Runner-up - 180

Semifinalists - 110

Quarter-finalists - 60

Round of 16 - 30

Round of 32 - 1

FINALISTS

Suwei Hsieh (Taiwan) defeated Amanda Anisimova (USA, photo), score 6-2 6-2

 WINNER 

Suwei Hsieh (Taiwan)

FINAL HIGHLIGHTS

***

2017 WINNER: Zarina Diyas (Kazakhstan)

2. Quebec Open, Canada

ABOUT

The 2018 Coupe Banque Nationale is a tennis tournament played on indoor carpet courts. It is the 26th edition of the Tournoi de Québec and part of the WTA International tournaments of the 2018 WTA Tour. It takes place at the PEPS de l'Université Laval in Quebec City, Canada, from September 10 through September 16, 2018.

POINTS

Winner - 280

Runner-up - 180

Semifinalists - 110

Quarter-finalists - 60

Round of 16 - 30

Round of 32 - 1

FINALISTS

Pauline Parmentier (France) defeated Jessica Pegula (USA, photo), score 7-5 6-2

 WINNER 

Pauline Parmentier (France)

2017 WINNER: Zhang Shuai (China)

wtatennis.com

wikipedia.com

From Seoul, South Korea, June 2018

US Open, New York, USA

ABOUT:

The 2018 US Open is the 138th edition of tennis' US Open and the fourth and final Grand Slam event of the year. It is held on outdoor hard courts at the USTA Billie Jean King National Tennis Center in New York City. This is the last Grand Slam to have 32 seeds with the format reverting to 16 seeds in 2019. The US Open is the only Grand Slam tournament that employs tiebreakers in every set of a singles match. For the other three Grand Slam events, a match that reaches 6-6 in the last possible set (the third for women and the fifth for men) continues until a player takes a two-game lead. As with the US Open, those events use tiebreakers to decide the other sets. The US Open also is the only Grand Slam tournament with 16 qualifiers (instead of 12) in the women's singles draw.

Rafael Nadal and Sloane Stephens are the defending men's and women's singles champions.

Female (left) and male (right)'s trophies

THE SEEDS:

Point system:

Winner - 2000

Runner up - 1300

Semifinalists - 780

Quarterfinalists - 430

Round of 16 - 240

Round of 32 - 130

Round of 64 - 70

Round of 128 - 10

GALLERY OF THE CHAMPIONS:

2017 winner: Sloane Stephens, USA

2016 winner: Angelique Kerber, Germany

2015 winner: Flavia Pennetta, Italy

2014 winner: Serena Williams, USA

2013 winner: Serena Williams, USA

wtatennis.com

wikipedia.org

From Seoul, South Korea, August 2018

Connecticut Open, New Heaven, USA

ABOUT

The 2018 Connecticut Open (also known as the 2018 Connecticut Open presented by United Technologies for sponsorship reasons) is a tennis tournament played on outdoor hard courts. It iss the 50th edition of the Connecticut Open, and part of the Premier Series of the 2018 WTA Tour. It takes place at the Cullman-Heyman Tennis Center in New Haven, Connecticut, United States, from August 19 through August 25. It is the last event of the 2018 US Open Series before the 2018 US Open.

POINT SYSTEM

Winner - 470

Runner-up - 305

Semifinalists - 185

Quarter-finalists - 100

Round of 16 - 55

Round of 32 - 1

SEEDS

FINALISTS

Aryna Sabalenka (Belarus) and Carla Suarez Navarro (Spain)

Score: 6-1 , 6-4

WINNER 

Aryna Sabalenka (Belarus)

FINAL HIGHLIGHTS

***

2017 WINNER: Daria Gavrilova (right, Australia)

2016 WINNER: Agnieszka Radwanska (right, Poland)

2013 WINNER: Simona Halep (Romania)

wtatennis.com

wikipedia.com

From Seoul, South Korea, August 2018

Western and Southern Open, Cincinnati (Ohio), USA

ABOUT

The 2018 Western & Southern Open is a men's and women's tennis tournament currently being played on outdoor hard courts from August 13–19, 2018. It is a Masters 1000 tournament on the 2018 ATP World Tour and a WTA Premier 5 tournament on the 2018 WTA Tour.^[1][2] The tournament is one of two headline events in the 2018 US Open Series. The 2018 tournament is the 117th men's edition and the 90th women's edition of the Cincinnati Masters and takes place at the Lindner Family Tennis Center in Mason, a northern suburb of Cincinnati, in the United States.

POINT SYSTEM

Winner - 900

Runner-up - 585

Semifinalists - 350

Quarter-finalists - 190

Round of 16 - 105

Round of 32 - 60

Round of 64 - 1

SEEDS

FINALISTS

Simona Halep (Romania) and Kiki Bertens (Netherlands)

Simona Halep played her consecutive final at a Premier 5 tournament. It was a tough tournament, with rainy days and delayed mathches. Simona had to play 2 matches in one day, in the same way she did a week earlier when she won the title in Montreal.

Score:  6-2 , 6(6)-7(8) , 2-6

 WINNER 

Kiki Bertens (Netherlands)

FINAL HIGHLIGHTS

***

2017 WINNER: Garbine Muguruza (right, Spain)

2017 Final Highlights

2016 WINNER: Karolina Pliskova (right, Czech Republic)

2015 WINNER: Serena Williams (right, USA)

wtatennis.com

wikipedia.com