WTA Race: One final spot looking towards Zheng

Óscar Belloch | 13 Oct 2024 | 23.03

Qinwen Zheng with the runner-up finish at the WTA 1000 Wuhan. Photo: Getty

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As we approach the end of the season, we also draw closer to the WTA Finals. This year, Riyadh (Saudi Arabia) was chosen to host an event of such magnitude, scheduled to take place from November 2nd to 9th, marking the end of the women's tennis season.

By mid-October, with only two weeks of tournaments remaining, there are only four players with mathematical chances of securing the last available spot for the WTA Finals 2024. Daria Kasatkina, Paula Badosa, Emma Navarro, and Qinwen Zheng are the main candidates to travel to Saudi Arabia in November, but the odds are highly in favor of Zheng.

- Seven confirmed players

Seven players have already secured their spots in the year-end elite tournament. The confirmed players are Aryna Sabalenka, Iga Swiatek, Cori Gauff, Jasmine Paolini, Elyna Rybakina, and Jessica Pegula based on points. The seventh spot is guaranteed for Barbora Krejcikova as she will finish October in the top 20 and has won a Grand Slam title during the year (Wimbledon), earning her a direct ticket to Riyadh.

Last year's indisputable winner was Iga Swiatek with a dominant performance surpassing all her competitors. Swiatek will likely aim to repeat her success in 2024, but recent events surrounding her, like the sudden split with her coach, may make a repeat victory a challenging task.

- The final spot

With Danielle Collins now withdrawn from the WTA 500 Ningbo tournament, she no longer has a chance to qualify. Daria Kasatkina and Paula Badosa would need miracles to make it to the finals. With these three players almost out of the race, it leaves two contenders vying for the last spot.

Qinwen Zheng is in excellent form and performing exceptionally well in her Asian tour, making her the frontrunner. It is expected that Zheng will secure her qualification with a good result in Ningbo. Her only competitor is Emma Navarro, who would need outstanding performances in Ningbo and the following tournament, requiring over a thousand points, a challenging feat considering her recent poor results following the US Open, with two worrying early exits in the WTA 1000 events in China and Wuhan.