The field has been announced for next week’s WTA Elite Trophy in China with new top 10 entrant Johanna Konta headlining the draw.
Hosted in the Chinese city of Zhuhai, the tournament is known by some as the WTA Finals alternative. A total of 11 players ranked in the world’s top 23 will battle it out alongside a wild card entrant in the event, which has a prize pool of over $2 million. Similar to the more prestigious Singapore finals, players will play in a round robin format.
“We are looking forward to the second edition of the WTA Elite Trophy Zhuhai, showcasing some of the top athletes on the WTA,” stated Steve Simon, WTA CEO. “This event features many of our top stars who have accomplished much success during the 2016 season and now have the opportunity to compete against each other for the Zhuhai title.”
Earlier this year top seed Konta achieved a milestone in British tennis when she became the first woman ranked in the world’s top 10 since Jo Durie in 1984. The breakthrough contributed towards her winning a WTA award from the most improved player. Other entrants in the draw include two-time Wimbledon champion Petra Kvitova and former US Open champion Sam Stosur. Defending champion Venus Williams will not feature after opting to skip the tournament in order to end her season earlier. Eight out of the 12 entrants has won at least one WTA title this season.
2016 #WTAEliteTrophy line up: Konta, CSN, Kvitova, Svitolina, Vinci, Bacsinszky, Vesnina, Stosur, Strycova, Bertens, Garcia & Zhang Shuai ! pic.twitter.com/PbiDmfQiaB
— WTA Elite Trophy (@WTAEliteTrophy) 26 October 2016
Zhuhai will be the final event of the 2016 season. The tournament will be an opportunity for players to make their final mark on the tour with an undefeated champion winning almost 1000 WTA ranking points. The six-day event will start on November 1st.
Entry list
|
WTA Ranking |
Player |
2016 Best Results |
|
10 |
Konta (GBR) |
Won – Stanford F – Beijing SF – Eastbourne, Australian Open |
|
11 |
Suárez Navarro (ESP) |
Won – Doha SF – Linz , Birmingham, Brisbane QF – Cincinnati, Stuttgart, Australian Open |
|
13 |
Kvitova (CZE) |
Won – Wuhan F – Luxembourg SF – New Haven, Olympics, Stuttgart QF – Beijing, Indian Wells |
|
14 |
Svitolina (UKR) |
Won – Kuala Lumpur F – New Haven SF – Moscow, Beijing, Tokyo, Dubai QF – Olympics |
|
17 |
Vinci (ITA) |
Won – St. Petersburg QF – US Open, New Haven, Stuttgart, Doha, Brisbane |
|
18 |
Bacsinszky (SUI) |
Won – Rabat SF – Gstaad, Miami QF – Roland Garros, Rome |
|
19 |
Vesnina (RUS) |
F – Charleston SF – Wimbledon QF – New Haven, Eastbourne, Strasbourg, Doha |
|
20 |
Stosur (AUS) |
F – Prague SF – Roland Garros, Madrid QF – Washington DC, Strasbourg, Sydney |
|
|
Strycova (CZE) | F – Birmingham, Dubai QF – Wuhan, Rome, Prague |
|
22 |
Bertens (NED) |
Won – Nurnberg F – Gstaad SF – Luxembourg, Roland Garros, Rabat |
|
23 |
Garcia (FRA) |
Won – Mallorca, Strasbourg SF – Monterrey, Dubai |
|
WC/28 |
Zhang (CHN) |
SF – Seoul, Tokyo International QF – Beijing, Australian Open |
Source – wtatour.com
