Taking place between 10-17 November, the WTA Finals will finally return in 2021 with a trip to Guadalajara, Mexico penciled in.
Originally due to take place in Shenzhen, China, travel restrictions and the Covid-19 pandemic paid heed to those plans.
The race is hotting up ahead of the season ender with Courmayeur and Cluj-Napoca acting as last chance saloons for many players to book their spots.
But who has confirmed their spots so far? There are currently six names in all who are set for Mexico with three more spots left to be filled.
1. Aryna Sabalenka (4768 points)
First in the race to Mexico is now Aryna Sabalenka, this following the withdrawal of Ash Barty from the tournament.
It has been a stellar year for the Belarusian winning in Madrid with semi-finals at Wimbledon and the US Open. As well as that she won in Abu Dhabi and lost to Barty in Stuttgart.
Emerging as one of the top names on the WTA Tour in 2021 and diminishing her tag of not being able to get past Quarter-Finals in Grand Slams, the next stop will be claiming one of the big four. She is currently World No.2 and so has qualified with relative ease for Guadalajara.
Despite that though, her match practice won't be at its sharpest, she contracted Covid-19 before Indian Wells so didn't play in the mandatory 1000 and lost in her return to action against Ekaterina Alexandrova in Moscow. She will be a question mark but due to her on-court form.
2. Barbora Krejcikova (4518 points)
Next up is the winner of the French Open who will also star in the doubles version as current World No.3.
She is currently World No.4 in singles and has had a whirlwind rise on the tour this year.
Victory in Strasbourg foreshadowed her rise where she defeated Sorana Cirstea before being one half of the surprise final with Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova.
A WTA 250 was also added in Prague as well as losing in Dubai to Garbine Muguruza at the start of the year in the WTA 1000. She will join her compatriot, Karolina Pliskova in the field.
3. Karolina Pliskova (4,036 points)
It has been the year of the finals for Pliskova who reached the championship match at Wimbledon.
She also lost in the National Bank Open and also Rome where she was given a famous bagel by Iga Swiatek but this as well as a Quarter-Final at the US Open has seen her join her compatriot in Mexico.
4. Maria Sakkari (3,341 points)
The latest addition to the field is the rising Greek ace who has continued her form from 2020 into becoming one of the most consistent players on the WTA Tour this season.
Winning past Anna Kalinskaya secured her spot and she could still head into her first WTA Finals which is the maiden tilt for a Greek female player a winner once more on the WTA Tour.
Not a victor since a title in Morocco back in 2019, she has reached seven semi-finals including two in Grand Slams (French Open and US Open) both times losing to the eventual champion with Ostrava seeing a final defeat also to Anett Kontaveit who could still figure in the race.
TItles may be needed before Sakkari can truly break out but she also sits on the cusp of the top five in the world showing the incredible year she is having.
5. Iga Swiatek (3,226 points)
6. Garbine Muguruza (3,195 points)
Both Swiatek and Muguruza had their qualification confirmed due to the withdrawal of Barty with every player now moving up a spot.
The former Roland Garros champion has won this season in Rome and Adelaide but was not playing any tournaments post Moscow so was a potential doubt if a player came from nowhere.
While Muguruza was one win away in Moscow but didn't receive the initial fortune, she has noew confirmed her spot though after another good season.
In Contention
7. Paula Badosa (3,112 points)
8. Ons Jabeur (3,020 points)
10. Anett Kontaveit (2,625 points)
There are only a few spots left with Paula Badosa looking likely to be the next player confirmed sitting just behind Sakkari, Swiatek and Muguruza.
She will play next week as will Jabeur and Kontaveit but it will be the latter who has a chance to cement her chances this week reaching the latter stages in Moscow.
Next will be Marketa Vondrousova and then potentially Maria Sakkari in a repeat of their Ostrava clash but it will be an interesting battle between the latter two in particular for that last spot.
Missing Out
1 - Ashleigh Barty (withdrawal)
10 - Naomi Osaka
16 - Angelique Kerber
17 - Coco Gauff
18 - Emma Raducanu
20 - Victoria Azarenka
There is also a seismic number of players currently missing out on qualification with only Emma Raducanu on the list being able to change that potentially.
She will play in Cluj-Napoca but is unlikely to accrue the points needed due to her short time on the tour.
Ashleigh Barty like alluded to throughout this piece was qualified but has now withdrawn from the tournament and ended her 2021 season citing quarantine issues.
While the likes of Naomi Osaka, Angelique Kerber and Coco Gauff as well as Olympic champion, Belinda Bencic and Victoria Azarenka and former winner, Elina Svitolina are not playing before the cut off so will not be involved.
Samuel GillEditor-in-Chief
Samuel Gill is the Chief Content Officer (CCO) of TennisUpToDate.com, a role he has held since 2020. He is responsible for editorial governance across the platform, including setting content standards, overseeing accuracy and consistency, and guiding long-term editorial strategy. Since joining, he has contributed more than 10,000 articles and editorial pieces across the TennisUpToDate network, playing a central role in the daily operation and development of the site.
Based in Leicester, Samuel has a broad background in tennis media. In his current role, he works closely with editors and writers to ensure coverage meets clear journalistic standards, with particular attention to verification, consistency, and timely updates when new information becomes available.
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