World No.8 Emma Navarro signs up to play Hong Kong 125 featuring Simona Halep in WTA Finals points bid

Emma Navarro suffered a shocking loss to Shuai Zhang who had not won in 19 months prior to this week at the China Open and with her WTA Finals bid fading away currently, she has made a bid for extra points.

Navarro has signed up to play the Hong Kong WTA 125 which takes place between 30 September - 6 October. She will face Viktorija Golubic in the opening round with potentially Simona Halep in the third round. The former World No.1 and multiple Grand Slam champion will play for the first time since May.

Ironically a tournament that Navarro played in a move that she has often used in her rise to gain extra match practice and points. But this is now bizarre given she is a top 10 player. Halep has been out injured for most of her comeback but deemed herself fit enough to return a month early. She will face former Aussie top star Arina Rodionova in the first round. Anna Blinkova then potentially awaits.

After her ban for the substance Roxudustat ended with a cut ban, Halep returned to action at the Miami Open. But she immediately got injured and wrangled with a lack of opportunities with wildcards and not being 100%. She has only played an exhibition in Romania since May so it is unsure how she is but she deems herself fit enough to play a month before her mooted return at the WTA 250 in Hong Kong.

Second seed Clara Burel with Sara Sorribes Tormo, Varvara Gracheva, Martina Trevisan, Ajla Tomljanovic and Katie Volynets will also play in Hong Kong. Another top tie sees Elena-Gabriela Ruse taking on Alycia Parks with potentially McCartney Kessler in the second round for the victor. A big week in between tournaments before the Wuhan Open begins and Navarro and Halep headline both at different ends of their careers.