WTA Race to Riyadh: Coco Gauff takes significant leap, Qinwen Zheng gaining ground

With the WTA Finals only a few weeks ago, the WTA Race to Riyadh is nearing it's conclusion as several superstars will make their final efforts to qualify for the year-ending event.

American tennis prodigy Coco Gauff rediscovered her form after a subpar hard court summer, as she fought her way to the China Open title last week. The Atlanta native defeated Karolina Muchova in the final, earning 1,000 Race points which enabled her to move from No.6 to No.4 on the Leaderboard.

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Zheng closing gap, Wuhan to be battle ground

China's Zheng Qinwen reached the semifinals at her home event, accruing 390 points in the process. This enabled her to move up one spot to No.8 on the Leaderboard, trailing No.7 American Emma Navarro by 108 points. Spaniard Paula Badosa, who fell in the semifinals to Gauff, also gained 390 points. This saw her jump five spots from No.16 to No.11, and she currently sits 854 points outside the Top 7 on the Leaderboard.

This week's Wuhan Open will prove to be a vital tournament, as several superstars will hope to either clinch qualification or solidify their spot in the Top 8. As it currently stands, Elena Rybakina, Gauff and Jasmine Paolini occupy the No.3 through No.5 spots on the Leaderboard, and they are separated by only 51 points.

As many as five singles qualifications could occur based on the results in Wuhan, with the aforementioned three, along with Jessica Pegula and Barbora Krejcikova, all having a chance to clinch a spot in Riyadh. World No.1 Iga Swiatek and No.2 Aryna Sabalenka have already qualified for the prestigious eight-woman singles event.