Race to Singapore

[frugalgambler]

In case you are capping WTA this week, you might want to pay attention to the race to Singapore:

http://live-tennis.eu/wta-race

This year is unique b/c five players: Lucie, Flavia, Timea, Karolina and Carla have a lot to play for, with Venus watching from the sidelines. Now, Safarova is coming back from an injury, CSN and Pliskova have been erratic lately, and Pennetta still has a massive hangover, but from the motivation point of view they will be playing hard. Case in point: CSN has just upset Cibulkova. Once the picture becomes clearer, the already qualified players might tank shamelessly.

Also, Russians and most other players will be trying hard in Moscow, which is a fairly big tourney in any case. Good luck.

[latarianmilton]

I think is gonna put more pressure on them mentally, and most will probably flop early.
I'd be surprised if both Flavia and Lucie make it out alive today.

[xdodger19]

I was watching the luxembourg match and the woman commentator said that the tourney ended too late therefore Timea can't get any more points for this year.

[frugalgambler]

I was watching the luxembourg match and the woman commentator said that the tourney ended too late therefore Timea can't get any more points for this year.

Thanks, buddy. Did not realize that. What a bizarre twist. The Sofia "empty stands" tourney has been abolished, but apparently WTA has another tourney for players ranked 11-19, starting from this year.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/WTA_Elite_Trophy

And this is a 2 mil tourney. So here is another wrinkle. This is getting curiouser and curiouser. Still, players like Pennetta would much rather play in Singapore. We'll see what happens today. Pennetta got the WC to Moscow so I would assume she wants to do well there. Safarova has been unsure about her health, but I doubt she wants to be eliminated early, as well. CSN and Pliskova need to get at least to the semis to make it to Singapore (more like a final for Pliskova, I think).

[frugalgambler]

http://www.spaziotennis.com/2015/10/wta-luxembourg-wont-count-for-road-to-singapore/

[xdodger19]

I read that same thing about the elite trophy tournament, sounds cool, and certainly plenty of prize money
It's after the wta finals

[frugalgambler]

Wow, the dust settled pretty fast. Safarova and Pliskova lost, although both fought pretty hard to stay alive. Pennetta won easily and guaranteed her spot in the main draw. It is a long flight from Moscow to Singapore..., so she might not be trying too hard in her next match vs Tsurenko, who is a capable player.

So that leaves only CSN, and it seems to be a simple equation for her: she wins her next match and she qualifies as a sub, with another win she will make it to the main draw. This might be doable, although she blows on hardcourts lately.

Another interesting wrinkle is that JJ might actually try hard in Luxembourg: if she does well she can qualify for the Elite tourney, although I am not sure if the former No. 1 actually cares about that.