Wozniacki And Stephens Brought To Istanbul As Alternates

Written by: Bob Larson Tennis on 21st October 2013

Annika Beck of Germany vs Caroline Wozniacki of Denmark

Wozniacki And Stephens Brought To Istanbul As Alternates

epa03917150 Caroline Wozniacki of Denmark celebrates after defeating Annika Beck of Germany after the women's final match at the BGL Luxembourg Open in Luxembourg, 20 October 2013. EPA/NICOLAS BOUVY |

The Women’s Tennis Association announced that Denmark’s Caroline Wozniacki and USA’s Sloane Stephens are the singles alternates at the TEB BNP Paribas WTA Championships, to be staged at the Sinan Erdem Dome in Istanbul, Turkey, from October 22-27, 2013. Wozniacki will be the first alternate and Stephens the second.

These players join the confirmed singles field of Serena Williams, Victoria Azarenka, Agnieszka Radwanska, Li Na, Petra Kvitova, Sara Errani, Jelena Jankovic and Angelique Kerber, in addition to the doubles teams of Sara Errani/Roberta Vinci, Nadia Petrova/Katarina Srebotnik, Ekaterina Makarova/Elena Vesnina, and Hsieh Su-Wei/Peng Shuai.

The TEB BNP Paribas WTA Championships showcases the world’s best women tennis players as the Top 8 singles players and Top 4 doubles teams compete for a record-setting $6 million in prize money and one of the most prestigious titles in women’s tennis. Istanbul is set to host the elite season-ending competition for a triumphant third and final year.

Wozniacki, a three times TEB BNP Paribas WTA Championships participant, has finished in the WTA Top 10 in each of the last four years and produced another consistent season in 2013. She was a finalist at the 2010 WTA Championships, finishing runner-up to Kim Clijsters in a three-set final, and returns to Istanbul for the first time since 2011. She reached the semifinals on her debut in 2009, and fell at the round-robin stage in 2011.

The 23-year-old’s season highlight is a run to the final at the BNP Paribas Open (Indian Wells), where she was runner-up to Maria Sharapova. Wozniacki also reached a further five semifinals at the Dubai Duty Free Championships, Aegon International (Eastbourne), New Haven Open at Yale, Toray Pan Pacific Open (Tokyo) and BGL BNP Paribas Luxembourg Open, as well as reaching the fourth round at both the Australian Open and US Open.

After a breakthrough 2013 that saw her reach the fourth round or better at each of the Grand Slams, Stephens has a chance of making her debut appearance at the TEB BNP Paribas WTA Championships. The 20-year-old is the youngest player traveling to Istanbul and she had a stellar start to her season, reaching back-to-back semifinals at the Moorilla Hobart International and the Australian Open, where she defeated Serena Williams in the quarterfinals for her career-best win.

The American was also a quarterfinalist at Wimbledon, Brisbane International, Brussels Open, New Haven Open at Yale and BGL BNP Paribas Luxembourg Open.

Topics: 10sballs.com, Agnieszka Radwanska, Angelique Kerber, Caroline Wozniacki, Jelena Jankovic, Li Na, Luxembourg Open, new haven open, Petra Kvitova, Sara Errani, Serena Williams, Sloane Stephens, TEB BNP Paribas WTA Championships, Tennis, Tennis News, Victoria Azarenka, Wimbledon, Wta