LADIES TENNIS FIELD IS SET AS KUZNETSOVA QUALIFIES FOR 2016 WTA FINALS SINGAPORE

Written by: Staff on 22nd October 2016

LADIES TENNIS FIELD IS SET AS KUZNETSOVA QUALIFIES FOR 2016 WTA FINALS SINGAPORE

epa05597617 Svetlana Kuznetsova of Russia in action against Daria Gavrilova of Australia during their final match at the Kremlin Cup tennis tournament in Moscow, Russia, 22 October 2016. Kuznetsova won 6-2, 6-1. EPA/SERGEI ILNITSKY |

Field is Set as Svetlana Kuznetsova Qualifies for 2016 BNP Paribas WTA Finals Singapore presented by SC Global

– Kuznetsova to make sixth appearance at the WTA Finals in singles

– Konta and Suárez Navarro to serve as singles alternates in Singapore

The Women’s Tennis Association (WTA) announced today that Svetlana Kuznetsova has secured her spot at this year’s BNP Paribas WTA Finals Singapore presented by SC Global. The year-end event brings together the top 8 singles players and doubles teams to compete for $7 million in prize money.

By clinching her 17th career singles title at the VTB Kremlin Cup – Moscow, Kuznetsova is set to make her sixth singles appearance at the WTA Finals in Singapore and first showing in seven years. The Russian earned her first qualification at the year-end finale in 2004 and four consecutive showings from 2006-2009. Kuznetsova also qualified in the doubles field in 2003 (w/Navratilova) and 2004 (w/Likhovtseva).

The 31-year-old rounds out the singles field, joining Angelique Kerber, Agnieszka Radwanska, Simona Halep, Karolina Pliskova, Garbiñe Muguruza, Madison Keys and Dominika Cibulkova in Singapore.

“I was trying not to think about Singapore all week,” said Kuznetsova.”I was playing match-by-match and I’m so happy to win and reach Singapore. It’s a great feeling.”

Kuznetsova, who owns the 2016 record for the most 3-set match wins (20-8), began her season by winning the title at the Apia International Sydney in January. The Russian reached her second final of the season at the Miami Open – highlighted by her win over then No.1 Serena Williams, bringing her overall record of wins over reigning No.1s to 7-20. Kuznetsova clinched her second WTA title of the season at the Kremlin Cup – Moscow, which solidified her qualification at the WTA Finals Singapore.

Other season highlights include three semifinal showings at the J&T Banka Prague Open, Dongfeng Motor Wuhan Open and the Tianjin Open, as well as three quarterfinal runs at Internazionali BNL d’Italia – Rome, Rogers Cup – Montreal and Western & Southern Open – Cincinnati.

Click here to read more on Kuznetsova’s qualification.

Johanna Konta and Carla Suárez Navarro will serve as the two singles alternates at the WTA Finals Singapore. Konta won her first WTA title at the Bank of the West Classic – Stanford and became the first British woman to make her Top 10 debut in over 32 years. Suárez Navarro won the biggest title of her career at the Qatar Total Open – Doha in February.

The WTA Finals singles and doubles field as follows:

The leaderboard is updated each Monday (every two weeks during Grand Slam events) and can be found at www.wtafinals.com.

Download the Official WTA Finals Mobile App, created by SAP in the Apple Store here and on Google Play here.

Staged at the Singapore Sports Hub from October 23-30, the 2016 BNP Paribas WTA Finals Singapore presented by SC Global is an eight-day tennis festival featuring the world’s best players vying for US$7 million in prize money and two of the most prestigious titles in women’s tennis. The Top 8 singles players will compete in a round-robin format with the winner taking home the Billie Jean King Trophy. The Top 8 doubles teams will compete in a knock-out format for the WTA Finals Martina Navratilova Trophy.

The BNP Paribas WTA Finals Singapore presented by SC Global made its record-breaking Asia-Pacific debut in 2014 and has seen continual growth each year. In 2015, more than 130,000 fans representing 51 countries attended the event, and the on-court action was viewed by over 32.5 million households worldwide during the festival of sport and entertainment.

In 2016, an exciting Family Day along with new ticket packages have been introduced to further enhance the fan experience, offering engaging activities both on and off the court. Passes and packages are now available on the WTA Finals website at www.WTAFinals.com.