Aryna sabalenka in quebec city 2018. Road to Singapore

NÜRNBERGER VERSICHERUNGSCUP 2018. Road to Singapore

Ana Ivanovic: Selfie time!. SELFIE OF THE DAY

Selfie time! 
@petra.kvitova @aradwanska @carowozniacki
SELFIE OF THE DAY

Ana Ivanovic blog: So it is Singapore at last!

So it is Singapore at last!

BNP PARIBAS WTA FINALS SINGAPORE, SINGAPORE OCT 20 - OCT 26, 2014.TOURNAMENT INFO

TOURNAMENT INFO 
 TIER: Tour Championships 
PRIZE MONEY: $6,500,000 
SURFACE: Hard 
DIRECTOR: Melissa Pine 

First played in 1972, what is now known as the BNP Paribas WTA Finals Singapore presented by SC Global has been staged in such noteworthy locales as Boca Raton, Los Angeles, New York City, Oakland, Munich, Madrid, Doha and Istanbul. The WTA's season finale be held in Singapore from 2014 to 2018, yet another example of the WTA's huge presence in Asia. The event will feature the season's Top 8 singles players and Top 8 doubles teams competing for $6 million in prize money. 

Martina Navratilova has the most titles in the history of the prestigious tournament with eight, followed by Steffi Graf with five and Chris Evert and Serena Williams with four each. Navratilova also has the tournament record with 11 doubles titles, 10 of them coming alongside Pam Shriver. The world's only sovereign city-state that is also an island country, Singapore is located in Southeast Asia and is a world leader in several economic areas.

News Road to Singapore 2014. The pre-tournament events don't stop there.

The pre-tournament events don't stop there. 

The official singles draw ceremony will take place at the Shoppes Skate Rink at Marina Bay Sands at 5pm on Saturday, October 18, and is free of charge. The WTA Legends Event, which features Martina Navratilova, Tracy Austin, Marion Bartoli and Iva Majoli, will kick off on Monday, October 20, and the opening ceremony is set for Monday night at 7pm, which will feature live music, a laser show and Li hitting the ceremonial first ball of the tournament. 

 The doubles draw ceremony will take place at the Shoppes Skate Rink at Marina Bay Sans at 11am on Tuesday, October 21, where fans will be able to be among the first in the world to catch a glimpse of the newly-named WTA Finals Martina Navratilova Doubles Trophy. Navratilova will unveil it herself. And all of this is just in addition to the world class tennis on offer at the WTA Finals - the eight best singles players and eight best doubles teams in the world battling it out on the courts of the Singapore Sports Hub, all trying to get their hands on a share of the $6.5-million prize money purse.

SERENA WILLIAMS DEFENDING CHAMPION INTO ROAD TO SINGAPORE 2014. PHOTO OF THE DAY

Two-time defending champion Serena Williams is in Singapore!

María Sharapova blog: Road To singapore 2014

Thank you Trisara Resort for providing us with such beautiful and photogenic accommodation during our stay in Phuket. 

It's never easy being away from home during training weeks, but you made it so special, we didn't want to leave. I will do my best to make that delicious Shrimp Curry dish back home. Can't wait to be back!

News Road To Singapore: María Sharapova: Smiles all the way from Singapore!

Smiles all the way from Singapore!
ROAD TO SINGAPORE.

Angelique Kerber will be the first alternate in Singapore 2014.

Kerber, who was a part of the elite eight at the WTA Finals the last two years, missed that cut this year but will be right there waiting in the wings this year should anyone else be unable to compete.

 "It has been a great year for me, and even though I won't be one of the Top 8 there, I'm still really excited to go to Singapore as the first alternate," Kerber said of the news on Thursday. "I hope I get the opportunity to play some matches in Singapore but even if I don't get to play any, it's going to be an amazing week and we're all really excited to see the new venue and the city!" Kerber's season has been highlighted by four WTA finals, all at Premier-level events, in Sydney, Doha, Eastbourne and Stanford. 
After reaching that final in Sydney in the second week of the year she rose to No.3 on the Road To Singapore leaderboard, and since then she has shown incredible consistency all year, never going lower than No.12 and never leaving the No.9-No.10 range since Wimbledon. And the German has shown that kind of consistency on tour over the last several years - since first breaking the Top 10 on the WTA Rankings on May 21, 2012, she hasn't left the elite once, hovering between No.5 and No.10 the entire time since then. That's 125 weeks as of the end of this week.

ROAD TOSINGAPORE, 7 OCTOBER 2014, THE SINGLES FIELD

ROAD TO SINGAPORE RANKING 6 OCTOBER 2014, TOP 20

Peschke and Srebotnik qualify for the BNP Paribas WTA Finals Singapore 2014

The highlights of their 2014 season came in Rome, where they won their 10th WTA doubles title as a team, and in Doha, where they reached the final (falling to Hsieh Su-Wei and Peng Shuai). 

They've also reached the quarterfinals or better at three of the four Grand Slams this year, their best showing being the semifinals of the Aussie Open (falling to Sara Errani and Roberta Vinci). Peschke and Srebotnik, who won Wimbledon in 2011 and subsequently became the co-No.1s in doubles, will be playing the WTA Finals for the third time together, having made the final in both previous attempts in 2010 and 2011. Peschke is playing here for the fifth time, Srebotnik the eighth.

Caroline Wozniacki: Can the Dane still qualify for Singapore this week?

Wozniacki could have qualified for Singapore straight up by winning the Beijing title, but she will now only qualify this week if Angelique Kerber doesn't reach the quarters and Ekaterina Makarova doesn't reach the final - those two left-handers will contest their third round matches on Thursday. 

 Stosur had always given Wozniacki trouble in the past, winning three of their seven previous meetings, and more importantly two of their three previous meetings on hardcourts. And the Aussie had been showing flashes of the brilliance that once took her as high as No.4 in the world, taking out three Top 10 players already this year - 
Dominika Cibulkova two times and Eugenie Bouchard once. And with some sharp serving Stosur gave the No.6-seeded Wozniacki trouble this time too, sneaking out a break in the seventh game and riding that to the first set and, after losing a one break lead in the second set, staving off five set points in the tie-break to close it out in straights, 6-4, 7-6(9). But back to the winner of the day - Stosur was thoroughly pleased with the result.

RANKING ROAD TO SINGAPORE, 29 SEPTEMBER 2014. TOP 20

ROAD TO SINGAPORE, 22 SEPTEMBER 2014. TOP 20

ROAD TO SINGAPORE RANKING. 15 SEPTEMBER 2014.

Ekaterina Makarova and Elena Vesnina they'll have another shot in Singapore 2014. Congratulations.

Last year, Makarova and Vesnina fell in the final of the WTA Finals to Hsieh Su-Wei and Peng Shuai, which makes it fitting that they're now qualifying for the WTA's crown jewel event on the very same day as the hard-hitting Asian duo - could it be a sign that they're destined for that redemption? "Reaching the WTA Finals was a very big goal for us this year," Makarova said of Wednesday's announcement. "We were able to qualify last year and we really love the atmosphere at the WTA Finals. We really wanted to qualify to play in Singapore at a great new destination and new venue." "It's exciting to have the Top 8 teams competing to reach the WTA Finals this year," Vesnina said. "We were fortunate to be able to qualify last year. This year, it's great to have a new expanded field. It's great for the fans to see the best of the best competing at the WTA Finals in Singapore. "We really want to do our best." The highlight of Makarova and Vesnina's season was winning the US Open title, scoring a pair of massive wins along the way - they beat the Williams sisters in the quarterfinals and Martina Hingis and Flavia Pennetta, both former World No.1 doubles players, in a thrilling three set championship.

Maria Sharapova has become the second qualifier for the BNP Paribas WTA Finals Singapore

Maria Sharapova, a former World No.1 who won the fifth Grand Slam title of her career at the French Open this year, has become the second qualifier for the BNP Paribas WTA Finals Singapore presented by SC Global, to be held at the Singapore Sports Hub this October. 

 Sharapova, who has reached the semifinals or better at seven WTA tournaments this year - including the aforementioned triumph at Roland Garros, as well as a pair of Premier-level clay court titles at Stuttgart and Madrid - becomes the second player to qualify after longtime rival Serena Williams. "I am really excited to qualify for the BNP Paribas WTA Finals Singapore presented by SC Global and to bring the best in women's tennis to Singapore this October," Sharapova said of the news. This will be Sharapova's seventh appearance at the WTA Finals. She won the WTA's crown jewel event on her debut in 2004, rallying from 4-0 down in the third set to beat Williams in a thrilling final, and she's been a runner-up two other times - in 2007 to Justine Henin and in 2012 to Williams. She missed the last four months of last year - including the WTA Finals - with a shoulder injury.

ROAD TO SINGAPORE RANKING. 8 SEPTEMBER 2014. TOP 30