WTA Finals – October 21st to 28th, 2018
It is off to Singapore for the start of the 2018 WTA Finals which is a week-long event for the eight players who have done enough over the course of the season, to qualify. This will be the final year that Singapore hosts the indoor event before it moves on. It is US Open winner Naomi Osaka who is the 10/3 favourite for the WTA Finals 2018* (betting odds taken on October 18th, 2018 at 5:42 pm).
WTA Finals 2018 Odds*
Naomi Osaka 10/3
Caroline Wozniacki 5/1
Petra Kvitova 5/1
Angelique Kerber 11/2
Karolina Pliskova 13/2
Sloane Stephens 8/1
Elina Svitolina 8/1
Kiki Bertens 10/1
* (betting odds taken from bet365 on October 18th, 2018 at 5:42 pm)
Table of Contents
Tournament Format
The format of the tournament sees the eight players split into two groups of four. The groups are then played on a round-robin format. The top two players from each of the groups move through to the semi-final knockout stage. The first-placed player of one group faces the second-placed finisher of the other group and vice-versa.
Qualification
Points are collected from the four Grand Slam Tournament, four Premier Mandatory events and then the best two results from the Premier 5 level tournaments count. The points from their best six finishes from other events are then added.
Halep Withdraws
The tournament has lost World Number One Simona Halep. The Romanian won her maiden Grand Slam title this year and was the first player to qualify for the WTA Finals. She also qualified with more points than anyone else. She has withdrawn because of a back injury in a recent training session ahead of Wuhan.
Naomi Osaka
The biggest return of points for Osaka was her US Open win, which came out of the blue. That landed her a massive 2000 points and it added to her 1000 collected from a victory at Indian Wells in a Premier Mandatory as well. So those really are the big success which put her in her first WTA Finals. She reached one other final across the course of the season on the WTA Tour. She was carrying form on the recent Asian swing of the season, reaching the final of the Toray Pan Pacific and then the semis of the China Open. But then she withdrew from a Japan event because of injury.
Caroline Wozniacki
Wozniacki started the season with a bang in beating Simona Halep in the Australian Open final. She reached the WTA Finals with the third-best points haul of the eight as she also won in Beijing and at the Eastbourne international in the summer. However, it has to be said, the form of the Dane largely slipped away over the second half of the season, looking less and less of a threat to anyone. That was until she stormed back with a win in Beijing. Will that revival at the China Open at the start of October put her in good stead? She is the reigning champion of the WTA Finals.
Petra Kvitova
Kvitova collected three regular titles this season on the two, but a Premier 5 and the Madrid Premier Mandatory title. So quietly the Czech star put a lot together. But all of it was over the first half of the season. Much like Wozniacki she slipped out of the limelight over the second half of the season. Kvitova produced four disappointing appearances at the Grand Slams this season. Kvitova won the Finals in 2011 and was a losing finalist in 2015.
Angelique Kerber
The German had another successful season under her belt. She claimed the Wimbledon title over Serena Williams and her other title for the year came in January in Sydney. But she had a semi-final at the Australian Open and a quarter final at the French Open. She reached the quarter finals in two of the four Premier Mandatory events and two-quarter finals in the Premier 5. Very steady, very consistent and should be a threat. Kerber’s best finish in a WTA Finals was a losing finalist in 2016.
Karolina Pliskova
Pliskova couldn’t build on her big 2017 and it has been relatively muted from her. She was pretty consistent in the big events, collecting two quarter-final places at the Grand Slams. She got two quarter finals and a semi-final appearance in the four Premier Mandatory events. Her two titles came at the Porsche Tennis Grand Prix in April and the Toray Pan Pacific in September. Pliskova was a losing semi-finalist last year on her debut.
Sloane Stephens
Like Osaka, two big results got Stephens to the WTA Finals. For her, it was the points haul from winning Miami (Premier Mandatory) and her run to the final of the French Open where she was beaten by Halep. She reached one other final, which was that the Premier 5 level at the Rogers Cup in Canada. This is her debut.
Elina Svitolina
Svitolina gambled in not paying in the final week of the season, the chance at points. It worked out for her though as she clung on to her place at the WTA Finals. Svitolina won three titles during the course of the season, the highest of them being the Italian Open (Premier 5). Her best Grand Slam finish was a quarter final at the Australian Open. A bit like Pliskova, she didn’t push on after a successful 2017. Didn’t get out of the group last year on her debut.
Kiki Bertens
The Dutch player gets into the WTA Finals for the first time ever because of Halep’s withdrawal. She has had a strong season, winning three titles (one Premier 5) and she reached the final of Madrid (Premier Mandatory). It is a big occasion for her and she is the first Dutch player to make it to the top ten in the world since 1996.
Predictions
Who fits the bill the best? The tennis season is long and players like Kvitova can come out strong and fade away. So you are looking at form over the second half or even the final third of the season really. Wozniacki had gone quiet but her recent win at the China Open and with her being the reigning champion, gives her renewed appeal. A lot of it.
The same can be said of Pliskova who raised her end of season appeal with a win at Toray Pan Pacific over Osaka. That was out of the blue, much like Wozniacki’s win in China. The fact that it was over the in-form Osaka says a lot about Pliskova when she is on her game. So we are simply going to stick with that successful current form and tip her to have a good run as well.
As for splitting them, Wozniacki did a little more in her recent title and we are going to go with a WTA Finals title defence, which isn’t unusual at this event. Kim Clijsters, Justine Henin and Serena Williams have all achieved that since 2002.
