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Dominika Cibulkova’s hopes of qualifying for a debut appearance at the BNP Paribas WTA Finals Singapore presented by SC Global came down to the wire. The Slovak needed to win the Generali Ladies Linz to assure herself a spot among the Greatest Eight, and did just that.

“It was really important for me that I won there,” she said in Singapore. “It’s not every day that I’m coming to a tournament and I have to win it to get somewhere, and then I actually won the whole thing.

“It was just a great week for me, and all happened so quickly. In two days I flew here.”

Cibulkova turned around a tough start in the round robin stage to stun 2014 finalist Simona Halep in straight sets, and overcame a 1/16 longshot of qualifying for the semifinals to knock out Svetlana Kuznetsova in the semis before overcoming World No.1 Angelique Kerber in the championship match.

“I cannot find the right word in English, but in the first match I played against Angelique, that gave me confidence that I can beat her,” she said of avenging her round robin loss in the final.

“My game is good enough to beat the World No.1. I was going into this final with these thoughts and I was feeling it from the first point until the last point.”

By beating the Australian Open and US Open champion, Cibulkova assured herself of a career-high ranking and a Top 5 finish for 2016, a place she sees as a launch pad for even greater success.

“Right now I don’t doubt myself anymore. I never doubted myself this year at all. I always had my coach to motivate me, to put the bigger goals for me. That was something I was dealing with; I never saw myself as such a great player, or a consistent player, somebody who could be Top 5.

“My coach said, ‘Domi, you had a great half of the season, but you’re able to have a great second half of the season. You just have to still stay focused and work hard. You can be Top 5 at the end of the year’.

“I really, really believed him for the first time in my life. I believed, ‘Okay, this is something I can do, I want to do.’

“I’m not saying I was coming to this tournament to win it, but when I was so close before the finals, I was convinced that I can beat Angie today.”

That new sense of determination paid off in Singapore, and it certainly helped her earn her the mantle of October’s WTA Player of the Month!

Final Results for October’s WTA Player Of The Month

1. Dominika Cibulkova (55%)
2. Agnieszka Radwanska (33%)
3. Angelique Kerber (12%)

2016 WTA Player of the Month Winners

January: Angelique Kerber
February: Carla Suárez Navarro
March: Victoria Azarenka
April: Angelique Kerber
May: Garbiñe Muguruza
June: Serena Williams
July: Simona Halep
August: Monica Puig
September: Petra Kvitova

How it works:

Finalists are selected by wtatennis.com
Winner is then determined by a fan vote on wtatennis.com 

Road to Singapore leaderboard, Sunday Recap

RTS No.3 Agnieszka Radwanska and No.8 Madison Keys stay on course; RTS No.9 Carla Suárez Navarro crashes out; RTS No.11 Johanna Konta eases into second round

RTS No.6 Andrea Hlavackova / Lucie Hradecka lose tight opener; RTS No.8 Goerges/Pliskovaadvance comfortably

RTS No.13 Andreja Klepac / Katarina Srebotnik keep Singapore dreams alive by eliminating and ending the hopes of RTS No.9 Raquel Atawo / Abigail Spears

Click here for the complete China Open draws.

Monday Preview

If Keys loses to Kristina Mladenovic (4th match, Lotus, NB 6.30pm) then Karolina Pliskova and Agnieszka Radwanska will qualify for BNP Paribas WTA Finals Singapore presented by SC Global, regardless of their own results on Monday.

UPDATED LEADERBOARD

SINGLES:

Qualified: Angelique Kerber, Serena Williams, Simona Halep

Next In Line (Current Top 8):

How can they qualify in Beijing ?

(note: Scenarios will change if those currently in the Top 8 advance)

Pliskova – qualifies by reaching QF OR

· Keys fails to reach 3r (QF if Pliskova advances to 2r) OR

· Konta nor Kuznetsova reach final*

*both are in the same half so only one of these is possible

Radwanska – qualifies by reaching QF OR

· Keys fails to reach QF OR

· Konta nor Kuznetsova reach final *

*both are in the same half so only one of these is possible

Muguruza – qualifies by reaching final

Cibulkova – qualifies by winning title

Keys – qualifies by winning title

It is mathematically possible for Kuznetsova to qualify this week by winning the Beijing title BUT this would depend on a 2r defeat for Cibulkova.

It is no longer mathematically possible for Konta to qualify this week, even if she won the title.

Currently No.9 to No.13 with points behind current projected cut-off (3137)

It is interesting to note that four of the players that are battling for qualification – Muguruza, Keys, Kuznetsova and Kvitova are all in the same quarter of the Beijing draw, creating some potentially exciting matchups in the R16 at the China Open, a stage where Pliskova and Konta could also meet

DOUBLES

QUALIFIED: Garcia/Mladenovic, Hingis/Mirza, Makarova/Vesnina, Mattek-Sands/Safarova

NEXT IN LINE:

How do they qualify in Beijing:

Timea Babos / Yaroslava Shvedova qualify unless Sania Mirza / Barbora Strycova or Xu Yi-Fan / Zheng Saisai win the Beijing title OR by reaching the Beijing SF

Andrea Hlavcakova / Lucie Hradecka qualify unless Mirza/Strycova reach Beijing final or Xu/Zheng win the Beijing title

Chan Hao-Ching / Chan Yung-Jan qualify unless Mirza/Strycova or Xu/Zheng reach Beijing final OR by reaching the Beijing Final

Julia Goerges / Karolina Pliskova qualify by advancing to the same round or better than Mirza/Strycova and Xu/Zheng and if Klepac/Srebotnik don’t win Beijing title**

Remaining Teams in Possible Contention (points behind current cut-off)

**this will change and require a better result if Goerges/Pliskova advance.

The third edition of the BNP Paribas WTA Finals Singapore presented by SC Global featured first-time champions in singles and doubles, a new year-end singles World No.1 in Angelique Kerber and the crowning of Sania Mirza as the top doubles player of the year. The 2016 Finals also set records off the court thanks to an unprecedented increase in social media engagement.

Dominika Cibulkova’s unexpected run to the final on her tournament debut was experienced by more fans than ever. Compared to the 2015 tournament, Facebook video views were up 571%, engagement on WTA-operated social media platforms increased by 247% and wtatennis.com referrals from social media improved by 167%.

The upsurge in engagement was driven by a ‘social first’ content strategy featuring on and off-court action, humorous player videos, match reporting, opinion editorials, innovative design and behind the scenes video on Facebook Live, Instagram Stories and Snapchat. The best-performing content pieces included the moment Cibulkova won title, a Facebook Live fan Q&A with Indian superstar Mirza, Svetlana Kuznetsova’s on-court haircut and live coverage of the iconic photoshoot, draw and gala dinner.

The increase in exposure was not just limited to web platforms with the 2016 Finals yielding a 4% increase in global TV household reach compared to 2015, thanks to increased exposure in Russia, Germany and Austria.

In addition to Cibulkova’s upset victory over Kerber, Olympic gold medalists Ekaterina Makarova and Elena Vesnina broke Bethanie Mattek-Sands and Lucie Safarova’s 18-match winning streak to lift the Martina Navratilova WTA Finals Doubles Trophy. Mirza finished as year-end World No.1 doubles player for a second consecutive season. Mirza has held the No.1 ranking for 83 consecutive weeks.

Melissa Pine, Vice-President of WTA Asia-Pacific and Tournament Director of the WTA Finals, said, “The Road to Singapore this year has been yet another exciting race to the finish line and the tennis action at the WTA Finals has truly reflected the top quality level of play among the greatest eight of 2016. We are thrilled with how the fans in Singapore and around the world have warmly embraced the event as well as shown their enthusiasm for women’s tennis.”

BEIJING, China – The WTA’s biggest names were out in full force to celebrate the final Premier Mandatory event of the year at the China Open, but this was no average player party.

Angelique Kerber, Garbiñe Muguruza, Simona Halep, Petra Kvitova and Caroline Wozniacki were among the names to hit the Beijing National Stadium – the iconic “Bird’s Nest Stadium” that played host to the 2008 Olympics’ Opening Ceremony – and took part in the China Open gala celebration.

The gala also served as the kickoff to the Song Qingling Foundation, which works to promote the development of tennis among Chinese children and teenagers.

Click below to check out the best photos of the night, courtesy of Visual China Group!

WEDNESDAY IN BEIJING: Madison Keys (RTS #8) plays Svetlana Kuznetsova (RTS #10) and Garbiñe Muguruza (RTS #6) will play Petra Kvitova (RTS #12) in what could be a decisive day on the Road to Singapore leaderboard. Who will hit the speed bumps? Who will stay on track?

Here is a player-by-player breakdown of who can qualify this week…

MUGURUZA: In its simplest form, Muguruza needs to win at least one more match. She can qualify for the BNP Paribas WTA Finals Singapore presented by SC Global by reaching the quarterfinals AND Kuznetsova and Konta not reaching the semifinals. She can also secure qualification by advancing to the semifinals this week, regardless of other results.

KEYS: Keys can qualify by reaching the final (she is in the same half as Kuznetsova and Kvitova) and if Konta does not reach quarterfinals. She can secure qualification regardless, if she can win the title.

KUZNETSOVA: Kuznetsova qualifies for the WTA Finals by winning the title

Additionally, Kvitova will need to reach the Beijing final to become part of the mix of being an alternate in Singapore. She is also entered into Luxembourg.

SINGLES:

Qualified: Angelique Kerber, Serena Williams, Simona Halep, Agnieszka Radwanska, Karolina Pliskova

Next In Line (Current Top 8):

Currently No.9 to No.13 with points behind current projected cut-off (3257)

Who is Playing Where?

Muguruza: currently not entered in any other events

Cibulkova: Moscow

Keys: currently not entered in any other events

Konta: Hong Kong

Kuznetsova: Tianjin

Kvitova: Luxembourg

DOUBLES QUALIFICATION UPDATE

Doubles stays the same as yesterday…

If Sania Mirza / Barbora Strycova lose, Timea Babos / Yaroslava Shvedova, Andrea Hlavackova / Lucie Hradecka, Chan Hao-Ching / Chan Yung-Jan all qualify for WTA Finals

If Mirza/Strycova AND Andreja Klepac / Katarina Srebotnik lose, the doubles field will be set as Babos/Shvedova, Hlavackova/Hradecka, Chan Sisters and Karolina Pliskova / Julia Goerges will each qualify for the WTA Finals

QUALIFIED: Caroline Garcia / Kristina Mladenovic, Martina Hingis / Sania Mirza, Ekaterina Makarova / Elena Vesnina, Bethanie Mattek-Sands / Lucie Safarova

NEXT IN LINE:

Remaining Teams in Possible Contention (points behind current cut-off)

All photos courtesy of Getty Images.