Halep Books Return to Singapore

Just two days after celebrating her 25th birthday, Simona Halep secured her spot in Singapore for the third consecutive year by reaching the semifinal with a win over Madison Keys. Halep joins Angelique Kerber and Serena Williams in the Singapore lineup with the final five spots up for grabs.

Cibulkova, Kuznetsova Deliver Under Pressure

Dominika Cibulkova delivered in a big way with wins over Karolina Pliskova and Barbora Strycova on Thursday to set up a semifinal match against Svetlana Kuznetsova. The victories position her among the Top 8 on the Road to Singapore Leaderboard and also confirm her return to the WTA Top 10 when the latest rankings are released after Wuhan.

Kuznetsova, who now sits at No.10 on the Leaderboard, has enjoyed a late-career resurgence as she will reach her highest ranking since the 2010 French Open after Wuhan. Both players are jockeying for position on the Leaderboard, and a semifinal win will add 235 points to their totals.

Cibulkova has a chance this week to move as high as No.6 on the Leaderboard, overtaking French Open champion Garbiñe Muguruza. Kuznetsova, on the other hand, has a chance to climb into the Top 8 if she can capture the title in Wuhan.

Late Season Push for Kvitova

Petra Kvitova scored a win over current WTA World No.1 Angelique Kerber in the third round, which, arguably, could be considered the WTA match of the year.

Kvitova entered the week at No.21 on the Road to Singapore Leaderboard. Projected to climb to No.18 with her results so far, a run to a second Wuhan final – she was the inaugural Wuhan champion in 2014 – would push her to around No.12. If Kvitova, also a finalist in 2014 at Beijing, could complete a Wuhan/Beijing double, she would vault into the Top 8 and be in position to qualify for the WTA Finals for the sixth straight year.

WTA FINALS – ROAD TO SINGAPORE UPDATE – Thursday, September 29th

SINGLES:

Qualified: Angelique Kerber, Serena Williams, Simona Halep