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SINGAPORE – In 2016, Madison Keys has continued her upward career trajectory, reaching the second week of all four majors and establishing herself in the Top 10. Next stop: Singapore.

1. Dazzling Debut.
Madison Keys is making her debut at BNP Paribas WTA Finals Singapore presented by SC Global.

2. Peak Performance.
It is the culmination of a career-best season. She broke into the WTA Top 10 in June, becoming the first American to enter the elite ranking bracket since Serena Williams in 1999.

3. Hitting the Heights.
After a wonderful Asian Swing, Keys reached a career-high ranking of World No.7 on Monday, October 10 following her run to the semifinals at the China Open.

4. Tremendous on Tour.
It all follows terrific achievements on tour: a second WTA title, at the Aegon Classic Birmingham, runner-up slots at the Internazionali BNL d’Italia and Rogers Cup, plus quarterfinals at the Miami Open and Dongfeng Motor Wuhan Open.

5. Amazing Americans.
Keys is flying the flag for the USA at the pinnacle of women’s tennis – along with the Williams sisters. All three of them were top ten seeds at Wimbledon this year: the first time there had been three American women seeded at a Slam since the 2005 US Open. When she played Serena in Rome, it was the first all-American final there since 1970, and the first all-American clay-court WTA final since Roland Garros in 2002.

6. Slam Success.
She was one of just four players to reach the round of 16 at all of the Grand Slams this year – showing she is really getting to grips with the big occasions.

7. Going the Distance.
She’s also dramatically improved her record in matches that go the distance – in 2016 she’s 17-6 in three-setters. That’s a marked contrast to her record in 2015 (7-8) and 2014 (6-10).

8. Tying it Up.
Keys currently boasts an impressive 2016 track record in tie-breaks – winning 14 of them.

9. On the Climb.
Keys has been on a sharp upward trajectory – 2015 was her first season in the WTA Top 20 rankings. The two years previously had seen her in the top 40 – with 2014 including a win at Eastbourne.

10. Teenage Dream.
21-year-old Keys has been on the circuit since she was a teenager. In 2009 she played her first WTA event as a wildcard at Ponte Vedra Beach, reaching the second round, and in the process becoming the seventh-youngest player ever to win a WTA match at the age of 14 years and 48 days, beating Alla Kudryavtseva.

Earning her spot thanks to a title run at the Generali Ladies Linz – her third of the season – Dominika Cibulkova heads to the BNP Paribas WTA Finals Singapore presented by SC Global to finish what she started two seasons ago.

“In 2014 I was very close [to Singapore], and that’s what made me very intense and want it too much,” she told WTA Insider after winning in Eastbourne. “I was over-motivated and it didn’t happen.”

Cibulkova had long been among the toughest outs in tennis when a run to the 2014 Australian Open final – in which she ousted Maria Sharapova and Agnieszka Radwanska en route – boosted the boisterous veteran into a new stratosphere. She who thrived as a chaser suddenly became the chased.

“Playing in the finals of a Grand Slam is a big thing. I think the other players always respected me, but when you earn a big result play a consistently high level of tennis, you become one of the best in the world.”

Adjusting to Elite Eight levels of expectation proved a slow process, as the specter of a WTA Finals debut weighed the typically fleet of foot Slovak down throughout the second half of that season.

“If you get in your head, I don’t think you can do well,” she mused at the Western & Southern Open’s All-Access Hour in August. “Whenever I really, really want to win, I never do.”

Eager to shake off the letdown, she gamely backed up her Melbourne run to start 2015, dismissing former No.1 Victoria Azarenka in one of the best matches of the year en route to the quarterfinals.

All the while, Cibulkova soldiered on with a chronic Achilles injury; initially planning to postpone the surgery until autumn, the Slovak was suddenly off the circuit after Antwerp, returning after a four month stretch that ultimately set her back a year.

“It wasn’t easy to come back. I was around No.60 or No.70 in the world, and facing top players in the first round because you’re not seeded. You really have to play well to get back to where you were before, and I think that’s the hardest part.

“If you can manage that, then I think it shows you’re a good player.”

Cibulkova steadied herself at smaller events, reaching the semifinals in Hobart and the final of Acapulco. But the headline-grabbing upsets for which she’d become famous eluded her through the spring, failing to convert a match point against Agnieszka Radwanska at the BNP Paribas Open, and losing in similar style to Garbiñe Muguruza at the Miami Open.

“I was waiting for something at the big tournaments because at Indian Wells and Miami, I lost really close matches,” she said at the Mutua Madrid Open. “Playing in Katowice helped me quite a lot; I actually didn’t want to go there, but when I lost in the second round of Miami, I sat down with my coach and we said, ‘I’m playing well; I just want to go there and play matches.'”

Five wins and a first title in two years at the Katowice Open was the kickstart Cibulkova craved; she avenged the Indian Wells loss to Radwanska to reach the finals in Madrid, and arrives in Singapore having won her last three matches against the reigning WTA Finals winner, including a Wimbledon thriller that will likely be another match-of-the-year candidate.

“I was able to play well because I could enjoy my tennis without stressing too much,” she said in Stanford, attributing the shift to sessions with a mental coach.

“It’s something that’s helped a lot,” she explained to WTA Insider in Eastbourne. “Now I realize everything I’m doing on the court, and I’m doing it with purpose. I don’t lose my emotions so much.

“I’m not saying it’ll be like this all the time because nothing is perfect, but I hope to keep it like this as long as I can.”

Tied with Radwanska at 49 match wins (second behind World No.1 Angelique Kerber), the Slovak newlywed leads the tour in three-set wins and is 5-3 against the Top 10, a group she rejoined for the first time since the her surgery after reaching the final of the Dongfeng Motor Wuhan Open.

“I played really well during the whole year on all surfaces,” she noted in press that week. “It’s just something, where maybe I’m more mature and just doing things better. That’s what helps make me be a more consistent player, and that’s what I’ve always wanted to be.”

Up to a career-high of No.8, the sky’s the limit for Cibulkova, who’ll aim to be better than her best in the last tournament of the season.

“I’m not the tallest player on tour. I always say I need to have something extra to beat these players or even be on the same level. Fitness is one of my things. I need to be more than hundred percent. My physical preparation is really, really hard and tough because I need to be ready more than the other girls who can serve aces and things like that.

“Right now, I’m just playing good tennis, and that’s what keeps me going.”

LUXEMBOURG – Top seed Petra Kvitova overcame a slow start to defeat Varvara Lepchenko and take her place in the quarterfinals of the BGL BNP Paribas Luxembourg Open.

Watch live action from Luxembourg & Moscow this week at WTA Live Powered By TennisTV!

The closing stretch of the 2016 season has seen Kvitova make a welcome return to form, and once into her stride against Lepchenko there was no stopping her, running out a 4-6, 6-2, 6-0 winner in just under two hours.

Lepchenko held her own early on, breaking decisively in the penultimate game of the opening set. The expected Kvitova onslaught finally materialized at the start of the second set, and despite surviving a couple of fraught service games, Lepchenko was merely delaying the inevitable.

Once the Czech did finally hit the front, there was no looking back, winning 10 of the last 11 games to saunter across the finishing line.

A comeback win for @Petra_Kvitova over Lepchenko 4-6, 6-2, 6-1 to advance to @Iwtp_lux QF. pic.twitter.com/oLzJCGbWmD

— WTA (@WTA) October 19, 2016

“I probably didn’t play as well as I would want in the first set. But she started very strong and didn’t give me time to do anything, so I was under pressure a little bit,” Kvitova said afterwards to the press.

“In the second set I had to change the game a little bit and when I made the first break in the sixth game I was feeling a little better, more confident and I was just trying to keep going and not have so many unforced errors.”

Elsewhere, an under the weather Caroline Wozniacki dug deep to see off Sabine Lisicki, 3-6, 6-2, 6-3. Wozniacki, the No.2 seed this week, was suffering from a gastrointestinal illness, but overcame a slow start and a late wobble to triumph.

“I felt nausea during my match. I just feel pretty tired probably from coming from Hong Kong. I played pretty well today but maybe my movement wasn’t quite there. I just hope I feel better for tomorrow,” Wozniacki said to wtatennis.com.

Also among the second-round winners were No.3 seed Kiki Bertens, who brushed aside Anna Karolina Schmiedlova, 6-3, 6-1, while Andrea Petkovic upset No.4 seed Caroline Garcia, 6-1, 6-1.

Learning to peak at the right times is skill that takes years to learn in tennis. Garbiñe Muguruza has already shown she’s light years ahead of schedule. The 23-year-old Spaniard earned her reputation as a big stage player last season when she made her first major final at Wimbledon — on her worst surface, no less — and then proceeded to roll through the Asian swing to win her biggest title at the China Open, and back it up with an undefeated run through group play at the BNP Paribas WTA Finals Singapore presented by SC Global, to make the semifinals in her tournament debut.

“I think the important tournaments are the ones you’ve got to play well, the ones that really count, the ones that really take you to the top level,” Muguruza said. “Last year I’m like, Well, I did a final in Grand Slam; I won the China Open. But they’re important, so that means a lot of points and a lot of to the top level.”

This season she did one better.

Muguruza’s dominating two weeks in Paris was the definition of “peak”. After overcoming a few nerves in the first set of her first match, she would reel off 14 consecutive sets, including a 7-5, 6-4 win over then-No.1 Serena Williams in the final, to win her first major title at Roland Garros. This was the type of run you dream about as a kid, tennis’ equivalent of the 10-year-old hitting imaginary buzzer-beating three-point shots at the playground.

After hitting pitch-perfect lob winner on Championship Point, not even Muguruza could believe it. “Did I win Roland Garros?” she said, recounting her unbelievable shot on match point. “What happened? When [the umpire] said, ‘Game, set, and match’, I was like, ‘No way. I won.’ It was amazing.”

Muguruza’s Parisian fortnight launched her to a career-high No.2 and cemented her ability to beat anyone on any given day. The affable Muguruza will be the first to admit her season had its ups and downs. Outside of Roland Garros she struggled with her consistency throughout the season — Paris was her first and only final of the season — though the signs were there during the clay season that something special was in the works. Two weeks before the French Open, Muguruza earned her best result at the time, making the semifinals of the Internazionali BNL d’Italia in Rome, where she lost to Madison Keys.

“I just have a very aggressive game. I go for my shots with no regrets, even if I play to the fence,” Muguruza said.

It’s a strategy that can win Slams, and yes, the plural is intentional. One need to look no further than two-time Wimbledon champion Petra Kvitova, who’s game is also built on a high-risk, high-reward mentality. But Muguruza’s game is also built for all surfaces, fast and slow alike. Her CV has proved it, having won the French Open, made the final at Wimbledon, and making the semifinals in Singapore last year. The slower courts, as is the one laid down at the Singapore Indoor Stadium, may suit her the best, as she has the time she needs to set up her powerful groundstrokes as well as attack the net (Muguruza made the doubles final in Singapore last year with Carla Suárez Navarro).

That is what makes Muguruza an exciting young player. She may have become the youngest player since Victoria Azarenka to win a major title, but she’s still a work in progress. Her potential for growth and improvement is vast, which means she’s a massive threat every time she takes the court.

“I feel nothing can be sad this year after winning a Grand Slam,” Muguruza said last month at the Wuhan Open. “No matter what happens for me, is an incredible year already.”

Photos courtesy of Getty Images

MOSCOW, Russia – Svetlana Kuznetsova kept up her chances of booking a spot at the BNP Paribas WTA Finals Singapore presented by SC Global by beating Alizé Cornet, 6-4, 7-5, to reach the quarterfinals of the Kremlin Cup.

Watch live action from Moscow & Luxembourg this week at WTA Live Powered By TennisTV!

The Russian entered this tournament knowing that she had to win the title to book a place for Singapore. In the early exchanges, Kuznetsova made all the running, missing the chance to break in the first game before pushing Cornet even further in her next service game, but the Frenchwoman saved five break points in an epic that lasted nigh on 13 minutes.

With Kuznetsova rattling through her own games on serve, she was able exert more and more pressure on Cornet and finally got the break that she richly deserved after to go 3-2 ahead.

Having worked so hard to get ahead, Kuznetsova threw up an error-strewn game and handed the break to Cornet with a shot into the tramlines. Both players suddenly became more comfortable receiving and after the No.1 seed had restored her advantage, a sloppy backhand into the net put the players back on level terms. A fifth straight break gave Kuznetsova a 5-4 lead, and she finally regained her composure to hold when serving for the set.

.@SvetlanaK27 breaks thrice to win the first and already once again to open the second @kremlincup_eng https://t.co/kRsZ9udpkC pic.twitter.com/gSuniOhsJB

— TennisTV (@TennisTV) October 19, 2016

The World No.9 carried her momentum into the second set, breaking Cornet’s serve for the fourth time in a row with forehand volley.

Kuznetsova failed to hang onto this advantage, however, she closed out the match at the second time of asking to take a place in the quarterfinals. There she will face Timea Babos, a 6-1, 6-4 winner over Kristina Mladenovic.

“I think I was playing more against myself. I couldn’t find an exit from the situation,” Kuznetsova said in her post-match press conference. “I was winning and created situations, and when I had an advantage. Instead of keeping playing I began indulging my game. It was psychological: me against me.

“Not sure I played against Babos. I hope to play better than today. Well, the way I played today certainly won’t let me relax!”

Kuznetsova needs to win the title this week in Moscow in order to capture the final spot in the WTA Finals field of eight. Anything short of a title run for the Russian will result in Johanna Konta grabbing the final spot.

SINGAPORE – Last year’s semifinalist Garbiñe Muguruza returns to Singapore looking to end and an up and down season on a high note.

1. Twice is Nice.
Garbiñe Muguruza makes her second consecutive appearance in the Singapore singles competition following her debut last year, where she reached the semifinals after finishing 3-0 in round robin play.

2. Double Threat.
It will be her third consecutive appearance at the WTA Finals, having qualified first in doubles with compatriot Carla Suárez Navarro in 2014 and 2015 when they reached the final.

3. Rocking Round Robin.
Last year, she went 3-0 in the round-robin stage of the singles competition, losing to eventual champion Agnieszka Radwanska in the semifinals.

4. Fabulous in France.
Muguruza is the reigning Roland Garros champion, picking up her first-ever Grand Slam title by beating then-World No.1 Serena Williams in the final.

5. First Slam.
The Spaniard became the youngest first-time Grand Slam champion (22 years, 7 months) since Victoria Azarenka, who won the 2012 Australian Open aged 22 years, 6 months.

6. Breakthrough season.
Muguruza’s French Open win followed her brilliant 2015 season, when she finished the year as World No.3.

Esta es la foto que quería. This is the photo I really like. @rolandgarros pic.twitter.com/5mAZjyXn1e

— Garbiñe Muguruza (@GarbiMuguruza) 4 June 2016

7. Early exits.
Her Slam record in the second half of 2016 has seen her signature peaks and valleys, losing to Jana Cepelova, 6-3, 6-2, at Wimbledon, and to Latvia’s Anastasija Sevastova, 7-5, 6-4, at the US Open – both in the second round.

8. Terrific on tour.
Muguruza nonetheless made semifinal appearances at the Internazionali BNL d’Italia and the Western & Southern Open, plus quarterfinals at the Qatar Total Open , Porsche Tennis Grand Prix and the Toray Pan Pacific Open.

9. Limping in Linz.
She has not had the ideal preparation for Singapore; she was forced to withdraw from a quarterfinal encounter with Viktorija Golubic in Linz after rolling her ankle.

10. Rankings rise.
She hit a career-high of World No.2 after the French Open – and will be ready to push on from her current slot of World No.6 as she looks ahead to 2017.

MOSCOW, Russia – Carla Suárez Navarro’s hopes of a place of a place at the BNP Paribas WTA Finals Singapore presented by SC Global were ended after she was forced to retire from her second round Kremlin Cup clash with Daria Gavrilova due to a wrist injury.