Halep qualifies for Singapore WTA Finals

Singapore

TENNIS fans in Singapore will get to watch the current female world No 1 player Simona Halep this October, after the Romanian qualified yet again for the season-ending BNP Paribas Women's Tennis Association (WTA) Finals presented by SC Global tournament.

The US$7 million event will take place from Oct 21 to 28 at the Singapore Indoor Stadium in Kallang, and it is the fifth and final edition to be staged here before the competition moves to Shenzhen in 2019.

Halep, who won her first Grand Slam trophy in June this year when she clinched the French Open title, has the distinction of being the only player to have qualified for all five editions of the WTA Finals in Singapore.

"I love coming to Singapore, and I have so many great memories. I cannot wait to be back and play my best tennis in front of the amazing fans," the 26-year-old said in a statement issued by the Florida-based WTA on Wednesday.

The furthest that Halep has gone at the WTA Finals in Singapore was at the inaugural edition in 2014. That year, she made it all the way to the championship match but lost in straight sets to American Serena Williams. With Halep's place in the bag, there are now seven more spots available for the singles category. They will slug it out in a round-robin format for the Billie Jean King trophy.

Among the other players who are the favourites to make it to Singapore are three-time Grand Slam winner Angelique Kerber of Germany, last year's WTA Finals champion Caroline Wozniacki of Denmark, and Czech Republic star Petra Kvitova.

The players are competing in as many as 54 events in 30 different countries throughout the 2018 season, in their quest to rack up enough points to make it to the Lion City.

The winner of the Porsche Race to Singapore - the player who occupies the No 1 spot in singles when the WTA Finals begins - will also be presented with a new Porsche 718 Boxster GTS car.

Besides the singles event, the top eight doubles teams will also be in town to compete in a knockout format for the Martina Navratilova trophy.

There are a total of 11 sessions of tennis at the WTA Finals. Tickets priced from S$27 to S$239 are now on sale at wtafinals.com and sportshubtix.com Corporate hospitality passes for the Racquet Club that start from S$529.65 are also available.