Agnieszka Radwanska takes up the fourth spot after a decent season she has had. This marks the third year she has qualified for Singapore joining the likes of Simona Halep and Serena Williams.
Joining the Pole and making her debut is Karolina Pliskova. After a rather slow start to the season, the Czech blossomed in the summer and guaranteed her spot in the WTA Finals.
How they got there
The world number three made a terrific start to the year winning the first tournament of the year at Shenzhen. Her good run continued with semifinal finishing at Australian Open, Doha and Indian Wells. She also posted decent results on clay with another semifinal finish this time at Stuttgart including a round of 16 finish at the French Open. Another round of 16 at Wimbledon was her most notable result on grass before she wrapped up her second title at New Haven. In the Asian swing, the magician continued her form making semifinals at Tokyo where she was the defending champion. A consistent season sees her clinch the fourth spot in Singapore.
For Pliskova, it wasn’t the best of starts to the year. She seemed to have found her best tennis as she went on a fine run in Indian Wells only losing to the eventual champion Victoria Azarenka in the semifinals. However, she struggled once more going out in the first round in Miami. Pliskova picked it up in the clay season but fell short of defending her title at Prague losing in the semifinals. Her topsy-turvy season continued with more early round losses and yet another disappointing outing at a Grand Slam with a first-round exit at the French Open.
She eventually found her groove during the grass season winning her first title of the year at Nottingham before narrowly missing out on another at Eastbourne. However, her Grand Slam woes continued with another early exit at Wimbledon. The Czech decided to opt out of Rio and that worked to great effect as she won her biggest title of her career at Cincinnati. Pliskova did not stop there going on to break her fourth round duck at Grand Slams and made it all the way to the finals even stopping Williams en route. That surge pushed her up the standings before eventually sealing the deal for the Czech star.
Reactions from qualifying for Singapore
Defending champion Radwanska relishes the opportunity to defend her title. "It's the goal of everyone to qualify for the WTA Finals, and I'm happy to be returning to defend my title," quipped the Pole.
Pliskova expressed her excitement at qualifying after narrowly missing out after her breakthrough 2015. "It's been an amazing year so far and the best is coming at the WTA Finals. I hope to see many fans in Singapore and that many more follow my matches from around the world. Wish me luck - I am excited to be there for the first time in my life," said a delighted Pliskova.
Three spots remain as the competition for Singapore heats up.