wta finals race

Porsche Race to Singapore Update, October 9: Garcia shakes up the Top 8

2m read 09 Oct 2017 7y ago

Barely four weeks ago Caroline Garcia’s name wasn’t mentioned among the list of top Singapore contenders; she was ranked No.20 in the world and No.16 on the Porsche Race to Singapore Leaderboard, firmly in the running for the WTA Elite Trophy Zhuhai.

Now, the Frenchwoman has reeled off 11 wins in a row and claimed the two biggest titles of her career at the Dongfeng Motor Wuhan Open and the China Open.

As a result, Garcia not only becomes the first player to ever win Wuhan and Beijing back-to-back, but she also vaults up to the No.8 spot on the Porsche Race to Singapore Leaderboard, knocking down Johanna Konta to No.9.

“Two weeks ago, I was very happy to be in Zhuhai because it's a nice challenge,” Garcia reflected in her WTA Insider Champions Corner interview.

“Actually, in Tokyo I was speaking with Jo Konta. We were just - not joking about it - but she was pretty safe to be in. We said, do you remember last year, Kuznetsova had to win and it was a really last minute change and everything? And the only chance [this year] was for someone to win Wuhan and Beijing,” Garcia laughed.

“I'm so sorry for her. No one would believe someone No.19 in the world would win Wuhan and Beijing in the row, right? We changed all the prognostications for the last spot. It's tennis. We know everything can change fast.”

With Garcia now owning a 185-point lead over the Brit, Konta’s road to qualification will come down to the wire for the second year in a row. The only way she can overtake Garcia for the final spot would be to reach the final at the Kremlin Cup in Moscow.

Last year it was Svetlana Kuznetsova who nipped Konta by winning the Moscow title. Can Konta do the same to Garcia?

Here's how the Porsche Race to Singapore Leaderboard in singles stands as of October 9:

In doubles, just one spot remains up for grabs after three teams punched their ticket to Singapore during the week in Beijing: Gabriela Dabrowski and Xu Yi-Fan, Kveta Peschke and Anna-Lena Groenefeld, and Timea Babos and Andrea Hlavackova.

With Peng Shuai, Hlavackova also sits in the last qualification spot, while Tokyo champions Andreja Klepac and María José Martínez Sánchez are hot on their heels in the in the No.9 spot.

Here's how the Porsche Race to Singapore Leaderboard in doubles stands as of October 9:

WTA Staff