ST PETERSBURG, FL, USA – The doubles teams of Gabriela Dabrowski and Xu Yifan, Andreja Klepac and María José Martínez Sánchez, Nicole Melichar and Kveta Peschke, and Ashleigh Barty and CoCo Vandeweghe have qualified for the 2018 BNP Paribas WTA Finals Singapore presented by SC Global, set to take place from October 21-28.
The doubles field is now set, with these players joining the teams of Barbora Krejcikova and Katerina Siniakova, Timea Babos and Kristina Mladenovic, Barbora Strycova and Andrea Sestini Hlavackova, and Elise Mertens and Demi Schuurs in Singapore.
Gabriela Dabrowski and Xu Yifan
Canada’s Dabrowski and China’s Xu earned their spot at the WTA Finals after lifting two trophies this season, at the Sydney International and Nature Valley International (Eastbourne). The pair also reached the semifinals at Wimbledon, as well as at the St. Petersburg Ladies Trophy, BNP Paribas Open (Indian Wells) and Toray Pan Pacific Open (Tokyo). The pair is currently through to the semifinals at the China Open.
Xu and Dabrowski are set to make their second appearance at the year-end finale, having qualified as a team last year, falling to Ekaterina Makarova/Elena Vesnina in the opening round.
Andreja Klepac and María José Martínez Sánchez
The Slovenian-Spanish team of Klepac and Martínez Sánchez reached four finals this season, lifting the trophy at the Mallorca Open where they defeated former WTA Doubles World No.1 Lucie Safarova and Barbora Stefkova in the final. The pair also advanced to the championship match at the Brisbane International presented by Suncorp, Qatar Total Open (Doha) and the Volvo Car Open (Charleston).
Klepac and Martínez Sánchez will make their second straight appearance as a team at the WTA Finals after qualifying last year, falling to the eventual champions Timea Babos/Andrea Sestini Hlavackova in the opening round. Martínez Sánchez returns as a former champion, having lifted the Martina Navratilova Doubles Trophy in 2009 (alongside Llagostera Vives) while Klepac will be making her second career showing at the year-end event.
Nicole Melichar and Kveta Peschke
Melichar, from the United States and the Czech Republic’s Peschke will make their debut showing as a team at the WTA Finals after reaching three finals this season, clinching the title at the J&T Banka Prague Open and finishing as runners-up at the Porsche Tennis Grand Prix (Stuttgart) and Wimbledon. The pair also reached the semifinals at the Rogers Cup presented by National Bank (Montreal) and the Nürnberger Versicherungscup.
Melichar has earned her first ever qualification at the WTA Finals, while Peschke will be appearing in her eighth edition of the year-end event. The Czech is a three-time finalist, in 2008 at Doha (w/Rennae Stubbs) and in 2010 and 2011 at Istanbul (w/Katarina Srebotnik). In her most recent appearance in 2017, Peschke fell in the opening round to Latisha Chan/Martina Hingis partnering Germany’s Anna-Lena Groenefeld.
Ashleigh Barty and CoCo Vandeweghe
Australia’s Barty and the United States’ Vandeweghe teamed up for the first time in their careers in March, and enjoyed a great start to life together by winning the Miami Open presented by Itaú, which was only their second tournament. The pair went on to win their debut Grand Slam title at the US Open.
Barty returns to the WTA Finals for the second consecutive year, having qualified with Casey Dellacqua in 2017. Meanwhile this will be Vandeweghe’s debut appearance at the season-ending event.
Staged at the Singapore Sports Hub from October 21-28, the 2018 BNP Paribas WTA Finals Singapore presented by SC Global is a 10-day tennis festival featuring the world’s best players vying for a US$7 million in prize money and two of the most prestigious titles in women’s tennis. The Top 8 singles players will compete in a round-robin format with the winner taking home the Billie Jean King Trophy. The Top 8 doubles teams will compete in a knock-out format for the WTA Finals Martina Navratilova Trophy.
The Porsche Race to Singapore Leaderboard is updated each Monday (every two weeks during Grand Slam events) and can be found at www.WTAFinals.com.
Tickets to the BNP Paribas WTA Finals Singapore presented by SC Global are on sale at www.WTAFinals.com, an immersive one-stop destination for all things tournament-related, bringing fans the latest news from the top players on their journey on the Porsche Race to Singapore.
The WTA is now accepting applications for Media Accreditation for the 2018 BNP Paribas WTA Finals Singapore presented by SC Global. Applications can be submitted via wtafinals2018.
