Beijing Preview: Singapore qualification chase headlines China Open

BEIJING, China - The draw is out for the 2018 China Open, where the drama set to unfold over the upcoming will involve forehands, backhands, and...math. With 1,000 points up for grabs in the final Premier Mandatory event of the season, 18 players are still in the running to take the remaining six qualifying spots for the WTA's crown jewel event at the BNP Paribas WTA Finals Singapore presented by SC Global. 

Here's how the draw breaks down:

Tournament snapshot:

Top eight seeds: No.1 Simona Halep, No.2 Caroline Wozniacki, No.3 Angelique Kerber, No.4 Caroline Garcia, No.5 Petra Kvitova, No.6 Elina Svitolina, No.7 Karolina Pliskova, No.8 Naomi Osaka

Top half: Halep, Kerber, Kvitova, Osaka. 
Bottom half: Wozniacki, Garcia, Svitolina, Pliskova.

Potential quarterfinals: Halep vs. Kvitova, Kerber vs. Osaka, Pliskova vs. Garcia, Wozniacki vs. Svitolina. 

Last year's final: Caroline Garcia d. Simona Halep, 6-4, 7-6.

Click here to see the full draw. 

Six Singapore spots remain and Beijing could narrow the field.

Simona Halep and Angelique Kerber have secured their spots for the BNP Paribas WTA Finals Singapore presented by SC Global, but six spots remain amongst a hotly contested field. As Beijing begins, 18 women still have a mathematical chance of qualifying for Singapore, but that number will dwindle as results begin to fall on Saturday. 

Players still in the running for Singapore: Naomi Osaka, Petra Kvitova, Caroline Wozniacki, Elina Svitolina, Sloane Stephens, Karolina Pliskova, Kiki Bertens, Elise Mertens, Daria Kasatkina, Madison Keys, Julia Goerges, Garbiñe Muguruza, Anastasia Sevastova, Jelena Ostapenko, Aryna Sabalenka, Caroline Garcia, Carla Suárez Navarro, Anett Kontaveit. 

Serena Williams currently sits at No.11 on the Porsche Race to Singapore Leaderboard, however, she has withdrawn from Beijing and is not currently on the entry list for any further tournaments in the regular season.

Before the start of the tournament, six players have full control of their Singapore destiny. Regardless of any other results, US Open champion Naomi Osaka and Petra Kvitova can secure qualification by reaching the semifinals, Wozniacki can clinch by reaching the final, and Elina Svitolina and Sloane Stephens can book their spots with a title run. To be clear, all six players can also qualify without hitting those marks but they would need help from the field to do so. Results from the early rounds could lower the qualification cut-off. 

Stay tuned for regular updates regarding Singapore qualifying. 

Top seeds looking to rebound from Wuhan exits. 

In particular, the top three seeds, No.1 Simona Halep, No.2 Angelique Kerber, and No.3 Caroline Wozniacki are looking to get find some momentum. Halep is trying to shake off her disappointing first round exit from the US Open (l. Kanepi), as well as an unexpected back and leg injury that she picked up in Wuhan, where she played through pain and bowed out in her opening match to Dominika Cibulkova. Halep opens against a qualifier in the first round. 

Meanwhile, in her four tournaments since winning her third Slam at Wimbledon this summer, Angelique Kerber has failed to win back-to-back matches at three of them. She'll face Kristina Mladenovic in the first round.

Similarly, Wozniacki has not won back-to-back matches since winning the title in Eastbourne in June. The Dane will face a qualifier in the first round. The three reigning major champions are desperate for matches and form as they look towards Singapore, where Wozniacki is the defending champion. 

Speaking of reigning champions, Beijing sees the return of Naomi Osaka. The US Open champion continued her New York momentum in Tokyo, where she advanced to the final, and then withdrew from Wuhan. Osaka has yet to win a main draw match in the Chinese capital. She'll face a qualifier in the first round. 

Wuhan semifinalists receive performance byes.

With the Wuhan semifinals and final taking place on Friday and Saturday respectively, and Beijing main draw kicking off on Saturday, by rule, Aryna Sabalenka, Anett Kontaveit, and Wang Qiang all receive a performance bye into the second round (Ashleigh Barty has withdrawn with a right arm injury). They are the only players who have byes in Beijing.

That's particularly good news for Wang, who was forced to retire from her the Wuhan semifinal against Anett Kontaveit due to a left leg injury. Wang was playing in her 10th match in 11 days, having won her second title of the season in Guangzhou and becoming the first Chinese player to make the semifinals win Wuhan.

This remains a great opportunity for Sabalenka, Kontaveit, and Wang to build on their Wuhan success. Sabalenka and Kontaveit are still in mathematical contention for Singapore and are firmly in good position to qualify for the Hengqin Life WTA Elite Trophy Zhuhai, Wang is still working to get closer to the Top 20 to make a direct entry possible. 

First round matches to watch: Belinda Bencic vs. Caroline Wozniacki, Maria Sakkari vs. Donna Vekic, Sloane Stephens vs. Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova, Petra Kvitova vs. Daria Gavrilova, Angelique Kerber vs. Kristina Mladenovic, Julia Goerges vs. Johanna Konta, Jelena Ostapenko vs. Magdalena Rybarikova, Garbiñe Muguruza vs. Ekaterina Makarova, Elina Svitolina vs. Aleksandra Krunic.