With the WTA Finals field confirmed, the lineup for the WTA Elite Trophy tournament in Zhuhai has begun to take shape with nine of the 11 direct entry players confirmed for participation in the year-end tournament set to take place Oct. 24-29 in Zhuhai.

Barbora Krejcikova will take ownership of the top seed in Zhuhai after a 2023 campaign highlighted by reaching four singles finals. Only Iga Swiatek (7) and Aryna Sabalenka (6) have reached more singles finals than Krejcikova, who won titles at WTA 1000 Dubai and San Diego, while finishing as runner-up at Birmingham and last week in Zhengzhou.

Krejcikova will be joined by Madison Keys, Jelena Ostapenko, Liudmila Samsonova, Veronika Kudermetova, Daria Kasatkina, Beatriz Haddad Maia, Zheng Qinwen and Caroline Garica. Among those currently in the field Keys (Eastbourne), Kudermetova (Tokyo), Ostapenko (Birmingham) and Zheng (Palermo, Zhengzhou) have won titles this year.

The final two direct entry spots will be decided between Donna Vekic, Magda Linette and Soran Cirstea this week based on results in Cluj-Napoca and Nanchang.

The remaining two spots are between Donna Vekic, Magda Linette and Sorana Cirstea.

  • Cirstea must win the title in Cluj-Napoca to qualify for Zhuhai.
  • Linette will clinch a spot by advancing to the quarterfinal in Nanchang or if Cirstea loses a match in Cluj-Napoca
  • Vekic will clinch if Cirstea loses in Cluj-Napoca or Linette fails to reach the Nanchang quarterfinals 

The tournament features 11 of the top-ranked players on tour and one wild card as they compete for $2.4 million in prize money in a round-robin format, with the top four singles players advancing to the semifinals.

Two doubles teams qualify over the weekend

Two additional doubles teams have qualified for the WTA Finals Cancun. Gabriela Dabrowski and Erin Routliffe won the title in Zhengzhou on Sunday to secure qualification. In addition, Nicole Melichar Martinez and Ellen Perez secured their spot in the WTA Finals leaving one spot open.

The final spot will belong to either Leylah Fernandez and Taylor Townsend or Laura Siegemund and Vera Zvonareva, who will need to win the title in Nanchang to seal the final spot.

In addition to the latest doubles field developments, Krejcikova secured the spot as second alternate at the WTA Finals, overtaking Madison Keys.