Balance, in both life and tennis, is always the goal -- but it can be elusive. Fair to say, Barbora Krejcikova handles that fine line better than most.

She’s the top seed in the Huafa Technology WTA Elite Trophy Zhuhai, a round-robin event that begins Tuesday. Krejcikova, along with doubles partner Katerina Siniakova, is also qualified for next week’s doubles event at the WTA Finals in Cancun.

“It’s very difficult to balance it,” Krejcikova told reporters after the draw ceremony. “It takes a lot of positive emotions and a lot of positive attitude. And I think overall it’s always up and down.

“I’m somehow able to balance it.”

WTA Elite Trophy 2023: Dates, format, draws and what you need to know

Krejcikova is the only player scheduled to appear in both post-season tournaments. This is the first Elite Trophy event after a three-year hiatus. Aryna Sabalenka was the winner in 2019 and past champions include Venus Williams, Petra Kvitova and Ashleigh Barty.

The 27-year-old from the Czech Republic is 32-18 in singles this year with titles at the Dubai 1000 and San Diego. She recently advanced to the finals in Zhengzhou, losing to Zheng Qinwen in three sets. Only Iga Swiatek and Sabalenka have reached more finals in 2023.

In doubles, Krejcikova and Siniakova have won three titles, including the Australian Open and Indian Wells. Their record is 22-6, which means Krejcikova’s next match -- against Magda Linette on Tuesday -- will be her 79th of the season. The 12 singles players in the draw were divided into four groups of three. After two round-robin matches, the winners will advance to single-elimination semifinals and finals.

Krejcikova is paired with Daria Kasatkina and Linette. Krejcikova is 2-0 against Linette, most recently winning a year ago in Doha. Krejcikova defeated Kasatkina in the Zhengzhou semifinals a week ago.

“I think we just know each other’s game quite well,” Krejcikova said, “so I think it’s going to be a nice matchup. And then with Magda, I played couple times with her and I practiced couple times with her, but I think again that it's just going to be difficult. I’m really looking forward for that.”

By the time the tournament is over, Krejcikova will have logged more than a month in China. She began October with a first-round loss to qualifier Mira Andreeva in Beijing. However, Krejcikova took advantage of the downtime to visit the Great Wall of China.

“That was really nice experience,” she said. “I mean it was a really early wake up, 5 a.m., but I mean overall it was really nice to see such a history wall and such a special thing for the Chinese. So that was really interesting. I mean it was nice to see a different culture and different history.”

This week, she visited Ocean Park and its spectacular aquarium. She and Veronica Kudermetova also stopped by the Dulwich International High School and addressed students and staff.

As it turns out, Kudermetova is engaged in a balancing act of her own.

She and doubles partner Beatriz Haddad Maia are the top seeds and will also play singles. They’ve both got very difficult draws. The No.5-seeded Kudermetova is grouped with No.4 Liudmila Samsonova and No. 12 Zhu Lin, a wild-card entry. Meanwhile, No.8 Haddad Maia faces hard-hitting No.2 Madison Keys and No.9 Caroline Garcia, who should benefit from the fast conditions.

For Krejcikova, these two events will help her assess the 2023 season and define goals for next year.

“I had some good moments. I mean, especially at the beginning of the year and I mean also at the end of the year,” she said. “In the middle of the year was just more, yeah, really up and down with my results. But I think overall when I look at it right now on the whole season, I mean it’s not over yet. I still have a couple of tournaments, but I see it very positive.

“Overall, I was quite healthy and I think I was performing quite well and, yeah, I think it was a really good season.”