As the tennis season nears its end, players are looking to move up the rankings in order to end the year in the best position possible. For the women, their performances throughout the year could earn them qualification to the WTA finals which will be played in Shenzhen. Ashleigh Barty and Karolina Pliskova have already qualified for the finals. They are currently ranked number one and two respectively. The WTA has announced the third and fourth participants in Shenzhen to be Simona Halep and Bianca Andreescu.
Simona Halep
Halep and Andreescu have both won Grand Slam titles this year. Halep won her second major title at Wimbledon, defeating Serena Williams. She reached the finals at the Qatar Open in Doha and the Mutua Open in Madrid. The former world number one made a semi-final run in the Miami Open. This is the sixth time the Romanian is qualifying for the finals, but it will be her fifth appearance after pulling out last year due to a back injury. After her confirmation for the event, Halep said she was happy because qualifying for the tournament is one of her goals every season. She is looking forward to the event and playing in front of the fans in Shenzhen.
Bianca Andreescu
Andreescu will be making her first appearance at the WTA Finals. The Canadian won her first Grand Slam title at the US Open, also against Williams. In addition to the title, she has won the Indian Wells Open and the Rogers Cup in Toronto this year. Winning her first major title was a historical moment. She became the first Canadian to win a singles Grand Slam title. The current world number six is the second player to qualify for the tournament at 19 years of age, the other being Caroline Wozniacki in 2009. The Canadian has said she always dreamt of playing at the WTA finals and is proud of her achievements this year.
About the WTA Finals in Shenzhen
The 2019 Shiseido WTA Finals in Shenzhen will take place from October 27th to November 3rd. The tournament will have $14 million dollars in prize money. The eight singles players who will qualify for the tournament will be split into two groups of four players each. The players in each group will play each other in a round-robin format and the top two players will advance to the semi-finals. The winners of the semi-finals will compete for the Billie Jean King Trophy.
Bianca Vanessa Andreescu’s ranking and performance in 2019
Ranked no.6, Bianca Vanessa played her last match on the 7th of September when she beat Serena Williams 6-3 7-5 in the final in U.S. Open to win her 3rd career title.
This year Bianca Vanessa has a 43-4 win-loss record. Andreescu conquered 4 titles in 2019 in the Newport Beach, in Indian Wells, in Toronto and at the U.S. Open. The Canadian was the finalist in Auckland.
Halep in Beijing, ranking, and results in 2019
Ranked no.5, Halep has a 38-14 win-loss record in 2019. Simona is currently having a run in Beijing where she bested Rebecca Peterson 6-1 6-1.
Halep will fight against Alexandrova in the 2nd round. The head to head is 1-0 for Halep.
The last time that they squared off, Halep won 3-6 7-5 6-4 in the 2nd round in Cincinnati in 14th August 2019.
The Romanian has won 1 title in 2019 in Wimbledon. Simona was the finalist in Doha and in Madrid.
The Romanian won 19 titles in her career: 8 on hard courts, 7 on clay courts, 2 on indoor courts and 2 on grass courts. (See the list of her titles)
Bianca Vanessa Andreescu and Simona Halep have never played each other.
Bianca Vanessa Andreescu and Simona Halep |
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