Anna-Lena Grönefeld (Nordhorn) and her Czech double partner Kveta Peschke failed in their opening match at the WTA final in Singapore. The duo lost to top seeded Martina Hingis and Yung-Jan Chan 3:6,2:6 on Thursday in the quarter-finals of the top eight teams in 2017.
The Swiss and Taiwanese had won the US Open in New York in September. The 37-year-old Hingis announced on Thursday that her career will be terminated for the third time after the tournament in Singapore. The semi-final opponents of Hingis/Chan are Timea Babos from Hungary and Czech Andrea Hlavackova (No. 3), who defeated Andreja Klepac (Slovenia) and Maria Jose Martinez Sanchez 6:3,6:4.
In contrast to the single competition, the double competition in the Asian city-state is held in the knock-out system. Fed Cup player Grönefeld (32) had qualified for the unofficial World Cup for the first time. Together with ten years older Peschke, the Hanoverian-born campaigner had won the tournament in Prague in 2017.
The two-time mixed-grand-slam winner Grönefeld, who finished her single career on tour in 2011, is the only German player in Singapore. Last year’s finalist Angelique Kerber (Kiel) missed the jump into the eight-man single field this time.