WTA: Strong competition for Kerber and Görges in Zhuhai

Angelique Kerber and Julia Görges compete at the WTA Elite Trophy in Zhuhai (from 31st place) October) with US Open winner Sloane Stephens, among others. The single wildcard receives local heroine Shuai Peng.

There’s no doubt that the “little sister” in Zhuhai can’t compete with the glamour of the WTA finals in Singapore. Angelique Kerber, who was the first to reach the World Cup finals last year as the world’s number one, will be particularly impressed by the differences.

Julia Görges shows that travelling to the Far East can also be an unexpected reward. The new German number one won her Zhuhai ticket at the last minute, and in Moscow “Jule” won a tournament on the WTA Tour for the first time in six and a half years.

Kristina Mladenovic, Coco Vandeweghe and Sloane Stephens lead the field in the Chinese tourist town. Because Johanna Contacts, Svetlana Kuznetsova and Madison Keys have already finished their season, Ashleigh Barty, Magdalena Rybarikova and Barbora Strycova are moving up.

Last year’s winner Petra Kvitova, Agnieszka Radwanska and Dominika Cibulkova are not included – the latter two had won the season finale in Singapore in 2015 and 2016.

The individual competition will be held in four groups of three players each, with the four group winners qualified for the semi-finals. The six doubles play in two groups, each of which is a group winner who qualifies directly for the final.