JUST a month remains in the WTA Tour season until the 2021 WTA Finals takes place in Guadalajara, Mexico. The best eight players contest in a best-of-the-best event, but will this year’s event be just that? We take a look at those in the top eight spots, and who might earn a place there.

Qualified WTA Finalists

#1 Ash Barty (Australia) 6411 points / 12 tournaments / 5 titles

It is hard to believe that anyone could doubt the Australian is the best in the world right now, but looking at pure numbers, it is made all the more remarkable by the fact she has the most WTA Tour titles this year, and the least tournaments played of any of the top ranked players (outside Naomi Osaka). Five titles from 12 tournaments including her second Grand Slam title at Wimbledon, Barty would be outright favourite to win the event with her all-round game and superb athleticism. But will she even play? Barty is back home in Australia spending time with family and friends after a tough year, and has skipped both Indian Wells and the Billie Jean King Cup, weighing up if she returns to play the WTA Finals.

#2 Aryna Sabalenka (Belarus) 4669 points / 16 tournaments / 2 titles

The Belarusian has copped a lot of flak over her career for her lack of major titles, and whilst she did not win a Grand Slam this year, she reached semi-finals at both Wimbledon and the US Open, and won the WTA 1000 Madrid Open – the biggest title of her career – by defeating Barty in the final, a week after losing to her in Stuttgart. Possessing more power than anyone else on Tour, Sabalenka only knows one way, and if she is missing her shots she can stumble, but is hard to contain when she is on fire.

#3 Barbora Krejcikova (Czech Republic) 4398 points / 15 tournaments / 3 titles

Who saw this coming? Very few would have come even close to predicting that the star doubles player would be the third best performed player of the year and ranked inside the Top 5 a year ago. In fact, Krejcikova was ranked 75th at year’s end last year, after being 135th at the end of 2019. To put it in perspective, heading into 2021, the 25-year-old had played 40 matches with a 20-20 WTA Tour record over seven seasons. In 2021, she has won 42 of a possible 54 matches, dominated on clay to win Strasbourg then a remarkable Roland Garros title, before capping it off with a win in Prague on the hard court. Winning 20 of a possible 21 matches from May 23 to July 18, it was an unbelievable effort.

#4 Karolina Pliskova (Czech Republic) 3972 points / 16 tournaments / 0 titles

It has been an odd year for the top ranked Czech in the fact that she has unassumingly been the third ranked player in 2021 despite not really dominating at any stage. The 29-year-old is yet to win a title in 2021, and despite that, has still just put together a consistent year of 34-17. Reaching the Wimbledon final helped, as did the WTA 1000 finals in Rome and Montreal. Unlike many other top players, Pliskova does not lose easily, and is yet to lose in a first round this year.

Almost safe

#5 Maria Sakkari (Greece) 3147 points / 15 tournaments / 0 titles

Listening to The Tennis Podcast lately, the topic of discussion was Maria Sakkari reaching the Top 10 in the world for the first time. After praising her work, it was almost in awe of the fact that “she doesn’t really win titles, does she?” which is shockingly true. Unlike Krejcikova, who broke through for her first three singles WTA Tour titles this year, Sakkari just has the one, and has not won a title in 2021, yet finds herself ninth overall and fifth in the WTA Finals race. She has dominated her way to a 34-16 record this year, reaching the semi-finals at Roland Garros and the US Open, as well as the Miami 1000 and recent WTA 500 event in Ostrava. A remarkable year considering she lost first round at the Australian Open.

#6 Garbine Muguruza (Spain) 3141 points / 16 tournaments / 2 titles

What a resurgence from the two-time Grand Slam winner who has pieced together a couple of consistent seasons winning 60-22 since drifting outside the Top 30 at the end of 2019. In 2021, Muguruza reached four finals, losing the first two at the Yarra Valley Classic and Doha, before bounding back with a win in Dubai over Krejcikova, and then claiming the victory against Ons Jabeur in Chicago recently to maintain her spot inside the Top 10 again. She might not quite be able to beat the best couple if they are at their best, but she has the firepower to still do damage.

#7 Iga Swiatek (Poland) 3106 points / 13 tournaments / 2 titles

Winning a Grand Slam unexpectedly can often place ridiculous expectations on a young player that derails a career – see Sloane Stephens – and that was the worry when 19-year-old Swiatek claimed Roland Garros in a fortnight that was as equally dominant as it was surprising. Fortunately, the Pole has backed up her title with a superb year, winning 33 of a possible 45 matches, and rising to a career-high fourth following her semi-final appearance at Ostrava. Her two titles have come in Adelaide earlier this year, then the Rome 1000 event to defeat Pliskova and bolster her ranking further. Her record in finals is absolutely outstanding, with a 9-1 record between the ITF and WTA Tours.

Last spot up for grabs

The eighth spot is well and truly up for grabs, with the injured Osaka currently holding it despite playing just nine tournaments this year. Tunisian Ons Jabeur is the closest to the pin in ninth and likely to take her spot, with virtually nothing between Belgium’s Elise Mertens, Russia’s Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova and Ukraine’s Elina Svitolina who would all be worthy WTA Tour finalists. By far the most remarkable would be Great Britain’s Emma Raducanu who has almost exclusively earned her points from her US Open triumph, sitting in 15th, but a good run at Indian Wells would put her right in contention. Add in fellow teenager Coco Gauff, as well as vastly improved pair in United States’ Jessica Pegula and Anett Kontaveit, and the field is wide open for that last spot. If Barty does not play, then two spots are up for grabs in Mexico.

Picture credit: Livesport Prague Open