The Women’s tennis season is drawing to a close as the WTA Finals have already kick-started in Riyadh. The tournament is not only awarding a hefty sum in prize money, but it will also determine the year-end No. 1.
Iga Swiatek, who recently lost the top spot to Aryna Sabalenka because of skipping mandatory tournaments, is aiming to defend her title and reclaim her position. The WTA Finals is Swiatek’s first tournament in two months. She last played in the US Open in September.
Swiatek remained undefeated in the last edition, held in Cancun, and secured her first WTA Finals title with a defeat over Jessica Pegula, who once again qualified for this year’s event. Sabalenka, following a series of impressive performances in the tournaments preceding the WTA Finals, has arrived in Riyadh as a favorite to win.
The Pole can end the year as World No. 1 if she wins all three group stage matches. Sabalenka, however, has to progress to the final, even if she loses a match or two in the group stag,e to stay on top of the rankings. Other players who have qualified for the year-end event are Coco Gauff, Jasmine Paolini, Elena Rybakina, Qinwen Zheng, and Barbora Krejcikova.
The total prize pool for the WTA Finals is $15.25 million, while last year, it was $9 million. The winner of the WTA Finals will earn a record $4.45 million and can even take home $5,155,000 if she wins the tournament undefeated. The winner will also surpass Ash Barty, who bagged $4.42 million after winning the WTA Finals in 2019.
Below is the full breakdown of the prize money for the WTA Finals in singles and doubles:
Undefeated Champion | $5.15m |
Final Win | $2.5m |
Semifinals Win | $1.27m |
Round Robin Win | $350,000 |
Participant Fee | $335,000 |
Iga Swiatek, the winner of the 2023 WTA Finals, took home $3,078,000, while runner-up Jessica Pegula earned $1,602,000.
Doubles
Undefeated Champion | $1.125m |
Final Win | $520,000 |
Semifinals Win | $255,000 |
Round Robin Win | $70,000 |
Participant Fee | $140,000 |
In doubles, Laura Siegemund and Vera Zvonareva won the tournament last year but they failed to qualify this season. They defeated Nicole Melichar-Martinez and Ellen Perez in straight sets in the final. The pair of Melichar-Martinez and Perez are the sixth seed in the tournament.
The other participants are Lyudmyla Kichenok/Jelena Ostapenko , Gabriela Dabrowski/Erin Routliffe, Hsieh Su-wei/Elise Mertens, Sara Errani/ Jasmine Paolini, Caroline Dolehide/Desirae Krawczyk, Chan Hao-ching/Veronika Kudermetova, and Katerina Siniakova/ Taylor Townsend.
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