SINGAPORE A supremely unpredictable women’s tennis season will culminate in fitting style at the elite WTA Finals, where seven out of eight players can win the trophy and also be crowned year-end world number one.Simona Halep, who became 2017’s fifth number one earlier this month, leads a field which also throws up the beguiling possibility of Venus Williams, 37, returning to the top of the rankings for the first time since 2002.Women’s tennis has been on a rollercoaster ride this year, with four different major-winners and no player able to dominate in the absence of Serena Williams, who took a break to give birth to her first child.
Halep said the result was that every match would be “like a final” in Singapore, where action gets underway at the Indoor Stadium on Sunday.Garbine Muguruza, Karolina Pliskova, Elina Svitolina, Caroline Wozniacki and Jelena Ostapenko can also become world number one at the tournament, while Caroline Garcia becomes the first Frenchwoman to reach the Finals.”We have the top eight players in the world, and everyone is playing crazy tennis. I just want to go there and to try to win every match I can,” said Romania’s Halep.
Wimbledon champion Muguruza was deposed as world number one by Halep but she said she would have to be at her very best if she wants to win the year-end trophy and rankings crown on October 29.
