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Nicolas Atkin

The WTA Finals is about to kick off in Singapore for the fifth and final time, and here is everything you need to know about the tournament.
The season-ending event, which is moving to Shenzhen in 2019, runs from October 21 to October 28 at the Singapore Indoor Stadium.
Shenzhen has struck a 10-year deal with the WTA to become the 10th host city of the WTA Finals since its inauguration in 1972. This is the 48th edition of the singles tournament, and 43rd edition of the doubles competition.

Who has qualified?
The top eight singles players and top eight doubles teams on the Race to Singapore leaderboards have qualified.
For the singles, world No 1 Simona Halep pulled out of the tournament on Thursday, meaning Kiki Bertens has moved up from alternate to the eighth qualifier.
She joins Wimbledon champion Angelique Kerber, US Open champion Naomi Osaka, Petra Kvitova, Australian Open champion Caroline Wozniacki, Sloane Stephens, Elina Svitolina and Krolina Pliskova. Aryna Sabalenka, the next highest-ranked player on the Race to Singapore leaderboard, is listed as the only current alternate. She will step in as a replacement if any singles player is unable to compete.

How the doubles @Porsche #RaceToSingapore looks with the out. pic.twitter.com/YiPc4x5Glq
— WTA (@WTA) October 15, 2018

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Prize money
There isUS$7 million in prize money on offer this year, which will double to US$14 million in 2019 in Shenzhen.
All singles players receive US$153,000 per round robin win and US$151,000 if they play all three matches. Players will receive US$130,000 for playing two matches, and US$110,000 for playing one match.

Final 8! #yearendchampionships #singapore pic.twitter.com/Ih6ARCEFZK
— Caroline Wozniacki (@CaroWozniacki) October 19, 2018

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Alternates receive US$109,000 for playing two matches, US$89,000 for playing one match, and US$68,000 even if they do not play a match.
The winner of the singles competition will receive an extra US$1.75 million, with the runner-up taking home US$590,000. Losing semi-finalists get US$40,000.
In the doubles, the champions get US$500,000, the runners-up receive US$260,000, the semi-finalists take US$157,500 and quarter-finalists get US$81,250.

Points
For the singles, all players receive 250 points per round robin win, and 125 points per round robin loss. Losing semi-finalists get another 125 points, while the champion gets 750 points and the runner-up gets 330 points.
In the doubles, the champions receive 1,500 points; the runners-up get 1,080 points; semi-finalists get 750 points; and quarter-finalists get 375 points.
Draw
The draw for the two singles groups took place on Friday at the Marina Bay Sands Hotel.
The Red Group consists of Kerber, Osaka, Stephens and Bertens, while the White Group contains Wozniacki, Kvitova, Svitolina and Pliskova.
The doubles draw ceremony takes place at 6pm on Tuesday, October 23.
Schedule
First up on Sunday is the White Group, with Kvitova v Svitolina followed by Wozniacki v Pliskova.
The Red Group begin on Monday, with Osaka facing Stephens before Kerber takes on Bertens.

Format
The singles competition will feature eight players split into two groups of four, in a round-robin format. Each player will meet the other three players in her group over the first four days, with the top two players in each group progressing to the semi-finals.
The first-placed player in each group will face the second-placed player in the other group, with the winners of each semi-final facing each other in the championship match.
For the doubles, teams will compete in a single elimination event, starting at the quarter-finals stage.

Tiebreaking methods
The final standings for each singles group in the round robin stage are determined by most wins, and then most matches played.
In the event of two players being tied on points at the end of the round robin stage, head-to-head results will be used to determine who qualifies for the semi-finals.
If three players are tied then a player having played less than all three matches is automatically eliminated. The winner of the match between the two remaining tied players will progress.
If the players are still tied, then it goes to highest percentage of sets won, and then highest percentage of games won.
Odds
Osaka is $5 to win the tournament with Oddschecker, while Kerber, defending champion Wozniacki and Petra Kvitova are at $6.5.

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WTA Finals

WTA Finals Singapore 2018: prize money, players, points, draw, schedule, format and odds

From left to right: Karolina Pliskova, Sloane Stephens, Naomi Osaka, Angelique Kerber, Caroline Wozniacki, Petra Kvitova, Elina Svitolina, and Kiki Bertens at the singles draw ceremony for the WTA Finals at the Marina Bay Sands Hotel in Singapore. Photo: AFP

Caroline Wozniacki of Denmark arrives for the singles draw ceremony of the WTA Tennis Finals in Singapore October 19, 2018. REUTERS/Edgar Su

The WTA Finals 2018 Schedule

epa07104602 Naomi Osaka of Japan enters the ballroom for the singles draw ceremony of the BNP Paribas WTA Finals 2018 held at the Marina Bay Sands Hotel in Singapore, 19 October 2018. The BNP Paribas WTA Finals 2018 will take place from 21-28 October 2018 at the Singapore Indoor Stadium. EPA-EFE/WALLACE WOON

epa07104604 (L-R) Karolina Pliskova of the Czech Republic, Sloane Stephens of the USA, Naomi Osaka of Japan, Angelique Kerber of Germany, Caroline Wozniacki of Denmark, Petra Kvitova of the Czech Republic, Elina Svitolina of Ukraine, and Kiki Bertens of the Netherlands are pictured flanking the Billie Jean King Trophy during the singles draw ceremony for the BNP Paribas WTA Finals 2018 held at the Marina Bay Sands Hotel in Singapore, 19 October 2018. The BNP Paribas WTA Finals 2018 will take place from 21-28 October 2018 at the Singapore Indoor Stadium. EPA-EFE/WALLACE WOON

WTA Finals: Simona Halep withdraws from Singapore with back injury as Kiki Bertens joins field

Simona Halep receives medical treatment during her second round match against Dominika Cibulkova at the Wuhan Open. Photo: EPA

epa07046324 Simona Halep of Romania receives medical assistance during her second round match against Dominika Cibulkova of Slovakia at the 2018 WTA Wuhan Open tennis tournament in Wuhan city, Hubei province, China, 25 September 2018. EPA-EFE/WU HONG

Simona Halep, of Romania waves to spectators after retiring with her back injury during her first round of the women's singles match against Ons Jabeur of Tunisia in the China Open tennis tournament in Beijing, Sunday, Sept. 30, 2018. (Jia Haocheng/Xinhua via AP)

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Tennis


The season-ending event kicks off this weekend for the final time in Singapore, before moving to Shenzhen in 2018
Naomi Osaka early favourite ahead of Angelique Kerber and champion Caroline Wozniacki




The season-ending event kicks off this weekend for the final time in Singapore, before moving to Shenzhen in 2018



WTA (Women's Tennis Association)