2023 WTA Elite Trophy Entry List With Keys, Kasatkina, Ostapenko & more

17/10/2023 02:46 | by Nurein Ahmed

The 2023 WTA Elite Trophy will take place from October 22nd to 29th in Zhuhai, China, at the Hengqin Tennis Center.

It is the second-tier year-end tournament on the WTA Tour contested by 12 singles players who are placed in four round-robin groups of three. The qualifying criterion is based on ranking points accrued during the season from 16 tournaments, with the Top 11 players who missed out on the WTA Finals earning direct entry.

Of the 16 tournaments, results from the four Grand Slam tournaments, the four WTA 1000 mandatory tournaments, and the best results from two WTA 1000 non-mandatory tournaments (for the Top 20 players at the end of 2022) will be factored in.

The 12th member can either be the 12th player who failed to qualify for the WTA Finals or a wild card. The WTA Elite Trophy has been a staple on the calendar since 2009, initially as the WTA Tournament of Champions which was played under a different format before it was replaced with the new format in 2015.

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Aryna Sabalenka won the last staging of this event in 2019 before it was suspended in subsequent years due to the coronavirus pandemic in mainland China. The Belarusian won't be competing this year as she will be playing at the WTA Finals.

Now in its sixth edition under the current format, we are guaranteed a new champion, following Petra Kvitova's withdrawal. So far, nine players have already qualified. The first is Madison Keys, a champion in Eastbourne and a semifinalist at the 2023 US Open. Keys will be joined by Grand Slam champions Barbora Krejcikova and Jelena Ostapenko.

The crafty Czech picked up titles in Dubai (WTA 1000) and San Diego (WTA 500). While the big-hitting Latvian lifted the crown in Birmingham. Russian trio of Liudmila Samsonova, Daria Kasatkina, and Veronika Kudermetova will also join the 12-woman party in Zhuhai.

France's Caroline Garcia did not qualify for the WTA Finals where she is the defending champion, but will play at the WTA Elite Trophy for a third time. Brazil's Beatriz Haddad Maia and China's newest superstar Qinwen Zheng will make their debuts.

Three more names are yet to be determined. We could also see some withdrawals from the current entry list. For instance, Barbora Krejcikova qualified in doubles at the WTA Finals in Cancun (which follows this tournament), so she might pull out from the WTA Elite Trophy.

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