NEWS AND COMMENTARY ON WOMEN'S PROFESSIONAL TENNIS
Thursday, October 6, 2011
Li qualifies for WTA Championships
French Open champion Li Na has become the fifth woman to qualify for the WTA Championships in Istanbul. There are three more players left to qualify. Right now, the 6th-, 7th- and 8th-ranked women are Vera Zvonareva, Sam Stosur and Marion Bartoli.
Excuse my ignorance (and potentially extreme stupidity :) ), but can you explain how the women are being chosen to compete? I'm confused - I thought it was a matter of rankings, and the top 8 made it. Is it up in the air because of the final few tournaments (leaving open the possibility that someone of lower rank may earn enough points to pass one of the last 3)? Is that actually mathematically possible at this date?
The rankings carry over through a year, but the "race" reflects the points players get within the current season. Hence, a player can have a higher or lower "race to the Championships" ranking than her actual WTA ranking.
Whether someone else can break through to the top 8 for Istanbul at this point, I don't really know because I haven't had time to do the math. I rather doubt it.
Excuse my ignorance (and potentially extreme stupidity :) ), but can you explain how the women are being chosen to compete? I'm confused - I thought it was a matter of rankings, and the top 8 made it. Is it up in the air because of the final few tournaments (leaving open the possibility that someone of lower rank may earn enough points to pass one of the last 3)? Is that actually mathematically possible at this date?
ReplyDeleteRebecca
The rankings carry over through a year, but the "race" reflects the points players get within the current season. Hence, a player can have a higher or lower "race to the Championships" ranking than her actual WTA ranking.
ReplyDeleteWhether someone else can break through to the top 8 for Istanbul at this point, I don't really know because I haven't had time to do the math. I rather doubt it.
Oh, okay. Thank you for the explanation!
ReplyDeleteRebecca