WTA Finals: No wild card for Grand Slam champions Sloane Stephens and Jelena Ostapenko in Singapore
by Andy Schooler
Grand Slam champions Sloane Stephens and Jelena Ostapenko will not be able to rely on any ‘wild card’ if they are to play at this year’s WTA Finals.
US Open winner Stephens currently sits down in 13th place on the WTA’s season-long ‘Race to Singapore’ which is used to determine the qualifiers for the prestigious, season-ending event, while Ostapenko is on the borderline in seventh.
While the top seven on the Race come mid-October are guaranteed a place in the eight-woman field, WTA rules give the organisers leeway to invite one player finishing outside that bracket.
Were they to finish eighth or lower, both Stephens and Ostapenko would be prime candidates, but the WTA has confirmed that it will not be taking up its option of such a ‘wild card’ pick.
A WTA spokeswoman told sportinglife.com: “The rule will not be applied.
“All singles players qualify for the WTA Finals according to the points they win in the season-long race, the Porsche Race to Singapore.”
With Stephens almost 1,000 points behind Konta in the Race standings, it seems unlikely the US Open champion will now be in Singapore.
The last time an active Grand Slam champion did not qualify for the WTA Finals was in 2009 when Kim Clijsters won the US Open in what was just her third tournament after coming out of retirement.
On that occasion, Clijsters did not receive an invite either.
So far, six players have sealed their places in the field, Caroline Wozniacki becoming the latest to qualify at the weekend. She will join Garbine Muguruza, Simona Halep, Karolina Pliskova, Elina Svitolina and Venus Williams in Singapore.
Ostapenko and Briton Johanna Konta currently occupy the two remaining qualifying positions which will be settled over the next three weeks.
Meanwhile, Manchester will have to wait until next year to see if its bid to stage the event in 2019 and beyond is successful or not.
It was revealed earlier in the year that the English city had expressed an interest in hosting the WTA Finals after the five-year deal with Singapore runs out at the end of next season.
The WTA spokeswoman said: “A number of destinations have indicated a strong interest in hosting the WTA Finals from 2019. It’s too early in the process to comment further, as we’re still in the process of receiving bids. We will provide an update once more information is known in 2018.”
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