2011 WTA Tour Championships

2011 WTA Tour Championships
Date	October 24 – October 30
Edition	41st (singles) / 36th (doubles)
Location	Istanbul
2010 Champions
Singles
Kim Clijsters
Doubles
Gisela Dulko / Flavia Pennetta

The 2011 WTA Tour Championships (also known for sponsorship reasons as the 2011 TEB-BNP Paribas WTA Championships.) is a tennis tournament to be played at Istanbul, Turkey from October 24 to October 30, 2011. It will be the first time that Turkey has host the WTA Tour Championships. It will be the forty first edition of the singles event and the thirty sixth edition of the doubles competition. The event will be the season ending championships on the 2011 WTA Tour. The end of year championships will be held at the Sinan Erdem Dome and will be contested by eight players in the singles draw and four teams in the doubles event.

Tournament

Sinan Erdem Dome will host the WTA Championships for the first time in 2011.

The 2011 WTA Championships will take place at the Sinan Erdemto from the 24 to the 30 October 2011. It is the forty-first edition of the event. The tournament is jointly run by the Women's Tennis Association (WTA) and is part of the 2011 WTA Tour. It is the season ending championships for the WTA. The singles draw will see the eight qualifying women split into two groups of four. The groups will be played in a round robin format with each player playing three matches. The top two from each group will progress to the semifinals which will be conducted in a knockout format, with group winners taking on group runners up. The doubles competiton sees the top four teams play, in a straight knockout format played from the semifinal stage.

Format

The singles event at the TEB BNP Paribas WTA Championships, which features eight players, begins as a round robin event, with four players in the Red Pool and four in the White Pool. Over the first four days of competition, each player meets the other three players in their pool, with the Top 2 in each pool of four moving on to the semifinals. The first-placed player in one group meets the second-placed player in the other group, and vice versa. The winners of each semifinal meet in the championship match.

Round Robin Tie-breaking Methods

The final standings of each group shall be determined by the first of the following methods that apply:

1. Greatest number of wins
2. Greatest number of matches played; or
3. Head-to-head results if only two players are tied, or if three players are tied then:

a. If three players each have the same number of wins, a player having played less than all three matches is automatically eliminated and the player advancing to the single elimination competition is the winner of the match-up of the two remaining tied players; or

b. Highest percentage of sets won; or

c. Highest percentage of games won

The doubles event at the TEB BNP Paribas WTA Championships, which features four teams, is a single elimination draw, beginning with the semifinal round.

Prize money & points

The total prize money for the 2011 Sony Ericsson Championships is 4.9 million United States dollars.

Stage	Singles	Doubles	Points 1
Champion	RR2 + $1,295,000	$375,000	RR2 + 810
Runner-up	RR2 + $435,000	$187,500	RR2 + 360
Semifinalist	RR2 + $35,000	$93,750	RR2
Round Robin (3 wins)	$455,000	-	690
Round Robin (2 wins)	$340,000	–	530
Round Robin (1 win)	$225,000	–	370
Round Robin (0 wins)	$110,000	–	210
Alternates	$50,000	–

• ¹ for every match played in the round robin a player gets 70 points automatically, and for each round robin win they get 160 additional points
• ² RR means Prize money or Points won in the Round Robin Round. RR for doubles is 690

Qualified players

Singles

Race Singles (as of October 24, 2011)
Rk	Player	Points	Tours	Date Qualified
1	Caroline Wozniacki (DEN)	7,395	21	5 September
2	Maria Sharapova (RUS)	6,370	14	5 September
3	Petra Kvitová (CZE)	5,970	18	1 October
4	Victoria Azarenka (BLR)	5,750	19	1 October
5	Li Na (CHN)	5,351	17	5 October
6	Vera Zvonareva (RUS)	5,190	20	9 October
7	Samantha Stosur (AUS)	5,115	20	9 October
8	Agnieszka Radwańska (POL)	4,940	19	21 October

On September 5, Caroline Wozniacki and Maria Sharapova became the first two players to qualify for the championships.

Caroline Wozniacki leads the tour with the 62-15 record this year

Caroline Wozniacki won 6 singles titles in the year, more than any other player. She began the year with a loss at the Medibank International Sydney to Dominika Cibulková. She then reached three consecutive finals at the Dubai Tennis Championships deafeating Svetlana Kuznetsova 6–1, 6–3, Qatar Ladies Open losing to Vera Zvonareva 4–6, 4–6, and Indian Wells beating Marion Bartoli 6–1, 2–6, 6–3. Her 3rd title came at the Family Circle Cup, where she won against unseeded Elena Vesnina 6–2, 6–3. She then lost to Julia Görges 6–7^(3–7), 3–6 at the Porsche Tennis Grand Prix. Her 4th and 5th singles title were at the Brussels Open defeating Peng Shuai 2–6, 6–3, 6–3, and her home tournament the e-Boks Sony Ericsson Open defeating Lucie Šafářová 6–1, 6–4. However, she had a 3-match losing streak in the summer season before winning the New Haven Open at Yale against Petra Cetkovská 6-4, 6-1 for the 4th consecutive time. At the Slams, Wozniacki reached the semis of the Australian Open and the US Open, falling to Li Na 3–6, 7–5, 6–3 after failing to convert a match point and Serena Williams 6–2, 6–4 respectively. However, she suffered early exits in the third round of the French Open to Daniela Hantuchová 6–1, 6–3 and the fourth round of the Wimbledon to Dominika Cibulková 1–6, 7–6^(7–5), 7–5. This is her third appearance at the event, with her best result in 2010 when she reached the final.

Maria Sharapova qualified for the fifth time

Maria Sharapova regained some of her form by performing consistently throughout the year with two Premier-5 titles. Sharapova was crowned Internazionali BNL d'Italia on red clay, by beating World no. 1 Caroline Wozniacki 7–5, 6–3 in the semis and sixth-seeded Samantha Stosur 6–2, 6–4 in the final. Her second title came at the Western & Southern Open, where she defeated fellow former World No. 1 Jelena Janković 4–6, 7–6^(7–3), 6–3 in two hours and 49 minutes, making it the longest WTA tour final this year. She also made 2 other finals at the Sony Ericsson Open, losing to Victoria Azarenka 1–6, 4–6 and the final of the Wimbledon Championships, losing to Petra Kvitová 3–6, 4–6. This was also her first Grand Slam final appearance since winning the 2008 Australian Open . At the other Slams, Sharapova reached the Semifinals of the French Open, falling to eventual champion Li Na 4–6, 5–7, but fell early in the fourth round of the Australian Open, losing 2–6, 3–6 to Andrea Petkovic, and the third round of the US Open, beaten by Flavia Pennetta 3–6, 6–3, 4–6. This is the first time since 2007 that she has been qualified for the Championships. She has never lost before the semifinals in her previous four appearances, with her best result on her debut at the event, beating Serena Williams in 2004.

On October 1, Petra Kvitová and Victoria Azarenka qualified for the championships.

Petra Kvitová became the first Slam champion born in the 90's

Petra Kvitová had her best season yet by winning five titles. She began the year by winning the Brisbane International, defeating Andrea Petkovic 6–1, 6–3. She then reached a quarter-finals at the Australian Open, upsetting 5th seed Samantha Stosur 7–6^(7–5), 6–3 in the third round before losing to Vera Zvonareva 2–6, 4–6. She then won the Open GDF Suez, defeating Kim Clijsters 6–4, 6–3. She then lost 4 of her next 5 matches before winning the Mutua Madrid Open defeating Victoria Azarenka 7–6^(7–3), 6–4 in the final. Later, she fell in the fourth round of the French Open to eventual champion Li Na 2–6, 6–1, 6–3. She then reached the final of the AEGON International, losing to Marion Bartoli 1–6, 6–4, 5–7. Her most significant title came by winning the Wimbledon over Maria Sharapova 6–3, 6–4 in the final. After the triumph, she lost back-to-back third round matches to Andrea Petkovic in the US Open Series before becoming the first Wimbledon champion ever to fall in the first round of the US Open to Alexandra Dulgheru 7–6^(7–3), 6–3. She then won her fifth title of the year at the Generali Ladies Linz, defeating Slovakian Dominika Cibulková 6–4, 6–1. This is her debut at the championships.

Victoria Azarenka reached a new career-high of world no. 3

Victoria Azarenka won three titles this year. She picked up her second Sony Ericsson Open trophy after defeating Maria Sharapova in the final 6–1, 6–4 and upsetting 2nd seed Kim Clijsters and 3rd seed Vera Zvonareva earlier. She then won her first clay title the following week at the Andalucia Tennis Experience, defeating Irina-Camelia Begu in the final 6–3, 6–2. She then claimed a title before the championships at the BGL Luxembourg Open defeating Monica Niculescu 6-2, 6-2. She reached another final at the Mutua Madrid Open, losing to Petra Kvitová in the final 7–6^(7–3), 6–4. Azarenka reached her first Slam semifinal at Wimbledon losing to eventual champion Petra Kvitová 6–1, 3–6, 6–2. At the other Slams, she lost in the fourth round of the Australian Open and the quarterfinal of the French Open both to Li Na, and the third round of the 2011 US Open to Serena Williams 6–1, 7–6^(7–5). Azarenka is making her third consecutive appearance at the event.

Li Na became the first Chinese player to reach a Grand Slam singles final

On October 5, Li Na became the fifth player to qualify for the championships.

Li Na has had her memorable yet very inconsistent year. She started the year by winning Sydney defeating Kim Clijsters in the final 7–6⁽³⁾, 6–3 and reaching the final of the Australian Open, upsetting world no. 1 Caroline Wozniacki in the semi-finals, but losing to Kim Clijsters 6–3, 3–6, 3–6. However, she lost her next 4 matches before bouncing back in the European clay season, reaching the semifinals of the Mutua Madrid Open and Internazionali BNL d'Italia. Li then won her first Grand Slam title and become the first Grand Slam singles champion born in an Asian country at the French Open, defeating defending champion Francesca Schiavone 6–4, 7–6^(7–0) in the final. Following her French Open victory, she has had disappointing results for the rest of the year with the 5–7 record, including the second round lost at Wimbledon to Sabine Lisicki 6–3, 4–6, 6–8 and the first round defeat from Simona Halep 6–2, 7–5 at the US Open. Li is making her debut at the tournament after being an alternate last year.

Vera Zvonareva reached the semifinals of Australian Open

On October 9, Vera Zvonareva and Samantha Stosur qualified for the championships.

Vera Zvonareva was not able to duplicate her 2010 season in 2011, however, she won two titles this year to one in the previous year. She won her first title in over a year at the Qatar Ladies Open, defeating world no. 1 Caroline Wozniacki 6–4, 6–4 in the final. She then won her second title at the Baku Cup, beating her compatriot Ksenia Pervak in the final 6–1, 6–4. She reached two other finals in the Mercury Insurance Open and the 2011 Toray Pan Pacific Open, both losing to Agnieszka Radwańska with a scoreline of 6–3, 6–4 and 6–3, 6–2, respectively. At the Slams, her best result was reaching the semi-finals of the Australian Open, losing to Kim Clijsters 6–3, 6–3. She also lost in the quarterfinals of the US Open to Samantha Stosur 6–3, 6–3, the fourth round of the French Open to Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova 7–6^(7–4), 2–6, 6–2 , and the third round of the Wimbledon to Tsvetana Pironkova 6–2, 6–3. Zvonareva is making her fifth appearance at the Championships. Her best result was reaching the final in 2008.

Samantha Stosur wins her first slam

Samantha Stosur did not enjoy a successful first half of the year, failing to reach a semifinal of any event until the Porsche Tennis Grand Prix in April. She then reached her first final of the year at the Internazionali BNL d'Italia, losing to Maria Sharapova 6–2, 6–4, despite having not lost a set before the final. She reached her second final at the Rogers Cup before falling to Serena Williams 6–4, 6–2 in the final. In September, she became the winner of the US Open after beating the heavy favorite Serena Williams in the final in straight sets 6–2, 6–3, to win her maiden Slam title. She also became the first Australian woman to win a Slam since Evonne Goolagong Cawley won Wimbledon in 1980. She then reached the final of the HP Open losing to Marion Bartoli 6–3, 6–1. In the other Slams, she fell in the third rounds of the Australian Open to Petra Kvitová 7–6^(7–5), 6–3 and French Open to Gisela Dulko 6–4, 1–6, 6–3, and the first round of the Wimbledon to 262nd ranked Melinda Czink 6–3, 6–4. Stosur is making her second appearance at the event, after the semifinals' appearance in 2010.

Agnieszka Radwańska qualifies for the first time

On October 21, Agnieszka Radwańska became the last to qualify after Marion Bartoli withdrew in her quarterfinal match in Kremlin Cup

Agnieszka Radwańska reached three finals in 2011 and won all of them, thus ending her 3 year-title drought. Her first title of the year came in the Mercury Insurance Open, where she defeated top seed Vera Zvonareva 6–3, 6–4 in the final. In the Asian swing season, she won back-to-back titles in the Toray Pan Pacific Open over Vera Zvonareva 6–3, 6–2 and the China Open over Andrea Petkovic 7–5, 0–6, 6–4, winning her biggest title so far. At the slams, Radwanska was able to reach her fourth slam quarterfinal at the Australian Open losing to eventual champion Kim Clijsters 6–3, 7–6^(7–4). However, she fell short in the fourth round of the French Open to Maria Sharapova 7–6^(7–4), 7–5, the second rounds of both the Wimbledon to Petra Cetkovská 3–6, 7–6^(7–5), 6–4, and the US Open to Angelique Kerber 6–3, 4–6, 6–3. She is making her third appearance, having played as the alternate here in 2008 and 2009.

The first alternate for the championships is Frenchwomen Marion Bartoli, who has reached 5 finals in the year. She reached her first Premier Mandatory final at the BNP Paribas Open losing to Caroline Wozniacki 6–1, 2–6, 6–3, then lost her next final at the Internationaux de Strasbourg to Andrea Petkovic retiring being down 6–4, 1–0. She then won her first title since 2009 at the AEGON International defeating Petra Kvitová 6–1, 4–6, 7–5. At Wimbledon, she lost to Sabine Lisicki 6–4, 6–7^(4–7), 6–1 in the quarterfinal after upsetting Serena Williams in the previous round. On the contrary, she fell to Serena Williams in the final of the Bank of the West Classic. She then won her second title of the year at the 2011 HP Open defeating Samantha Stosur 6–3, 6–1 in the final. At the 2011 French Open, she reached her second career slam semifinal. The second alternate is Andrea Petkovic, who is enjoying her best season so far by cracking the top 10. She won her lone title of the year at the Internationaux de Strasbourg over Marion Bartoli. She then reached two other final, at the Brisbane International losing to Petra Kvitová 6–1, 6–3 and the final of the China Open losing to Agnieszka Radwańska 7–5, 0–6, 6–4 in her first Premier Mandatory final. At the slams she was able to reach the quarterfinals in 3 of the 4 majors excluding Wimbledon.

Doubles

Race Doubles (as of October 17, 2011)
Current Rank	Players	Points to Qualify	Points	Tours	Date Qualified
1	Květa Peschke (CZE) Katarina Srebotnik (SLO)	8,291	9,291	19	5 September
2	Liezel Huber (USA) Lisa Raymond (USA)	6,423	6,773	15	1 October
3	Gisela Dulko (ARG) Flavia Pennetta (ITA)	5,706	5,776	13	11 October
4	Vania King (USA) Yaroslava Shvedova (KAZ)	5,730	5,730	11	16 October

On September 5, Květa Peschke and Katarina Srebotnik became the first doubles team to qualify for the year-end championships.

Květa Peschke and Katarina Srebotnik continued their partnership coming to 2011, they also was able to reach the no. 1 ranking in doubles for the first time on July 4, 2011. They were also able to win 6 titles together their first coming in the ASB Classic over the team of Arvidsson & Erakovic 6–3, 6–0. They then won their second title in the Qatar Ladies Open over Huber & Petrova 7–5, 6–7^(2–7), [10–8]. Their next titles came in back-to-back-to-back winning in AEGON International over Huber & Raymond 6–3, 6–0, in Wimbledon over Lisicki & Stosur 6–3, 6–1 and in the Mercury Insurance Open over Kopz-Jones & Spears 6–0, 6–2. Their triumph in Wimbledon is the team's first Slam title together and their first as individuals in the women's doubles. They then claimed their sixth title at the China Open over Dulko & Pennetta 6–3, 6–4. They also reached three other finals in the Medibank International Sydney losing to Benešová & Záhlavová-Strýcová, in Dubai Tennis Championships falling to Huber & Martínez Sánchez and in the Mutua Madrid Open to Azarenka & Kirilenko. Srebotnik also on the mixed doubles title in the Australian Open with Daniel Nestor. In the other Slams they were able to reach the semifinals of the Australian Open and the quarterfinals of the French Open and US Open.

On October 1, Liezel Huber and Lisa Raymond became the second team to qualify for the championships.

Liezel Huber and Lisa Raymond did not start pairing up for doubles until the European clay season as Huber initially paired with Nadia Petrova and Raymond teamed up with Julia Görges. The veteran team then had a great result together, reaching the semifinals of the French Open and the quarterfinals of Wimbledon. They lost their first two finals in the AEGON International losing to Peschke & Srebotnik 6–3, 6–0 and in the Bank of the West Classic losing to Azarenka & Kirilenko 6–1, 6–3. Their first title as a team came in as a gift winning the Rogers Cup over Azarenka & Kirilenko in a walkover. They then claim their first Slam as a team in the US Open over King & Shvedova 4–6, 7–6^(7–5), 7–6^(7–3). They then collected their third title at the Toray Pan Pacific Open over Dulko & Pennetta 7–6^(7–4), 0–6, [10–6]. Huber was also able reach two other finals in the Dubai Tennis Championships with María José Martínez Sánchez winning over Peschke & Srebotnik 7–6^(7–5), 6–3 and in the Qatar Ladies Open with Nadia Petrova in a losing effort to Peschke & Srebotnik.

On October 11, Gisela Dulko and Flavia Pennetta became the third team to qualify for the championships.

Gisela Dulko and Flavia Penetta failed to duplicate their 2010 season winning 6 titles and the championship as they only won one title in the year, but it is their most prestigious title as as a team this coming in the Australian Open beating Azarenka & Kirilenko 2–6, 7–5, 6–1. This marks their first Slam title as team and as individuals. An injury suffered by Dulko prevented the team to collect some points during the mid-season. However, the team performed well during the Asian swing and became the runner-up in both Toray Pan Pacific Open to Huber & Raymond and China Open to Peschke & Srebotnik. In the other Slams they reached the quarterfinals of the French Open and the third round of the US Open. Pennetta also reached another final with Dominika Cibulková at the UNICEF Open losing to Záhlavová-Strýcová & Zakopalová.

On October 16, Vania King and Yaroslava Shvedova took the last spot over Victoria Azarenka and Maria Kirilenko.

Vania King and Yaroslava Shvedova wasn't able to play together until the BNP Paribas Open due to Shvedova's knee injury. The team weren't able to match up to their 2010 season when they won 2 Slam titles, as they only reached 1 slam final in the US Open losing to Huber & Raymond 6–4, 6–7^(5–7), 6–7^(3–7). They won their first title of the year at the Western & Southern Open winning 6–4, 3–6, [11–9] over Grandin & Uhlířová. They also reached two other finals in a losing effort in the Internazionali BNL d'Italia losing to the Chinese pair of Peng & Zheng 2–6, 3–6 and in the HP Open losing to the Asian pair of Date Krumm & Zhang in the final 5–7, 6–3, [9–11]. Shvedova was able to win another title with Sania Mirza this time at the Citi Open over Govortsova & Kudryavtseva 6–3, 6–3. King also reached a final with a different partner Anna-Lena Grönefeld at the Monterrey Open losing to Czechs Benešová & Záhlavová-Strýcová.

Groupings

The 2011 edition of the year-end championships featured two former World number ones, four Grand Slam champions, two Grand Slam finalists. Two of them made their debut at the championships. The competitors were divided into two groups representing the colors of the flag of Turkey. The Red group consisted of no. 1 seed Caroline Wozniacki, no. 3 seed Petra Kvitová, no. 6 seed Vera Zvonareva and no. 8 seed Agnieszka Radwańska. The White Group was composed of no. 2 seed Maria Sharapova, no, 4 seed Victoria Azarenka, no. 5 seed Li Na and no. 7 seed Samantha Stosur. Marion Bartoli and Andrea Petkovic served as alternates.

In the red group, in their respective records in their group, World no. 1 Caroline Wozniacki was 11-6, Petra Kvitová was 5-6, Vera Zvonareva was 9-9 and Agnieszka Radwańska was 4-8. Leading the group Wozniacki, has a good record in each opponent in her group. She has a positive record against Kvitová, leading the US Open champion 3-1, with their last meeting coming in the third round of the 2010 China Open, with Wozniacki winning 6-3, 6-2 and all their matches were won in straight sets. Against Zvonareva, she has a record of 4-4, with Zvonareva winning their only encounter in 2011 in the final of the Qatar Ladies Open 6-4, 6-4. Against good friend Radwańska, the Dane lead 4-1 winning their last four matches including their only encounter in 2011 at the semifinal of the Porsche Tennis Grand Prix 7-5, 6-3, with Radwańska's last win coming in 2007. Zvonareva on the other hand, has close records against Kvitová and Radwańska. Against Kvitová, the Russian leads 3-2 facing each other 3 times in 2011 all won in straight sets, with Zvonerva winning two of them in the quarterfinals of the Australian Open and the semifinal of the Toray Pan Pacific Open and lost in the third round of the Mutua Madrid Open. In her match-up against Radwańska, the Russian trails 2-3 with them competing against each other 4 times in 2011 all won in straight sets and the Pole winning their last three encounters - the first in the final of Mercury Insurance Open, the third round of Rogers Cup, and the final of the Toray Pan Pacific Open, Zvonerva's last win came in quarterfinal of the Sony Ericsson Open. In the head-to-head of first time qualifiers. Kvitová and Radwańska, The Czech has won both of their matches including their last match in the quarterfinal of AEGON International 1-6, 6-2, 7-6^(7-2)

In the white group, in their head-to-heads with players within their group, Maria Sharapova was 17-6, Victoria Azarenka was 8-7, Li Na was 7-11, and Samantha Stosur was 5-13. Like Wozniacki, Sharapova has a good record against each members of her group. Against Azarenka, they have split their match-ups with each having 3 wins, and also splitting their match-ups in 2011 with 1 win each, with Azarenka winning in the final of the Sony Ericsson Open and Sharapova winning in the quarterfinal of the Internazionali BNL d'Italia. Against Li, Sharapova leads their head-to-head 5-3, however Li has won their 3 previous meetings in straight sets including the semifinal of the French Open 6-4, 7-5. Against Stosur, Sharapova has a perfect record of 9-0 including 3 straight set wins in the fourth round of the Sony Ericsson Open, the final of the Internazionali BNL d'Italia, and the quarterfinal of the Western & Southern Open. Azarenka, in the other hand has a mixed record against Li and Stosur. She trails Li 1-4, including losing in the fourth round of the Australian Open 6-3, 6-3 and the quarterfinal of the French Open 7-5, 6-2. However, against Stosur, Azarenka has never lost a match and a set winning their four encounters, with their last meeting coming in semifinal of the 2010 Bank of the West Classic with the Belorussian winning 6-2, 6-3. In the match-up between Slam champions Li and Stosur, despite Stosur having lost all matches against Sharapova and Azarenka, she has never lost to Li winning their 5 matches including 3 in 2011 in the semifinal of the Internazionali BNL d'Italia, the third rounds of Rogers Cup and Western & Southern Open.

The four doubles teams started the semifinals without group play.

Player head-to-head

Below are the head-to-head records as they approached the tournament.

Champions

Singles

Main article: 2011 WTA Tour Championships – Singles

Doubles

Main article: 2011 WTA Tour Championships – Doubles

External links

• Official website