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2019 WTA Elite Trophy

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2019 WTA Elite Trophy
Date22–27 October
Edition5th
Draw12S/6D
SurfaceHard / Outdoor / Covered Court
LocationZhuhai, China
VenueHengqin Tennis Center, Zhuhai
Champions
Singles
Belarus Aryna Sabalenka
Doubles
Ukraine Lyudmyla Kichenok / Slovenia Andreja Klepač
← 2018 · WTA Elite Trophy · 2023 →

The 2019 WTA Elite Trophy was a women's tennis tournament played at the Hengqin International Tennis Center in Zhuhai, China. It was the fifth edition of the singles event and doubles competition. The tournament was contested by 12 singles players and six doubles teams.[1]

Tournament

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Qualifying

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WTA Elite Trophy is an invitation-only event.

Singles qualifying

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The field consisted of the top 11 players not already qualified for the 2019 WTA Finals, plus either (a) the 12th-player not qualified for 2019 WTA Finals, or (b) a wild card. The final two alternates for the 2019 WTA Finals were eligible to play in WTA Elite Trophy even if they had participated in the WTA Finals.[2] Point totals were calculated by combining points obtained from 16 tournaments. Of these 16 tournaments, a player's results from the four Grand Slam events, the four Premier Mandatory tournaments, and (for Top 20 players at the end of 2018) the best results from two Premier 5 tournaments had to be included.

Doubles qualifying

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Two teams composed of players that did not compete in the WTA Finals singles (except Finals Alternates) or doubles competitions, using the players’ combined doubles rankings as of the Monday after the final regular-season Tournament of the current Tour Year to determine the order of acceptance; and up to two teams composed of players that did not qualify to compete in the WTA Finals singles (except Finals Alternates) or doubles competitions and that include at least one Elite Trophy Singles Qualified Player or Elite Trophy Alternate, using the higher of the players’ combined singles or doubles rankings as of the Monday after the final regular-season Tournament of the current Tour Year to determine the order of acceptance. Plus two wild cards. For each wild card not given out, the next highest pair of players would become a participant.[3]

Format

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The singles event featured 12 players in a round robin event, split into four groups of three. Over the first four days of competition, each player met the other two players in her group, with the winner in each group advancing to the semifinal. The winners of each semifinal met in the championship match. The six doubles teams were split into two round robin groups, with the winner of each advancing to the final.

Round robin tie-breaking methods

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The final standings of each group were determined by the first of the following methods that apply:[4]

  1. Greatest number of wins.
  2. Greatest number of matches played.
  3. In case of a 2-way tie:
    • Head-to-head results
  4. In case of a 3-way tie:
    • Percentage of sets won
      • Head-to-head results
    • Percentage of games won
      • Head-to-head results
    • Finals Rankings

Global Ambassador

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Steffi Graf.

Prize money and points

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The total prize money for the 2019 WTA Elite Trophy Zhuhai was US$2,419,844 .

Stage Singles Doubles2
Prize money Points Prize money
Champion RR1 + $515,000 RR + 460 RR1 + $22,000
Runner-up RR + $155,000 RR + 200 RR1 + $11,346
Semifinalist loss RR + $15,000 RR
Round robin win per match 1st win +$50,000
2nd win +$40,000
120 +$5,500
Round robin loss per match 40
Round robin first place +$69,500
Round robin second place +$32,000
Participation Fee $46,500 17,080
Alternates $10,000
  • 1 RR means prize money or points won in the round robin.
  • 2 Doubles doesn't award ranking points

Qualified players

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Singles

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Seeds Players Points Tours
1 Netherlands Kiki Bertens 3,870 25
2 United States Sofia Kenin 2,615 23
3 United States Madison Keys 2,607 14
4 Belarus Aryna Sabalenka 2,520 23
5 Croatia Petra Martić 2,458 17
6 Belgium Elise Mertens 2,190 25
7 United States Alison Riske 2,185 23
8 Croatia Donna Vekić 2,185 22
9 Greece Maria Sakkari 1,741 22
10 Ukraine Dayana Yastremska 1,720 23
11 Czech Republic Karolína Muchová 1,624 14
12/WC China Zheng Saisai 1,355 26

Kiki Bertens had another stellar season following on from the success she enjoyed in 2018. She won two more titles during the season in St. Petersburg and Madrid, the latter being the biggest of her career so far. She also reached two finals in Rosmalen and Palermo. She also had five semifinal appearances during the season in Sydney, Stuttgart, Rome, Eastbourne and Beijing. She also reached three quarterfinals in Doha, Linz and Moscow. However, her grand slam results were disappointing as she lost in the second round in Australian Open and French Open and third round in Wimbledon and US Open. She narrowly missed qualifying for WTA Finals in Shenzhen. Bertens would be making her second appearance in Zhuhai having lost in the round robin stage in 2016.

Sofia Kenin had a breakthrough season in 2019, winning her first career title in Hobart in January. She won two more titles during the season in Mallorca and Guangzhou. She also reached a final in Acapulco and back to back semifinals in premier 5 level tournaments in Toronto and Cincinnati. She also reached a quarterfinal in Zhengzhou, finishing the season inside the top 15. Her grand slam breakthrough came at the French Open where she defeated Serena Williams en route to reaching the fourth round. She also made the third round of US Open and second round of Australian Open and Wimbledon. Kenin was making her debut appearance in Zhuhai.

Madison Keys had an extremely up-and-down season, marked by numerous early exits but also title wins in Cincinnati, her biggest career title and Charleston, her first clay court title. She also reached a quarterfinal at French Open and in Osaka, finishing the season inside the top 20 for the fourth straight year. At the other majors, she made the fourth round of Australian Open and US Open and second round of Wimbledon. Keys was making her third appearance in Zhuhai, having bowed out in the round robin stage in 2015 and 2018.

Aryna Sabalenka

Aryna Sabalenka had a mixed season in 2019, with extreme highs and lows. She successfully defended her title in premier 5 level event in Wuhan in addition to winning a title in Shenzhen during the first week of the season. She also reached a final in San Jose and semifinals in St. Petersburg and Strasbourg. She also reached quarterfinals in Eastbourne and Zhengzhou, finishing the season inside the top 20 for the second straight year. Her performance at grand slam events was disappointing with a third round loss at the Australian Open, second round defeats in French Open and US Open and also a first round loss at Wimbledon. Sabalenka was making her second appearance in Zhuhai, having narrowly missed a chance to reach the semifinals last year.

Petra Martić enjoyed her career best season, picking up her first singles title in Istanbul. She also made a final in Zhengzhou and semifinals in Charleston and Birmingham. She also reached quarterfinals in Madrid, Wuhan and the French Open which was her first ever grand slam quarterfinal. Her performance at other grand slam events was also encouraging with a fourth round loss at Wimbledon and US Open to go with a third round appearance in Australian Open. Martić was making her debut in Zhuhai, having cracked the top 15 for the first time.

Elise Mertens carried on from she left off last season, picking up her first premier level singles title in Doha. She also made a semifinal in Osaka and quarterfinals in Sydney, Rabat, Mallorca and most importantly at the US Open. At the other grand slam events, she reached the fourth round at Wimbledon and third round at Australian Open and French Open. Mertens was making her second straight appearance in Zhuhai, having fallen in the round robin stage last year.

Alison Riske had the best season of her career, picking up her second career singles title in s-Hertogenbosch in addition to winning an ITF 100K event in Surbiton. She also reached the final in Shenzhen and Wuhan, losing to Sabalenka on both occasions. She also made her first ever grand slam quarterfinal at Wimbledon. Other grand slam performances included second round appearance at US Open and first round defeats at Australian Open and French Open. Riske was competing in Zhuhai for the first time.

Donna Vekić also enjoyed her career best season, highlighted by her first grand slam singles quarterfinal US Open. She made two finals during the season in St. Petersburg and Nottingham. She also reached the semifinals in Brisbane, Acapulco and San Jose and quarterfinal in Stuttgart. Other grand slam performances included fourth round appearance at French Open, second round exit at Australian Open and first round defeat at Wimbledon. Vekić was making her debut appearance in Zhuhai.

Maria Sakkari also had a successful season, picking up her first career title in Rabat. She made semifinals in Rome as a qualifier and San Jose. She also reached quarterfinals in Charleston, Nottingham and Cincinnati, finishing the season inside the top 30 for the first time. At grand slam events, she consistently made third round at the Australian Open, Wimbledon and US Open and second round at French Open. Sakkari was also making her debut appearance in Zhuhai.

Dayana Yastremska was the youngest participant in Zhuhai in 2019 after another good showing during the season. She picked up two titles in Hua Hin and Strasbourg, taking her tally of singles titles up to three. She also made quarterfinals in Hobart, Wuhan and Tianjin. Her performance at grand slam events wasn't too shabby either as she made the fourth round at Wimbledon, third round at the Australian Open and US Open but lost in the first round at French Open. As mentioned before, Yastremska was making her debut appearance in Zhuhai.

Karolína Muchová qualified for Zhuhai just two days before the start of the tournament after putting together some good performances during the season, the most noteworthy of which was her first grand slam quarterfinal at Wimbledon. She also made the third round at the US Open, second round at French Open and qualified to get into the main draw of Australian Open, losing in the opening round. She won her first career title in Seoul, having already reached her first career final at her home event in Prague. She also made a semifinal in Moscow and quarterfinals in Doha and New York City. Muchová was also making her debut appearance in Zhuhai.

Zheng Saisai was 2019's wildcard recipient in Zhuhai after a strong showing during the season. She won her first career singles title in San Jose as well as a challenger in Anning. She also made quarterfinals in Hua Hin, Acapulco and Zhengzhou. Her performance at grand slam events was extremely disappointing though as she failed to win a match in all four of them. Zheng was making her second appearance in Zhuhai, having also received a wildcard in 2015 when she failed to advance past the round robin stage.

Points breakdown

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Singles

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Updated as of 21 October 2019.

  • Players in gold qualified.
  • Player in dark gold received a wildcard.
  • Players in brown withdrew from consideration of competing in this event.
Rank Athlete Grand Slam tournament Premier Mandatory Best Premier 5 Best other Total points Tours Titles
AUS FRA WIM USO INW MIA MAD BEI 1 2 1 2 3 4 5 6
9 United States Serena Williams QF
430
R32
130
F
1300
F
1300
R32
65
R32
65
A
0
A
0
F
585
R32
60
3,935 8 0
10 Netherlands Kiki Bertens R64
70
R64
70
R32
130
R32
130
R16
120
R16
120
W
1000
SF
390
SF
350
R16
105
W
470
SF
185
SF
185
SF
185
F
180
F
180
3,870 25 2
11 United Kingdom Johanna Konta R64
70
SF
780
QF
430
QF
430
R32
65
R64
35
R32
65
A
0
F
585
R64
1
F
180
QF
60
R16
55
R16
55
R16
55
Q2
13
2,879 16 0
12 United States Sofia Kenin R64
70
R16
240
R64
70
R32
130
R64
35
R64
10
R64
10
R16
120
SF
350
SF
350
W
280
W
280
W
280
F
180
R16
105
R16
105
2,615 23 3
13 United States Madison Keys R16
240
QF
430
R64
70
R16
240
R64
10
R64
10
R64
10
R32
65
W
900
R32
60
W
470
QF
100
R64
1
R32
1
2,607 14 2
14 Belarus Aryna Sabalenka R32
130
R64
70
R128
10
R64
70
R16
120
R64
10
R64
10
R32
10
W
900
R16
105
F
305
W
280
SF
185
SF
110
R16
105
QF
100
2,520 23 2
15 Croatia Petra Martić R32
130
QF
430
R16
240
R16
240
R128
10
R64
35
QF
215
R64
10
QF
190
R64
1
F
305
W
280
SF
185
SF
185
R64
1
R64
1
2,458 17 1
16 Czech Republic Markéta Vondroušová R64
70
F
1300
R128
10
A
0
QF
215
QF
215
A
0
A
0
QF
190
F
180
F
180
R32
30
2,390 9 0
17 Germany Angelique Kerber R16
240
R128
10
R64
70
R128
10
F
650
R32
65
R32
65
R32
65
R16
105
R64
1
F
305
SF
185
SF
185
SF
110
SF
110
QF
100
2,276 20 0
18 Belgium Elise Mertens R32
130
R32
130
R16
240
QF
430
R32
65
R32
65
R64
10
R32
65
R32
60
R32
60
W
470
SF
185
QF
100
R32
60
QF
60
QF
60
2,190 25 1
19 United States Alison Riske R128
10
R128
10
QF
430
R64
70
R128
10
R64
35
R64
10
R16
120
F
585
R16
105
W
280
F
180
W
140
R32
90
R16
55
R16
55
2,185 23 1
20 Croatia Donna Vekić R64
70
R16
240
R128
10
QF
430
R64
10
R32
65
R16
120
R64
10
R16
105
R32
60
F
305
SF
185
SF
185
F
180
SF
110
QF
100
2,185 22 0
21 United States Amanda Anisimova R16
240
SF
780
R64
70
A
0
R64
35
R64
35
Q1
2
R64
10
R32
60
R32
60
W
280
QF
100
QF
60
QF
60
R64
1
R32
1
1,794 15 1
22 Greece Maria Sakkari R32
130
R64
70
R32
130
R32
130
R128
10
R64
35
R64
10
A
0
SF
380
QF
190
W
280
SF
185
QF
100
QF
60
R32
30
R64
1
1,741 22 1
23 United States Sloane Stephens R16
240
QF
430
R32
130
R128
10
R64
10
R32
65
SF
390
R32
65
R16
105
R16
105
QF
100
R16
55
R16
30
R16
1
R32
1
R32
1
1,738 19 0
24 Ukraine Dayana Yastremska R32
130
R128
10
R16
240
R32
130
R128
10
R64
35
R64
10
R32
65
QF
190
R16
105
W
280
W
280
QF
60
R32
60
QF
60
R16
55
1,720 23 2
25 Estonia Anett Kontaveit R64
70
R128
10
R32
130
R32
130
R16
120
SF
390
R64
10
A
0
R16
105
R16
105
F
305
QF
100
R32
60
R16
55
R16
55
R32
30
1,675 17 0
26 Czech Republic Karolína Muchová R128
40
R64
70
QF
430
R32
130
A
0
R64
65
A
0
R64
10
Q3
18
R32
1
W
280
SF
185
F
180
QF
125
QF
60
R16
30
1,624 14 1
Alternates
27 Latvia Anastasija Sevastova R16
240
R16
240
R64
70
R32
130
R32
65
R32
65
R16
120
R64
10
R64
1
R64
1
W
280
SF
110
QF
100
QF
100
R16
55
R16
30
1,617 24 1
28 Germany Julia Görges R128
10
R128
10
R32
130
R16
240
R32
65
R32
65
R64
10
R64
10
R32
60
R32
60
F
305
W
280
F
180
QF
100
R16
55
R16
30
1,610 21 1
29 China Wang Qiang R32
130
R64
70
R32
130
QF
430
R16
120
QF
215
R64
10
R64
10
R16
105
R64
1
SF
110
QF
60
SF
57
R16
55
R16
30
R16
30
1,563 20 0
30 Russia Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova QF
430
R128
10
R128
10
R64
70
R64
10
R64
10
R64
10
R32
65
R32
60
R16
30
F
305
F
305
QF
100
QF
60
R16
55
R16
30
1,560 22 0
Wildcard
40 China Zheng Saisai R128
10
R128
10
R128
10
R128
10
R128
10
R128
10
R16
120
R16
120
R32
60
R32
60
W
470
W
160
QF
100
F
85
QF
60
QF
60
1,355 26 1

‡ The player was not a Top 20 player at the end of 2018 and therefore not required to count her two best Premier 5 results. Accordingly, the player's next best result was counted in its place.

Doubles

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Country Player Country Player Rank1
 CHN Duan Yingying  CHN Yang Zhaoxuan 58
 UKR Lyudmyla Kichenok  SLO Andreja Klepač 66
 CRO Darija Jurak  POL Alicja Rosolska 67
 GEO Oksana Kalashnikova  USA Sofia Kenin 99
  • 1 Rankings as of 21 October 2019

Other entrants

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The following pairs received wildcards into the doubles draw:

Champions

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Singles

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Doubles

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Andreja Klepač
Lyudmyla Kichenok

See also

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References

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  1. ^ "WTA Elite Trophy Overview". Wtatennis.com. 2018-10-30.
  2. ^ Women's Tennis Association. "IX.B.1.a" (PDF). 2015 WTA OFFICIAL RULEBOOK.
  3. ^ Women's Tennis Association. "IX.B.2.a" (PDF). 2016 WTA OFFICIAL RULEBOOK.
  4. ^ "2018 WTA Official Rulebook" (PDF). Wtafiles.wtatennis.com. Retrieved 15 January 2019.
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