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Qinwen Zheng & Barbora Krejcikova Qualify for WTA Finals

Qinwen Zheng and Barbora Krejcikova secured the final two spots in the WTA Finals.

Pat Benson

Aug 3, 2024; Paris, France; Qinwen Zheng (CHN) celebrates after defeating Donna Vekic (CRO) in the women’s tennis gold medal match medal match during the Paris 2024 Olympic Summer Games at Stade Roland Garros. Mandatory Credit: Amber Searls-Imagn Images
Aug 3, 2024; Paris, France; Qinwen Zheng (CHN) celebrates after defeating Donna Vekic (CRO) in the women’s tennis gold medal match medal match during the Paris 2024 Olympic Summer Games at Stade Roland Garros. Mandatory Credit: Amber Searls-Imagn Images / Amber Searls-Imagn Images

It has been a roller coaster year in women's tennis, but the field for the 2024 WTA Finals Riyadh has finally been set. On Wednesday morning, the WTA announced that Qinwen Zheng and Barbora Krejcikova had secured the final two spots for the WTA Finals.

Zheng and Krejcikova will join Iga Swiatek, Aryna Sabalenka, Coco Gauff, Elena Rybakina, Jasmine Paolini, and Jessica Pegula at the prestigious season-ending tournament. The first six spots were announced earlier this week.

"Completing the singles line-up for the WTA Finals is an exciting moment as the anticipation heightens for the season-ending event," said WTA Finals Tournament Director Garbiñe Muguruza.

"In 2024, we have seen 11 different winners across Grand Slams and WTA 1000 tournaments, so I fully expect to see incredible match action and on court heroics Riyadh. We are very much looking forward to kicking off the first year of the WTA Finals Riyadh."

Zheng has enjoyed a break-out season on the Hologic WTA Tour and is the first player from China to qualify in singles for the WTA Finals since Li Na in 2013, who finished as runner-up that year, narrowly losing to Serena Williams.

Zheng began her season in fine form by reaching the Australian Open finals. She later defended her title at the 35° Palermo Ladies Open before hitting her stride during the Asian swing. The budding star reached the China Open semifinals and her third final of the season at the Wuhan Open.

The 22-year-old also won the Gold Medal at the Paris Olympics. Zheng's extraordinary play helped her break into the Top 10 in the PIF WTA Rankings for the first time in her career, peaking at No. 7.

Krejcikova has a rich history at the WTA Finals, and 2024 marks her sixth consecutive appearance at the tournament. She is currently ranked No. 12 on the PIF Race to the WTA Finals.

The 2024 Wimbledon champion secured her place in Riyadh as she is guaranteed to be the highest ranked Grand Slam singles champion finishing between No. 8-20 on the Leaderboard.

In addition to winning her second Grand Slam (adding to her 2021 Roland-Garros crown), Krejcikova accrued vital PIF WTA Ranking points this season thanks to three quarterfinal appearances at the Australian Open, WTA 500 Mubadala Abu Dhabi Open and WTA 250 Rothesay Classic Birmingham.

The 2024 WTA Finals features the top eight singles and doubles teams on the PIF Race to the WTA Finals Leaderboard (with the 8th spot going to the singles player and doubles team that have won a Grand Slam if ranked No.8 to No.20).

This tournament showcases the world's best eight singles players and doubles teams competing in a round-robin format, with the singles champion lifting the WTA Finals Billie Jean King Trophy and the doubles champions earning the WTA Finals Martina Navratilova Trophy.

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Pat Benson
PAT BENSON

Pat Benson covers the sneaker industry for Sports Illustrated's FanNation. Previously, he has reported on the NBA, authored "Kobe Bryant's Sneaker History (1996-2020)," and interviewed some of the biggest names in the sports world. You can email him at 1989patbenson@gmail.com.

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