BEIJING • Poland's Agnieszka Radwanska secured a berth in the WTA Finals in Singapore with a victory in the final of China's Tianjin Open yesterday, but Angelique Kerber was made to wait for confirmation of her singles debut at the prestigious season-ender.
World No. 6 Radwanska will return to the Singapore Indoor Stadium following her 6-1, 6-2 win over Montenegrin Danka Kovinic.
She joins world No. 2 Simona Halep, world No. 3 Maria Sharapova, world No. 4 Garbine Muguruza and world No. 5 Petra Kvitova in the elite eight-woman singles field.
"I'm excited to play in Singapore," Radwanska said after clinching her 16th career title. "I have good memories from last year - the fans are amazing, so I can't wait to get out there and compete against the best players in the world."
The Pole and Kvitova are the only players to have qualified for the season-ender for a fifth straight year.
Kerber was hoping to ensure a maiden appearance at the Oct 23-Nov 1 WTA Finals by winning the Hong Kong Open yesterday. But Jelena Jankovic got in her way.
The former world No. 1 triumphed 3-6, 7-6 (7-4), 6-1 to claim her 15th WTA title and second of the year.
Kerber was a tiebreaker away from booking a flight to Singapore. But, after losing a tight second set, which saw three breaks of serve for each player, Jankovic took control of the match.
The Serb found her serving rhythm in the decider as Kerber failed to force a break point and collapsed. The German will now attempt to qualify for Singapore at the Kremlim Cup this week.
While three singles spots are still up for grabs, the eight-team doubles field is complete.
American duo Raquel Kops-Jones and Abigail Spears claimed the final doubles berth on Saturday when they made the Linz Open final.
"We're beyond happy to have made the WTA Finals for the second year in a row and can't wait to take to the court at the Singapore Sports Hub," Kops-Jones said.
"There's no greater finish to the season than having qualified and we're delighted to be playing in front of the amazing fans in Singapore again."
AGENCE FRANCE-PRESSE, REUTERS
