SINGAPORE - Tennis superstars playing in the upcoming Women's Tennis Association (WTA) Finals have already arrived in Singapore ahead of the Oct 23-30 tournament.
World No. 1 Angelique Kerber, who is guaranteed to end the year at the top of standings following Monday's (Oct 17) announcement of Serena Williams withdrawal, will headline the US$7 million (S$9.74 million) season-ender.
Earlier this week, the 28-year-old German posted a picture of herself sitting on the Singapore Indoor Stadium court on Instagram and wrote: "It's been a good year on the tour, when you get to finish it here in Singapore #WTAFinals #TeamAngie"
Defending WTA Finals champion Agnieszka Radwanska was another early arrival to the Republic. In fact, the popular 27-year-old Pole was the first player to land.
The WTA tweeted a picture of Radwanska at the Marina Bay Sands with the caption: "Look who arrived first to Singapore! Defending #WTAFinals champion @ARadwanska!"
They have been joined by Simona Halep who posted an Instagram post with the hashtag #goodnightSingapore on Wednesday (Oct 19).
Karolina Pliskova arrived in Singapore on Wednesday, with the Marina Bay Sands rooftop pool her first stop.
Spanish-Venezuelan Garbina Muguruza also arrived in Singapore on Wednesday, and posted a shot of herself with a promotional poster for the Finals.
She also tweeted a video of herself preparing for the tournament.
American Madison Keys also posted a shot of herself on the training court.
Dominika Cibulkova, ranked eighth in the world, is also due to join the world-class field in Singapore.
The eighth and final slot will go to either Johanna Konta or Svetlana Kuznetsova.
Konta will qualify for her first WTA Finals unless Kuznetsova wins this week's Kremlin Cup in Moscow.
Kerber has enjoyed a breakthrough season. She started the year ranked 10th but beat Williams to win her maiden Grand Slam at the Australian Open in January and added a second major title at last month's US Open.
She rose to the top spot on Sept 12, becoming the oldest player to make her debut there, and ended Williams' record-tying 186-week streak as world No. 1.
Radwanska, ranked third in the world, has won three titles this year, with the latest two coming in recent months at the Connecticut Open in August and last week's China Open.