WASHINGTON, September 13, 2021 (by Michael Dickens)
The season-ending WTA Finals have a temporary home for 2021. On Monday, in a statement posted on its website, the WTA announced that Guadalajara, Mexico will host the the WTA Finals the week of Nov. 8.
The year-end tournament, which showcases the top eight singles players and doubles teams on the Porsche Race to the WTA Finals, will return to its home in Shenzhen, China from 2022 through 2030. Last year’s event was cancelled by the coronavirus pandemic.
“I would like to extend my appreciation to the Guadalajara tournament organizers and Octagon for their commitment in hosting the event this season and for helping the WTA write another exciting chapter in WTA Finals history,” said Steve Simon, WTA Chairman and CEO, in a statement. “We are excited to bring our showpiece tournament to the exciting and vibrant city of Guadalajara in this unique year.
“I would also like to express my gratitude to the Gemdale Corporation in Shenzhen for their cooperation and resilience, and we look forward to returning in 2022 to enjoy the WTA Finals over the next decade.”
Earlier this season, Guadalajara, Mexico’s second-largest city, hosted the Abierto de Guadalajara, a WTA 250 outdoor hard court event, in March, which was won by Sara Sorribes Tormo of Spain.
“We are delighted to announce the WTA Finals will be coming to Guadalajara this season and it is our immense honor to welcome the top eight singles players and doubles teams to Mexico for this highly respected event,” Tournament Director Gustavo Santoscoy said. “We look forward to hosting the WTA Finals in 2021 and putting on a world class tournament in November for the millions of tennis fans around the globe.”
Eddy Liu, co-tournament director of the Shiseido WTA Finals Shenzhen and CEO of Gemdale Sports, said: “Shenzhen remains honored and committed to the Shiseido WTA Finals Shenzhen and we look forward to welcoming the event back to China in 2022 to build upon the legacy after its first historic staging in 2019.”
Noteworthy
World No. 1 Ashleigh Barty of Australia leads the current Porsche Race to Shenzhen singles standings with 6,411 points followed by Aryna Sabalenka of Belarus with 4,669. The rest of the top eight: 3. Barbora Krejcikova, Czech Republic, 4,398; 4. Karolina Pliskova, Czech Republic, 3,972; 5. Iga Swiatek, Poland, 2,921; 6. Maria Sakkari, Greece, 2,842; 7. Naomi Osaka, Japan, 2,771; 8. Garbiñe Muguruza, Spain, 2,671.
