WTA Finals draw released

The draw is out for the 2021 WTA Finals in Guadalajara, set to begin tomorrow.

A severely depleted field brings the curtain down on the 2021 season, with Serena Williams, Naomi Osaka and current world No.1 Ash Barty missing the event.

The all-European eight-woman field competing for the season-ending title does however include some real talent.

Six of the eight players in the field are playing in the WTA Finals for the first time, with Karolina Pliskova and Garbine Muguruza the only veterans.

The WTA Finals pit the eight best singles players and doubles teams against each other in a round robin format for a total prize pool of $5 million.

The winners and runners up of the groups advance to the semi-finals.

The group names – Chichén Itzá, Teotihuacan, Tenochtitlan, and El Tajin – with all four groups being named after ancient cities in Mexico.

Singles Groups

Group Chichén Itzá: Aryna Sabalenka (BLR), Maria Sakkari (GRE), Iga Swiatek (POL), Paula Badosa (ESP)

Group Teotihuacán: Barbora Krejcikova (CZE), Karolina Pliskova (CZE), Garbiñe Muguruza (ESP), Anett Kontaveit (EST)

Doubles Groups

Group Tenochtitlán: Shuko Aoyama (JPN) & Ena Shibahara (JPN), Nicole Melichar-Martinez (USA) & Demi Schuurs (NED), Samantha Stosur (AUS) & Zhang Shuai (CHN), Darija Jurak (CRO) & Andreja Klepac (SLO)

Group El Tajin: Barbora Krejcikova (CZE) & Katerina Siniakova (CZE), Hsieh Su-Wei (TPE) & Elise Mertens (BEL), Alexa Guarachi (CHI) & Desirae Krawczyk (USA), Sharon Fichman (CAN) & Giuliana Olmos (MEX)