Paula Badosa, Belinda Bencic, Elena Rybakina all out of WTA Finals race after defeats in Guadalajara
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ByEurosport
Updated 20/10/2022 at 10:04 GMT
The WTA Finals in Fort Worth, USA gets underway on October 31, but the race to qualify for the tournament is well and truly alive. Seven players can still make it to Fort Worth, but it is the end of the road for Paula Badosa, Belinda Bencic and Elena Rybakina who all lost their matches in Guadalajara. Liudmila Samsonova has also been eliminated. Five players have qualified for the finals so far.
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Former world No. 1 Victoria Azarenka advanced to the last 16 at the Guadalajara Open after world No. 3 Paula Badosa retired at the end of the first set.
At 4-1 down the Spaniard called on the trainer but decided to play on. However, when Azarenka closed out the set with an ace to make it 6-2, Badosa retired due to illness.
Defeat for Badosa means she is out of the race to qualify for the WTA finals.
"You never want anybody to retire, we go out here to compete and do our best," Azarenka said afterwards.
"It's really sad that Paula wasn't able to finish the match. I hope she recovers quickly. I'm sure we're going to have a few more matches to play, so I'm looking forward to those."
Azarenka will play Madison Keys on Thursday. The American beat Ajla Tomljanovic 6-3 4-6 6-3 which keeps the American in contention for one of three remaining spots at the WTA Finals in Fort Worth.
Belinda Bencic is out of the race after she lost to Sloane Stephens 6-4 6-4. The American overpowered her Swiss opponent and won 76% of her points on her first serve compared to Bencic at 57%.
"Obviously, Guadalajara suits my game well, and I've been playing some good tennis here," Stephens said.
"I probably have the most wins on the tour in Guadalajara this season.
"So it's been nice for me. Obviously, I've had some good results and some good memories, so just looking forward to getting out there tomorrow."
Stephens will play No. 6 seed Caroline Garcia in the next round.
Jessica Pegula ended Elena Rybakina's hopes of qualifying for the WTA Finals, saving three match points to beat the Wimbledon champion 2-6 6-3 7-6(8) in just over two hours.
Pegula will face 2019 US Open champion Bianca Andreescu in the last 16.
Liudmila Samsonova was mathematically eliminated from WTA Finals contention despite beating Aryna Sabalenka 6-4 2-6 6-2. That is because Veronika Kudermetova defeated Donna Vekic 6-4 7-5.
Sabalenka's loss to Samsonova means Coco Gauff has qualified and she backed that up with a 7-6(1) 6-3 win over Italian Elisabetta Cocciaretto in her opening match in Guadalajara.
The loss for Sabalenka also means Garcia will be set to make her second singles appearance at a WTA Finals.
WHO HAS QUALIFIED FOR WTA FINALS?
[1] Iga Swiatek
[2] Ons Jabeur
[5] Jessica Pegula
[7] Coco Gauff
[10] Caroline Garcia
WHO CAN STILL QUALIFY?*
[5] Aryna Sabalenka
[7] Daria Kasatkina
[9] Veronika Kudermetova
[10] Maria Sakkari
[13] Madison Keys - Must reach Guadalajara semi-finals for chance to qualify
[14] Danielle Collins - Must reach Guadalajara final for chance to qualify
[19] Jelena Ostapenko - Must win Guadalajara title for chance to qualify
*Race rankings based on the start of the tournament
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