And then there was one.<\/p>\n
With Jasmine Paolini’s qualification into the WTA Finals field this weekend, seven players have now punched their ticket to the prestigious year-end tournament in Riyadh. Paolini joins Aryna Sabalenka, Iga Swiatek, Coco Gauff, Amanda Anisimova, Jessica Pegula and Madison Keys in the eight-player field.<\/p>\n
That leaves Elena Rybakina and Mirra Andreeva vying for the final spot in the Finals, which kick off on Nov. 1.<\/p>\n
We’ll find out who that final player will be in the coming days. With 4,319 points, Andreeva currently leads Rybakina (4,305) by a mere 14 points in the Race to the WTA Finals leaderboard.<\/p>\n
But Rybakina, who is coming off a massive title in Ningbo this past week, is in control of her own destiny. With Andreeva not in the draw of this week’s Toray Pan Pacific Open, Rybakina needs to reach the semifinals in Tokyo to qualify.<\/p>\n
If she loses before then, Andreeva will qualify for her first-ever WTA Finals.<\/p>\n
Rybakina, now the top-seeded player in the tournament following Paolini’s late withdrawal, will receive a first-round bye, meaning she’ll have to win just two matches the reach the semifinals and qualify.<\/p>\n
She’ll play either Leylah Fernandez, coming off a title this weekend in Osaka, or Maria Sakkari in the second round.<\/p>\n
Rybakina and Fernandez most recently played a classic three-setter this summer in Washington, D.C., a match that needed three tiebreaks to decide the outcome. The Canadian came from behind to win 6-7 (2), 7-6 (3), 7-6 (3).<\/p>\n
The Kazakhstani has had plenty of success against Sakkari, winning five of their six career meetings, including two this year.<\/p>\n
If she advances to the quarterfinals, she would play either Eva Lys — who beat Katie Boulter in her first-round match — or the winner of the Victoria Mboko-Bianca Andreescu match.<\/p>\n
The 26-year-old, currently ranked No. 7 in the PIF WTA Rankings, has qualified for the last two WTA Finals but has yet to get out of the group stage.<\/p>\n
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