2015 WTA Finals Preview

As I've got a bit of time, I'll do a quick post before the start of the WTA Finals, looking at the ratings of the players playing in it.

The 8 entrants with the trophy, © Julian Finney / Getty Images

The 8 tennis players who will be playing the WTA Finals, coloured by the group they are in, along with their ELO ratings are:

1. Angelique Kerber - 1710
2. Simona Halep - 1709
3. Agnieszka Radwanska - 1709
4. Maria Sharapova - 1708
5. Garbine Muguruza - 1671
6. Petra Kvitova - 1666
7. Lucie Safarova - 1614
8. Flavia Pennetta - 1608

With the top 4 players only 2 ELO rating points between them, this is going to be a really close tournament, and hopefully very exciting to watch! Especially since at least one of them will be eliminated in the group stage.

Angelique Kerber is ELO's favourite (though it is marginal) right now, which may be a surprise to some, and she's got the lucky draw, avoiding the other 1700+ rated players until the semi finals at the earliest. But an easy draw is also a double edged sword, as while she's slightly ahead of her rivals right now, 1 or 2 her opponents may be slightly ahead of her by the time they meet in the later rounds. I would expect Kerber to qualify more often than not, the 2nd slot from the White Group is closer, but it would be likely to go to Garbine Muguruza than to Petra Kvitova in ELO's opinion.

As for the Red Group, this is the "group of death", if it is possible to have one when there's only 2 groups! I wouldn't be surprised if any of the 3 top ranked players in this group qualified, only if Flavia Pennetta qualified would I be surprised. With only 1 point between Halep, Sharapova and Radwanska right now, anything can happen. I'm not going to make any predictions regarding this group as it's too close to call.

Best of luck to all of the players who made it to the WTA Finals, and may the best player win!