Does it seem a little early for the women to be playing their final event of 2014? Only in tennis could a season that begins on January 1 and ends in late October seem oddly short. Either way, the WTA is set to put on its most lucrative event of the year, the eight-player, year-ending, freshly renamed WTA Finals.
The tour has also chosen a new location this year, in Singapore. We know that Asia is where tennis wants to go, but moving the tournament out of Istanbul, its location for the last three years, is something of a risk. The Turkish crowds were the best the event has ever had.
The parties have been thrown, the dresses have been shown, the photos have been snapped, and the draws have been made. On Monday the women begin playing for $6.5 million in prize money. Here’s a look ahead at the tournament’s two groups of four, and what we may see from them. It’s a time to savor for fans: Now that the cream has risen to the top, we get to take a week and watch them face off against each other.