Victory in Beijing has taken Maria Sharapova to No. 2 in the WTA rankings and gives her an opportunity to finish the season at No. 1, but the Russian will not be changing her schedule to do it.
Having begun the year at No. 9 after returning from shoulder injury, Sharapova is now less than 500 points behind Serena Williams for the season, with titles at the French Open, Madrid, and Beijing. Sharapova has accumulated 6,680 points so far, compared to Williams’ 7,146, with the WTA Finals coming up.
The winner of the WTA Finals, a round-robin event, earns 1,500 points; the runner-up gets 1,050 and semifinalists get 690. If Williams, who withdrew from Beijing with a knee injury, does not play the WTA Finals or loses some matches—competitors earn 70 points per round-robin match, with the winner getting an additional 90—Sharapova would be positioned to reach No. 1 with a good performance.
Sharapova could elect to enter Moscow next week, with 470 points going to the winner, but is planning to stick to her original schedule.
"I don't think I've ever done that in my career, add a few tournaments to my schedule to gain points, in order to find a certain ranking. Never in the juniors, never in the pros," she said. "Most important is to be healthy.
“Of course, it's an incredible achievement if I could do it, considering where I started the year. But in the meantime I know I've had a great year and I'm going to go into the last tournament that I have just wanting to elevate my performance, use this week as a great stepping stone in the right direction, and finish it off well.”
Williams is defending champion at the WTA Finals.