The Race to Singapore is heating up—who will finish 2018 on a high?

WATCH—Stories of the Open Era, Tennis in Asia:

Something had to give: In the quarterfinals of Beijing, Aryna Sabalenka and Qiang Wang—both of who have been on a tear of late—faced off, with Wang coming through in straight sets.

As the 2018 season nears its conclusion, those two are among the handful of players who’ve been impressive down the home stretch as they aim to end their campaign on a high note—and perhaps even earn a spot in Singapore.

Naomi Osaka, the US Open champion, has secured her Singapore berth, as has Australian Open winner Caroline Wozniacki. Those two, who could meet in the China Open final, have been a study in contrasts since the summer. After capturing her first major in New York, Osaka defied a years-long trend by reaching the final of her next tournament and has now gone deep in Beijing. Conversely, Wozniacki has experienced a series of ups and downs since she won in Melbourne, and is through to her first semifinal since June.

Simona Halep and Angelique Kerber, the year’s other Grand Slam champions, have also qualified for the WTA Finals, but both have struggled the past few weeks. Halep just announced that she has a herniated disc in her back; however, the world No. 1 still has her sights set on Singapore. Petra Kvitova, the fifth player to qualify, won five titles in the first half of the year, but has posted inconsistent results since.

The uncertainty at the top has allowed for other players to take advantage of the lapses of form. Though she didn’t advance far in Wuhan or Beijing, Kiki Bertens has won three tournaments this year, including recently in Seoul. The world No. 11 needs strong finishes in Linz and Moscow to have a shot at the WTA Finals for the first time in singles.

WATCH–Noami Osaka continues to dominate:

Sabalenka, like Osaka, has enjoyed a breakthrough campaign. The 20-year-old Belarusian has reached finals on all three surfaces and won her first two titles—both since August—including the Premier 5 event in Wuhan last week. She's ranked No. 16 in the WTA rankings but No. 11 in the Race to Singapore.

Wang, her conqueror in Beijing, has been equally impressive during the Asia Swing. The 26-year-old from China reached the semifinal in Hiroshima,; dominated the field in Guangzhou en route to her second career title; and then reached the semifinals in Wuhan as a wild card entry.

Over the past two weeks, Wang has beaten world No. 7 Karolina Pliskova twice. The Czech, whose results have been inconsistent, too, throughout the year, recently defeated Osaka in Tokyo for her second title of 2018. In an effort to qualify again for the WTA Finals, the world No. 7 has accepted a wild card into the tournament in Tianjin next week, and is also slated to compete in Moscow.

With 15 days to go until Singapore begins, and three spots remaining, the next few weeks will be critical for the top players wishing to end 2018 on an extreme high.

ATP Beijing & Tokyo (Sep. 30-Oct. 7)

• Tennis Channel PLUS has every ATP match live, from the first round to the final. Watch up to three courts from Beijing and two from Tokyo.