MATCH POINTS
Defending champion Wozniacki has made history for her country in more ways than one at the WTA Finals. She became the first player from Denmark to qualify for the event in 2009, and has made five other appearances at the season-ending event, including this year.
Of all the qualifiers, Kvitova and Wozniacki have the most WTA Finals appearances. Including 2018, they are each making their sixth appearance.
Read more: Kerber, Wozniacki headline Singapore round robin groups
Kvitova and Karolina Pliskova’s participation in this year’s WTA Finals means the Czech Republic have had at least one player compete every year since 2011. That year, Kvitova became the third Czech player to win the title, along with Martina Navratilova (1978, 1979) and Jana Novotna (1997).
Svitolina, the first player from Ukraine to qualify for the Finals, is making her second appearance after also qualifying in 2017. She went 1-2 in the group stage in her debut last year.
In terms of opening matches, Wozniacki trails Pliskova in their overall head-to-head, 6-3, but won their last meeting at the semifinal stage in Singapore last year.
Kvitova leads Svitolina in their career head-to-head, 7-1. The Ukrainian won their first meeting back in 2014, but Kvitova has won the last seven straight, including at the Qatar Total Open in Doha in February, where she went on to win the title.
