Editor's note: From Monday to Thursday this week, we will look at the road each of the eight singles players and eight doubles took to qualify for this year's WTA Finals in Fort Worth, Texas.
Singles
Monday: No.1 Swiatek | No.2 Jabeur
Tuesday: No.3 Pegula | No.4 Gauff
Wednesday: No.5 Sakkari | No.6 Garcia
Thursday: No.7 Sabalenka | No.8 Kasatkina
Doubles
Monday: No.1 Krejcikova and Siniakova | No.2 Dabrowski and Olmos
Tuesday: No.3 Pegula and Gauff | No.4 Mertens and Kudermetova
Wednesday: No.5 Kichenok and Ostapenko | No.6 Yang and Xu
Thursday: No.7 Haddad Maia and Danilina | No.8 Schuurs and Krawczyk
Season at a glance
Two doubles powerhouses paired up for the first time at Indian Wells this year, with Desirae Krawczyk and Demi Schuurs starting their new tandem. However, it took a minute for their results to click, opening their partnership with a 2-3 record.
But once they hit the red clay, they hit their stride, winning their first team title at WTA 500 Stuttgart, then reaching the final at their next event, WTA 1000 Madrid.
"Today, I think we stepped on court and we said, ‘OK, we want to enjoy, and we’re gonna go for it,’" Schuurs said after their Stuttgart championship. "I’m happy that we won this title, so at least it’s something that we know is in us, and we can do it every week."
Champions in Stuttgart 👯♀️
— wta (@WTA) April 24, 2022
🇺🇸 @desiraekrawczyk and 🇳🇱 Demi Schuurs beat Gauff/Zhang to claim the #PorscheTennis doubles title! 🏆 pic.twitter.com/yy7o8wQfl8
Indeed, more good weeks followed for the rest of the year, where they reached five additional semifinals on their way to Fort Worth. Schuurs will be making a fourth consecutive appearance at the WTA Finals, and Krawczyk will be back for a second straight year.
Notable stat
Schuurs' four consecutive WTA Finals appearances have come alongside four different partners. Schuurs qualified with Elise Mertens in 2018, Anna-Lena Groenefeld in 2019 and Nicole Melichar-Martinez in 2021 (the 2020 edition of the WTA Finals was not held).