Meet your elite eight: A snapshot of the WTA Finals contenders

It’s already been a glorious 2024 season on the Hologic WTA Tour -- and there are still six more regular-season events playing out in Asia, including WTA 500 tournaments in Ningbo and Tokyo.

But the finish line -- the Nov. 2-9 PIF WTA Finals in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia -- looms large. On Wednesday, Olympic gold medalist Zheng Qinwen and Wimbledon champion Barbora Krejcikova locked down the last two singles spots.

Here’s a first look at your elite eight for this year’s WTA Finals: 

1. Aryna Sabalenka

2024 W-L: 54-12

2024 titles: 4 (Australian Open, Cincinnati, US Open, Wuhan)

Previous WTA Finals appearances: 3

Best WTA Finals result: 2022 runner-up

The skinny: Sabalenka’s season has been all about setting the pace. She kicked off the year with a statement win at the Australian Open and, since late August, has dominated by capturing three titles in her past four tournaments, including a Grand Slam and two WTA 1000s. Now leading the PIF singles race, Sabalenka is poised to finish as the year-end World No.1, a spot she narrowly missed last year to Swiatek.

2. Iga Swiatek

2024 W-L: 54-7

2024 titles: 5 (Doha, Indian Wells, Madrid, Rome, Roland Garros)

Previous WTA Finals appearances: 3

Best WTA Finals result: 2023 winner

The skinny: Swiatek came out blazing this year, winning those five titles in the first six months. That included her fourth French Open win. Since then, her level has fallen. Despite being the favorite, she won a bronze medal at the Olympics in Paris. And after splitting with coach Tomasz Wiktorowski, she chose to sit out the Asian swing. Don’t bet against her though; last year, against long odds, Swiatek won her last 11 matches to wrest the No.1 ranking back from Sabalenka.

3. Coco Gauff

2024 W-L: 48-15

2024 titles: 2 (Auckland, Beijing)

Previous WTA Finals appearances: 2

Best WTA Finals result: 2023 semifinals

The skinny: This is her third trip to the year-end championships and Gauff is still the youngest player in the field -- two years junior to Zheng. Gauff reached the semifinals at Roland Garros and has put together a strong finish to the season. She’s won 12 of 14 matches, including all six at the China Open in Beijing.

4. Jasmine Paolini

2024 W-L: 37-17

2024 titles: 1 (Dubai)

Previous WTA Finals appearances: 0

The skinny: The 28-year-old Italian came the furthest, going from a year-end ranking of No.30 to her present No.6. Paolini broke through with a WTA 1000 title in Dubai, but the Grand Slams were her playground. Before 2024, she had never been past the second round of a major, but this year she advanced to the finals at both Roland Garros and Wimbledon; considering the radically different surfaces, a rare feat.

5. Elena Rybakina

2024 W-L: 41-9

2024 titles: 3 (Brisbane, Abu Dhabi, Stuttgart)

Previous WTA Finals appearances: 1

Best WTA Finals result: Went 1-2 in group play

The skinny: It’s been an uneven season for Rybakina, who has struggled with illness and injury. She won those three titles in the season’s first four months and was also a finalist in Doha and Miami, falling, respectively, to Swiatek and Danielle Collins. But since reaching the semifinals at Wimbledon, where she was champion in 2022, Rybakina has played only three matches, losing two.

6. Jessica Pegula

2024 W-L: 38-13

2024 titles: 2 (Berlin, Toronto)

Previous WTA Finals appearances: 2

Best WTA Finals result: 2023 final

The skinny: Even Pegula had difficulty visualizing herself in the WTA Finals field -- until she went on a “crazy” late-summer run. She won the National Bank Open in Toronto, then reached the finals in Cincinnati and the US Open, losing to Sabalenka both times. It was good for 15 wins in 17 matches and a third straight ticket to the Finals.

7. Zheng Qinwen

2024 W-L: 37-16

2024 titles: 2 (Palermo, Olympics)

Previous WTA Finals appearances: 0

The skinny: Not included in those WTA-only titles was the Olympics, and that victory in Paris, in terms of confidence, was worth its weight in, well, gold. Zheng won four of five matches in her past three events – the US Open, China Open and Wuhan Open. That was good enough to match her career-high ranking of No.7, first achieved after she reached the Australian Open finals back in January. Zheng is the No.2 seed in Ningbo.

8. Barbora Krejcikova

2024 W-L: 15-12

2024 titles: 1 (Wimbledon)

WTA Finals appearances: 1

Best WTA Finals result: Went 0-3 in group play

Krejcikova was visited by both injury and illness this year. After the Australian Open, she went through a painful patch, winning only two of 11 matches. And then it all came together on the grass at the All England Club. Krejcikova took out four Top 15 players -- Collins, Jelena Ostapenko, Rybakina and Paolini – to collect her second major singles title. Krejcikova is currently at No.13 in the rankings, but in a rule invoked for the first time, she qualifies on the basis of winning a major title and finishing in the Top 20. Krejcikova is playing this week in Ningbo.