Defending champion Caroline Wozniacki will be back in Singapore in an attempt to defend her title, having qualified for the 2018 WTA Finals after a year with stellar results. It was (sort of) a breakthrough year for Wozniacki, who finally broke the duck and came back from the brink to claim her maiden Grand Slam title at the Australian Open. She also grabbed her 30th career title at the China Open, and with these impressive results, she consolidated her spot in the top-five and looks to end the year there.
Just one year ago, Wozniacki reached seven finals and sealed a spot in the WTA Finals where she looked invincible and ended up being the champion. This year, Wozniacki will make her third appearance in Singapore, where the event will be held for the last time as the five-year contract will expire after this year’s edition.
Fantastic 2018 for Wozniacki
Wozniacki reached the final of the ASB Classic to start the year with — allowing her to be seeded second at the Australian Open. There, she came out of nowhere to claim her first Major title, especially after fending off two match points in the second round against unheralded Jana Fett before staging another magnificent comeback in the final against world number one Simona Halep to claim the biggest trophy of her career and return atop the rankings for the first time since 2011.
A fantastic win against Angelique Kerber saw her reaching the semifinals in Doha, and although a barren run on clay courts followed, Wozniacki managed to regain her form on grass, surprisingly. Stunningly, she defeated Camila Giorgi, Johanna Konta, Ashleigh Barty, Angelique Kerber and Aryna Sabalenka to hoist the trophy at the Nature Valley International having saved a match point against Kerber in the last four.
Another poor run of results followed but Wozniacki excelled at the big stages once more. She defeated six opponents with an average ranking of 31 but did not face a seeded opponent en route to her third title of the year at the China Open. Nonetheless, this title run sealed her qualification for the year-ending Championships.
Happy to be back again
Wozniacki won the title last year, defeating both Simona Halep and Elina Svitolina with 6-0, 6-2 scorelines in the group stage before overcoming a 0-7 head-to-head deficit against Venus Williams in the final. She also competed in 2014, when she ousted Maria Sharapova in a marathon three-setter but narrowly falling to eventual champion Serena Williams in the semifinals.
Wozniacki has a huge ton of points to defend here in Singapore, having won the title last year. Nonetheless, qualifying for the tournament is already an incredible feat itself. “I’m very happy to qualify for the WTA Finals. Winning the WTA Finals last year was a huge accomplishment for me, and helped my confidence leading into this season. I look forward to coming back to Singapore to try and defend my title.”