Rafael Nadal and Nick Kyrgios could face off in the inaugural United Cup, while WTA world number one Iga Swiatek will represent Poland.
The United Cup is the new warm-up tournament for the ATP and WTA Tour seasons, and will take place in Australia in December and January.
While ATP world number one Carlos Alcaraz will not feature, compatriot Nadal will be competing for Spain, and they have been drawn alongside Australia and Great Britain in Group D.
Those matches will be played in Perth, with a clash between Nadal and Kyrgios, who have enjoyed an entertaining rivalry down the years, in the offing.
They were set to meet in the semi-finals at Wimbledon this year, but Nadal withdrew due to injury, handing Kyrgios a walkover into his first grand slam final, which he lost to Novak Djokovic, who will not be playing in Australia.
Serbia are not among the batch of teams taking part, but even so, there remains doubt whether Djokovic would be able to enter Australia given his stance against the COVID-19 vaccine, which eventually saw him deported from the country after a drawn-out legal battle ahead of this year's Australian Open.
Emma Raducanu has decided against playing for the British team, which also does not feature Andy Murray.
Casper Ruud, the beaten US Open finalist, will play for Norway in Group E, in Brisbane, while Alexander Zverev will be in action for Germany.
Swiatek is the biggest name from the WTA Tour to enter, with the brilliant 21-year-old lining up alongside Hubert Hurkacz for Poland in Group B.
Maria Sakkari and Stefanos Tsitsipas, along with his brother Petros, will team up for Greece in Group A.
Two more countries will be admitted to the tournament later in November.
Caroline Garcia spoke of her "giant happiness" after coming through a "big fight" to defeat Aryna Sabalenka and become the WTA Finals champion.
The 29-year-old became just the second Frenchwoman after Amelie Mauresmo in 2005 to win the season-ending tournament by coming through a bruising encounter 7-6 (7-4) 6-4 in Fort Worth, Texas.
Victory propels Garcia back to a joint-career high ranking of fourth, having been languishing down in the mid-70s as recently as June following a series of injuries.
"It's definitely a lot of giant happiness," Garcia said at her post-match press conference.
"A crazy final, a lot of intensity on every point. Just really proud of the work we did through all the year. It was a great match – really went for it. I'm really happy to win my biggest title.
"Just very happy about the mindset, to be really calm at every moment. All the negative emotion doesn't affect me, and that was really a big part of taking the few opportunities I had in the tie-breaker and the first game I broke her in the second."
With the win, Garcia pockets $1.57million in prize money and 1,375 ranking points.
Her triumph in Fort Worth is the culmination of sparkling form that has seen her win every final she has played in 2022, while she has won eight of her last nine over the past six years.
It also marks a fine return to the top table. Back in 2017, 11 straight victories to win WTA 1000 events in Wuhan and Beijing saw Garcia first enter the top 10 and earn a maiden trip to the WTA Finals where she lost to Venus Williams in the semi-finals.
"Sometimes you are emotional or things don't go your way," Garcia said.
"I mean, sometimes there is a big fight, so you have to find your way through it. Some points, where you cannot do anything. You just try to put in the return and to run as fast as you can to the other side.
"And that was one of the biggest points I improved. Today one of the most important things was to stay calm and jump on every opportunity."
Sabalenka had knocked out top seed Iga Swiatek to reach the showpiece match but hit two costly double faults in the first-set breaker – an area that she has struggled with throughout the year.
"I just dropped my level for a little bit. On the tie-break and the first game of the second set. That's it," a rueful Sabalenka reflected.
"I did my best, [but] she played unbelievable tennis."
Caroline Garcia is this season's WTA Finals champion after defeating Aryna Sabalenka 7-6 (7-4) 6-4 in Monday's decider in Fort Worth.
Her road to the final included wins against Coco Gauff, Daria Kasatkina and Maria Sakkari, with her only loss coming against world number one Iga Swiatek, who was eliminated by Sabalenka in the semi-final.
Against Sabalenka, Garcia showed off her powerful serve early as she racked up 10 of her 11 aces in the opening set.
Neither player had a single break point opportunity in the first frame, with both competitors winning exactly 70 per cent of their service points, but after going down a mini-break in the tiebreaker, Garcia rattled off six consecutive points to pull away.
She nabbed the decisive break in the very first game of the second set, serving it out well as she again denied Sabalenka any break point chances.
In one of the biggest matches of her career, Garcia played lights-out, committing just 10 unforced errors with her 24 winners while serving only one double-fault.
She was outside of the top-70 in the world rankings at this time last year, but with the win, Garcia will rise and equal her career-best ranking of fourth in the world.
ACES/DOUBLE FAULTS
Garcia - 11/1
Sabalenka - 4/3
WINNERS/DOUBLE FAULTS
Garcia - 24/10
Sabalenka - 15/11
BREAK POINTS WON
Garcia - 1/1
Sabalenka - 0/0
Aryna Sabalenka eliminated world number one Iga Swiatek 6-2 2-6 6-1 on Sunday to advance to the decider of the WTA Finals.
Swiatek had not lost a set during her week in Fort Worth entering the contest, earning her spot in the semi-final after straight-sets wins against Coco Gauff, Caroline Garcia and Daria Kasatkina.
Needing to start well to give herself a chance against the in-form Polish star, Sabalenka did just that, breaking Swiatek in her first service game.
Swiatek broke back instantly, but she had no response when the BelaruSsian secured two more breaks of serve in the opening frame to wrap it up in 40 minutes.
After winning only 43 per cent (12-of-28) of her service points in the first set, Swiatek seemed to figure things out in the second, raising that number to 61 per cent (17-of-28) to win the first four games and run away with it and send the match to a decider.
But Swiatek's uncharacteristic errors came back to bite her, committing two double faults in each of the three sets, and after posting a combined 21 winners with 17 unforced errors in the first two frames, she mustered only five winners with nine unforced errors in the last.
Sabalenka rattled off five consecutive games to close out the match, utilising her imposing serve to get the job done, serving 12 aces to Swiatek's one.
She will now face Caroline Garcia in the final after the Frenchwoman proved too strong for Maria Sakkari in a 6-3 6-2 victory earlier in the day.
ACES/DOUBLE FAULTS
Sabalenka - 12/9
Swiatek - 1/6
WINNERS/UNFORCED ERRORS
Sabalenka - 23/19
Swiatek - 26/26
BREAK POINTS WON
Sabalenka - 6/13
Swiatek - 4/10
Caroline Garcia produced a dominant performance to overcome Maria Sakkari 6-3 6-2 in the last four of the WTA Finals in Fort Worth on Sunday.
Garcia emerged as the victor of a topsy-turvy tussle with Daria Kasatkina on Saturday, but enjoyed a far more routine outing as she sealed her first final appearance at the competition.
Sakkari had cruised through the Nancy Richey Group with three straight-sets victories, but fell some way short of those lofty standards as she failed to force a single break-point in the opener.
Garcia took 80 per cent of points on her first serve in the opening set, breaking in the fourth game and dictating proceedings from the baseline in impressive fashion.
The match resembled something of a procession after Garcia claimed consecutive breaks to seize the initiative in the second set, and the French Open champion sealed the victory when Sakkari's weak return clipped the net.
Garcia has now won seven matches against top-10 opponents in 2022, becoming the first French player to post seven such victories in a calendar year since Amelie Mauresmo in 2009.
The world number six is also the first player to reach the title match at the WTA Finals after turning 29 years old since Venus Williams did so in 2017, and will now bid to cap a tremendous year with victory over either Iga Swiatek or Aryna Sabalenka.
WINNERS/UNFORCED ERRORS
Garcia – 21/17
Sakkari – 8/19
ACES/DOUBLE FAULTS
Garcia – 6/1
Sakkari – 0/1
BREAK POINTS WON
Garcia – 4/5
Sakkari – 1/3
World number one Iga Swiatek won the Tracy Austin Group in style with a comprehensive straight-sets victory over Coco Gauff in the WTA Finals in Fort Worth on Saturday.
Swiatek made it three wins out of three matches in the group stage without dropping a set, getting past fourth seed Gauff 6-3 6-0 in one hour and 10 minutes.
The 2022 US Open and French Open champion advances and will take on seventh seed Aryna Sabalenka in the WTA Finals semi-finals on Sunday.
The Pole made light work of Gauff, improving her head-to-head dominance to 5-0, with her 28-minute second set representing the 22nd bagel she has doled out this season.
Swiatek committed 15 unforced errors in the first set, but made only two in a lopsided second frame where she won 26 of 36 points.
Gauff had pushed Swiatek to 3-3 in the first set, before the top seed broke her twice to clinch the opening frame, putting her foot to the throat in the second.
WINNERS/UNFORCED ERRORS
Swiatek - 20/17
Gauff - 5/15
ACES/DOUBLE FAULTS
Swiatek - 0/1
Gauff - 4/1
BREAK POINTS WON
Swiatek - 5/10
Gauff - 0/3
13 - Only Justine Henin in 2007 (11) has won the group dropping fewest games in the Round Robin at the WTA Finals since the current format was re-introduced in 2003 than Iga Swiatek this season (13). Tornado.@WTA @WTA_insider @WTAFinals pic.twitter.com/cAd0dnfQ3k
— OptaAce (@OptaAce) November 6, 2022
Caroline Garcia came out on top in an almighty battle with Daria Kasatkina to complete the WTA Finals semi-final line-up on Saturday.
The winner of the Tracy Austin Group match in Fort Worth knew they would face Maria Sakkari in the last four and it was world number six Garcia who got the job done.
Frenchwoman Garcia won 4-6 6-1 7-6 (7-5) in a topsy-turvy contest that was finally settled in two hours and 27 minutes.
Kasatkina won four games in a row to take the opening set, but sixth seed Garcia stormed back to level the match in emphatic fashion as her aggressive approach paid off.
Russian Kasatkina twice came from a break down in a tense decider and fended off six break points in the ninth game of the final set to hold for a 5-4 lead, but Garcia held her nerve in the tie-break to advance.
Garcia and Sakkari will do battle for a place in the final on Sunday, with the winner facing either Iga Swiatek or Aryna Sabalenka.
WINNERS/UNFORCED ERRORS
Garcia- 42/48
Kasatkina - 16/26
ACES/DOUBLE FAULTS
Garcia - 4/2
Kasatkina - 1/8
BREAK POINTS WON
Garcia - 6/14
Kasatkina - 5/7
Maria Sakkari had no issues in her last WTA Finals group stage match against Ons Jabeur, cruising through to the final-four with a 6-2 6-3 victory on Friday.
Sakkari needed only 69 minutes for the straight-sets win, making it her third straight-sets triumph in the Nancy Richey Group after also blowing past Aryna Sabalenka and Jessica Pegula.
Greece's Sakkari took advantage of some wastefulness from Jabeur, with the Tunisian posting 19 unforced errors with just eight errors. Her efficiency did not improve in the second set, managing only three winners with 12 unforced errors.
Sakkari's serve was a weapon throughout, landing 70 per cent of her first-serves fair and converting 82 per cent of those chances (27-of-33) into points.
Jabeur could have advanced through to the next round with a win, but instead Aryna Sabalenka will advance with Sakkari out of the Nancy Richey Group.
The only other player yet to lose a set in the tournament is Iga Swiatek in the Tracy Austin Group – who has only played two matches so far.
WINNERS/UNFORCED ERRORS
Sakkari - 11/10
Jabeur - 11/31
ACES/DOUBLE FAULTS
Sakkari - 2/2
Jabeur - 0/3
BREAK POINTS WON
Sakkari - 4/7
Jabeur - 1/2
Aryna Sabalenka kept her hopes of progressing to last four of the WTA Finals alive with a straight-sets win over Jessica Pegula.
Sabalenka claimed her second win in three matches with a 6-3 7-5 triumph against her American opponent in Fort Worth, Texas.
Having dominated the opening set, Sabalenka twice failed to consolidate a break of serve in the second.
However, she struck for a third and final time to claim a win that means she will go through in second place in Group Nancy Richey if Maria Sakkari, who is already through, wins a set against Ons Jabeur in the final round-robin match. Pegula exits having lost all three of her matches.
"I’m just happy that I was really focused from the beginning to the end and I was able to finish this match in two sets," Sabalenka said afterwards.
Sabalenka struck 31 winners en route to victory, hitting at least 30 for the 16th match this season.
Only Caroline Garcia (18) and Elena Rybakina (17) have had more such matches on the WTA Tour in 2022, indicating that, if Sabalenka does go through, she has the firepower to threaten to claim the trophy.
BREAK POINTS WON
Sabalenka - 6/12
Pegula - 3/5
ACES/DOUBLE FAULTS
Swiatek - 1/3
Kasatkina - 1/1
Eighth seed Daria Kasatkina claimed her first win at this year's WTA Finals after fighting back for a comprehensive straight-sets victory over Coco Gauff in Fort Worth on Thursday.
Kasatkina trailed 4-1 in the first set but rallied to win the opening frame in a tiebreak, before dominating the second set to win 7-6 (8-6) 6-3 in one hour and 40 minutes.
The victory is Kasatkina's 41st of the year and 25th on the hard-court surface this season. Kasatkina is 29-0 this season when she wins the first set.
Gauff has now suffered two singles losses and two doubles defeats in Fort Worth this week, producing an erratic performance, where she committed 34 unforced errors compared to the Russian's 10.
Kasatkina had to earn the victory, with the first set lasting 66 minutes, as the eighth seed rallied from 3-0 down in the tiebreak to take the frame with her third set point.
The second set was more dominant, with Kasatkina claiming it in 35 minutes, although it included five straight broken games. Kasatkina converted her first match point from another Gauff error.
BREAK POINTS WON
Kasatkina - 6/10
Gauff - 5/8
ACES/DOUBLE FAULTS
Kasatkina - 2/2
Gauff - 1/2
WINNERS/UNFORCED ERRORS
Kasatkina - 10/10
Gauff - 25/34
Iga Swiatek moved onto the verge of sealing her place in the final four of the WTA Finals as she cruised to a 6-3 6-2 triumph over Caroline Garcia at Fort Worth on Thursday.
Garcia was the only WTA Finals player to have beaten Swiatek this year, but the world number one swept her aside with an impressive display in one hour and 23 minutes.
Swiatek remains yet to lose a set at Fort Worth and will qualify for the semi-finals should Coco Gauff fail to beat Daria Kasatkina in two sets, or if Kasatkina wins.
Garcia managed the first break in the third game of the opener, but Swiatek broke back immediately before finding another at 4-3 up, kicking on from there to take the opening set.
The Pole was excellent in the second set, breaking Garcia twice to secure another victory and inch closer to the final four.
Swiatek gets some measure of revenge for the 6-1 1-6 6-4 defeat to Garcia at the Warsaw Open quarter-finals in July, her only loss on clay over the season.
A Kasatkina win against Gauff will see Swiatek advance as group winner, while a Gauff win in three sets will seal her progression but leave her position in the group undecided.
WINNERS/UNFORCED ERRORS
Swiatek - 17/8
Garcia - 16/14
ACES/DOUBLE FAULTS
Swiatek - 1/2
Garcia - 3/3
BREAK POINTS WON
Swiatek - 4/5
Garcia - 1/6
Maria Sakkari is yet to lose a set through two WTA Finals games, defeating Aryna Sabalenka 6-2 6-4 on Wednesday to advance through the Nancy Richey Group into the final-four.
The first set was relatively smooth sailing for the Greek, taking advantage of Sabalenka's errors to break twice.
Belarus' Sabalenka did create some chances herself, with two break opportunities compared to Sakkari's four, but could not take either. She also committed the only two double faults of the opening frame, and had 13 unforced errors with her seven winners, while Sakkari had an even four unforced errors and four winners.
The second set was more of the same, with Sabalenka committing 16 unforced errors with only eight winners as Sakkari collected an early double-break to go up 3-0, seemingly coasting to victory.
But Sabalenka fought back, winning the next four games in a row to briefly take the lead in the set. Unfortunately for her, the see-sawing contest saw Sakkari rattle off the next three games to close out the win.
Sabalenka is still a chance to advance to the next round after defeating Ons Jabeur in her opening fixture.
WINNERS/UNFORCED ERRORS
Sakkari - 15/16
Sabalenka - 15/29
ACES/DOUBLE FAULTS
Sakkari - 1/1
Sabalenka - 0/4
BREAK POINTS WON
Sakkari - 5/7
Sabalenka - 2/7
World number two Ons Jabeur kept her chances of WTA Finals success intact as she came from behind to defeat Jessica Pegula.
Having lost to Aryna Sabalenka in her opening match in Fort Worth, US Open and Wimbledon runner-up Jabeur was staring down a group-stage exit from the tournament when she found herself 1-6 2-3 down halfway through the second set on Wednesday.
Yet the 28-year-old hit back to triumph 1-6 6-3 6-3 over her American opponent, the world number three, who has now lost both of her matches in the Nancy Richey group.
Jabeur reeled off four straight games to take the momentum and, after fending off four break points to hold serve in the first game of the deciding set, did not look back, clinching a decisive break to nose 5-3 ahead.
A stray Pegula cross-court forehand wrapped up Jabeur's comeback win, and the Tunisian, who is aiming to become the first African player to reach the semi-finals at the season-ending tournament, can now turn focus to her final group game against Maria Sakkari, who she has faced three times previously, losing twice.
Jabeur's victory was her third against a top-three opponent, after beating Simona Halep in 2018 and Karolina Pliskova in 2020, while only world number one Iga Swiatek has won more matches this season (47).
BREAK POINTS WON
Jabeur - 4/10
Pegula - 4/9
WINNERS/UNFORCED ERRORS
Jabeur - 27/29
Pegula - 11/16
ACES/DOUBLE FAULTS
Jabeur - 1/2
Pegula - 0/5
Tennis great Billie Jean King believes it is "important" for people to go to the World Cup in Qatar and "be an influencer" amid ongoing concerns over the country's human rights record. FIFA's decision to allow Qatar to host the World Cup has faced persistent criticism, with concerns cited over the human rights standards in a country where same-sex relationships are prohibited. England captain Harry Kane will be among eight skippers to wear a distinctive heart-adorned armband at the tournament, raising awareness for the OneLove campaign against discrimination King has been a regular promoter of equality, helping to secure equal prize money at tennis' four majors, and outlined her support for Qatar, where she would not be against hosting the WTA's Billie Jean Cup. "I probably would be because, first of all, the WTA went there years ago," the 78-year-old responded when asked if she would allow her tournament's finals to be held by the World Cup hosts. "I get a lot of different people coming to me saying 'why would you play there the way they treat women?' But personally, I think it's important to show up and be an influencer. "I think it's delicate, no question. But I think it's important to go if you get the opportunity and everything else fits too, not just go there for money or whatever."
Qatar faced more scrutiny after an Amnesty International report in 2021 alleged thousands of migrant workers were exploited, with the country's government denying those claims but acknowledging problems.
King is no stranger to the Middle East either, having supported the WTA Finals being played in Doha, where she said the tournament created opportunities for female tennis players.
"We were there four or five years and I think it helped," the American added. "When I went there I did a clinic for the kids but only for the girls.
"Somebody was left-handed, which is sinister to them, and this mother was saying she hoped her left-handed daughter could one day become a champion and get rid of that stigma.
"These are the kind of discussions you can have when you're physically there. So I'm big on going actually, even if I know it's a fine line of how you do it."
The World Cup starts in 18 days when Qatar face Ecuador at Al Bayt Stadium, Al Khor.
Caroline Garcia is off to a perfect start in her first WTA Finals appearance since 2017, collecting a straight-sets win over Coco Gauff to share top spot of the Tracy Austin Group with Iga Swiatek.
Garcia won 6-4 6-3 in one hour and 18 minutes in Fort Worth, proving slightly better with her return game throughout, creating four break point opportunities in both sets while Gauff could only muster one in each.
Gauff was the one to strike first, securing a break in the opening game of the match, but Garcia got it back instantly to tie things at 1-1, and then when leading 5-4, Garcia broke again to wrap up the first set.
Things could have spiralled for the 18-year-old American when she fell down a break in the second set, but she responded well, breaking back in the next game.
But Garcia kept the pressure on for a second break before serving it out safely. It is her second consecutive win over Gauff after also eliminating her from the US Open quarter-final, and evens their head-to-head ledger at two apiece after Gauff took the first two meetings.
BREAK POINTS WON
Garcia - 4/8
Gauff - 2/2
ACES/DOUBLE FAULTS
Garcia - 1/3
Gauff - 1/2
WINNERS/UNFORCED ERRORS
Garcia - 20/23
Gauff - 12/14
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