Maria Sharapova has only played half a match since making the Wimbledon semi-finals in early July, as she spent the last few months nursing a leg injury and more recently struggled with an arm problem.
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But as she strutted towards the stage in a black and white, floral print, flouncy-skirted dress yesterday at the WTA Finals draw ceremony in Singapore, it felt like the Russian world No. 3 was never gone.
Ready with her game face on, Sharapova, the ultimate professional, smiled at the cameras posing with one arm on one hip, laughed when event host Andrew Krasny reminded her about her eighth appearance at the Finals – “don’t tell me that, it makes me feel really old” she quipped – and took in the roar of adulation coming from the fans lining up the balconies at the fancy Shoppes at Marina Bay Sands mall.
She may be short on match play but the ferocious competitor in Sharapova is always up for a good fight. The two-time WTA Finals champion is drawn in the Red Group alongside top-seed and last year’s runner-up Simona Halep, Poland’s Agnieszka Radwanska and US Open champion Flavia Pennetta.
“I am really excited to be part of this event as I haven’t competed in the last few months. I think it is just an exciting opportunity for me to be part of the field. Every group you’re going to be a part of is just going to be difficult no matter what, so everyone has a great chance,” said Sharapova, who has played the WTA Finals in four different cities – Los Angeles, Madrid, Istanbul and Singapore – since her 2004 debut.
“All in all it is the last event of the year and I am sure everyone will be playing some of their best tennis.”
Halep returns to the scene of one of her most impressive triumphs, having beaten Serena Williams in the round robin stage last year. She lost to the American when they met again in the final, but Singapore remains an event that showed us yet another impressive side of the feisty Romanian.
“It is (a lot of pressure), but I’m really happy to be back here. Last year was an amazing tournament for me. Yes, I’m a bit nervous but I’m also excited and want to enjoy it,” said Halep. “Every match is very tough. I expect tough matches. Every match is like a final. I’m trying to be focused for what I have to do and enjoy the tournament.”
In the White Group, No. 2 seed and Wimbledon runner-up Garbine Muguruza faces an all-lefty field in Petra Kvitova, Angelique Kerber and Lucie Safarova.
The Venezuelan-born Spaniard qualified for the WTA Finals in both singles and doubles – alongside partner Carla Suarez Navarro – and competed in Singapore last year but only in doubles.
She will be making her singles debut at the event this week and is brimming with confidence having made the final in Wuhan and taken the title in Beijing in her last two events.
“They’re all lefties. It’s interesting. It’s weird, right?” the 22-year-old said of the bizarre coincidence of her draw. “The matches are very tough here anyway. It’s curious. I’m going to be playing the next couple of days against only lefties. Three matches, three lefties. I have a lefty coach, also. I’ve never played a round robin singles before, so it’s also the first time.”
Good luck to all the girls playing the #WTAFinals in Singapore! May the best player win!
— Ana Ivanovic (@AnaIvanovic) October 23, 2015
Muguruza has a losing record against only one of her opponents – French Open runner-up Lucie Safarova, who has also qualified in singles and doubles.
Safarova sealed her spot in doubles, with Bethanie Mattek-Sands, back in August, but the Czech only booked her singles ticket last Thursday, when Suarez Navarro lost in Moscow.
Safarova was struck by a mysterious bacterial infection last month and was hospitalised for several days before a bunch of different antibiotics helped her recover. She has only played two matches since her return – one in Linz and one in Moscow.
“I hope it’s going to be good matches ahead. I’m feeling pretty good right now. I’ve had a couple tournaments, a couple matches, so I’m ready to go. I’m excited to be here,” said the 28-year-old WTA Finals debutante.
