Vondrousova, Muchova and Jabeur complete 2023 WTA Finals Cancun field

And then there were eight. Marketa Vondrousova, Karolina Muchova and Ons Jabeur captured the final three spots at this year’s WTA finals, completing the elite eight lineup for the star-studded event, which will be held from October 29th to November 5th at the Estadio Paradisus in Cancun.

Vondrousova, Muchova and Jabeur will be joined by world No 1 and 2023 Australian Open champion Aryna Sabalenka, four-time Grand Slam champion Iga Swiatek, 2023 US Open champion Coco Gauff, 2022 Wimbledon champion Elena Rybakina and Jessica Pegula.

Five of the eight players have previously won Grand Slam titles, and five have already competed at the event beore. Vondrousova, Muchova and Rybakina will each be making their WTA Finals debut.

The doubles field: five spots yet to be claimed

Three teams – Pegula-Gauff, Elise Mertens-Storm Hunter and Barbora Krejcikova-Katerina Siniakova have already qualified, with Demi Schuurs-Desirae Krawczyk next in line.

Below, see the doubles Race to Cancun standings (top 10 only) as it stands on October 6, 2023:

Scroll down for more on each singles player in the elite eight…

Aryna Sabalenka

The current world No 1 claimed her first major title in 2023 at the Australian Open, and more recently became the WTA’s 29th world No 1 after the US Open. Sabalenka lost last year’s WTA Finals title match to Caroline Garcia, in Fort Worth, Texas.

2. Iga Swiatek

Iga Swiatek won her fourth major title at Roland-Garros and has already eclipsed the 60-win mark in 2023, for the second consecutive season. The Pole’s run of 75 consecutive weeks at No 1 ended after the US Open but she could very well take it back with a few good performances down the stretch in 2023.

Swiatek lost in the semif-finals at last year’s WTA Finals, to Sabalenka.

3. Coco Gauff

The teen wunderkind claimed her maiden Slam title at the US Open, and is currently riding a career-best 16-match winning streak (prior to the semi-finals in Beijing). Gauff also qualified for the WTA Finals last year, but did not win a match. A year later, everything is different for the Florida native.

4. Elena Rybakina

The 2022 Wimbledon champion will make her WTA Finals debut after racking up a fantastic season that has seen her win 1000-level titles at Indian Wells and Rome. Rybakina also reached the Australian Open final and the Miami final and has notched multiple wins over both Sabalenka and Swiatek.

5. Jessica Pegula

The ever consistent American has been knocking on the door at the majors for years – she has reached the quarter-finals in five of the eight Grand Slams she has played in the last two seasons while becoming a bona fide top 5 talent. Pegula claimed her second 1000-level title at Montreal this year as well. Like Gauff, she went winless on her WTA Finals debut in 2022.

6. Marketa Vondrousova

This year’s Wimbledon champion has long been a disruptive force on tour, but she ticked the next level in 2023, with a clean bill of health after several years of injury issues. The 24-year-old, who became the first unseeded player to win Wimbledon when she defeated Jabeur in the final, reached a career-high ranking of No 6 and has already racked up 40 wins on the season.

7. Karolina Muchova

Thanks to Muchova, the Czechs are the second nation (along with USA) to have two singles representatives at this year’s WTA Finals. Muchova delighted purists with her run to the Roland-Garros final this spring, and the 27-year old also reached the Cincinnati final. Like Vondrousova, she is blossoming after years of injury struggles – Muchova reached a career-high ranking of No 8 in the world on September 11.

8. Ons Jabeur

The Tunisian has suffered her share of injuries – and heartbreak – in 2023, but she was good enough to get back to the Wimbledon final, and reached the quarter-finals at Roland-Garros. Jabeur made her debut at the WTA Finals and lost two out of three matches in the Round Robin stage.

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