LONDON – Two-time major winner Garbine Muguruza bolstered her chances of qualifying for the season-ending WTA Finals next month with a comeback victory over Tunisia’s Ons Jabeur to claim the Chicago Fall Tennis Classic title.
The Spaniard, a former world number one, was down a set and a break but fought back strongly to beat Jabeur 3-6 6-3 6-0 to claim her second title of the year and ninth overall.
The victory helped Muguruza climb two spots to number six on the Race to the WTA Finals leaderboard and three places on the women’s rankings.
“Making finals is so hard,” the 27-year-old, who has contested four finals this year, told the WTA according to Reuters. “I’ve been around for quite some time now and I know that winning titles is something very difficult.
“To have the opportunity to win four and I won two, is already a great sign because that’s something that you can touch. You can prove hey, we’re doing a great job. Here’s a trophy, we’re doing good.”
Muguruza is aiming to qualify for her first WTA Finals since 2017, having played the event three times from 2015 when it was held in Singapore.
Defending champion and top-ranked Ash Barty, world number two Aryna Sabalenka, world number three Karolina Pliskova and French Open champion Barbora Krejcikova have all qualified for next month’s tournament.
Big-serving Czech Pliskova was the latest to secure her spot in Guadalajara on Monday, having reached the finals of the WTA 1000 events in Rome and Montreal and Wimbledon in July.
The Finals, contested by the world’s top eight singles players and eight doubles teams, was moved out of China’s Shenzhen after last year’s event was cancelled due to the COVID-19 pandemic and will be held in Guadalajara, Mexico.
“I know it’s going to be very nice over there because Latin people are fire,” the Venezuelan-born said. “I think the girls are going to enjoy it.”
Jabeur, who is looking to become the first Arab woman to qualify for the WTA Finals, was ninth on the leaderboard.
Muguruza, Sloane Stephens, Victoria Azarenka, Angelique Kerber and Barbora Krejcikova and US Open runner-up Leylah Fernandez are among the players named for the 12 teams at next month´s Billie Jean King Cup Finals.
Defending champion France returns Caroline Garcia, Alize Cornet and Fiona Ferro from the group that won the event in 2019. The 2020 edition was called off because of the coronavirus pandemic.
Matches will be played in Prague on Nov. 1-6.
The host Czech Republic will be led by 2021 French Open singles and doubles champion Krejcikova.
She is joined by Marketa Vondrousova, the 2019 French Open runner-up and Tokyo Olympics singles silver medalist, and Katerina Siniakova, who was Krejcikova´s doubles partner for three Grand Slam doubles titles and a gold medal at the Summer Games.
Olympic singles champion Belinda Bencic is on Switzerland´s team, while Muguruza will play for Spain along with Carla Suarez Navarro, Azarenka is on the Belarus roster, Kerber leads Germany, Fernandez is on Canada’s team and Stephens is joined by Jessica Pegula, Danielle Collins, CoCo Vandeweghe and Caroline Dolehide on the US roster.
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