Svetlana Kuznetsova denied Johanna Konta a chance to be the first Briton to qualify for the WTA Championships since 1984. Kuznetsova defeated Australian Daria Gavrilova in the Kremlin Cup final to secure her spot in the top 8 in the last stages of qualification.
According to Mail Online, Konta flew out to Singapore this week to get ready for the event. Kuznetsova's win was the only way to stop Konta from qualifying for the tournament. Konta is now the tournament's first alternative who will play if one of the qualifiers gets injured.
Konta will most likely end up playing in the WTA Elite Trophy in Zhuhai, China. The eight players ranked below the top eight are the ones qualified to play in the tournament. This week, Konta will also be receiving the WTA Most Improved Player of the Year award. In 2015, Konta enjoyed a sudden rise in the rankings, and will finish the 2016 season in the top 10.
Hours after Kuznetsova's win in Moscow, she flew to Singapore and went directly to the practice courts to prepare for her first match against defending champion Agnieszka Radwanska. Despite the jet lag, Kuznetsova stated that she is happy to be in Singapore.
A photo posted by Светлана Кузнецова/Kuznetsova (@svetlanak27) on Oct 23, 2016 at 8:50am PDT
Kuznetsova apologized to Konta saying she feels sorry for her, and that she finds the situation "strange." The two-time grand slam winner then suggested for WTA to look into the rules.
Kuznetsova will be playing in the WTA Championship for the first time since 2009. She described her qualification for the Championship as a bonus for a great season.
Head-to-head, Kuznetsova leads Radwanska with 12 wins compared to Radwanska's 4, but Kuznetsova will obviously be more fatigued coming into the match. She believes that she has a disadvantage over the players who have been in Singapore for a while.
