The two round-robin groups for the WTA Championships in Istanbul are set. The tournament begins on Tuesday. No. 1 Caroline Wozniacki heads the Red Group, which also includes No. 3 Petra Kvitova, No. 6 Vera Zvonareva and No. 8 Agnieszka Radwanska. No. 2 Maria Sharapova leads the White Group, which includes No. 4 Victoria Azarenka, No. 5 Li Na and No. 7 Samantha Stosur.
Wozniacki’s No. 1 ranking is under threat, but it will take a huge effort from those in contention and a down tournament from the Dane for it to be in jeopardy. Wozniacki can secure the year-end No. 1 by reaching the final with two or more round-robin match wins, or by winning the title. Sharapova must reach the final with two or more round-robin wins, or win the title to have a chance at No. 1. Kvitova has to win the title, have Wozniacki go winless and have Sharapova not win more than one match and advance to semifinals to have a chance to grab No. 1. Azarenka will only have a chance to become No.1 by Wozniacki not playing a match at the Championships.
Other notable statistics: Sharapova is the only former WTA Championship titlist (2004) and the only player to lead five of her head-to-head match-ups against opponents in the field. Kvitova and Stosur each lead four of theirs. Sharapova has a 1-2 record against Kvitova and is 3-3 against Azarenka. Stosur is 5-0 vs. Li. Stosur is 0-9 against Sharapova and 0-4 against Azarenka. Azarenka just won her first title since April when she took Luxembourg on Sunday. Li has a 5-7-match record since winning Roland Garros. Wozniacki has winning records against every other member of her generation at the Championships (Azarenka, Kvitova and Li). The last player to qualify, No. 8 Radwanska, has won three Premier titles in the past two and half months: San Diego, Tokyo and Beijing. The four younger players won all four of the WTA Premier mandatory titles this year: Indian Wells (Woznaciki), Miami (Azarenka), Madrid (Kvitova) and Beijing (Radwanska). However, outside of Kvitova winning Wimbledon, it was the veteran players who won three out of the four majors: the currently injured Kim Clijsters (Australia), Li (Roland Garros) Stosur (U.S. Open).
"I think we all know what to expect going into the groups,” said Sharapova at the draw ceremony. “It’s the top eight girls of the year. You’re going to get a tough group either way and a tough opponent. I think it’s just a matter of being ready from the first round on."
Tuesday's match line-up will be announced on Monday.