All four Grand Slams in 2022 have come and gone, crowning World No. 1 Iga Swiatek champion of the most recent US Open. With that said, we still have very meaningful tennis down the stretch run of this season.
Players are looking to finish their season in strong form while a select few women at the top of the game look to clinch their spot in the year-end WTA Finals in Fort Worth. Current World No.1 Iga Swiatek and World No. 2 Ons Jabeur are the only two women who have qualified for the year-end finals thus far.
The WTA Tour heads to Southern California in mid-October for the first edition of a 500-level event in San Diego. With 500 points awarded to the winner, the results at the San Diego Open will play a major role in deciding who ends up at the year-end finals.
The San Diego entry list was just announced and the list of players in this field is impressive, to say the least.
WTA500 San Diego entry list (main draw + alternates) pic.twitter.com/Gvw37lycsf
— Michal Samulski (@MichalSamulski) September 13, 2022
The 28-player singles draw features seven of the current top ten players in the world, including the aforementioned World No. 1 Iga Swiatek, along with Aryna Sabalenka, Paula Badosa, Coco Gauff, and more. 16 of the top 20 players in the world are slated to compete in the event as the current ranking cut-off is World No. 22.
Six slots in the event will be given out through two rounds of qualifying while a few wild card entries will also be awarded. One was already given to young American Sofia Kenin, who is slowly returning to top form.
San Diego has a rich tradition of tennis history, holding 34 WTA events between 1971 and 2015. After a seven-year hiatus, the city is welcoming back the WTA tour with a bang as the best 500-level entry list of the season heads to Southern California in just a few weeks.
Main Photo from Getty.
