WTA final in Cancun, Mexico

In the WTA 2023 events calendar, the final showdown with Top 8 players will be in Cancun, Mexico, a tourist paradise with turquoise sea, powdery white sands, coral reefs and reef sinkholes with clear waters inviting to jump. Of the eight eligible for the WTA final event with US$ 9 million as prize money, only four confirmed as at October 10.

This year’s WTA October calendar had nine events in Far East, Europe, North Africa and the Balkans. These results will count for qualification into WTA final. All have of the Top 10 players at one time or another took time off to nurse their injuries. WTA tennis is not a cakewalk.

Even late as this, into the WTA final starting on October 29, only four have confirmed tickets. Aryna Sabalenka, Iga Swiatek, Coco Gauff, and Jessica Pegula. Others need to survive or wait for the outcome of events in October. Their ranking status are too close to be clear. They are Elena Rybakina, Maria Sakkari, Ons Jabeur, Marketa Vondrousova and Karolina Muchova.

The event will have little impact for the locals in Cancun, Mexico. Seats for the event sold match by match with hotel bookings. Television rights and advertisements gives WTA the bulk of their income. A different league in show business.

There are only three Asians in the WTA Top 50 Singles ranking. All of them are from China. Qinwen Zheng, ranked 24, Xinyu Wang at 32 and Lin Zhu at 35. Since Li Na, who was world’s number one, no Asian has broken into the Top 10 of the world ranking after her. WTA Singles ranking goes well past 1000. Players will have to play stipulated number of events in a year to get ranking status with WTA.

In Doubles, Taiwan’s 37-year-old veteran Su-Wei Hsieh is ranked seventh. Along with her, eight Asians from Japan, China and Taiwan ranked in the Top 50 of WTA Doubles. Here too ranking goes well past 500.

Status quo

WTA computers update the ranking every Monday. The database fed from all events round the clock from all continents. A never-ending update activity to remain valid for events round the world to do their qualification and seeding of players even in the remotest part of the world. A mega date base operation.

For ranking, would be WTA and ATP players will have to place a different level of commitment to gain entry and recognition. One of the objectives of WTA and ATP is to cater for the players with serious intent towards professional tennis. World ranking in both genders differentiates casual, college tennis interest, scholarship interest, amateurs, local ranking and tryouts from the serious professionals. Professional bodies deal only with players who want to make a living playing tennis.

Money to take home

The women’s player with most amount of career prize money in the WTA history is Serena Williams. Her prize money mounted up to US$ 95 million. Her net worth is indicated as US$ 430 million or above. Highest ever in women’s tennis. Lot of stress, strain, sacrifices went to reap this wealth. The player with second highest prize money is Petra Kvitova, she has US$ 37 million. Victoria Azerenka US$ 34 million, Garbine Mugurusa US$ 24 million, Karolina Pliskova US$ 25 million, Elina Svitolina US$ 22 million and Steffi Graf US$ 21 million. [Money was not big during Graf’s time]

Qualifying for WTA final puts players into a higher pedestal for sponsorship and appearance rights. Top end tennis players are with professional sports management systems. They make sure player’s interest looked after. They can do what an individual player cannot or find it extremely difficult to do. Also in supporting events round the world, they hold the cane to discipline the players to perform. Often management couple player with appropriate coaching team for better performance. Sports management today is as complex as commercial activity.

Expensive inlet

Players who decide to go into professional ranking need a good amount of money to start the journey. Junior events to mature conducted by ITF worldwide. USA and Europe have their junior systems. Lowest junior category ITF event could carry an entry fee of US$ 50. That is 18,000 in Sri Lankan rupees. A commitment to travel and play in countries closer to Sri Lanka can hit well over one rupees.

Professional events pay from the time a player qualifies and the prize money increase with every win. Going for WTA and ATP events will need very serious commitment and success rate to survive the early days. This is where sports management companies come to provide the early support. Considering the number going into professional tennis, it cannot be that difficult as it sounds.

WTA final in Cancun, Mexico will vouch many that professional carrier in tennis is possible and could make good deal of money, if successful, great deal more than others.

--George Paldano, European and Asian competition player; Coach German Tennis Federation; National coach Brunei and Sri Lanka; Davis Cup, Federation Cup coach, coached ATP, WTA and ITF ranked players in Europe and Asia; WhatsApp

+94775448880-