Kerber secures final berth to WTA Championships

Angelique Kerber of Germany returns a shot against Petra Kvitova of the Czech Republic during their singles final match at the Pan Pacific Open tennis tournament in Tokyo, Sept 28, 2013. [Photo/Agencies]

SHANGHAI - With the win in the quarterfinals of the Linz Open on Friday, Angelique Kerber grabbed the eighth and final spot in the singles field of the yearending WTA Championships, the WTA official website has confirmed.

The German star will join Serena Williams (United States), Victoria Azarenka (Belarus), Agnieszka Radwanska (Poland), Li Na (China), Petra Kvitova (Czech Republic), Sara Errani (Italy) and Jelena Jankovic (Serbia) in the prestigious event, which runs in Istanbul, Turkey from Oct 22 to 27.

According to the statement, the singles draw ceremomy will be held on Oct 20, and the two alternate positions will be determined in the current and upcoming WTA events and will also be announced prior to the draw ceremony.

The Top 8 singles players and Top 4 doubles teams will compete in Istanbul for a record-setting $6 million prize money and the most prestigious title on the WTA calendar after the Grand Slams.

The teams in the doubles field at the season finale will be Errani and Roberta Vinci, Peng Shuai and Hsieh Su-Wei, Nadia Petrova and Katarina Srebotnik, and Ekaterina Makarova and Elena Vesnina.

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