Jessica Pegula and the doubles teams of Lyudmyla Kichenok and Jelena Ostapenko and Veronika Kudermetova and Elise Mertens have qualified for the 2022 WTA Finals, WTA announced on Thursday.
With five qualifying spots left, Pegula joins World No. 1 Iga Swiatek and Ons Jabeur in the singles draw for the season-ending competition.
At the WTA Finals, Kudermetova and Mertens will also be making their team debut, as will Kichenok and Ostapenko. Only four spots are left in the Fort Worth doubles draw after defending champions Barbora Krejcikova and Katerina Siniakova, as well as Gabriela Dabrowski and Giuliana Olmos, had qualified.
Pegula had a breakthrough year. She earned two more semifinal appearances at the WTA 1000 level, at the Miami Open presented by Ita and the National Bank Open presented by Rogers, where she reached the largest final of her career (Toronto).
Additionally, Pegula reached the quarterfinals at three Grand Slam events this season: the US Open, Roland Garros, and the Australian Open. The latter event helped Pegula reach a new career-high ranking of No. 5 in the world (Sept. 12).
Following her victory over CoCo Vandeweghe on Wednesday at the San Diego Open, she qualified for the WTA Finals.
For the first time in their careers, Jelena Ostapenko and Lyudmyla Kichenok will compete in doubles at the WTA Finals. At the WTA 1000 Western & Southern in Cincinnati and the WTA 250 Rothesay Classic in Birmingham, they have won two championships.
The pair advanced to the finals at the Rothesay International Eastbourne and the Dubai Tennis Championships, both events competing at the WTA 500 level.
Elise Mertens has earned a spot in her fourth straight WTA Finals. She previously competed in the season-ending competition in 2018 (with Demi Schuurs), 2019 (with Aryna Sabalenka), and 2021 (with Hsieh Su-Wei, reaching the final). Her partner Veronika Kudermetova is making her debut.
( With inputs from ANI )
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