The draw for the 2021 WTA Finals Guadalajara was revealed at a private gala on Monday night with all players and teams in attendance.
The 50th staging of the tour's prestigious season-ending championships is set to begin on Wednesday. The WTA Finals pit the top eight singles players and doubles teams against each other in a round-robin format for a total prize pool of USD 5 million.
The draw saw world number two Aryna Sabalenka and 2020 French Open champion Iga Swiatek joined by Greece's Maria Sakkari and Spain's Paula Badosa in 'Group Chichen Itza'.
Czech Barbora Krejcikova, who won her maiden Grand Slam at Roland Garros in June, was drawn with compatriot Karolina Pliskova, Spain's Garbine Muguruza and Estonian Anett Kontaveit in 'Group Teotihuacan'.
In doubles, Zhang Shuai and Samantha Stosur have been drawn with Japanese second seeds Shuko Aoyama and Ena Shibahara, fourth-seeded Nicole Melichar-Martinez of the US and Demi Schuurs of the Netherlands, and seventh seeds Darija Jurak of Croatia and Andreja Klepac of Slovenia in the 'Group Tenochtitlan'.
In the Group El Tajin - top-seeded Czech duo Barbora Krejcikova and Katerina Siniakova are joined by third seeds Hsieh Su-wei of Taiwan and Belgium's Elise Mertens, along with sixth seeds Alexa Guarachi of Chile and Desirae Krawczyk of the US, and Sharon Fichman of Canada and Giuliana Olmos of Mexico.
The group names - Chichen Itza, Teotihuacan, Tenochtitlan, and El Tajin - are a tribute to the pre-Colombian era of Mexican history, with all four groups being named after ancient cities in Mexico, as per WTA.
( With inputs from ANI )
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