Shuai Zhang (L) of China and Samantha Stosur (R) of Australia celebrate after winning Australian Open women's doubles title at the Melbourne Park, January 25, 2019. /VCG Photo
The Women's Tennis Association (WTA) on Monday announced that Chinese player Zhang Shuai will pair with Samantha Stosur from Australia to attend the 2019 Shiseido WTA Finals Shenzhen.
"I'm very happy to return to the WTA Finals after quite some time. I have great memories from this event, in singles and doubles, and I'm looking forward to competing in Shenzhen with my good friend Shuai," said Stosur, according to WTA.
Zhang and Stosur worked together to win the Australian Open women's doubles title in January. Then they made the final at the Miami Open and entered the quarter-finals at the French Open. The two will participate in the Tianjin Open this week as women's doubles No. 2 seeded pair.
Hao-Ching Chan and Latisha Chan from Chinese Taipei in women's doubles first round match of China Open at the China National Tennis Center, September 30, 2019. /VCG Photo
The other pair confirmed qualified for the WTA Finals on Monday were Latisha Chan/Chan Hao-Ching from Chinese Taipei.
"It's been great playing with my sister again after taking a break for a couple years. We've put in a lot of hard work this season, and to see it pay off in this way, allowing us to make our return to the WTA Finals, is really amazing," said Latisha, according to WTA.
"I'm excited to qualify for the WTA Finals for the third time with my sister. I have good memories from 2015 and 2016 and we are looking forward to playing our best tennis in front of the Shenzhen crowd," added Hao-Ching.
Four pairs had already been qualified for the WTA Finals and they are: Hsieh Su-Wei (Chinese Taipei)/Barbora Strycova (Czech Republic), Elise Mertens (Belgium)/Aryna Sabalenka (Belarus), Timea Babos (Hungary)/Kristina Mladenovic (France), Gabriela Dabrowski (Canada)/Xu Yifan (China).
Petra Kvitova from the Czech Republic in women's singles quarter-finals of China Open at the China National Tennis Center, October 4, 2019. /VCG Photo
As for women's singles, 2011 champion Petra Kvitova from the Czech Republic will be on her way to the seventh WTA Finals, the fourth most among active players.
"I'm so happy to qualify for the Shiseido WTA Finals in Shenzhen. After a great start to the year in Australia I'm really proud to have secured my spot for the seventh time. This will be the third city I have visited for the WTA Finals so I'm excited to see what's in store in Shenzhen," said Kvitova, according to the WTA.
Kvitova included, six players have already booked their tickets for the tournament in Shenzhen and the other five are: Ashleigh Barty (Australia), Karolina Pliskova (Czech Republic), Simona Halep (Romania), Bianca Andreescu (Canada), and Naomi Osaka (Japan).