Caroline Garcia looks to continue success in Singapore

The WTA’s unpredictable season has taken another turn this Fall with the dramatic rise of Carolina Garcia.

Coming off an 11-match win streak and two titles in Wuhan and Beijing, she’s unquestionably the hottest player on the Tour. And with Johanna Konta’s recent withdrawal from Moscow, she’s now the eight woman into the WTA Finals. She joins a field of Simona Halep, Garbine Mugurza, Karolina Pliskokva, Elina Svitolina, Venus Williams, Caroline Wozniacki and Jelena Ostapenko. She is also the first French woman to reach the WTA Finals outright since Amelie Mauresmo in 2006.

Garcia has long been a quality player on the tour, known more for her doubles prowess than her singles play, and even then, her frequent doubles partner Kristina “Kiki” Mladenovic tended to overshadow her.

The somewhat acrimonious dissolution of their partnership may have played a role in Garcia’s recent run of singles success. Commenting on the situation at the French Open, Mladenovic seemed to imply that Garcia’s singles goals led her to walk away from doubles.

With the results she’s put up this Fall, who could blame Garcia?

Her berth into the WTA Finals sets up some intriguing possible rematches. En route to her Wuhan and China Open titles, Garcia beat Elina Svitolina in an epic 6-7, 7-5, 7-6 encounter before  going on to triumph over Simona Halep 6-4, 7-6 in the Final.

She’ll need to insist on that court positioning in Singapore to recreate her success against the game’s top players.

In the meantime, Garcia is resting and recovering with a little help from a friend.

Whatever the results in Singapore, Garcia can add her name to a growing field of legitimate contenders who will challenge Serena when she returns for the 2018 season. An interesting state of affairs for the WTA just got more interesting.