Emma Raducanu has not played at the year-end WTA Finals so far in her career.
Raducanu is the most recent British Grand Slam champion, having shocked the world in 2021 after winning the US Open as a qualifier.
This enabled the then teenage Raducanu to be boosted up the rankings and to end the year 14th in the race, but this was not enough for her to qualify for the WTA Finals, with the Grand Slam rule not in place at this point.
Although Raducanu has never played at the WTA Finals, one British player was just a set away from the title at the prestigious tournament.
Sue Barker is the only British woman to reach the WTA Finals singles final
Raducanu was the first British women’s singles Grand Slam champion in 44 years when she won the US Open in 2021, with Virginia Wade the one before that.
Before Wade was Sue Barker, who became a Grand Slam champion when she won Roland Garros in 1976. This was not the only big result of Barker’s career, as she also reached the final of the WTA Finals in 1977.
Barker did this by beating Martina Navratilova en route to the final, before facing three-time former WTA Finals champion Chris Evert.
The Briton had lost her 10 previous matches against Evert, but Barker made a positive start to this final after winning the first set.
However, Evert showed why she had dominated their head-to-head, as she fought back to beat Barker 2-6, 6-1, 6-1 and claim her fourth and final WTA Finals title.
How many British singles players have qualified for the WTA Finals?
Barker may not have won the WTA Finals title in 1977, but she is still the only British player to have reached the final of the year-end tournament. This was one of three singles appearances Barker made at the WTA Finals, and she also reached the doubles final alongside American Ann Kiyomura in 1979.
Including Barker, only three British players in history have qualified for the WTA Finals in singles, with the aforementioned Wade making eight appearances at the tournament. Wade had success in doubles as well, having won the title alongside Margaret Court in 1975, and she also twice finished as runner-up alongside Frenchwoman Francoise Durr.
The only other British player who has qualified for the WTA Finals in singles is Jo Durie, who did so in 1984, the same year that she also reached the doubles final alongside the aforementioned Kiyomura.
Durie is the last British woman to qualify for the WTA Finals in singles, with Johanna Konta coming the closest to ending this streak in 2016, when she was the first alternate.
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Esta notĂcia foi originalmente publicada em: Fonte original