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US Open champ Naomi Osaka qualifies for WTA Finals Singapore

Japan tennis star Naomi Osaka in action at the Tokyo Open in September 2018. (Photo: Reuters/Toru Hanai)
Japan tennis star Naomi Osaka in action at the Tokyo Open in September 2018. (Photo: Reuters/Toru Hanai)

US Open tennis champion Naomi Osaka has qualified for the season-ending BNP Paribas WTA Finals Singapore presented by SC Global, which will take place at the Singapore Indoor Stadium from 21-28 October.

The 20-year-old, who became the first Japanese player to win a Grand Slam singles tournament after beating Serena Williams in a controversial final last month, is the third player to confirm her qualification for the event. World No. 1 Simona Halep and No. 3 Angelique Kerber have qualified ahead of Osaka.

It has already been a momentous year for Osaka, who also won her first WTA title at the BNP Paribas Open at Indian Wells, California, in March. She also reached the last-16 of the Australian Open in January.

While it would be her maiden appearance in the WTA Finals singles competition, which features only the top eight players of the women’s tennis season. However, it would be her second visit to Singapore, as she had won the Rising Stars Invitational event in 2015, which features the next generation of tennis talents on the sidelines of the WTA Finals.

“Qualifying for the WTA Finals is a huge accomplishment,” said Osaka. “Winning the WTA Rising Stars Invitational in 2015 helped give me the confidence to play on the big stages so I am excited to go back to Singapore and compete with the top players of the season.”

Born in Osaka to a Haitian father and a Japanese mother, Osaka shot into prominence in the past two years with her powerful serve and groundstrokes. Yet at the US Open final, she displayed poise and focus in beating Williams in straight sets, after the American tennis great lost her temper and argued vehemently with the umpire over a points penalty.

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