(Tennis news) The Akron WTA Finals Guadalajara draw came out today as the top eight players of the season will battle each other for the season ending trophy. With the withdrawal of defending champion and world number one Ashleigh Barty, the field is set to host a first time winner this year. Iga Swiatek is the youngest in the field as she is 20 years old and Karolina Pliskova at 29 is the oldest in the draw. Paula Badosa, Anett Kontaveit, Barbora Krejcikova, Aryna Sabalenka, Maria Sakkari and Iga Swiatek are making their debut this year as Pliskova and Garbiñe Muguruza are the only ones who have participated earlier. The top four players to watch out for this time are given below.

Aryna Sabalenka

Sabalenka is the top seed in the draw as she is the world number two. She started with a title victory at Abu Dhabi and also won the title at Madrid where she even bageled Barty in the final. Sabalenka also reached the semifinals at the US Open and Wimbledon while she fell at the fourth round of the Australian Open. French Open was the only slam where she made a exit before the fourth round exit, Sabalenka can finish out points in quickly and had excellent returns in the US Open.

Barbora Krejcikova

With 45 victories and three titles, Barbora has been on top form the whole season. She is the only player this year to qualify in the doubles and singles at the WTA finals, Barbora won the French Open singles title along with the doubles title and also won the mixed doubles at the Australian Open. With her volley skills, Barbora has an attacking mode in the hardcourts and can trigger upsets in the draw.

Karolina Pliskova

Pliskova is the most experienced player in the draw as she makes her fifth consecutive attempt at the event. She has reached the last four since 2017 and will be eager to conclude the year with a title. Although she has not won any titles this year, Pliskova is currently leading the aces leaderboard with 364 aces this season. She reached the final at Wimbledon and reached the quarterfinals at the US Open. Pliskova will use her serve and is an efficient mover in the court who has one of the smoothest strokes on tour.

Anett Kontaveit

Anett had a magical run since August as she won four titles in the seven events she played and only lost two matches ever since. She has won 45 matches this year with 15 losses and became the first Estonian player to enter the top 10 in WTA. Anett is the one in form as she has won the last two titles which she entered.

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