German ace Julia Goerges looks to emerge as champion at the WTA Elite Trophy Zhuhai 2018, which is underway at the Hengqin Tennis Center until Nov 4. But first, she must win the round-robin battle of the Rose group.

Singles players must compete in round-robin groups called either Azalea, Camellia, Orchid, or Rose, and then a knockout phase.

Goerges is challenged at the year-end event on the WTA circuit by World 14 Elise Mertens of Belgium and 20 Anett Kontaveit of Estonia in the same group.

Each of the 12-player singles field has a WTA ranking of 9-19 except Zhang Shuai, who entered as a wildcard.                                            

Draw ceremony

Familiar faces include Kontaveit and home favorite Zhang. The Chinese pro aims for greater success to mark her third appearance at the Zhuhai tournament. She reached the semi-finals last year.

Top-seed Daria Kasatkina of Russia was given a tough draw in the Azalea group. She faces American star Madison Keys, sixth seeded, who had completed three comfortable victories over Kasatkina. Another Azalea contender, Wang Qiang, is the number one female player in China. She rose to World 22 on Oct 22.

World 12 Anastasija Sevastova, from Latvia but of Russian origin, faces Spain’s two-time Grand Slam winner Garbine Muguruza in the Camellia group.

Julia Goerges and Zhang Shuai

Leading the Orchid group is World 12 Aryna Sabalenka of Belarus who gave some admirable performances this season, especially in China where she claimed the Premier 5 title at the 2018 Wuhan Open. However, French star Caroline Garcia in that group has reason to be confident with a winning record in China that includes titles in Tianjin earlier this month and Beijing last year. Orchid competitor Australian Ashleigh Barty may not be much impressed; she clinched a world top 20 ranking and currently ranks 19th.

Audiences will also see top Chinese doubles teams in action -- Xun Fangying and Tang Qianhui, and Jiang Xinyu and Yang Zhaoxuan will compete respectively in the Lily and Bougainvillea groups for doubles play.

Also competing in doubles are Mihaela Buzarnescu of Romania, Alicja Rosolska of Poland, Lidziya Marozava of Belarus, and Lyudmyla Kichenok and Nadiia Kichenok of Ukraine. From Japan are Shuko Aoyama, Miyu Kato, and Makoto Ninomiya.

Ball kids and their idols [Photos by Zhu Xi / Zhuhai Daily]

The Zhuhai tournament provides a prize pool of $2.35 million and 700 year-ending ranking points for the singles winner.

Organized by State-owned Zhuhai Huafa Group, the tournament includes a food festival, meet-and-greet event with star players, and various tennis experiences.

Singles draws

Azalea

[1] Kasatkina (RUS) vs [6] Keys (USA)

[1] Kasatkina vs [11] Wang (CHN)

[6] Keys vs [11] Wang

Camellia

[2] Sevastova (LAT) vs [7] Muguruza (ESP)

[2] Sevastova vs [12] Zhang (CHN)

[7] Muguruza vs [12] Zhang

Orchid

[3] Sabalenka (BLR) vs [8] Garcia (FRA)

[3] Sabalenka vs [9] Barty (AUS)

[8] Garcia vs [9] Barty

Rose

[4] Mertens (BEL) vs [5] Goerges (GER)

[4] Mertens vs [10] Kontaveit (EST)

[5] Goerges vs [10] Kontaveit

Doubles

Lily

[1] Buzarnescu (ROU) / Rosolska (POL) vs [4] Aoyama (JPN) / Marozava (BLR)

[1] Buzarnescu / Rosolska vs [6] Tang (CHN) / Xun (CHN)

[4] S. Aoyama / Marozava vs [6] Tang / Xun

Bougainvillea

[2] Kato (JPN) / Ninomiya (JPN) vs [3] L Kichenok (UKR) / N Kichenok (UKR)

[2] Kato / Ninomiya vs [5] Jiang (CHN) / Yang (CHN)

[3] L Kichenok / N Kichenok vs [5] Jiang / Yang