The round robin draw for the 2008 season-ending Sony Ericsson Championships in Doha, Qatar was announced on Sunday.
The eight singles competitors have been divided into two sections, the White group and the Maroon group. White and maroon are the colors represented in the Qatari flag.
World No. 1 Jelena Jankovic is in the White group, along with Ana Ivanovic, Svetlana Kuznetsova, and Vera Zvonareva.
Dinara Safina will compete in the Maroon group, which also includes Elena Dementieva, Serena Williams, and Venus Williams.
WHITE GROUP (Number denotes seeding)
1. Jelena Jankovic (SRB)
4. Ana Ivanovic (SRB)
6. Svetlana Kuznetsova (RUS)
8. Vera Zvonareva (RUS)
MAROON GROUP (Number denotes seeding)
2. Dinara Safina (RUS)
3. Serena Williams (USA)
5. Elena Dementieva (RUS)
7. Venus Williams (USA)
During the first four days of competition, each player competes against the other three players in their group, with the Top 2 in each pool of four moving on to the semifinals. The first-placed player in the White Group will play the second-placed player in the Maroon Group in the semifinals, and vice versa. The winners of each semifinal will then meet in the championship match.
Because of the round robin format, two alternates will be in Doha in the event of a player withdrawal. This year’s first alternate is Agnieszka Radwanska, followed by second alternate Nadia Petrova.
The doubles event at the Sony Ericsson Championships, which features four teams, is a single elimination draw, beginning with the semifinal round.
Please visit the Sony Ericsson WTA Tour website for an updated copy of the draw throughout the tournament.
Check back at On the Baseline on Monday for an analysis of the singles round robin draw and the launch of our Pick the Winners contest!
