No American players at WTA Finals for 1st time in 49 years

SHENZHEN, China (AP) — For the first time in the 49-year history of the WTA Finals no American player has qualified in either singles or doubles for the year-end tournament.

Although there were four editions of the event that featured singles draws without Americans, the doubles in those years — 2006, 2010, 2011 and 2015 — featured at least one.

Serena Williams missed out on a place in the draw by finishing No. 9, one spot out of the eight-player field in this year’s Race to Shenzhen.

Williams was the last American to win the WTA Finals, which she did for three consecutive years starting in 2012. She won the title a total of five times in her career with her first victory coming in 2001.

Last year, American Sloane Stephens was the runner-up to defending champion Elina Svitolina of Ukraine. This year, Stephens was out of contention at No. 23.