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SINGAPORE – The BNP Paribas WTA Finals Singapore presented by SC Global is blessed with the support of nine WTA Legends: Alicia Molik, Arantxa Sanchez-Vicario, Chris Evert, Iva Majoli, Martina Navratilova, Mary Pierce, Monica Seles, Tamarine Tanasugarn and Yayuk Basuki.

Who played at record 21 editions of the WTA Finals? Which Legends competed in Dancing With The Stars? And who has a Triple Crown winning horse named after her?

Reem Abulleil brings you some facts you may or not have known about these remarkable women, right here on wtatennis.com.

Alicia Molik

Molik won a bronze medal at the Olympic tennis event in Athens in 2004, beating the then reigning French Open champion Anastasia Myskina in the bronze-medal match.

The Adelaide-born former World No.8 says Michael Jordan was her childhood hero.

She is Australian but is very proud of her Polish heritage and jokes that she probably got her good footwork from the Polish dance classes she took when she was young.

Also, she’s won two Grand Slam doubles titles – the 2005 Australian Open with Svetlana Kuznetsova and the 2007 French Open with Mara Santangelo.

Arantxa Sanchez-Vicario

Sanchez-Vicario was the singles runner-up at the WTA Finals to Steffi Graf in 1993 – back then the final was best-of-five sets and she lost in four – in Madison Square Garden and won the doubles title twice, in 1992 with Helena Sukova and 1995 with Jana Novotna.

She qualified for the WTA Finals 13 times throughout her illustrious career.

The Spaniard was affectionately nicknamed the “Barcelona Bumble Bee” by the late Bud Collins.

Before playing the 1989 French Open final, where a 17-year-old Sanchez-Vicario was going to face World No.1 Steffi Graf, the Spanish press were asking her how many games she thought she was going to muster against the German favorite. She ended up beating Graf in three sets to become Spain’s first female Grand Slam champion in the Open Era.

She is a five-time Olympian – from 1998-2004 – with doubles silver and singles bronze won at her home Games in Barcelona in 1992, and singles silver and doubles bronze captured in Atlanta 1996.

Her four medals made her the most decorated Spanish Olympian at the time, a record later broken by canoeist David Cal.

She reached 12 Grand Slam singles finals, winning four of them (three French Opens and one US Open).

Chris Evert

Evert was the winner of the inaugural edition of the WTA Finals in 1972, triumphing on the clay of Boca Raton against Kerry Melville Reid in the final at the tender age of 17.

But her amateur status meant that she had to forfeit her 1972 winner’s check of $25,000.

She made the final of each of the first six editions of the WTA Finals, capturing four titles in total.

Her epic rivalry with Martina Navratilova featured heavily in the WTA Finals and they faced off in three championship matches, with Navratilova owning a slight 2-1 edge over Evert in those finals.

Carl Rosen, owner of clothing manufacturer Puritan Fashions Corp, named a horse after her. The horse, Chris Evert, went on to win the 1974 U.S. Filly Triple Crown and was inducted into the Hall of Fame.

In 1976, she was named Sports Illustrated’s ‘Sportsman of the Year’ – one of only four occasions the award was given to a tennis player.

Iva Majoli

Majoli qualified to the WTA Finals four times, from 1994 to 1997.

Her best result at the WTA Finals was reaching the semifinals in 1996.

The former World No.4 ended Martina Hingis’ 37-match winning streak by beating her in the final to capture the 1997 French Open. Seeded No.9, Majoli was the lowest seeded woman to win a slam in the Open Era.

She was the first Grand Slam champion from Croatia.

Majoli stepped out of retirement, 11 years after her last professional match, to play doubles in Moscow with Anastasia Bukhanko in October 2015.

In 2007, Majoli participated in the second season of the Croatian version of Dancing With The Stars.

Martina Navratilova

Navratilova is the player with the most appearances in WTA Finals history, taking part in 21 editions between 1974 and 1994.

She is also the most successful player at the WTA Finals with eight singles titles – including five in a row from 1983 to 1986.

In 2003, she became the oldest Grand Slam champion, capturing the Australian Open mixed doubles trophy with Leander Paes at the age of 46 years and three months. She broke that record by winning the 2006 US Open mixed title with Bob Bryan, just shy of her 50^th birthday.

She competed on Dancing With The Stars in 2012 partnering Tony Dovolani.

She wrote three mystery novels with Liz Nickles: The Total Zone (1994), Breaking Point (1996), and Killer Instinct (1997).

Mary Pierce

The Frenchwoman was twice runner-up at the WTA Finals, to Jana Novotna in 1997 and to her compatriot Amelie Mauresmo in 2005.

She was born in Montréal, Canada (to an American father and French mother), played for France, and now lives in Mauritius.

When she won her second major, and first French Open title in 2000, she was the first Frenchwoman to win her home slam since 1967. No French player has won it since.

She made seven appearances at the WTA Finals.

Monica Seles

Seles competed at the WTA Finals nine times between 1989 and 2002.

She won the WTA Finals three times in a row from 1990 to 1992. She lost the 2000 final to Martina Hingis.

She was coached by the late Jelena Gencic, who also mentored a young Novak Djokovic.

Seles became the youngest-ever French Open champion when she won it aged 16 in 1990.

She won nine Grand Slam singles titles, eight of which were captured before her 20^th birthday.

She took Olympic bronze in singles in Sydney 2000.

Also made a guest appearance as herself on the TV show, The Nanny.

Tamarine Tanasugarn

The California-born Thai trailblazer holds a Master’s of Business Administration from Bangkok University and this year enrolled to become an officer in the Royal Thai Police Force.

She owns four WTA titles and made the Wimbledon quarter-finals in 2008 where she lost to eventual champion Venus Williams. Her career-high ranking of No19, reached in 2002, is the highest ever achieved by a Thai female player.

She won two doubles title partnering Maria Sharapova in 2003 in Luxembourg and Tokyo. They also played together in the 2004 Australian Open.

She was Thailand’s flag-bearer at the 1996 Olympic Games in Atlanta.

Her father was a basketball player and competed at the 1960 and 1964 Games.

Yayuk Basuki

Basuki qualified to the WTA Finals in doubles three times with Dutchwoman Caroline Vis from 1996-1998.

Basuki and Vis beat top seeds Martina Hingis and Jana Novotna in their first match at the WTA Finals in 1998.

She is the highest-ranked tennis player ever from Indonesia, hitting a career-high No.19 in 1997. Was ranked as high as No.9 in doubles.

She admired Jimmy Connors growing up and her favorite athlete is swimmer Janet Evans.

She has won four Asian Games gold medals.

All photos courtesy of Getty Images

TIANJIN, China – Agnieszka Radwanska stunned Tianjin when she withdrew from the tournament with a right thigh injury – shortly after showing just why she was the top seed.

The defending champion had taken Evgeniya Rodina apart, 6-1, 6-1, to progress to the quarterfinals, where she was to face Peng Shuai.

The Chinese wildcard had earlier beaten qualifier Chang Kai-Chen of Taipei 6-3, 6-2.

Radwanska is also the defending champion at the BNP Paribas WTA Finals Singapore presented by SC Global. “It’s the end of the season – I guess everyone is struggling with something,” she said afterwards.

She added that the injury had worsened over time and that she had decided to withdraw in order to give herself the best chance of recovering in time for Singapore.

“I’m very sorry I had to withdraw…I just hope I can see my fans [here] next year — it was a pleasure to come here again,” she said.

Olympic gold medalist Monica Puig had a straightforward time of it, beating Lara Arruabarrena of Spain, 6-4, 6-2.

Alison Riske also progressed in straight sets – but Poland’s Magda Linette did her utmost to take it to a decider, eventually losing out on a tie-break, 6-3, 7-6(2).

Angelique Kerber was pleased – and perhaps a little relieved – after her win over Louisa Chirico in Hong Kong took her into the quarterfinals.

HONG KONG, SAR – There were contrasting emotions on display after Alizé Cornet beat Venus Williams 6-2, 3-6, 6-2 in Hong Kong.

Cornet could not have been more delighted to reach the quarterfinals by beating a player who had always bested her previously.

“We have played many times and I was losing in straight sets. Now I can beat her in Hong Kong!” the French player enthused. “It means I used a good tactic, I played a very good match, and I believed in it.”

Her American opponent, unsurprisingly, was very downcast.

“My opponent played well, there wasn’t much I could do against her,” said Williams. “You work hard to win matches – it’s always disappointing [to lose].”

Cornet will face Jelena Jankovic next up — and is anticipating a very difficult match.

“I’m expecting a really tough battle,” she admitted. “She has a really solid baseline game. I expect some good rallies from both of us.”

Describing her current mood as “great, tired, happy”, Cornet said that she still had some trouble with the same heel issue that has plagued her for the past four years — but that she would be running with just as much energy in the morning.

She added that she was enjoying her time in Hong Kong — the city and the tournament.

“The welcome is really amazing and the city is great,” she said. “For me, every match [on tour] is the same intensity.”

Earlier in the day, Caroline Wozniacki took less than an hour and a half to secure her quarterfinal spot, beating Great Britain’s Heather Watson, 6-3, 6-3.

Neither player looked solid on her serve – Watson won three of her four break points, but Wozniacki broke her six times in return. Next up for Wozniacki is Wang Qiang, who received a walkover after Johanna Konta withdrew from the tournament with an abdominal injury.

SINGAPORE – The BNP Paribas WTA Finals Singapore presented by SC Global is under a fortnight away and once again fans have the chance to get closer to that action thanks to the Official WTA Finals Mobile App, Created by SAP.

The app provides access to exclusive tournament content, including:

* Virtual Replay – the ability for fans to view, track and replay ball movement
* Leaderboard Stats – a player comparison tool tracking aces, fastest serves and a whole host of other information
* Player Notifications – keep up to date with all the news about your favorite players
* Fan Zone – a social media hub where fans can participate in live polls and engage on Twitter and Facebook

TIANJIN, China – Agnieszka Radwanska made a confident start to her defense of the Tianjin Open, swatting aside Tatjana Maria in two one-sided sets on Wednesday.

Fresh from her victory in Beijing over the weekend, Radwanska needed little more than an hour to wrap up a 6-1, 6-2 victory – her 50th of the season – and set up a second-round meeting against Evgeniya Rodina.

“Firstly, I’m very happy to win my match pretty quickly. It’s good to have the opening round in two sets and be fresh for the next round,” Radwanska said. “I’m very happy that I could keep it up and play at the same level as at the China Open.”

Twelve months ago, Radwanska touched down in Tianjin amidst a desperate late scramble for points to secure a place at the BNP Paribas WTA Finals Singapore presented by SC Global. While the anxiety this time has diminished, her desire to be successful has not: “This year is much better. I already qualified in China Open so of course there is less pressure. But you still want to win the tournament, still want to play your best game, just a little less pressure.”

Naomi Osaka continued her scintillating run of form by brushing qualifier Lucie Hradecka aside, 6-2, 7-6(4), to reach the quarterfinals. The Czech player took the Japanese teenager to a tie-break in the second set but could not hold her off for too long.

Osaka had already beaten eighth seed Yaroslava Shvedova, 6-4, 6-2, in round one. This run in Tianjin comes towards the end of a great year for her in which she reached the third round of three of the four Slams, and made the final of the Toray Pan Pacific Open – an achievement for which she was voted WTA Breakthrough of the Month.

The WTA Newcomer of the Year nominee now faces Svetlana Kuznetsova after she saw off Donna Vekic, 7-5, 6-4.

Elsewhere, Han Xinyun won the first match of the day on Centre Court, beating wildcard Wang Yafan 7-5, 6-3.

LINZ, Austria – Madison Keys weathered a mid-match storm to win Wednesday’s first-round match against Camila Giorgi at the Generali Ladies Linz and move one step closer to qualifying for the BNP Paribas WTA Finals Singapore presented by SC Global.

By reaching the semifinals last week in Beijing, Keys put herself in the driving seat to claim one of the three remaining places in Singapore. However, with all her qualification rivals in action this week – and less than 100 points separating her from ninth-placed Dominika Cibulkova – work still needs to be done.

Against Giorgi she kept her end up, reeling off the final four games of the match to run out a 6-3, 6-4 winner. “Definitely feels good to get a win. Camila’s always a tough person to play – she really goes for her shots and hits a lot of winners out there. I feel really happy to get through to the second round,” Keys, who faces Misaki Doi next, said.

“I think I got a little bit passive and started letting her dictate the points a little, so I knew I had to step up and go out and play my game because she wasn’t going to give it to me.

With 280 points on offer to the champion, Keys’ hopes could lay in the balance even if she goes deep into the draw this week. Despite the high stakes, the American is cutting a characteristically relaxed figure in Linz, where the conditions are perfectly suited to her big game. 

“It’s definitely a lot faster here, but it’s a good court and I definitely like playing on fast courts so I’m happy to be here,” she added.

LINZ, Austria – Roland Garros champion Garbiñe Muguruza edged closer to claiming her spot at the BNP Paribas WTA Finals Singapore presented by SC Global, dispatching Cagla Buyukakcay, 6-4, 6-4, in the first round of the Generali Ladies Linz.

“It was a tough first round. I think we both played well, so it was a battle out there, and a great feeling to start the tournament with a win like this,” she said after the match.

Making her debut in Linz, Muguruza overcame a tough test from the Turkish No.1, who made history for her country by taking home the Istanbul title earlier this season.

“I was looking forward to Linz because it’s new for me, new city, new tournament. I don’t play a lot of new tournaments, so I was excited.

“I just try to go out there and do my best, try to win somehow, playing my tennis and being aggressive. It’s funny because it when there’s no win, everyone plays perfect. The conditions makes things equal.”

Holding on to take the first set after five breaks of serve, the Spaniard broke to 15 to start the second and served out the win in one hour and 38 minutes.

“I was calm and concentrated, even when she was playing great shots and solid in the important moments. I hung in there and waited for my opportunities.”

Up next for the former World No.2 is Monica Niculescu, who won a thrilling three-setter over Madison Brengle on Monday.

“I’ve never played against her, or even practiced together, so it’ll be interesting. I think we have opposite styles, so I think it’s going to be a fun match.”

The highest-ranked woman on the Road to Singapore leaderboard yet to qualify for Singapore, Muguruza could guarantee a second straight WTA Finals appearance by winning the title; if Johanna Konta and Dominika Cibulkova both lose their matches on Thursday, she qualifies by beating Niculescu.

“It’s something great to accomplish, to be part of the eight best players, so you obviously always have it in the back of your mind, wanting to achieve that. But I’m more focused on holding the trophy here.

“I have no idea what I have to do, but hopefully I keep winning, and I earn my spot. I go with the flow!”