LordBrownof wrote:

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Given the points she has to defend and the extra 12-day break she has now, I think Jo should consider adding an additional event to her schedule. 4 regular tournaments across the next two months is a lot but worth it if she can secure her place in Singapore. Take the week, head to Japan and spend 6 days acclimatizing and play the International Toyko event, win some matches and get some points. Then be confident in defending the points/gaining some race points in Wuhan and Beijing. I think that gives her the best shot at Singapore (although still somewhat reliant on others).

Thoughts?

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 Someone wrote somewhere that Jo is all about momentum and playing and she hasnt done too much of that recently, so playing Tokyo and then the Wuhan and Beijing events would make sense to me. Go for it. 

Re Jo, her limited schedule between Wimbledon and the US Open of just Toronto and Cincinnati was just as per most of the top 10. And given her busy grass season I had thought it not unreasonable.

But I do see that the momentum thing may apply more to Jo than others and it is important to do what's best for you. A rest after Wimbledon was fine but one more tournament, either Stanford or New Haven might have been a plan. Good as it might have been to defend Stanford I would have leaned to New Haven and the more continuous run into the US Open. A pretty big run in seemingly did her no harm coming into Wimbledon, rather indeed probably helped more with momentum.

So certainly yes to Tokyo, Wuhan and Beijing and perhaps another between Beijing and hopefully the tour finals.

Yes a big boost - sorry and all that, Sveta.

So the top 8 remain very well clear of the rest in the race and for now it would take someone lower down to win the title to change that.

The biggest worry for Jo in the weeks to come may not be dropping out of the top 8 but just being passed by Ostapenko for the guaranteed tour finals 7th place and being at the mercy of the WTA using their discretion to bring in someone else other than #8 on the race list. Now Ostapenko herself would have seemed to have the biggest shout so if she gets in anyway who else? But it is the WTA we are talking about and there is for instance their Shrieky love if she continues to progress here and in weeks to come.

Anyway, down to 5 in the battle for WR 1. And if Garbine wins today out of contention go Halep and Venus ( even if she wins herself ) and we'd be down to the true realistic 3 candidates. In live ranking order - Muguruza, Svitolina and Pliskova.

With Kuznetsova out Jo now stands a good chance of moving up to WR 6 post the US Open, overtaking the plummeting Kerber. Williams and Ostapenko additionally come into the likely on the rankings rise and race / tour finals consideration from having so little to defend for the rest of the year.