The conclusion of another WTA season approaches with the year-end championships in Istanbul set to get underway next Tuesday.  The field features competitors from eight different countries bringing a variety of game styles to the table, with each one looking to end her season by hoisting the trophy from this prestigious event.  But while a victory in Istanbul would be a feather in the cap for any of these elite women, it is arguably of greatest importance to the two women who contested the 2011 final there.

The first woman who is undoubtedly aware of the significance of her performance in Istanbul is Victoria Azarenka.  The Belarusian has backed up her breakout year of 2012 successfully in 2013.  She successfully defended her title at the Australian Open, reached the US Open final for the second consecutive year, and captured two marquee Premier Five trophies in Doha and Cincinnati at the expense of archrival Serena Williams.  Those wins in the finals of Doha and Cincinnati helped to establish Azarenka as currently the leading challenger to Williams, despite her dismal head-to-head record overall against the American.    

As fantastic has her 2013 has been, however, Azarenka’s results have disappointed since losing the epic US Open final.  She has played only two events this autumn and lost her opening match in both, as Venus Williams got the better of her in Tokyo and Andrea Petkovic caused the upset in Beijing.  Azarenka could not be coming into the WTA Championships on a lower note. 

While things look bleak for the world No. 2, Azarenka and her fans should be able to find a few silver linings heading into the WTA Championships.  First, the round-robin format does allow her some margin of error, which means she can afford to take a loss and still hope to wage a successful campaign.  Azarenka also has a winning record – in some cases, an overwhelmingly dominant record – against six of the eight players in the field.  It should come down to whether she can regroup physically from her illnesses this fall and emotionally from the disappointment of that US Open loss.  The indoor hard court is not her best surface, but strong results in her last two Istanbul appearances prove that she can succeed there.  If Azarenka cannot find a way to do so, the pressure may mount during the off-season as another Australian Open title defense approaches. 

Another woman who also should consider it unacceptable to go quietly in Istanbul is Petra Kvitova.  Understandably, it might seem odd to assign so much importance to Kvitova’s performance in Turkey.  After all, the Czech has become an enigma since winning Wimbledon two years ago, reeling through plenty of peaks and valleys in 2013.  She has collected only two titles, albeit both at notable events in Dubai and Tokyo, while strings of ugly losses frequently have followed signs of promise.  Kvitova’s inconsistency has surfaced from the quantity of three-setters that she has played this year:  a staggering 36, including three different stretches of five or more consecutively.

But, coming into Istanbul, the 2011 Wimbledon champion seems to be enjoying one of her peak phases.  In contrast to Azarenka, Kvitova has been one of the standout performers this autumn, winning the title in Tokyo and reaching the semifinals in Beijing.  Her efforts to get in better shape are clearly paying off down the stretch. When coupled with her momentum from Asia, Kvitova’s fondness for the fast court in Istanbul could make her a threat to win this title for the second time in three years. 

Those are not the only factors working in the Czech’s favor, moreover.  The only player in the field against whom Kvitova has a losing record is Serena Williams, and she pushed Williams to 7-5 in the third set at Doha earlier this season.  Kvitova possesses easy power off both groundstroke wings and the serve, allowing her to control the match against virtually any opponent and making her one of a select few who can trade crushing blows with Williams from the baseline.  As is usually the case with Kvitova, it will all come down to how well she is functioning between the ears, but she already knows what it takes to win in this elite field.  There is no reason why she cannot perform well at Istanbul to set herself up nicely going into 2014.  As evidenced by what we saw of her in 2011, she is someone who should be at the top of the game.

Opportunity thus knocks for both women in Istanbul.  Since both are arguably more confidence players than most, this final marquee tournament of the year becomes all the more important to them.  Depending on how they perform, Istanbul could also turn into a springboard, spurring them on to even greater success in 2014.  If they fail to deliver, however, the resulting disappointment would end their seasons in an ominous fashion.  The only certainty is that there is plenty riding on the 2013 WTA year-end championships for Azarenka and Kvitova.