Singapore: World No. 1 doubles pair Martina Hingis and Sania Mirza have become the first players to qualify for the BNP Paribas WTA Finals Singapore, the WTA's crown jewel event where the world's Top 8 teams will battle for a $7-million prize purse.

"Qualifying for the WTA Finals for the second year in a row with Sania is very exciting," said Hingis, three-time WTA Finals doubles champion to www.wtatennis.com, adding, "We enjoyed every moment in Singapore last year and hope to defend our title amongst the best doubles teams in the world."

Mirza added, "Being able to achieve such great success together has been a dream come true. Having won the WTA Finals in Singapore last year as well as multiple tournaments in such a short period of time has been an unbelievable experience. I'm very much looking forward to competing in Singapore once again to try to make it three titles in a row."

The collaboration between Hingis and Mirza began at the 2015 BNP Paribas Open in Indian Wells, where they achieved instant success by taking the title and eight more by the end of the year, including the BNP Paribas WTA Finals Singapore presented by SC Global. This year, Hingis and Mirza have already claimed five titles - Brisbane International, Apia International Sydney, Australian Open, St. Petersburg Ladies Trophy and the Internazionali BNL d'Italia - Rome. As a result, the Swiss-Indian duo, known as "SanTina" to their fans, will attempt to defend their title in Singapore in their second appearance as a team.

The doubles competition will begin in Singapore on October 27 and is a single elimination contest between the Top 8 doubles teams of the 2016 season, all vying to hold the Martina Navratilova Doubles Trophy. Total prize money for doubles stands at $1.4 million with the champion team taking home up to $500,000.

Courtesy: http://www.wtatennis.com/