SINGAPORE — With only three months remaining to the start of the BNP Paribas WTA Finals Singapore, the race to compete in the season-ending, US$6.5 million (S$8.9 million) tournament is heating up on the women’s tour.

World No 1 Serena Williams secured her passage into the event — her 10th time in her career — last month to become the fastest qualifier for the WTA Finals, and the 33-year-old defending champion will be the one to beat in what has been a phenomenal season which saw her winning three Majors.

Fan favourite Maria Sharapova and last year’s runner-up Simona Halep, the world No 2 and 3 respectively, remain strong contenders to qualify, while the likes of Petra Kvitova, Ana Ivanovic and Carla Suarez Navarro are still in the running for the eight coveted spots.

In the doubles, Sania Mirza and Martina Hingis have booked their ticket here after with a recent win in Wimbledon.

Last year’s WTA Finals saw over 93,000 fans flocking to the Indoor Stadium over the seven days of tennis competition, with the final seeing a sell-out crowd of some 9,986 fans.

In a bid to build on last year’s success, organisers have expanded the number of competition days to eight this year — the tournament will run from Oct 23 to Nov 1.

In addition, an inaugural gala event featuring UK artiste Paloma Faith will be held at the Marina Bay Sands on Oct 30 to recognise the annual achievements of the WTA’s best players.

Organisers also unveiled “Advantage Singapore”, the official programme to engage fans in the lead-up to the tournament, which will include workshops in schools, training programmes with youths and an expanded fan zone at the OCBC Square.

“Singapore was the first city in Asia Pacific ever to host the WTA Finals. Clearly, the fans are embracing our sport and this spectacular event with record audiences and attendance in 2014,” said WTA Finals tournament director Melissa Pine.

“Singapore is attracting the eyes of the world, and tennis in Asia-Pacific has never been better than now.”