Japan's Ai Sugiyama will face American world No. 5 Jennifer Capriati in her opening match at the season-ending WTA Championships as organizers on Tuesday released the schedule of play for the opening day on Wednesday.
Sugiyama, ranked 11th, booked her ticket to $3 million event in Los Angeles after reaching the semifinals of last week's Advanta Championships and will be the first Japanese player appearing at the elite eight-woman championships since Kimiko Date played in 1996.
Meanwhile, Sugiyama will sit out the national tennis championships later this month to recover from a taxing season on the WTA Tour, the Japan Tennis Association said Tuesday.