They are the top eight players in the Women's Tennis Association rankings, after Vera Zvonareva shot up from ninth to sixth with her win in Quebec. Another Russian, Maria Sharapova, dropped to ninth after sitting out several weeks with a shoulder injury.
Joining Zvonareva in the White Group - the brackets are named for the colors of Qatar's flag - is fellow Russian Svetlana Kuznetsova, bumped from world No. 6 to 7 by Zvonareva's rise, the Serbian world No. 1 Jelena Jankovic and her compatriot Ana Ivanovic, ranked fifth.
The Maroon Group comprises the Russian world No. 2, Dinara Safina, and No. 4 Elena Dementieva, Russia's Olympic gold medalist, as well as the Williams sisters, Serena and Venus, who are ranked third and eight, respectively.
After the round-robin group stage the top two players from each side advance to the semifinals, where the winner of each pool plays the runner-up from the other. The victors meet in Sunday's final.
Russia has had as many as six women in the top 10 this year, and although Anna Chakvetadze has dropped to No. 20, Nadia Petrova is knocking on the door of the top set having climbed to 11th.
