The draw ceremony for the final event of 2011 was conducted at the TEB BNP Paribas WTA Championships in Istanbul, Turkey. The eight competitors were split into their two round robin groups.

Maria is in the white group alongside Victoria Azarenka, Na Li and Samantha Stosur.

Here is Maria's record against the three:
vs Azarenka: Tied 3-3 - Maria won the last meeting in Rome 4-6 3-0 in 2011
vs Li: Maria leads 4-3 - Li won the last meeting in Roland Garros 6-4 7-5 in 2011
vs Stosur: Maria leads 9-0 - Maria won the last meeting in Cincinnati 6-3 6-2 in 2011

Maria will play each of these players once and the two players who finish at the top of the group will advance to the semis.

Maria said: "I think we all know what to expect going into the groups. It's the Top 8 girls of the year. You're going to get a tough group either way and tough opponents. It's just a matter of being ready from the first match on."

Round-Robin play gets underway on Tuesday.

Caroline Wozniacki, Petra Kvitova, Vera Zvonareva and Agnieszka Radwanksa make up the red group.

Click here for photos from the ceremony.