World number one Jelena Jankovic and her seven fellow qualifiers could have been forgiven if their only goal at the WTA Championships was to pocket the $1.34 million winner's cheque.
Chasing ranking points is also usually high on the agenda. But with Jankovic having already secured the year-ending world number one spot, the top players are more concerned with their future o10-ranked players.
"If players don't play the big events, there will be zero pointers (in their rankings)," Scott said during the US Open.
"We'll have suspensions for the first time ever in tennis next year."
Players who skip mandatory events will be given several chances during the course of the year to do some promotional work for the tournament. If they fulfil this, they will avoid any suspensions. "But if they don't do that, then they'll be subject to a (two-tournament) suspension the following year," said Scott.
Although there is much more prize money on the table than before, that might not satisfy players who are already multi-millionaires. On court, Serena Williams is the only former champion in the running for the Doha crown since title holder Justine Henin quit professional tennis in May while 2004 winner Maria Sharapova has been sidelined for several months with a shoulder problem.
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