Trio Is L.A.-Bound for Elite 16

The final rush for points and places in the Home Depot WTA Championships ended Sunday in Linz, Austria, and Luxembourg.

Moving into the final three spots were Anna Smashnova of Israel, Maggie Maleeva of Bulgaria and Elena Dementieva of Russia. Dementieva, a semifinalist in 2000, finished only 20 points in front of Alexandra Stevenson, who probably will be the first alternate.

Stevenson nearly made it with a late-season surge, beating Conchita Martinez of Spain, Jennifer Capriati and Daniela Hantuchova of Slovakia to reach the final at Linz.

Justine Henin of Belgium beat an injured Stevenson, 6-3, 6-0, in the final Sunday.

Maleeva and Dementieva got into the elite field because of injuries to Martina Hingis of Switzerland and Amelie Mauresmo. Hingis has withdrawn from the season-ending event -- which she won in 1998 and 2000 -- but Mauresmo has not officially given the word to the WTA. Last week, Mauresmo’s agent told Reuters that the Frenchwoman would not be playing the championships at Staples Center.

She suffered a knee injury practicing just before the Zurich event earlier this month and pulled out of the tournament.

Eligible players are required to come to Los Angeles for the championships, even if they are not able to participate, and face a fine up to $250,000 for not showing up.

The field consists of 16 singles players and eight doubles teams.

Among the newcomers to the $3-million season finale, which starts a week from Wednesday, are Hantuchova, Anastasia Myskina of Russia and Smashnova.

Despite being sidelined for almost the first seven months of the season because of knee surgery, 1999 champion and last year’s finalist Lindsay Davenport of Laguna Beach qualified with a strong late finish, reaching the finals at Moscow and Zurich.

The top qualifiers are defending champion Serena Williams and her older sister Venus, Capriati (who has lost three of her last four matches), Belgians Henin and Kim Clijsters, Monica Seles, Hantuchova and Jelena Dokic of Yugoslavia.

This will be Seles’ ninth appearance at the championships. The 28-year-old won it three years in a row, starting in 1990.

To be sure, she was one of the most pleased players when the tournament moved back to the United States after one year in Munich, Germany.

Seles has refused to play in Germany since she was stabbed by a fan in Hamburg in 1993.

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WTA Championships

When: Nov. 6-11.

Where: Staples Center.

Who: The top 16 singles players and top eight doubles teams over the last year with points accumulated at tour events during the season.

Defending champion: Serena Williams.

Top qualifiers: Serena Williams, Venus Williams, Jennifer Capriati, Justine Henin, Kim Clijsters and Monica Seles.