The 2015 WTA Finals was a women's tennis tournament at Singapore. It was the 45th edition of the singles event and the 40th edition of the doubles competition. The tournament was contested by eight singles players and eight doubles teams. The tournament was the year-end final of the 2015 WTA Tour.
Finals
Singles
Agnieszka Radwańska defeated Petra Kvitová 6–2, 4–6, 6–3.
Doubles
Martina Hingis / Sania Mirza defeated Garbiñe Muguruza / Carla Suárez Navarro 6–0, 6–3.
Tournament
The 2015 WTA Finals took place at the Singapore Indoor Stadium from 26 October to 1 November 2015, and was the 45th edition of the event. The tournament was run by the Women's Tennis Association (WTA) as part of the 2015 WTA Tour. Singapore is now the ninth city to host the WTA Finals since its inauguration in 1972 and will host the event for at least five years. The event also held two exhibition tournaments, WTA Rising Stars Invitational and the WTA Legends Classic.
Qualifying In singles, point totals are calculated by combining point totals from sixteen tournaments. Of these sixteen tournaments, a player's results from the four Grand Slam events, the four Premier Mandatory tournaments, and the best results from two Premier 5 tournaments must be included. In doubles, point totals are calculated by any combination of eleven tournaments throughout the year. Unlike in singles, this combination does not need to include results from the Grand Slams or Premier-level tournaments.
Format The singles and doubles event features eight players in a round robin event, split into two groups of four. Over the first four days of competition, each player meets the other three players in her group, with the top two in each group advancing to the semifinals. The first-placed player in one group meets the second-placed player in the other group, and vice versa. The winners of each semifinal meet in the championship match.
Round robin tie-breaking methods The final standings of each group were determined by the first of the following methods that applied: Greatest number of wins. Greatest number of matches played. Head-to-head results if only two players are tied, or if three players are tied then: a. If three players each have the same number of wins, a player having played less than all three matches is automatically eliminated and the player advancing to the single elimination competition is the winner of the match-up of the two remaining tied players. b. Highest percentage of sets won. c. Highest percentage of games won.
Exhibition Rising Stars Naomi Osaka defeated Caroline Garcia, 3–5, 5–4(8–6), 4–1.
Legends
Winner: Martina Navratilova Runner-up: Arantxa Sánchez Vicario
Prize money and points The total prize money for the BNP Paribas 2015 WTA Finals was US$7,000,000.
StageSinglesDoublesPointsChampion RR1 + $1,750,000 RR + $350,000 RR + 810 Runner-up RR + $590,000 RR + $110,000 RR + 360 Semifinalist RR + $40,000 RR + $7,500 RR Round robin win per match +$153,000 +$25,000 +230 Round robin loss per match +70Participation Fee3 matches = $151,0002 matches = $130,0001 match = $110,0003 matches = $75,0002 matches = $60,0001 match = $50,000 Alternates2 matches = $109,0001 match = $89,0000 matches = $68,0002 matches = $50,5001 match = $35,0000 matches = $25,000 1 RR means prize money or points won in the round robin round.
Qualified players
Singles #PlayersPointsTournDate Qualifiedwithdrew Serena Williams9,945146 July1 Simona Halep5,790174 September2 Garbiñe Muguruza4,511198 October3 Maria Sharapova4,3221610 September4 Petra Kvitová3,4911814 October5 Agnieszka Radwańska3,4252318 October6 Angelique Kerber3,4002421 October7 Flavia Pennetta3,252 19 21 October8 Lucie Šafářová3,2212122 October
On 6 July, Serena Williams became the first player to qualify for the Championships. However, she announced her withdrawal on 2 October.
In 2015, Serena Williams decided to start her season at the exhibition event in Perth, at the Hopman Cup teaming up with John Isner, losing in the final to the Polish pairing of Agnieszka Radwańska and Jerzy Janowicz. At the Australian Open, Williams claimed her 19th slam defeating Maria Sharapova, putting her 2nd in the most slams won in the Open Era. Williams ended her 14-year boycott of the BNP Paribas Open but withdrew prior to her semifinal match. She then claimed her eighth Miami Open title defeating Carla Suárez Navarro in just 56 minutes in the final after winning a tough three-set semifinal match against Simona Halep. She then reached the final of the French Open and claimed her 20th slam defeating Lucie Šafářová in three sets, making her only the second person to win each slam three times. She backed it up by winning her 6th Wimbledon title against Garbiñe Muguruza to become the first person to win three slams six times and first player since Steffi Graf to win the first three slams of the year. Williams returned from an elbow injury in Toronto but was shocked by Swiss teen Belinda Bencic in the semifinals. She then claimed her fifth title of the year at the Western & Southern Open defeating Simona Halep. At the US Open, Williams had a chance to win the calendar Grand Slam but was upset by Roberta Vinci in three sets in the semifinals. Williams was the three-time defending champion, but on October 2, Williams withdrew from the tournament to recapture her motivation.
On 4 September, Simona Halep became the second player to qualify after her second round win at the US Open.
Simona Halep began the year by winning the Shenzhen Open over Timea Bacsinszky. She then reached the quarterfinals of the Australian Open but lost to Ekaterina Makarova in straight sets. She won her second title of the year at the Dubai Tennis Championships defeating Karolína Plíšková in the final. She won the biggest title of her career at the BNP Paribas Open defeating Jelena Janković in the final. However, Halep suffered a dip in form losing to Mirjana Lučić-Baroni in the second round of the French Open and a first-round loss at Wimbledon to Jana Čepelová. Halep rebounded at the US Open Series by reaching back-to-back finals at Toronto and Cincinnati, retiring against Belinda Bencic and losing to Serena Williams, respectively. Halep reached the semifinals of the US Open but was upset by eventual champion Flavia Pennetta. This is the second time Halep has qualified for the Year-End Championships.
Maria Sharapova was announced as the third qualifier on 10 September.
Maria Sharapova started the year strongly by winning in Brisbane with a win over Ana Ivanovic in the final. At the Australian Open Sharapova saved two match points to beat Alexandra Panova and the second round and went on to reach the final, where she lost to Serena Williams in straight sets. After the Australian Open, a leg strain hampered Sharapova as she suffered three straight early exits to Flavia Pennetta in Indian Wells, Daria Gavrilova in Miami and Angelique Kerber in Stuttgart, where Sharapova was the three-time defending champion. Sharapova rebounded by reaching the semifinals of Madrid, losing to Svetlana Kuznetsova and winning Rome, beating Carla Suárez Navarro in the final. However, this success did not carry over into the French Open where as the defending champion she lost in the fourth round to eventual finalist Lucie Šafářová. Sharapova then reached the semifinals of Wimbledon, losing once again to Williams in straight sets. Sharapova withdrew from the US Open Series, she returned at Wuhan, but had to retire from her opening match against Barbora Strýcová with a left forearm strain. She subsequently withdrew from Beijing to give herself time to recover for Singapore. This marks the 8th time Sharapova has qualified for the Championships.
Garbiñe Muguruza became the fourth player to qualify on 8 October following her round of 16 win at the China Open.
Garbiñe Muguruza started 2015 ranked outside the top 20, but she will be the #2 seed at the WTA Finals. Muguruza lost in the quarterfinals of Sydney to Angelique Kerber and the fourth round Australian Open to Serena Williams. Muguruza then reached her first Premier 5 semifinal in Dubai, where she lost to Karolína Plíšková. She failed to win back-to-back matches until the French Open, where she reached the quarterfinals, losing to Lucie Šafářová. At the Wimbledon, Muguruza reached her first Grand Slam final by defeating losing 6–4, 6–4 to Serena Williams. After Wimbledon, Muguruza lost her opening matches in Toronto and Cincinnati. After Cincinnati, Muguruza split with her longtime coach, Alejo Mancisidor. He was replaced by Sam Sumyk. Muguruza lost in the second round of the US Open to Johanna Konta. However, she rebounded in Asia by reaching the final of Wuhan, retiring against Venus Williams and winning her biggest title to date at the China Open where she overcame Timea Bacsinszky in the final in straight sets. This year's Championships is Muguruza's singles debut.
Petra Kvitová was announced as the fifth qualifier on 14 October.
Petra Kvitová qualified for the Championships for the fifth straight year despite struggling with mononucleosis for most of the 2015 season. She began the year reaching the semifinals in Shenzhen and claiming her 15th career title by beating compatriot Karolína Plíšková in the final of Sydney. However, she was upset in the third round of the Australian Open by young American Madison Keys. She then withdrew from Indian Wells and Miami, citing exhaustion. On clay, Kvitová fell early to Madison Brengle in Stuttgart but less than two weeks later, she beat Serena Williams for the first time in her career en route to winning the title at Madrid. She then made the quarterfinals in Rome, and the fourth round of the French Open. At Wimbledon, defending champion Kvitová was upset in the third round by former World No. 1 Jelena Janković. After Wimbledon, Kvitová announced that she had been diagnosed with mononucleosis. She then suffered consecutive opening-round losses in the hands of Victoria Azarenka in Toronto and Caroline Garcia in Cincinnati. However, she rebounded spectacularly by defending her title at New Haven and achieving her career-best result at Flushing Meadows by reaching the quarterfinals. She then lost in the third round of Wuhan to Roberta Vinci and the first round of Beijing to Sara Errani.
On 18 October, Agnieszka Radwańska was confirmed as the sixth qualifier after capturing the Tianjin Open title.
Agnieszka Radwańska began 2015 by competing at the Hopman Cup, where she claimed the title for Poland with Jerzy Janowicz defeating Americans Serena Williams and John Isner. However, she was unable to carry the momentum from this victory, winning back-to-back matches only three times between Sydney and the French Open. She rebounded at Nottingham, reaching the semifinals, before reaching the final at Eastbourne where she lost to Belinda Bencic. She followed it up with a semifinal appearance at Wimbledon falling to Spain's Garbiñe Muguruza in three sets. Radwańska continued her better form with consistent results during the US Open series, reaching three quarterfinals out of four tournaments played. However, she lost in the third round of the US Open to Madison Keys. At the Pan Pacific Open, Radwańska claimed her first title in over a year against Bencic in straight sets. She then reached the semifinal of the China Open, once again losing to Muguruza. She claimed her second title of the year at the Tianjin Open defeating first time finalist Danka Kovinić. This is the fifth straight year Radwańska has qualified for the championships.
On 21 October, Angelique Kerber and Flavia Pennetta became the sixth and seventh qualifiers respectively.