The 2013 WTA Tour Championships was a women's tennis tournament at Istanbul, Turkey from 22 to 27 October 2013. It was the 43rd edition of the singles event and the 38th edition of the doubles competition. The tournament, held at the Sinan Erdem Dome, was contested by eight singles players and four doubles teams. It was the larger of two season-ending championships on the 2013 WTA Tour.
The singles event featured eight players in a round robin event, split into two groups of four. Over the first four days of competition, each player met 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 met the second-placed player in the other group, and vice versa. The winners of each semifinal met 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; or
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; or
b Highest percentage of sets won; or
c Highest percentage of games won
The doubles competition had four teams playing in a straight knockout format from the semifinal stage.
Prize money and points
The total prize money for the 2013 WTA Championships was US$6,000,000.[1]
Stage
Singles
Doubles
Points 1
Champion
RR2 + $1,590,000
$460,000
RR3 + 810
Runner-up
RR2 + $535,000
$230,000
RR3 + 360
Semifinalist
RR2 + $36,500
$115,000
RR3
Round robin (3 wins)
$555,0002
—
690
Round robin (2 wins)
$415,0002
—
530
Round robin (1 win)
$275,0002
—
370
Round robin (0 wins)
$135,0002
—
210
Participation fee
$70,000
—
—
Alternates
$61,000
—
—
1 for every match played in the round robin a player got 70 points automatically, and for each round robin win they got 160 additional points
2 Each round robin win gives an additional $160,000 and each loss gives an additional $20,000. Playing all 3 matches gives an additional $5,000.[citation needed]
3 RR means prize money or points won in the round robin round. RR for doubles was 690
Maria Sharapova began her year at the Australian Open as the second seed, dropping a record-low nine games en route to the semifinals, where she lost to Li Na in straight sets.[27] She won her first title of the year at the BNP Paribas Open defeating Caroline Wozniacki in the final.[28] She followed it up with a final appearance at the Sony Open Tennis where she lost to Serena Williams.[8] She began her clay-court season campaign with a successful title-defense in Porsche Tennis Grand Prix over Li.[29] She followed it up by reaching the final of Mutua Madrid Open, once again losing to Williams.[10] Coming as the defending champion of the French Open, Sharapova reached the final but lost for the fourth time in the season to Williams in straight-sets.[12] Seeded second at Wimbledon, she lost in the second round to Michelle Larcher de Brito.[30] Sharapova withdrew from the US Open, Toray Pan Pacific Open, and China Open due to a right shoulder injury.[31][32] However, Sharapova withdrew from the championship due to a right shoulder injury.[33]
Jelena Janković had a resurgent season in 2013, returning in the top 10 for the first time since 2011. Janković reached the third round of the Australian Open but lost in an all-Serbian match to Ana Ivanovic.[62] She then reached her first title in three years at Copa Colsanitas defeating the young Argentine Paula Ormaechea.[63] She then reached her second final of the year at the Family Circle Cup facing world number 1 Serena Williams, but lost in three sets.[9] Janković then reached her first slam quarterfinals since 2010 at the French Open, but lost to defending champion Maria Sharapova in three sets.[64] However, at Wimbledon, she was upset by her younger compatriot Vesna Dolonc in the second round.[65] At the final Major of the year at the US Open she reached the fourth round losing to China's Li Na.[66] She reached the final of the China Open but for the second time in the year, lost in the final to Serena Williams.[18]
Elena Vesnina & Ekaterina Makarova had a very successful year despite reaching only 2 finals, which they both won. They claimed their first title of the year at the BNP Paribas Open defeating Petrova & Srebotnik.[93] They then claimed their first women's doubles slam title at the French Open defeating defending champions Errani & Vinci.[87] They also reached the semifinals of the Australian Open losing to Errani & Vinci
Groupings
The 2013 edition of the year–end championships featured three current or former World number ones, four Grand Slam champions, three Grand Slam finalists. The competitors were divided into two groups representing the colors of the flag of Turkey. The Red group consisted of no. 1 seed Serena Williams, no. 3 seed Agnieszka Radwańska, no. 5 seed Petra Kvitová, and no. 8 seed Angelique Kerber. The White Group was composed of no. 2 seed Victoria Azarenka, no. 4 seed Li Na, no. 6 seed Sara Errani, and no. 7 seed Jelena Janković. Caroline Wozniacki and Sloane Stephens served as alternates.[98]
In the red group, their respective records in their group, Serena Williams was 13–1, Agnieszka Radwańska was 6–14, Petra Kvitová was 6–7, and Angelique Kerber was 6–9. Williams has an almost perfect record in her group, she is 7–0 against Radwańska, including three wins in 2013 the last being at the China Open. Against Czech Kvitová, Williams also has never lost to having a 4–0 record, they met only once in 2013 at the Qatar Total Open, with Williams losing her first set to Kvitová but still won the match. Williams only loss in her group came against Kerber having a slight edge of 2–1, they failed to meet in 2013, with their last encounter coming in last year Tour Championships, with Williams winning in two sets. Radwańska has mixed record against the other two members in her group, she is 1–4 against Kvitová, with her only win coming in last year's Tour Championships, but Kvitová won their last meeting at the Dubai Tennis Championships. Radwańska has a winning record against Kerber leading 5–3, winning four of the last five, including a two set win in the China Open. The final match–up between Kvitová and Kerber saw an even head-to-head giving 2 wins each, with Kvitová winning the last match at the final of Toray Pan Pacific Open.[99]
In the white group, in their head–to–heads with players within their group, Victoria Azarenka was 17–8, Li Na was 14–10, Sara Errani was 1–12, and Jelena Janković was 8–10. Azarenka like Williams, leads all her head-to-head match up in her group. Azarenka is 6–4 against Li, including winning their last five matches, with the last coming at the final of the Australian Open with a three set win for Azarenka. Azarenka is 6–1 against Errani, they met twice in 2013 with Azarenka winning both, with the last encounter coming at the Internazionali BNL d'Italia. Against Janković, Azarenka leads the match–up 5–3, with Azarenka winning the last four, including once in 2013 at the Western & Southern Open. Li leads her other two match-ups in her group. In the match–up between Li and Errani, Li has won all their five meetings with the last coming at the 2012 Rogers Cup. Against Janković, Li has the slight lead of 5–4, however they split their two meetings in 2013 with Li winning the last one at the US Open. In the last head–to–head between Janković and Errani, Janković won their only encounter at the 2010 BNP Paribas Open.[99]
Player head-to-head
Below are the head-to-head records as they approached the tournament.
Li Na is a Chinese former professional tennis player. She achieved a career-high WTA ranking of world No. 2 on 17 February 2014. Over the course of her career, Li won nine WTA Tour singles titles including two Grand Slam singles titles at the 2011 French Open and 2014 Australian Open. Those victories made her the first Grand Slam singles champion from Asia, male or female. She also became the first player representing an Asian country to appear in a Grand Slam singles final, finishing as the runner-up at the 2011 Australian Open. Li was also the runner-up at the 2013 Australian Open and 2013 WTA Tour Championships, a three-time quarterfinalist at Wimbledon and a semifinalist at the 2008 Beijing Olympic Games and 2013 US Open. Among her other most notable achievements, she was the first Chinese player to win a WTA tour title at the Guangzhou International Women's Open in 2004, the first to reach a Grand Slam singles quarterfinal at the 2006 Wimbledon Championships, and the first to break into the world's top ten.
Maria Yuryevna Kirilenko is a Russian former professional tennis player. A junior Grand Slam champion at the 2002 US Open at the age of 15, she went on to become a top-ten player in both singles and doubles. Kirilenko won six WTA Tour singles titles and 12 doubles titles. She was a three-time major singles quarterfinalist, a semifinalist at the 2012 London Olympics, and reached a career-high ranking of world No. 10, on 10 June 2013. In women's doubles, she became ranked as high as No. 5 in the world on 24 October 2011, and reached two major finals, at the 2011 Australian Open with Azarenka and the 2012 French Open with compatriot Nadia Petrova. Along with Petrova, Kirilenko won the 2012 WTA Tour Championships in doubles and was a bronze medalist at the 2012 London Olympics.
Victoria Fiodaraŭna Azarenka is a Belarusian professional tennis player. Azarenka is a former world No. 1 in singles, having claimed the top ranking for the first time on 30 January 2012. She was the year-end No. 1 in 2012 and has held the top ranking for a combined total of 51 weeks.
Agnieszka Roma Radwańska is a Polish former professional tennis player. She won 20 career singles WTA Tour titles, two doubles titles, and achieved a career-high singles ranking of world No. 2 on 9 July 2012. Her achievements include winning the season-ending 2015 WTA Finals, the Women's Tennis Association (WTA) Fan Favourite Award six times, Shot of the Year five times, and Shot of the Month on a regular basis.
Urszula Radwańska is a Polish professional tennis player.
Angelique Kerber is a German inactive professional tennis player. She has been ranked as high as world No. 1, for a total of 34 weeks, and won three Major titles at the 2016 Australian Open, the 2016 US Open, and the 2018 Wimbledon Championships. She is also an Olympic silver medalist and was the year-end world number one in 2016.
The 2011 WTA Tour Championships was a tennis tournament played at Istanbul, Turkey from October 25 to October 30, 2011. It was the first time Turkey hosted the WTA Tour Championships. It was the 41st edition of the singles event and the 36th edition of the doubles competition. The tournament was held at the Sinan Erdem Dome and was contested by eight singles players and four doubles teams. It was the larger of two season ending championships on the 2011 WTA Tour.
The 2012 WTA Tour Championships was a tennis tournament played at Istanbul, Turkey from October 23 to October 28, 2012. It was the 42nd edition of the singles event and the 37th edition of the doubles competition. The tournament was held at the Sinan Erdem Dome and was contested by eight singles players and four doubles teams. It was the larger of two season ending championships on the 2012 WTA Tour.
The 2012 Qatar Airways Tournament of Champions was a singles-only tennis tournament that was played on indoor hard courts in Sofia. It was the fourth edition of the tournament and was part of the 2012 WTA Tour. The 2012 edition was the first held in Sofia, having been relocated from Bali, where the tournament was held for the previous three years and called the Commonwealth Bank Tournament of Champions. The tournament was played between October 30 and November 4. Ana Ivanovic did not defend her title this year for two reasons: She did not win, or reach, a single final this year in order to gain direct acceptance, and she did not receive a wild card due to her participation in the 2012 Fed Cup finals.
The 2012 Serena Williams tennis season officially began on 2 January with the start of the 2012 WTA Tour. Williams won the most WTA singles titles of the season with seven, including two majors at Wimbledon and the US Open. She also won the WTA Championships and her first singles Olympics gold. She also suffered her first opening-round loss in a major at the French Open, losing to Virginie Razzano.
Maria Sharapova defeated Sara Errani in the final, 6–3, 6–2 to win the women's singles tennis title at the 2012 French Open. It was her first French Open title, and she completed the career Grand Slam with the win. It was Sharapova's first major title since the 2008 Australian Open, and her first since a shoulder surgery that threatened to end her career four years prior. She lost only one set during the tournament, to Klára Zakopalová in the fourth round. Sharapova regained the world No. 1 ranking with the win; Victoria Azarenka and Agnieszka Radwańska were also in contention for the top spot.
Serena Williams defeated Agnieszka Radwańska in the final, 6–1, 5–7, 6–2 to win the ladies' singles tennis title at the 2012 Wimbledon Championships. It was her fifth Wimbledon singles title and her 14th major singles title overall. Radwańska became the first Pole to reach a major singles final since Jadwiga Jędrzejowska in 1939, and the first in the Open Era.
Serena Williams defeated Victoria Azarenka in the final, 6–2, 2–6, 7–5 to win the women's singles tennis title at the 2012 US Open. Azarenka served for the championship and led 5–3 in the third set. It was the first time since 1995 that the final went to three sets. With the victory, Williams became the third woman in history to win Wimbledon, the Olympics, and the US Open in the same season, after Steffi Graf and her sister Venus Williams. Williams lost only one set during the tournament, to Azarenka in the final.
The 2013 Victoria Azarenka tennis season officially began at the 2013 Brisbane International, the first of two simultaneous events which opened the official 2013 season, and concluded with her fifth consecutive qualification for the 2013 WTA Tour Championships.
The 2013 Serena Williams tennis season officially began on 30 December 2012 with the start of the 2013 WTA Tour. Williams produced the most consistent season of her career, reaching 13 finals and winning 11 titles, the most since Martina Hingis won 12 titles in 1997. She also won her second French Open, her first since 2002, as well as her fifth US Open. Williams dominated the clay court season, winning five titles and all 28 of her matches on the surface to produce her career-best winning streak at 34. She had a winning percentage of 95.1%, the highest since 1990, and became the first women's player to eclipse the US$10 million prize money mark at US$12,385,572. Williams finished the year as the world No. 1 for the third time in her career. For her performance in the 2013 season, she was named ITF World Champion for the fourth time and the second time in a row.
The 2013 Li Na tennis season officially began on 31 December with the start of the 2013 WTA Tour at the first edition of the 2013 Shenzhen Open.
The 2014 WTA Finals was a women's tennis tournament in Singapore from October 17 to October 26, 2014, and was the 44th edition of the singles event and the 39th edition of the doubles competition. The tournament was held at the Singapore Indoor Stadium, and contested by eight singles players and eight doubles teams. It was the Championships of 2014 WTA Tour.
Petra Kvitová defeated Eugenie Bouchard in the final, 6–3, 6–0 to win the ladies' singles tennis title at the 2014 Wimbledon Championships. It was her second Wimbledon title and she lost only one set en route, to Venus Williams in the third round.
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 2014 WTA Awards are a series of awards given by the Women's Tennis Association to players who have achieved something remarkable during the 2014 WTA Tour.
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