The 8 highest-ranked players who have captured at least one International tournament during the year and who are not participating in singles at the year-end
WTA Championships in Istanbul will qualify for the event. However, at the tournament's discretion two of these players can be replaced with wildcards. On September 30, it was announced that defending champion,
Ana Ivanovic, was awarded the first wildcard of the tournament. On October 20, the second wildcard of the tournament was awarded to
Peng Shuai.
2011 International tournament champions Qualifiers reached the semifinals of the French Open.
Marion Bartoli Bartoli is making her second appearance at the championships after finishing runner-up at the inaugural Tournament of Champions in 2009. She has produced a good year, returning to the top 10 and reaching 14 quarterfinals, the most of any player. The Frenchwoman reached five finals in the year, winning two in the
Aegon International over
Petra Kvitová, 6–1, 4–6, 7–5, and the
HP Open over
Samantha Stosur, 6–3, 6–1, earning her a spot in the championships. She lost in the finals of the
BNP Paribas Open to
Caroline Wozniacki, the
Internationaux de Strasbourg to
Andrea Petkovic, and the
Bank of the West Classic to
Serena Williams. She also reached her second career Grand Slam semifinal at the
French Open. At the other Grand Slams, she reached the quarterfinals of
Wimbledon and the second rounds of the
Australian Open and the
US Open. Her biggest wins of the year were against
Serena Williams and
Kim Clijsters. She also barely missed originally qualifying for the
WTA Tour Championships, but filled in for
Maria Sharapova when she sprained her ankle.
Peng Shuai Peng was one of the wildcard recipients in the tournament. She has had a consistent year and was able to crack the top 20 for the first time and reached a new career high of number 14 after reaching the quarterfinals of the
Western & Southern Open. She reached her first premier-level final at the
Brussels Open, losing to
Caroline Wozniacki, 6–2, 3–6, 3–6. She also reached four other semifinals. She reached the fourth round of all the Grand Slams except the
French Open, where she reached the third round. Her big wins of the year came against
Li Na and
Vera Zvonareva. reached her first career Slam semifinal.
Sabine Lisicki Lisicki has had a breakthrough year, including improving her ranking from a low of no. 218 in March, to a career-best of no. 17 in September. She also won two titles in the year, the
Aegon Classic over
Daniela Hantuchová, 6–3, 6–2, and in the
Texas Tennis Open over
Aravane Rezaï, 6–2, 6–1, which made her qualify for the event. She made her maiden Grand Slam semifinal at
Wimbledon before losing to
Maria Sharapova, the first time a German woman had reached a Grand Slam semifinal since
Steffi Graf there in 1999. She also reached the fourth round of the
US Open and the second round of the
French Open. She has earned top-10 wins over
Samantha Stosur,
Li Na, and
Marion Bartoli.
Roberta Vinci Vinci has had her best season to date, reaching a career high of no. 18 in the world and winning three titles, the third most singles titles in the season. Her titles were all international events, which was her pass to the event, winning in the
Barcelona Ladies Open over
Lucie Hradecká, 4–6, 6–2, 6–2, the
UNICEF Open over
Jelena Dokić, 6–7(7–9), 6–3, 7–5, and the
Poli-Farbe Budapest Grand Prix, defeating
Irina-Camelia Begu, 6–4, 1–6, 6–4. However, she has had an inconsistent year, including losing eight in a row before winning Barcelona. At the Grand Slams, she reached the first round of the
Australian Open and reached the third rounds of the other slams. She earned her biggest win of her career by defeating world no. 1
Caroline Wozniacki in the third round of the
Rogers Cup. earns her first win over a World no.1.
Daniela Hantuchová Hantuchová has had a bad start of the season, losing her first four matches, before triumphing in the
PTT Pattaya Open over
Sara Errani, 6–0, 6–2, without dropping a set in the tournament. It was also her first title since October 2007. She also reached the final of the
Aegon Classic, losing to
Sabine Lisicki, 3–6, 2–6. She had mixed results in the Grand Slams, losing in the fourth round of the
French Open, third round of the
Wimbledon, and the first rounds of the
Australian Open and the
US Open. She claimed major upsets across the year, including defeating
Caroline Wozniacki, her first win against a reigning world no. 1, and claiming her first win over
Venus Williams in 11 matches. She also had top-10 victories against
Vera Zvonareva,
Li Na,
Marion Bartoli, and
Victoria Azarenka.
Ana Ivanovic is the defending champion. Ivanovic is the defending champion, after defeating
Alisa Kleybanova in the final, and is one of the wildcard recipients. The Serb endured a horror 2011 season, being the only one not to reach a final in the field and only made it to two semifinals in the
Aegon Classic and the
Mercury Insurance Open. However, she was able to go deep in two Premier Mandatory, reaching the quarterfinals of the
BNP Paribas Open and the
China Open. She was also able to earn top 10 victories over
Jelena Janković and
Vera Zvonareva. Her performances at the Grand Slams were very poor, being defeated in the first round of the
Australian and
French Opens, the third round at
Wimbledon and the fourth round of the
US Open. She won only four Grand Slam matches the entire year (not including a walkover victory against
Petra Cetkovská, who withdrew from their second round match at the US Open due to injury), one less than her tally from 2010.
Anabel Medina Garrigues Medina Garrigues is competing for the second time, the first being in 2009. She has won two titles in the year, winning her first titles in three years. She won the
Estoril Open, defeating
Kristina Barrois, 6–1, 6–2, and the
Internazionali Femminili di Palermo, defeating
Polona Hercog, 6–3, 6–2. These wins made her the player with most clay titles of all active players with 10, surpassing
Venus Williams. Her title at Palermo was her fifth at the event, and she became only the fourth active player to win the same tournament five times. In the Grand Slams, she reached the first round of the
Australian Open, second round of the
French Open, the first round at
Wimbledon, and the third round of the
US Open. She has beaten two top-20 players in the year,
Shahar Pe'er and
Marion Bartoli.
Nadia Petrova Petrova is one of the debutants in the event. She won her first title since November 2008 at the
Citi Open, defeating
Shahar Pe'er in the final, 7–5, 6–2. This made her qualify for the event. However, she has only reached two other quarterfinals. At the Grand Slams, she reached the fourth round at
Wimbledon, the third rounds of the
Australian Open and the
US Open, and the first round of the
French Open. She has beaten top-20 players,
Roberta Vinci,
Ana Ivanovic, and
Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova. ==Player head-to-head==