Singles won her
18th major title in 2014. On 5 September,
Serena Williams became the first player to qualify for the Championships. Following her
2013 season,
Serena Williams won her 58th title in
Brisbane, defeating the world no.2,
Victoria Azarenka, in the final. She injured her back at the
Australian Open and lost in the fourth round to
Ana Ivanovic in three sets. She returned to competition in
Dubai Tennis Championships but lost in the semifinals to
Alizé Cornet. She successfully defended her
Miami title, after defeating
Li Na in the final. She lost in the second round of
Charleston to
Jana Čepelová and withdrew before her quarterfinals match in
Madrid before defending her
Rome title, defeating
Sara Errani in the final. Coming as the defending champion of the
French Open, she lost in the second round to
Garbiñe Muguruza 2–6, 2–6, in her most lopsided slam loss in her career. Following her disappointing loss in Paris, Williams returned to
Wimbledon as the top seed. She reached the third round before losing to Cornet in three sets. She appeared sick in her following doubles match. She made a return in
Bank of the West Classic where she won the title by defeating
Angelique Kerber in the final. The following week, she lost to sister
Venus for the first time since
2009 in the semifinals of
Rogers Cup. She won her 62nd title the following week in
Cincinnati, beating Ivanovic in the final, this marks her third time winning the
US Open Series. After her disappointing results in the Major tournaments this year, she made the final of the
US Open, where she qualified for the WTA Finals. In the final, she defeated
Caroline Wozniacki in straight sets, thus winning her 18th Major singles title, tying the records of
Chris Evert and
Martina Navratilova. won her second
French Open title. On 9 September,
Maria Sharapova became the second player to qualify for the championships. After prematurely ending her 2013 season due to an injury,
Maria Sharapova began 2014 at the
2014 Brisbane International where she lost to top seed
Serena Williams in the semifinals. Then, she travelled to Melbourne to play the
Australian Open as the 3rd seed, she managed to reach the 4th round where she lost to Slovak and eventual finalist
Dominika Cibulková. In February, Sharapova played the
Paris indoors tournament as the top seed, she lost to fellow Russian
Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova in the semifinals. Sharapova kicked off her North American hardcourt season at
Indian Wells as the defending champion. However, she was upset by
Camila Giorgi in the third round in three sets. At the
Sony Open Tennis, Sharapova lost to Serena in the semifinals again. During the clay court season, Sharapova enjoyed major success. She defended her title at
Stuttgart defeating
Ana Ivanovic in the final in a three-setter and won the
Mutua Madrid Open, outplaying
Simona Halep in three sets as well. She suffered her only loss on clay in 2014 at
Rome when she fell to Ivanovic in the third round but she bounced back at the
French Open by collecting her 5th Grand Slam title when she defeated Halep again in a match lasting over 3 hours, the second longest women's Grand Slam final in history. Sharapova suffered a fourth round loss at
Wimbledon to
Angelique Kerber. Sharapova began her
2014 US Open Series campaign at the
Rogers Cup losing to Spaniard
Carla Suárez Navarro in the third round. The following week at
Western & Southern Open, she reached the semifinals before succumbing to Ivanovic again in three sets. At the
US Open, Sharapova, seeded 5th, lost in the fourth round to
Caroline Wozniacki. Sharapova won her first hard court title since Indian Wells 2013 at the
China Open defeating
Petra Kvitová in the final in three set. reached her first slam final at the
French Open. On 15 September,
Simona Halep was announced as the third qualifier for the Championships.
Simona Halep enjoyed a breakthrough in 2013 where she won her first six WTA titles. She kicked off the 2014 season at the
2014 Brisbane International, she fell to
Madison Keys in round 1. At the
2014 Australian Open, she reached her first Grand Slam quarterfinal but lost to
Dominika Cibulková. She then won the biggest title of her career at the
2014 Qatar Total Open in Doha when she defeated
Angelique Kerber in the final. She then reached the semifinals at
Indian Wells, losing to
Agnieszka Radwańska. She reached the final at the
2014 Mutua Madrid Open where she lost to
Maria Sharapova in three sets. She bounced back at the
2014 French Open where she reached the final, her first grand slam final. She faced Sharapova and lost once again in tough three sets. At the
2014 Wimbledon Championships, she reached the semifinals, where she lost to
Eugenie Bouchard in straight sets. Playing in front of her home crowd, Halep was impressive when she defeated 2nd seed
Roberta Vinci in the final of the inaugural
BRD Bucharest Open. After reaching her career high ranking of number 2, she played the
Western & Southern Open but once again lost to Sharapova in the quarterfinals. At the
2014 US Open, Simona was one of the heavy favourites to make it to the final. She won her first two matches over
Danielle Collins and
Jana Čepelová but fell to a resurging
Mirjana Lučić-Baroni in the third round. won her second slam at
Wimbledon.|238x238pxOn 27 September,
Petra Kvitová was announced as the fourth qualifier after winning the inaugural
Wuhan Open.
Petra Kvitová had a resurgence after a disappointing 2013 and early 2014. She started the season at the
Hopman Cup, playing with
Radek Štěpánek where they fell in the group stage. After making the semifinals in
Sydney, she experienced a huge upset against
Luksika Kumkhum in the first round of the
Australian Open. She then made the quarterfinals in
Doha, the fourth round in
Indian Wells and the quarterfinals in
Miami. During the clay court season, Kvitová lost to
Simona Halep in the semifinals of
Madrid and then fell in her opener in
Rome. At the
French Open, Kvitová lost a tight three-setter against
Svetlana Kuznetsova in the third round. Kvitová then won her second Grand Slam title at
Wimbledon, where she defeated
Eugenie Bouchard in the final in 55 minutes with the loss of just three games, making it one of the most lopsided Grand Slam finals in history. After a couple of early losses in
Montreal and
Cincinnati, she picked up her second title of the year in
New Haven but was then handed an upset by Serbian youngster
Aleksandra Krunić in the third round of the
US Open. Kvitová bounced back with a strong performance during the Asian swing, winning the inaugural
Wuhan Open where she beat Bouchard in the final, and then finishing runner-up to
Maria Sharapova at the
China Open. On 2 October, the last four remaining spots were filled by
Eugenie Bouchard,
Agnieszka Radwańska,
Ana Ivanovic and
Caroline Wozniacki. All four players qualified after
Angelique Kerber and
Ekaterina Makarova exit in their respective third round matches at the China Open and
Li Na's retirement from tennis. reached her first slam final at
Wimbledon.|264x264px
Eugenie Bouchard made a breakthrough in 2014 entering the top 10 for the first time. At the first slam of the year at the
Australian Open, she got to the second week for the first time and further reaching the semifinals losing to eventual champion
Li Na, being the first Canadian since 1984 to reach the semifinals of a slam. She then won her first WTA title at the
Nürnberger Versicherungscup defeating
Karolína Plíšková in the final. She followed it up with her second slam semifinal at the
French Open losing to eventual champion
Maria Sharapova. At
Wimbledon, Bouchard did even better reaching her first slam final defeating
Simona Halep in the semifinals but losing to
Petra Kvitová in less than an hour in one of the most lopsided slam finals in history. Bouchard loss back-to-back opening matches at the
Rogers Cup and
Western & Southern Open in three sets. She suffered her first loss in the year before the semifinals of a slam at the
US Open at the fourth round to
Ekaterina Makarova. At the Asian swing she reached her first Premier 5 final at the inaugural
Wuhan Open, once again losing to Kvitová. reached her first
Australian Open semifinal.|239x239px
Agnieszka Radwańska didn't have the same success she had in 2012 and 2013, enduring a decline in form with inconsistent results. She failed to defend her title at the
Sydney International losing in the second round to
Bethanie Mattek-Sands. However, she reached her first Australian Open semifinal upsetting two-time defending champion,
Victoria Azarenka in the Quarterfinals before losing to
Dominika Cibulková. She then reached the semifinals of the
Qatar Total Open losing to
Simona Halep. The Pole then went on to reach her first Indian Wells final before losing to
Flavia Pennetta who had defeated World No. 2 and reigning Australian Open Champion,
Li Na. She returned to her home country to play at the
BNP Paribas Katowice Open but lost in the semifinals to
Alizé Cornet. She was also a semifinalist at the
2014 Mutua Madrid Open losing to eventual champion Maria Sharapova once again. She couldn't consolidate those strong showings at the
2014 French Open, losing in the third round to
Ajla Tomljanović. She also lost early at the
2014 Wimbledon Championships, bowing out to
Ekaterina Makarova in the fourth round. She did however win her first title of the season at the
2014 Rogers Cup defeating
Venus Williams in the final. At the last grand slam of the season the
US Open, she lost in the second round to eventual semifinalist,
Peng Shuai. won four titles in the year.
Ana Ivanovic had a resurgence in 2014, returning to the top 10 for the first time since 2009. She began the season with a title at the
ASB Classic defeating
Venus Williams, this is her first title in over 2 years. She followed it up with a quarterfinal showing at the
Australian Open defeating world no. 1
Serena Williams before losing to
Eugenie Bouchard. She then won her second title of the year at the
Monterrey Open defeating compatriot
Jovana Jakšić in the first all-Serbian final. She suffered her first loss in a final of the year at the
Porsche Tennis Grand Prix to two-time defending champion
Maria Sharapova. At the
French Open, she lost to
Lucie Šafářová in the third round, marking her 5th consecutive loss to the Czech. She bounced back at the
Aegon Classic defeating Czech
Barbora Záhlavová-Strýcová in straight set for her third title of the year. However, she made another early exit at a slam, losing in the third round of
Wimbledon to
Sabine Lisicki. She reached her biggest final since
2009 BNP Paribas Open, at the
Western & Southern Open, beating Sharapova in semifinal, but losing to
Serena Williams in straight sets In final. At the final slam the
US Open, she suffered another early defeat to
Karolína Plíšková. She won her fourth title of the year at the
Toray Pan Pacific Open defeating
Caroline Wozniacki in the final. This marks the most titles she has won in a single year. She also reached the semifinals of the
China Open losing to
Maria Sharapova. reached her second slam final at the
US Open.|228x228px
Caroline Wozniacki had a strong resurgence after a disappointing first half of the season. Her best results from the first half were the semifinals at the
Dubai Tennis Championships losing to
Venus Williams, the quarterfinals at the
Sony Open losing to
Li Na and the semifinals at the
Monterrey Open losing to
Ana Ivanovic. After losing in the first round at the
French Open to
Yanina Wickmayer, Wozniacki reached the semifinals at the
Aegon International losing to
Angelique Kerber. She then lost in the fourth round at
Wimbledon to
Barbora Záhlavová-Strýcová. She won her first title at the
İstanbul Cup beating
Roberta Vinci in the final. She followed that win with a quarterfinal appearance at the
Rogers Cup and a semifinal appearance at the
Western & Southern Open losing in both to
Serena Williams. Then at the
US Open she beat
Maria Sharapova in the fourth round where she would eventually reach her second US Open final losing again to
Serena Williams. She then reached the final at the
Toray Pan Pacific Open losing to
Ana Ivanovic. She also reached the semifinals at the
Wuhan Open losing to
Eugenie Bouchard. The first alternate of the tour finals was
Angelique Kerber. She reached four finals in the year, but lost in all of them. Her biggest final was at the Premier 5 event of the
Qatar Total Open losing to
Simona Halep in straight sets. She also reached three other Premier 470 events at the
Apia International Sydney,
Aegon International and
Bank of the West Classic losing to
Tsvetana Pironkova,
Madison Keys and
Serena Williams, respectively. She also reached the quarterfinals of Wimbledon. The second alternate spot was taken by
Ekaterina Makarova. This is the Russians first trip to the tour finals as a singles player, she made her first slam semifinals at the US Open losing to world no. 1
Serena Williams in straight sets. She also reached the quarterfinals of Wimbledon. She won her lone title of the year at the
PTT Pattaya Open defeating
Karolína Plíšková in two tight sets.
Doubles and
Roberta Vinci won the 2014 Australian Open and Wimbledon On 11 July,
Sara Errani and
Roberta Vinci were announced as the first team to qualify for the Championships.
Sara Errani & Roberta Vinci recaptured their form in 2014, reclaiming the world no. 1 ranking. They were able to reach three slams finals winning two of them, they were able to defend their
Australian Open title defeating Russians
Makarova &
Vesnina and completed the career grand slam by winning
Wimbledon over
Babos&
Mladenovic, thus becoming only the fifth pairing to complete the career grand slam. They also reached the final of the
French Open for the third time in a row but fell to the Asian pairing of
Hsieh &
Peng. The Italian duo also captured three more titles, the
Mutua Madrid Open over the local pairing of
Muguruza &
Suárez Navarro, and at the
Rogers Cup and
Porsche Tennis Grand Prix both over
Black &
Mirza. They also reached two other finals but lost, at the
Apia International Sydney to
Babos &
Šafářová and at the
Internazionali BNL d'Italia to
Peschke &
Srebotnik. On 10 September,
Hsieh Su-wei &
Peng Shuai and
Ekaterina Makarova &
Elena Vesnina became the second and third team to qualify for the Championships.
Hsieh Su-wei & Peng Shuai, champions of the previous year, became the top team of the year both becoming number 1's in doubles. They claimed their first title of the year at the
Qatar Total Open by defeating the pairing of Peschke & Srebotnik in straight sets. They followed it up with a title at the
BNP Paribas Open over Black & Mirza. They won their final title of the year at the
French Open defeating
Errani &
Vinci, their second slam title as a team and as individuals. Hsieh and Peng announced after the US Open that they are ending their partnership after 2014.
Ekaterina Makarova & Elena Vesnina became runners-up on their first Tour Championships in 2013. In the next season they reached three finals, the latest of which, the
US Open, they won over
Hingis &
Pennetta; it was the pair's second Grand Slam title in their career. The Russians also reached the finals of the
Australian Open losing to Errani & Vinci and the
Miami Masters losing to Hingis &
Lisicki. On September 22, after winning the
Toray Pan Pacific Open, the team of Zimbabwe's
Cara Black and India's
Sania Mirza was announced as the fourth qualifier.
Cara Black & Sania Mirza paired up at the last quarter of the 2013 season. The pairing reached six finals in the year, but only won two of them, the first being at the
Portugal Open defeating
Hrdinová &
Solovyeva and the second one at the
Toray Pan Pacific Open defeating Muguruza & Suárez Navarro. They lost at the
BNP Paribas Open to Hsieh & Peng,
Porsche Tennis Grand Prix and
Rogers Cup to the Italian duo of Errani & Vinci, and the
China Open to
Hlaváčková & Peng. Mirza also reached two Mixed Doubles final, winning the
US Open with
Bruno Soares defeating
Spears &
González and losing the
Australian Open with
Horia Tecău to
Mladenovic &
Nestor On 25 September, the American pair
Raquel Kops-Jones and
Abigail Spears qualified for the Championships.
Raquel Kops-Jones & Abigail Spears, partners since late 2011 had their best season, it began by reaching their first slam semifinal at the
Australian Open. They also won two titles in the year, their biggest title coming at the
Western & Southern Open defeating Babos & Mladenovic. They also won the
Aegon Classic, their first grass title defeating Australians
Barty &
Dellacqua. Spears also reached the final of the
US Open Mixed Doubles with
Santiago González losing to Mirza &
Soares On 2 October, Peschke and Srebotnik became the sixth team to be qualified.
Květa Peschke & Katarina Srebotnik who resumed their partnership are participating in the tour finals for the fifth time together. The pair reached two finals in the year and went one-to-one, winning the
Internazionali BNL d'Italia defeating Italians Errani & Vinci and losing at the
Qatar Total Open to the Asian pairing of Hsieh & Peng. Peschke also won the title at the
Open GDF Suez with
Anna-Lena Grönefeld defeating Babos & Mladenovic. On 5 October,
Garbiñe Muguruza &
Carla Suárez Navarro became the seventh pair in the finals.
Garbiñe Muguruza & Carla Suárez Navarro are one of the youngest formed teams to be qualified for the Championships. They were able capture their first title as a team at the
Bank of the West Classic defeating
Kania & Siniakova. They also reached two other finals but lost, at the
Mutua Madrid Open to Errani & Vinci and at the
Toray Pan Pacific Open to Black & Mirza. They also reached the semifinals of the French Open. Mugurza also won another title at the
Grand Prix SAR La Princesse Lalla Meryem with
Oprandi defeating
Piter &
Zanevska. On October 12, after winning the
Tianjin Open,
Alla Kudryavtseva and
Anastasia Rodionova claimed the final spot.
Alla Kudryavtseva & Anastasia Rodionova became a stable duo since September 2013. They won three titles out of four finals; although those were International or Premier tournaments, the pair also showed fine results in the major tournaments, including reaching the quarterfinals of
Wimbledon, or the semifinals of the
China Open. For both players, the 2014 season was one of their best in their tennis career. ==Groupings==