page_title: 2015 WTA Finals
section_title: Singles
hierarchical_section_title: 2015 WTA Finals / Qualified players / Singles
caption_attribution_description: Halep RG15 (8)
context_page_description: 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.
context_section_description: 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 heal her injuries and 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 fo
caption: Simona Halep won the biggest title of her career at Indian Wells.
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