5 best WTA Finals photoshoots ft. Serena Williams, Maria Sharapova & others

The year-ending WTA Finals make for a climactic conclusion to a long and grueling tennis calendar. Serena Williams and Maria Sharapova are among the famous champions to have lifted the prestigious trophy.

But aside from providing an elite field of the year's top-8 performers with an opportunity to test themselves against the best, the WTA Finals also give players an opportunity to unwind and take their mind off tennis for just an instance.

Over the last few years, the draw ceremony has been accompanied by a gala event featuring all the finalists. And the player photoshoot has become a beloved tradition as well.

Here, we take a look back at some of the most iconic photoshoots that the WTA Finals have produced over the years:

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#5 Shenzhen WTA Finals (2019)

Players at the 2019 WTA Finals photoshoot in Shenzhen.

The photoshoot and ceremony for the 2019 Finals held in Shenzhen, China, were iconic for more reasons than one.

For starters, the organizers had at the time announced a massive prize money for the winner—$3,505,000 plus the round-robin prize money—the biggest pay check across the men's and women's Tours at the time.

Ashleigh Barty would go on to lift the trophy. But the "elite eight," including former winners Petra Kvitova and Elina Svitolina, pictured with the silver cup at the start of the tournament in the backdrop of a sprawling Shenzhen skyline, takes the cake as the most memorable moment from that year's event.

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#4 Guadalajara (2022)

Players at the 2021 WTA Finals photoshoot in Guadalajara.

If 2019 is remembered for bringing the biggest prize money to the game, its immediate successor is iconic for showing the world that money, after all, is not what the sport stands for.

The tennis world united, however, for a brief moment, in its shared concern for the safety of former pro Peng Shuai, who had come forward with a series of se*ual abuse allegations against China's former Vice Premier Zhang Gaoli.

Not worrying about the financial impact, the WTA snapped all ties with China and decided to host the year-end championships in Guadalajara. Worries of a much smaller prize money purse faded in the face of a larger message being sent.

The tournament also gave way to a memorable photoshoot under the lights in the backdrop of an illuminated historic Basilica de Nuestra Señora de Zapopan, no less.

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#3 Istanbul (2012)

Players at the WTA Finals photoshoot in Istanbul.

Prior to Singapore, the Finals had an eventful few years in Istanbul. The 2012 edition in particular saw a highly competitive field led by Serena Williams.

The American and Petra Kvitova dazzled in matching red outfits, along with some of the most recognizable faces of the tennis era: Maria Sharapova, Angelique Kerber, Victoria Azarenka, Li Na, and Agnieszka Radwanska.

There was something about the "elite eight" standing in the foreground of a regal setup with sweeping drapes and a massive chandelier that screamed classic.

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#2 Madrid (2007)

Players at the Sony Ericsson WTA Championship photoshoot.

Up until 2007, the gala event was not the star-studded event that we know of today. Needless to say, the photoshoot was a non-starter too, and fans only got to see the odd selfie or group photo.

But the entry of Hugo Boss changed all that. The first photoshoot being commissioned for the WTA Finals featured the likes of Justine Henin, Williams Sharapova, and Ana Ivanovic.

The monochrome photo that made it to advertising was as iconic as they come. And not only did it succeed in doing its job of setting the media circles abuzz ahead of the WTA Finals that year, it set the ball rolling for the "photoshoot" trend for years to come.

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#1 Singapore (2014)

Players at the WTA Finals in Singapore 2014.

In its final year in Singapore, the WTA Finals pulled out all the stops to make it a memorable event.

The organizers were helped by the presence of all the big names—all but two of whom are Grand Slam winners—starting with Serena, Sharapova, Kvitova, Radwanska, Simona Halep, Caroline Wozniacki, and Eugenie Bouchard.

The "elite eight" were photographed posing on a balcony next to the lush Gardens by the Bay and painted a picture of each player taking on the role of a sentinel, protecting a tower each.