2021 WTA Tour


The 2021 WTA Tour was the elite professional tennis circuit organised by the Women's Tennis Association for the 2021 tennis season. The 2021 WTA Tour calendar comprises the Grand Slam tournaments, the WTA 1000 tournaments, the WTA 500 tournaments, the WTA 250 tournaments, the Billie Jean King Cup, and the year-end championships. Also included in the 2021 calendar are the Summer Olympic Games, which were rescheduled from 2020.

Schedule

This is the complete schedule of events on the 2021 calendar.
;Key
Grand Slam tournaments
Summer Olympics
Year-end championships
WTA 1000
WTA 1000
WTA 500
WTA 250
Team events

August

Affected tournaments

The COVID-19 pandemic affected tournaments on both the ATP and WTA tours. The following tournaments were cancelled or postponed due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
Week ofTournamentStatus
January 4Brisbane International
Brisbane, Australia
WTA 500
Hard

Cancelled
January 4Auckland Open
Auckland, New Zealand
WTA 250
Hard

Cancelled
January 4Shenzhen Open
Shenzhen, China
WTA 250
Hard

Cancelled
January 11Adelaide International
Adelaide, Australia
WTA 500
Hard

Postponed to 22 February
January 11Hobart International
Hobart, Australia
WTA 250
Hard

Cancelled
January 18
January 25
Australian Open
Melbourne, Australia
Grand Slam
Hard

Postponed to 8 February
February 8St. Petersburg Trophy
Saint Petersburg, Russia
WTA 500
Hard

Postponed to 15 March due to Australian Open reschedule
February 8Thailand Open
Hua Hin, Thailand
WTA 250
Hard

Cancelled
February 15Qatar Open
Doha, Qatar
WTA 500
Hard

Postponed to 1 March due to Australian Open reschedule
February 22Mexican Open
Acapulco, Mexico
WTA 250
Hard

Cancelled
March 8
March 15
Indian Wells Open
Indian Wells, United States
WTA 1000
Hard

Postponed to 4 October
April 12Billie Jean King Cup Finals
Budapest, Hungary
Clay – 12 teams

Postponed to 1 November and moved to Prague, Czech Republic
April 12Kunming Open
Anning, China
WTA 250
Clay

Postponed
May 17Morocco Open
Rabat, Morocco
WTA 250
Clay

Cancelled
May 17
Cologne, Germany
WTA 250
Clay

Cancelled
May 24French Open
Paris, France
Grand Slam
Clay

Postponed to 31 May
June 7Rosmalen Grass Court Championships
Rosmalen, Netherlands
WTA 250
Grass

Cancelled
September 13Zhengzhou Open
Zhengzhou, China
WTA 500
Hard

Cancelled
September 13Japan Open
Hiroshima, Japan
WTA 250
Hard

Cancelled
September 20Pan Pacific Open
Tokyo, Japan
WTA 500
Hard

Cancelled
September 20Guangzhou Open
Guangzhou, China
WTA 250
Hard

Cancelled
September 20Korea Open
Seoul, South Korea
WTA 250
Hard

Postponed to 20 December as WTA 125 tournament
September 27Wuhan Open
Wuhan, China
WTA 1000
Hard

Cancelled
October 4China Open
Beijing, China
WTA 1000
Hard

Cancelled
October 11Hong Kong Open
Hong Kong, China
WTA 250
Hard

Cancelled
October 11Tianjin Open
Tianjin, China
WTA 250
Hard

Cancelled
October 11Linz Open
Linz, Austria
WTA 250
Hard

Postponed to 8 November
October 18Jiangxi Open
Nanchang, China
WTA 250
Hard

Cancelled
November 1WTA Elite Trophy
Zhuhai, China
Year-end championships
Hard

Cancelled
November 8WTA Finals
Shenzhen, China
Year-end championships
Hard

Moved to Guadalajara, Mexico

Statistical information

These tables present the number of singles, doubles, and doubles (tennis)|mixed doubles] titles won by each player and each nation during the season, within all the tournament categories of the 2019 WTA Tour: the Grand Slam tournaments, the year-end championships, the WTA Premier tournaments, and the WTA 250. The players/nations are sorted by:
  1. total number of titles ;
  2. cumulated importance of those titles ;
  3. a singles > doubles > mixed doubles hierarchy;
  4. alphabetical order.

Titles information

The following players won their first main circuit title in singles, doubles, or mixed doubles:
;Singles
;Doubles
;Mixed doubles
The following players defended a main circuit title in singles, doubles, or mixed doubles:
;Singles
;Doubles
;Mixed doubles

Best ranking

The following players achieved their career high ranking in this season inside top 50.
;Singles
;Doubles

WTA rankings

These are the WTA rankings and yearly WTA Race rankings of the top 20 singles and doubles players at the current date of the 2021 season.

Points distribution

S = singles players, D = doubles teams, Q = qualification players.

* Assumes undefeated round robin match record.

Comebacks

The following is a list of notable players who returned from retirement or inactivity during the 2021 season:Carla Suárez Navarro In April 2021, Suárez Navarro announced that her Hodgkin's Lymphoma was in complete remission, and that she would commence a farewell tour beginning at Roland-Garros and culminating in a final US Open appearance, where she lost in the first round to Danielle Collins.Elena Vesnina turned professional in 2002 and reached a career high ranking of 13 in singles in 2017 and number 1 in doubles in 2018. Vesnina's best result in a Grand Slam came at the 2016 Wimbledon championships, where she fell to Serena Williams in the semifinals in straight sets. She also won three WTA singles titles during her career. Her biggest success was in doubles, with 3 Grand Slam women's doubles titles alongside Ekaterina Makarova at the 2013 French Open, the 2014 US Open and at Wimbledon in 2017, as well as the mixed doubles title at the 2016 Australian Open alongside Bruno Soares. She also partnered Makarova to gold in the women's doubles at the 2016 Summer Olympics|2016 Olympics], and to the title at the WTA Finals, both in 2016. Vesnina had been absent from the WTA Tour since 2018 following the birth of her daughter.Kim Clijsters initially entered the 2021 Miami Open, but pulled out, saying she did not feel ready to compete after her surgery and contracting COVID-19 in January. She played her first tournament of the year at the 2021 Chicago Fall Tennis Classic after accepting a wildcard, but lost in the first round to Hsieh Su-wei.

Retirements

The following is a list of notable players who announced their retirement from professional tennis, became inactive, or were permanently banned from playing, during the 2021 season:Gréta Arn joined the professional tour in 1997 and reached a career-high ranking of No. 40 in singles in May 2011 and No. 175 in doubles in December 2000. She won two singles titles in her career.Timea Bacsinszky , has won four WTA singles titles in her 15-year career, where she reached a career high of No.9, and five doubles titles. She reached the semifinals of French Open in singles in 2015 and 2017. She also won a silver medal in doubles with Martina Hingis at 2016 Rio Olympics. Bacsinszky announced her retirement on 16 July due to constant injuries.Kiki Bertens turned professional in 2009, and reached a career high ranking of No. 4 in singles on 13 May 2019, becoming the highest ranking female Dutch player in WTA history; she had a career high doubles ranking of No. 16 in the world, achieved on 16 April 2018. She won 10 WTA singles titles, including two WTA 1000 titles at the 2018 Western & Southern Open and the 2019 Mutua Madrid Open, and also won 10 WTA doubles titles. Furthermore, she reached the quarterfinals of the 2017 Wimbledon Championships, and the semifinals on the 2016 French Open. She announced on 16 June 2021 that 2021 will be her final season due to ongoing injuries, and that her final event would be the 2020 Summer Olympics in Tokyo. Bertens officially retired from the sport after opening round defeats in both singles and doubles at the Olympics, ranked No. 24 in singles and No. 112 in doubles.Nicole Gibbs joined the professional tour in 2013 and reached a career-high ranking of No. 68 in singles in July 2016 and No. 107 in doubles in September 2016. She announced her retirement in February 2021 after battling with oral cancer in 2019 and plans to attend law school.Anna-Lena GrönefeldBojana Jovanovski PetrovićVania King turned professional in 2006 and reached a career high ranking of 50 in singles and 3 in doubles. King reached three WTA singles finals during her career, winning one of them at the Bangkok Open in 2006. She was most known as a doubles specialist, winning fifteen titles in her career, with her biggest achievements coming in winning the women's doubles events at both Wimbledon and the US Open in 2010, alongside Yaroslava Shvedova. King was hampered by an ankle injury throughout the final years of her career, and despite undergoing surgery in 2017, King decided to retire in February 2020 however due to the impacts from the COVID-19 pandemic, she officially retired in April 2021 following a farewell tour.Johanna Konta turned professional in 2008, initially representing Australia, before switching allegiance to Great Britain in 2012. She reached a career high singles ranking of No. 4 in the world on 17 July 2017, becoming the first British woman since Jo Durie to be ranked inside the top ten; she had a career high doubles ranking of No. 88 in the world, achieved on 1 August 2016. Konta won four WTA singles titles, including a Premier Mandatory title at the 2017 Miami Open, and became the first British woman to win a singles title on home soil since Sue Barker did so in 1981, doing so at the 2021 Nottingham Open. She reached the quarterfinals or better at all four Grand Slams, including reaching the semifinals at the 2016 Australian Open, 2017 Wimbledon Championships, and the 2019 French Open. Konta announced her retirement on 1 December 2021, after suffering from a long-term knee injury, and a rankings slide to No. 113 in the world.Alla Kudryavtseva turned professional in 2005 and reached a career high ranking of No. 56 in singles and No. 15 in doubles. Kudryavtseva reached two WTA singles finals during her career, winning one of them at the 2010 Tashkent Open. She was better known for her doubles prowess, winning nine doubles titles throughout her career, and reached the quarterfinals in women's doubles events at the Australian Open, Wimbledon Championships, and the US Open. She announced that she had retired from the sport on Instagram, on 2 November 2021.Yaroslava Shvedova, turned professional in September 2005, representing Russia; Shvedova switched representation to Kazakhstan in 2008. She reached a career-high singles ranking of No. 25 in the world on 29 October 2012; she attained a career-high doubles ranking of No. 3 in the world on 22 February 2016. She reached two WTA singles finals, winning her only title at the 2007 Bangalore Open; she also reached the quarterfinals of three Grand Slam events in singles, at the 2010 and 2012 French Opens, and the 2016 Wimbledon Championships. Known for her doubles prowess, Shvedova won 13 WTA doubles titles, including two Grand Slam titles at the 2010 Wimbledon Championships and 2010 US Open, partnering Vania King; she also reached four further Grand Slam doubles finals, and reached the final of the 2010 French Open in mixed doubles partnering Julian Knowle. Shvedova holds the distinction of being the only player in tennis history to score a golden set in a Grand Slam main match; she achieved this feat in her third round match against then-world No. 10 Sara Errani at the 2012 Wimbledon Championships. Shvedova retired on 2 October 2021, after a commemorative ceremony held at the 2021 Astana Open, in Nur-Sultan.Abigail SpearsBarbora Strýcová , the No. 2 player in doubles as of 5 April 2021 and former No. 1 player, announced her retirement on 4 May 2021. Strýcová joined the professional tour in 2002 and reached a career-high ranking of No. 16 in singles in January 2017. She has won 31 doubles titles and 2 singles titles, as well as the bronze medal in women's doubles at the 2016 Olympics. She reached the singles semifinals and won the women's doubles title at the 2019 Wimbledon Championships and was also a member of the winning Czech Fed Cup team in 2011, 2012, 2014, 2015, 2016, and 2018.Carla Suárez Navarro turned professional in 2003. Suárez Navarro reached a career-high singles ranking of No. 6 in the world on 29 February 2016; her career-high doubles ranking was No. 11, achieved on 27 April 2015. Suárez Navarro won two WTA singles titles, including a WTA 1000 title at the 2016 Qatar Open, and won three WTA doubles titles. She also reached the quarterfinals in singles on multiple occasions at the Australian Open, French Open, and the US Open. In doubles, she reached the semifinals of the 2014 French Open, and the final of the 2015 WTA Finals, both with Garbiñe Muguruza. Suárez Navarro previously announced her retirement in 2020; in September 2020, she was diagnosed with Hodgkin lymphoma. In April 2021, She announced that her cancer was in complete remission, and that she would commence a farewell tour beginning at Roland-Garros. She retired from the sport after her participation at the 2020–21 Billie Jean King Cup Finals, in November 2021.