ST PETERSBURG, FL, USA - The WTA has announced today its nominees for its annual year-end player awards in the categories of Player of the Year, Doubles Team of the Year, Most Improved Player of the Year, Newcomer of the Year and Comeback Player of the Year.

The winners will be recognized during the Gala Evening at the BNP Paribas WTA Finals Singapore presented by SC Global in Singapore on October 19, and the voting timeframe reflects success throughout the regular WTA season.

International tennis media can vote for one player in each respective category up until the close of business on Friday, October 12.

The Player of the Year category features the year’s four Grand Slam champions in Simona Halep (French Open, Montreal, Shenzhen), Angelique Kerber (Wimbledon, Sydney), Naomi Osaka (US Open, Indian Wells) and Caroline Wozniacki (Australian Open, Beijing, Eastbourne), along with Petra Kvitova, who leads the tour with five WTA titles won in 2018 (St. Petersburg, Doha, Prague, Madrid, Birmingham).

In the Doubles Team of the Year category, three of the four nominees have taken home Grand Slam titles together: CoCo Vandeweghe and Ashleigh Barty (US Open, Miami), Barbora Krejcikova and Katerina Siniakova (Wimbledon, French Open), and Kristina Mladenovic and Timea Babos (Australian Open, Birmingham). Elise Mertens and Demi Schuurs were one of the most prolific teams in 2018 (Hobart, 's-Hertogenbosch, Wuhan), with Schuurs taking home a WTA tour leading six doubles titles.

Most Improved Player of the Year will go to one of the following: Kiki Bertens, Julia Goerges, Daria Kasatkina, Elise Mertens, Wang Qiang, and Aliaksandra Sasnovich.

Newcomer of the Year features players who made huge breakthroughs in 2018: Amanda Anisimova, Danielle Collins, Mihaela Buzarnescu, Sofia Kenin and Aryna Sabalenka.

And in Comeback Player of the Year, the following players made inspiring and successful returns to action after recovering from injury or personal reasons: Belinda Bencic, Bethanie Mattek-Sands, Ajla Tomljanovic and Serena Williams.

Below is the full list of nominees for WTA Awards.

WTA Player of the Year
Simona Halep (ROU)
Angelique Kerber (GER)
Petra Kvitova (CZE)
Naomi Osaka (JPN)
Caroline Wozniacki (DEN)

WTA Doubles Team of the Year
CoCo Vandeweghe / Ashleigh Barty (USA/AUS)
Barbora Krejcikova / Katerina Siniakova (CZE/CZE)
Elise Mertens / Demi Schuurs (BEL/NED)
Kristina Mladenovic / Timea Babos (FRA/HUN)

WTA Most Improved Player of the Year
Player who finished inside the Top 100 and showed significant improvement throughout the 2018 season.
Kiki Bertens (NED)
Julia Goerges (GER)
Daria Kasatkina (RUS)
Elise Mertens (BEL)
Wang Qiang (CHN)
Aliaksandra Sasnovich (BLR)

WTA Newcomer of the Year
Player who made Top 100 debut or notable accomplishments during the 2018 season.
Amanda Anisimova (USA)
Danielle Collins (USA)
Mihaela Buzarnescu (ROU)
Sofia Kenin (USA)
Aryna Sabalenka (BLR)

WTA Comeback Player of the Year
Player whose ranking previously dropped due to injury or personal reasons and current season's results helped restore ranking.
Belinda Bencic (SUI)
Bethanie Mattek-Sands (USA)
Ajla Tomljanovic (AUS)
Serena Williams (USA)