Behind the scenes at the WTA Finals Iconic photo

FORT WORTH, Texas -- The energy around the world's best singles and doubles players ahead of the 2022 WTA Finals Iconic photo shoot was buzzing throughout the day as they traded their match kits for glamour fits and steeled themselves for Friday night's Draw Ceremony.  

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In the hours leading up to the ceremony, which was held at the Hotel Drover at Fort Worth's historic Stockyards, the players came together to mingle, gain some fashion advice and get their hair and makeup done in the Style Suite.

Ons Jabeur, Desirae Krawczyk and Giuliana Olmos were the social butterflies of the afternoon, keeping the mood light and the conversations flowing. As the day went on, Krawczyk and Pegula popped open a bottle of wine and began passing it around to any willing takers. 

"The thing that I love the most is everybody trying to give advice to the other one, what dress to choose, what goes with it," Jabeur said.

"Usually we want the other one to look bad. But most of us, we want the other one to look good. So that was very nice."

Said Coco Gauff: "It's nice to see everyone here. It's very rare. People don't usually have their whole family, maybe one or two family members might pop in here or there.

"It feels relaxed. You can tell it's the last tournament of the year. Everyone is just going to leave it all out on the court, and I think that's what makes it special."

Hair and makeup weren't the only things keeping the players busy in the lead-up. Elise Mertens and Katerina Siniakova were the last to arrive, but for good reason. Both advanced to the quarterfinals of the WTA 125K Tampico and landed just hours before the event.

While styles and fits dominated the conversations among the players, they also swapped notes on their January scheduling, thoughts on the 2023 calendar and holiday plans. 

Others were also juggling the arrivals of their friends and family. Ons Jabeur's mother and father have flown in, as have Maria Sakkari's mother and grandmother.

"I promised [my grandmother] this last summer that I was going to make it when I was going through all these tough moments," Sakkari said. She said, 'I'm going to come no matter where it is, even if it's in Australia or the U.S.' Then I kept my promise."

Said Swiatek: "I think the photo was pretty amazing, really powerful I feel, so I'm happy about that.

The World No.1 certainly didn't look anxious during her turn in the Style Suite, coolly keeping herself occupied with her Kindle.

"You can feel the atmosphere of the tournament, and it's totally different, and we can all celebrate that," Swiatek said.

Get a glimpse of more behind-the-scenes action below: