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ZHUHAI, China - The WTA Elite Trophy, a brand new singles and doubles event offering $2.15 million in prize money, will be staged in Zhuhai in southern China for the next five years from 2015 to 2019.

The 12-player singles field in Zhuhai will consist of players ranked No.9 through No.20 in the world, along with one wildcard, in a four-group round robin format. The winners of each respective group will advance to the single elimination semifinal stage of the event. Meanwhile, six doubles teams will compete in a two-group round robin format, with the winner of each group advancing to the final.

The WTA Elite Trophy will take place at the custom-designed, state-of-the-art tennis center in Zhuhai, and it will be played the week after the BNP Paribas WTA Finals Singapore presented by SC Global.

"This brand new event combining great players, a fantastic new stadium and the magnificent location of Zhuhai is a formula that will make the WTA Elite Trophy a success," WTA Chairman & CEO Stacey Allaster commented. "Thanks to the commitment and vision of the Zhuhai government, Huafa Group and Ace Pro Group - APG, the fan experience will be exciting and inspirational, and we will showcase women's tennis and this beautiful city to a global audience through broadcast, digital and social media."

"Zhuhai is honored to host the WTA Elite Trophy starting in 2015," Zhuhai Vice Mayor Lydia Long said of Wednesday's announcement. "We are deeply grateful for WTA's trust and support in making Zhuhai's dream of joining the WTA family a reality. The people of Zhuhai will warmly welcome the best women tennis players and tourists from around the world to this beautiful, romantic and dynamic city. Come and experience the well-equipped facilities, excellent service and the elegance of Zhuhai."

"We are looking forward to directing this event in the spectacular city of Zhuhai," said Peter Johnston, who is currently the WTA's Managing Director of Asia Pacific, but who has been appointed by APG to assume the role of Tournament Director for the WTA Elite Trophy in Zhuhai starting next year. "It promises to be an amazing player field featuring established WTA superstars and WTA Rising Stars."

Zhuhai is located on the southern coast of China close to Hong Kong and Macau, and last year was named "China's most livable city" by the Chinese Academy of Social Services. The addition of the WTA Elite Trophy in Zhuhai aligns with the WTA's strategic growth and development within the Asia-Pacific region. After opening a Beijing office in 2008, a close partnership with the Chinese government and Tennis Federations has allowed for the sport of tennis to thrive in the area with increased fan following and corporate sponsorship. In 2014, 17 WTA tournaments took place in the Asia-Pacific region.

The event in Zhuhai will replace the Tournament Of Champions on the 2015 WTA calendar.

Now that you've heard Ana Ivanovic's tale of terror from earlier this year...

There are two types of people in this world on Halloween - those who love to dive right into the horror movies, and those who just like to hang back and hand out the candy. And it turns out that runs true on the WTA, too - we at wtatennis.com caught up with three of the WTA players battling it out at the Garanti Koza WTA Tournament Of Champions and quizzed them on their Halloween habits.

We started from the beginning - their childhood, and if anyone had memories of trick or treating.

"Yes, but a long time ago," Garbiñe Muguruza recalled. "I would go around knocking on the doors of the neighbors asking for candy, and I would dress up too, I think a witch most of the time.

"Of course I don't do that kind of thing anymore!"

"We don't trick or treat in Slovakia but they have Halloween parties and stuff like that," Dominika Cibulkova said. "It's getting more and more popular there. It's more for young people though."

"It's not a real tradition in Germany - it's more of an American thing," Andrea Petkovic said. "But we do have a lot of horror movies on TV when Halloween comes, which is good, because I like them!"

The perfect lead-in to the next question: Do you like scary movies?

"I think my favorite scary movie is probably The Strangers," Petkovic said. "The one with Liv Tyler. I couldn't sleep the night I watched it. It's because it wasn't some fantasized ghost - it was something that actually happened, or it was based on a true story or something. So it was really scary."

"I would say my favorite scary movie is The Conjuring," Muguruza said. "It was very scary. But I was okay because I was watching it with my brother and my mom - I would never have watched it alone."

"I used to watch a lot of scary movies, but I stopped because I was getting very scared," Cibulkova said. "Whenever I watched them I wouldn't be able to sleep or go to the bathroom by myself at night.

"That's a real problem, so I stopped! But I do really love The Sixth Sense with Bruce Willis."

Another Halloween tradition is scary pranks - and one WTA star will never forget one pulled on her.

"My sister really scared me once," Petkovic recalled. "We were at home alone this one time and I was just coming back from school, and she had come back early and was hiding behind the sofa.

"But she waited 10 minutes before she scared me. I almost died. I think I had a heart attack."

"I've never had a scary prank done on me, and thank God, because I would get so scared that my heart probably couldn't handle it," Cibulkova said. "Honestly, I'm really scared of everything."

Will anyone have the time to dress up this year despite being in the heat of competition?

"I actually didn't realize I would be here on Hallween, but I have a lot of clothes and make-up with me, so I'll do something," Muguruza said.

"I will post something funny!"

Speaking of funny, here's three other WTA Rising Stars and their Halloween costumes from when they were kids: Eugenie Bouchard (click here), Christina McHale (click here) and Monica Puig

The Road To Singapore is a long, grueling journey, but the last few years there have been some very early signs of who was going to qualify for the WTA Finals, as early as Week 1 of the season.

In 2013, Week 1 couldn't have been more predictive. Serena Williams, Li Na and Agnieszka Radwanska swept all three trophies during the three-tournament week of Brisbane, Shenzhen and Auckland, and all three ended up making the elite eight who went to the WTA Finals in Istanbul.

There was something else very special about that week - it was the only time in WTA history where three Top 10 players all won titles in the same week (Williams was No.3, Li was No.7 and Radwanska was No.4). There have been 54 three-tournament weeks in WTA history, including this past week.

The same almost happened in 2014. Williams, Li and Ana Ivanovic ended up sweeping the titles in Brisbane, Shenzhen and Auckland, and Williams and Ivanovic would both qualify for the BNP Paribas WTA Finals Singapore presented by SC Global - and Li, who was No.1 on the Road To Singapore for much of the year, would probably have made the cut had she not stopped playing after Wimbledon.

So could we have just witnessed something else brewing for this year's WTA Finals? Maria Sharapova won the Premier-level Brisbane International (read more here), Simona Halep conquered the Shenzhen Open (read more here) and Venus Williams won the ASB Classic (read more here).

All three of them have some major credentials, not just in terms of overall careers - Sharapova and Williams are both former No.1s, while Halep has been as high as No.2 - but they've all done very, very well at the WTA Finals before, Sharapova and Williams being former champions and Halep, in her career debut at the WTA's crown jewel event, going all the way to the final there last year.

And don't think for one second that it's not on Halep's mind to get back there in 2015.

"My goal is to play the WTA Finals in Singapore again this year," Halep said before embarking on her title run in Shenzhen this past week. "I know I have to play my best at every tournament, but I'll just go match by match and tournament by tournament, and I hope to be in the Top 8 again."

Serena Williams, who kicks her WTA season off at the Australian Open, is also eager to return.

"I was able to end last year on a high note by lifting the Billie Jean King Trophy, and I have been working hard this off-season to prepare for another season," the World No.1 said. "As women's tennis continues to grow globally, I look forward to seeing all our fans on the Road To Singapore."

With Petra Kvitova, Lucie Safarova, Ekaterina Makarova and Angelique Kerber all in the Top 10 this week, at No.2, No.7, No.8 and No.10, respectively, it's an historic week for left-handers on the WTA.

It's the first time in WTA Rankings history that four lefties are in the Top 10 together.

With Makarova joining Kvitova and Kerber in the Top 10 in January, this year was already historic - it had been 32 years since three lefties were in the Top 10 together, the last time that happened being the Australian Open fortnight in January 1983 (Martina Navratilova, Sylvia Hanika and Barbara Potter).

Two of the current foursome, Makarova and Kerber, squared off in an all-lefty battle in Stuttgart this year (highlights above) and they both talked about how it feels to play against a fellow Southpaw.

"For sure it's different to play against a lefty because you're practicing and playing most of the time with right-handers," Kerber said that day. "The serve is much different, and hitting the returns, too, so for sure it is much different. But that's why I made sure I warmed up with another lefty this morning!"

"It's unusual, and a little bit uncomfortable for us," Makarova said. "Sometimes I think about how I'd play from the other side so I can maybe predict what kinds of shots are going to come to my side."

With these four in the Top 10 now, playing lefties on the tour might not be so unusual anymore. But a fifth lefty in the Top 10 might not happen too soon - the next-highest-ranked lefty is No.37 in the world.

WTA Rankings began the week of November 3, 1975, with WTA legend Chris Evert as the first No.1.

Here are a few more random facts about left-handers on the WTA:

Left-Handed No.1s:
Martina Navratilova, Monica Seles

Left-Handed No.2s:
Petra Kvitova

Left-Handed Grand Slam Champions:
Ann Jones, Martina Navratilova, Monica Seles, Petra Kvitova

Left-Handed Grand Slam Finalists:
Lucie Safarova

Only lefty to beat Serena at a Grand Slam:
Ekaterina Makarova

Serena Williams and Maria Sharapova are the Top 2 players on the WTA Rankings, and they're the Top 2 most marketable female athletes in the world, too, according to the London School Of Marketing.

The list looks at prize money earnings and payments for endorsements. Williams and Sharapova are the two highest-earning players in WTA history, Williams currently topping the list with $72,679,094, and Sharapova in second place with $35,821,151. They both have incredible sponsorship portfolios, too, including Nike, Head and Porsche for Sharapova and Nike, Wilson and Gatorade for Williams.

They've both become major forces in the business world, too. Sharapova's ventures include Sugarpova and apparel lines with Nike and Cole Haan, while Williams has lines with both Nike and HSN.

Check out Williams and Sharapova's on-court apparel and racquets at Tennis Warehouse!

Sharapova comes in at No.12 on the London School Of Marketing list while Williams is No.20.

Check out the full list here - five ATP World Tour stars feature on the list as well:

1. Roger Federer (tennis)
2. Tiger Woods (golf)
3. Phil Mickelson (golf)
4. LeBron James (basketball)
5. Kevin Durant (basketball)
6. Rory McIlroy (golf)
7. Novak Djokovic (tennis)
8. Rafael Nadal (tennis)
9. Mahendra Singh Dhoni (cricket)
10. Cristiano Ronaldo (soccer)
11. Kobe Bryant (basketball)
12. Maria Sharapova (tennis)
13. Lionel Messi (soccer)
14. Usain Bolt (track)
15. Neymar (soccer)
16. Andy Murray (tennis)
17. Kei Nishikori (tennis)
18. Derrick Rose (basketball)
19. Floyd Mayweather (boxing)
20. Serena Williams (tennis)

Women's tennis has come a long way, baby. A week ago there were 11 women who had crossed the $20-million mark in career prize money, and now Agnieszka Radwanska and Petra Kvitova - the two finalists at the BNP Paribas WTA Finals Singapore presented by SC Global - are the 12th and 13th.

The women are catching up to the men, too. They're only one behind - 14 players in ATP history have passed $20 million. And while only seven of those 14 men are active, eight of the 13 women are active.

Here are the 13 members of the WTA's 20 Million Dollar Club. Who's No.1 on the list?