Venus Williams was the defending champion, but she chose not to participate despite having qualified for this year's edition.
Petra Kvitová won the title, defeating Elina Svitolina in the final, 6–4, 6–2. Kvitová did not drop a set throughout the entire tournament.
Like Williams the year before, Kvitová has now won both the WTA Finals, in 2011, and WTA Elite Trophy, also becoming the first player to win both tournaments on her debut appearance.