A game changer
Cibulkova's triumph was just one of the success stories of this year's WTA Finals
It has been a whirlwind few weeks for all of us here at our WTA office in Singapore.
After Dominika Cibulkova's thrilling win over Angelique Kerber at the 2016 BNP Paribas WTA Finals Singapore presented by SC Global at the Indoor Stadium, the crew headed off to what turned out to be a wonderful wrap party.
It was a chance for everyone, including our incredible partners, sponsors and tennis family, to let our hair down and celebrate another successful tournament.
This year's edition showcased some of the best tennis we have seen in Singapore and I believe we also saw some of the most enthusiastic fans turn up.
At the final on Sunday, we had a full stadium of eager spectators who rocked the house with their passion and excitement as they ecstatically waved their flags and banners.
Obviously, I am a huge fan of the sport and, like almost everyone else, I was wowed by Cibulkova's triumph.
It has been almost two weeks since her impressive win and talk of her success has still not subsided.
Moments like these make sport special and the fact that an epic final occurred in Singapore makes it better.
Cibulkova, 27, is now world No. 5 and her confidence will be at an all-time high.
The Slovak proved that size doesn't matter, playing stunning tennis in the final to defeat world No. 1 Kerber and claim the biggest title of her career.
Standing at just 1.61m, her story speaks to many aspiring athletes - ultimately size is not everything and your attitude, determination, and passion count for so much.
Her iron will saw her come back from a serious injury at the beginning of the year and she has ended 2016 in spectacular fashion. Svetlana Kuznetsova was also a newcomer to Singapore and a standout in the tournament.
The Russian veteran earned her spot in the elite field of eight after winning the title in Moscow and flew straight to Singapore. She arrived here just hours before she took on defending champion Agnieszka Radwanska in her opening group encounter.
Kuznetsova had everyone entangled as she snipped off some of her hair during one of the matches as it was distracting her. It clearly worked as she went on to win her match to go on a superb run to the semi-finals, where she faced eventual champion Cibulkova.
Fresh faces like the 24-year-old Karolina Pliskova and 21-year-old Madison Keys qualified for the tournament for the first time this year.
Both are incredibly talented players and wonderful ambassadors of the sport so I am definitely looking forward to seeing them continue to develop their game in 2017.
SELES GRACES FINALS
This year, we welcomed the biggest field of WTA Future Stars players, with 40 of them representing 18 countries from the Asia-Pacific region.
These young and talented Under-14 and U-16 players displayed wonderful tennis and I am heartened to see that the light will continue to burn bright in the women's game with the next generation.
Another highlight of the 2016 WTA Finals was that we had the honour of the presence of Monica Seles as a first-time ambassador of the event.
This was particularly special for me because I grew up idolising her.
She was such a delight - everyone from the fans to sponsors to players so warmly welcomed her to be part of the event, and she did an incredible job inspiring the next generation.
The WTA Networks was also a highly anticipated initiative that we were pleased to announce during the WTA Finals.
With the launch, we have seen an increase in new users, mobile users, as well as the number of views of our videos over the eight days of the 2016 WTA Finals compared to last year.
The results of the level of engagement throughout our online platforms have been tremendous and it all hints at what is to come with regard to the growth of women's tennis.
Already, we are looking ahead to 2017 and I'm sure we will raise the bar and make next year's event even better and more engaging for our fans in Singapore and around the world.
The Road to Singapore starts again on Jan 1 and I cannot wait for the exciting action that is to come.
- Canadian Melissa Pine is a former NCAA player and a columnist for The New Paper. She is the vice-president of WTA Asia-Pacific and also the tournament director of the WTA Finals. She was speaking to Swetha Sundararajan.
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