Open, Kanepi was defeated in her quarterfinal match by Maria Kirilenko. In Beijing at the China Open, Kanepi lost in the first round to fourth seed and eventual champion Maria Sharapova. Kanepi's last tournament of the year was at the Generali Ladies Linz. She was defeated in the first round by Magdaléna Rybáriková. Kanepi ended the year ranked 52. 2015 Kanepi began her season at the Brisbane International. She reached the quarterfinal where she lost to second seed and eventual finalist Ana Ivanovic. At the Hobart International, she defeated Monica Puig in her first-round match. She then withdrew from her second-round match against Camila Giorgi due to a viral illness. Ranked 48 at the Australian Open, Kanepi was defeated in the first round by Irina Falconi. In February, Kanepi competed at the Dubai Tennis Championships. In the first round, she faced Svetlana Kuznetsova. Kuznetsova led 4–1 in the first set before Kanepi retired due to a back injury. At the Indian Wells Open, Kanepi lost in the first round to qualifier Ons Jabeur. Kanepi had a better result at the Miami Open. She had her first win since Hobart by defeating Françoise Abanda in the first round. In the second round, she beat 28th seed Varvara Lepchenko. In the third round, Kanepi took fourth seed Caroline Wozniacki to three sets, but she still lost the match. After Miami, Kanepi played at the Katowice Open. Seeded fifth, she beat qualifier Shahar Pe'er in the first round. She was defeated in the second round by lucky loser Elizaveta Kulichkova. Kanepi started her clay-court season at the Morocco Open where she lost in the first round to qualifier Teliana Pereira. In Spain at the Madrid Open, Kanepi was defeated in the second round by Sam Stosur. At the French Open, Kanepi lost in the first round to second seed, former world No. 1 and defending champion, Maria Sharapova. Due to her poor result at the French Open, Kanepi competed at the Open Féminin de Marseille. As the top seed, she was defeated in the first round by Aliaksandra Sasnovich. At the Wimbledon Championships, Kanepi was defeated in the first round by qualifier Hsieh Su-wei. Kanepi played only one tournament during the US Open Series which was the Connecticut Open. She lost in the second round of qualifying to Magdaléna Rybáriková. At the US Open, Kanepi won her first Grand Slam match of the