highest Grand Slam seeding since the 2009 French Open. In the first round she beat American Alison Riske in straight sets only allowing her opponent to win three games, but was upset by unseeded Czech Karolína Plíšková in the second round in two close sets. The following month, Ivanovic played in Tokyo, defeating former world No. 1 Azarenka, Šafářová (ending her five-match losing streak against the Czech) and top-seed Angelique Kerber to reach the final. She then beat reigning US Open finalist Wozniacki in straight sets for her 15th title. She marked some personal achievements: this was her 52nd win and fourth title of the season, both personal bests. In Wuhan, she had to play the day after winning Tokyo and decided to retire in the second set of the match against Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova. Ivanovic came into Beijing refreshed and beat Belinda Bencic, Romina Oprandi and Lisicki, all in straight sets. She set a quarterfinal clash with Simona Halep, but the world No. 2 had to withdraw allowing Ivanovic to advance to the semifinals. Ivanovic lost to Sharapova, but with those points she secured her spot in the WTA Finals. Having qualified for the Tour Championships, Ivanovic was drawn into the Red Group alongside Serena Williams, Halep and Bouchard. In Ivanovic's first match of the tournament, against top-seed Serena Williams, she lost in straight sets. However, she clinched victory in her second match, against Bouchard. Despite defeating Halep in her final round-robin match, Ivanovic was unable to progress since she dropped a set in the process. In doing so, she became the first player since Lindsay Davenport in 2004 to not progress to the semifinals with a 2–1 record in RR play. However, Ivanovic did finish the year ranked No. 5, her second best year-end ranking since turning pro. Following the end of the season, Ivanovic played and defeated world No. 1 Serena Williams in straight sets in an exhibition match in Denmark. She also went on to participate in the inaugural International Premier Tennis League held in cities across Asia. As part of the Micromax Indian Aces, Ivanovic played alongside many big names, including Roger Federer and Pete Sampras. Due to the new, fast-paced format unique to the IPTL, Ivanovic only played one set per match, representing her team in the women's singles category. The Aces went on to clinch the title, with Ivanovic amassing a total of nine