2015 West African offensive, The offensive, Hostage rescues
Frank Charnas, a political analyst familiar with the region, said the move signaled the end of Boko Haram as a military force. "They really are fighting what appears to be their last battle", he added. "It does represent quite a significant step on behalf of the Nigerian military because up until now they have not gone into the Sambisa Forest and have also been pretty poor at taking the offensive to Boko." The Nigerian military had to retreat after encountering landmines and booby traps that killed three vigilantes working with the military, but continued its push after regrouping.


2015 West African offensive, The offensive, Hostage rescues
On 25 April, Boko Haram launched a counterattack on an island in Lake Chad. Forty-six Nigeran soldiers and 28 civilians were killed in the attack. After the attack, Niger recommended that the island of Lake Chad be evacuated. By early May, more than 5,000 people had left the island towns and reached N'guigmi, Niger by foot. An additional 11,500 evacuees were expected.


2015 West African offensive, The offensive, Hostage rescues
A fresh push into Sambisa Forest by Nigerian forces began on 27 April. As the Nigerian army advanced into the forest, it began to free a large number of women and children held as hostages by Boko Haram. On April 28, just under 300 hostages were freed. It is unclear if the freed prisoners were captured in Boko Haram raids or if they were area residents. A battle on April 29 killed over 400 Boko Haram insurgents, while freeing an undisclosed number of female captives. One soldier was killed and four seriously injured in the battle. One woman was killed and eight injured. On 30 April, another 234 women and children were freed from Boko Haram captivity as the military destroyed 13 Boko Haram camps. In total, close to 700 hostages had been rescued.


2015 West African offensive, The offensive, Hostage rescues
Freed captives had been subjected to forced labor, as well as sexual and physical abuse. Some were forced to fight alongside Boko Haram rebels or were used as human shields. According to initial reports, some of the captives were traumatized to the point where they fired upon their rescuers, believing the militants were "good people who had treated them well". Others painted a different picture, saying their captors kept them indoors, brought out only when needed to retrieve food. They were severely beaten and given only minimal food – rescued children were described as visibly malnourished by the press.


2015 West African offensive, The offensive, Hostage rescues
Other children had forgotten their own names. Amnesty International African director Netsanet Belay remarked "The trauma suffered by the women and girls is truly horrific." An aid worker described the captives as "not in great condition ... All of them are traumatized. They're hungry. They're sick." Of the first 275 captives, only 61 were over the age of 18; 214 were visibly pregnant. None of them knew the location of the Chibok girls, but said militants who visited their camp had claimed the girls were sold or forced into polygamous marriages with militants.


2015 West African offensive, The offensive, Hostage rescues
According to freed hostages, Boko Haram was running short of weapons as a result of the multinational offensive. Frustrated by the lack of support from their leadership, militants were abandoning the hostages with minimal fight, or attempting to sell them for 2,000 naira (US$10) or less. One hostage reported overhearing militants talking about how their leaders had deceived them into using violence.


2015 West African offensive, The offensive, Further efforts
Efforts to press into the Sambisa Forest were slowed, as the military encountered landmines and booby traps. Boko Haram pushed back, launching suicide attacks on civilians and attempting to capture the Giwa Barracks in Maiduguri. The attack was repelled, but about 30 civilians were killed in the crossfire, bringing the number of civilians killed in the counter-attack to 60. On May 15, Boko Haram forces recaptured the border town of Marte, demonstrating that efforts to contain the militant group to the forest were not completely successful. Deputy governor of Borno State, Zannah Umar Mustapha, said militants has returned to various previously cleared towns to resume the fighting.


2015 West African offensive, The offensive, Further efforts
The following day, the Nigerian military destroyed ten Boko Haram camps in the Sambisa Forest. One soldier and an unspecified number of militants were killed in the raids.


2015 West African offensive, The offensive, Further efforts
In September 2015, the Director of Information at the Defence Headquarters of Nigeria announced that all Boko Haram camps had been destroyed.


2015 West African offensive, The offensive, Further efforts
Rescues were still ongoing as of October 2015. On 28 October 2015, it was announced that Nigerian troops had rescued 338 people from Boko Haram near the group's Sambisa forest stronghold, in the northeast of Nigeria. Of those rescued, 192 were children and 138 were women.


2015 West African offensive, The offensive, Further efforts
On 24 December 2015, Muhammadu Buhari, the President of Nigeria, claimed that Boko Haram was "technically defeated."


2015 West Berkshire Council election
The 2015 West Berkshire Council election took place on 7 May 2015 to elect members of West Berkshire Council in England. This was on the same day as other local elections. The whole council was up for election and the Conservative Party retained overall control of the council.


2015 West Berkshire Council election, Background
At the last election in 2011, the Conservatives won a majority of seats, with 39 councillors, compared to 13 for the Liberal Democrats. No other parties had representation on the council. Two by-elections were held between the 2011 and 2015 elections, both being retained by the Conservatives.


2015 West Coast Conference Baseball Tournament
The 2015 West Coast Conference Baseball Tournament was held from May 21 through May 23, 2015 at Banner Island Ballpark in Stockton, California. Pepperdine won the four team, double-elimination tournament winner for the second year in a row to earn the league's automatic bid to the 2015 NCAA Division I Baseball Tournament.


2015 West Coast Conference Baseball Tournament, Seeding
The top four finishers from the regular season were seeded one through four based on conference winning percentage. The teams then played a double elimination tournament until they reach the championship game. The championship game was winner takes all.


2015 West Coast Conference Baseball Tournament, All-Tournament Team, Most Outstanding Player
Brad Anderson was named Tournament Most Outstanding Player. Anderson hit two home runs in the tournament. In the championship game Anderson came to bat 5 times and was walked three times, with his home run in the first inning tying it up at 1. For the tournament Anderson went 3-for-10, a mere .300, but recorded 3 game tying or winning RBI's, both in elimination games.


2015 West Coast Conference Men's Basketball Tournament
The 2015 West Coast Conference Men's Basketball Tournament was held March 6–10, 2015 at the Orleans Arena in Paradise, Nevada. The winner of the tournament received the conference's automatic bid into the 2015 NCAA Tournament.


2015 West Coast Conference Men's Basketball Tournament, Game summaries, San Francisco vs. Pacific
Series History: San Francisco leads 54-27Broadcasters: Dave McCann and Blaine Fowler


2015 West Coast Conference Men's Basketball Tournament, Game summaries, Santa Clara vs. Loyola Marymount
Series History: Santa Clara leads 84-59Broadcasters: Dave McCann and Blaine Fowler


2015 West Coast Conference Men's Basketball Tournament, Game summaries, Saint Mary's vs. Portland
Series History: Saint Mary's leads 60-29Broadcasters: Dave McCann and Blaine Fowler (BYUtv)Barry Tompkins, Casey Jacobsen, and Kelli Tennant (WCC TV)


2015 West Coast Conference Men's Basketball Tournament, Game summaries, Pepperdine vs. San Diego
Series History: Pepperdine leads 59-41Broadcasters: Dave McCann and Blaine Fowler (BYUtv)Barry Tompkins, Casey Jacobsen, and Kelli Tennant (WCC TV)


2015 West Coast Conference Men's Basketball Tournament, Game summaries, Gonzaga vs. San Francisco
Series History: Gonzaga leads 50-22Broadcasters: Beth Mowins and Stan Heath


2015 West Coast Conference Men's Basketball Tournament, Game summaries, BYU vs. Santa Clara
Series History: BYU leads 23-5Broadcasters: Beth Mowins and Stan Heath


2015 West Coast Conference Men's Basketball Tournament, Game summaries, Gonzaga vs. Pepperdine
Series History: Gonzaga leads 48-31Broadcasters: Beth Mowins, Stan Heath, and Jeff Goodman


2015 West Coast Conference Men's Basketball Tournament, Game summaries, BYU vs. Portland
Series History: BYU leads 12-1Broadcasters: Beth Mowins, Stan Heath, and Jeff Goodman


2015 West Coast Conference Men's Basketball Tournament, Game summaries, WCC Championship: Gonzaga vs. BYU
Series History: Gonzaga leads 8–4Broadcasters: Dave Pasch, Sean Farnham, and Jeff Goodman (ESPN)Kevin Calabro & Bill Frieder (Westwood One)


2015 West Coast Conference Women's Basketball Tournament
The 2015 West Coast Conference Women's Basketball Tournament was held March 5–10, 2015 at Orleans Arena in the Las Vegas Valley community of Paradise, Nevada. Seeds were determined based on a schools conference record, not the overall record. The winner received the conference's automatic bid to the 2015 NCAA Division I Women's Basketball Tournament.


2015 West Coast Conference Women's Basketball Tournament, Game Summaries, Loyola Marymount vs. Pepperdine
Series History: Loyola Marymount leads 52-20Broadcasters: Spencer Linton & Kristen Kozlowski


2015 West Coast Conference Women's Basketball Tournament, Game Summaries, Santa Clara vs. Portland
Series History: Santa Clara leads 37-30Broadcasters: Spencer Linton & Kristen Kozlowski


2015 West Coast Conference Women's Basketball Tournament, Game Summaries, Pacific vs. San Francisco
Series History: San Francisco leads 16-15Broadcasters: Dave McCann & Blaine Fowler


2015 West Coast Conference Women's Basketball Tournament, Game Summaries, Saint Mary's vs. BYU
Series History: Saint Mary's leads 5-4Broadcasters: Dave McCann & Blaine Fowler


2015 West Coast Conference Women's Basketball Tournament, Game Summaries, Gonzaga vs. Loyola Marymount
Series History: Gonzaga leads 33-27Broadcasters: Spencer Linton & Kristen Kozlowski


2015 West Coast Conference Women's Basketball Tournament, Game Summaries, San Diego vs. Santa Clara
Series History: San Diego leads 35-32Broadcasters: Spencer Linton & Kristen Kozlowski


2015 West Coast Conference Women's Basketball Tournament, Game Summaries, BYU vs. Gonzaga
Series History: Gonzaga leads 11-6Broadcasters: Dave McCann & Blaine Fowler


2015 West Coast Conference Women's Basketball Tournament, Game Summaries, San Diego vs. San Francisco
Series History: San Diego leads 38-25Broadcasters: Dave McCann & Blaine Fowler


2015 West Coast Conference Women's Basketball Tournament, Game Summaries, WCC Championship: San Francisco vs. BYU
Series History: BYU leads series 12-2Broadcasters: Beth Mowins & Katie Smith (ESPNU)Dave McCann & Blaine Fowler; Spencer Linton & Ben Bagley–Halftime (BYU Radio)


2015 West Devon Borough Council election
The 2015 West Devon Borough Council election took place on 7 May 2015, to elect members of West Devon Borough Council in England. This was on the same day as other local elections across England.


2015 West Dorset District Council election
The 2015 West Dorset District Council election was held on Thursday 7 May 2015 to elect councillors to West Dorset District Council in England. It took place on the same day as the general election other district council elections in the United Kingdom. A series of boundary changes saw the number of councillors reduced from 48 to 44.


2015 West Dorset District Council election
These were the final elections of the district council, before its abolition on 1 April 2019 when it was merged with the other districts of Dorset and Dorset County Council to form a new unitary authority Dorset Council.


2015 West Dorset District Council election
The 2015 election saw the Conservatives maintain majority control of the council taking 30 of the 44 seats up for election.


2015 West Dorset District Council election, By-elections between 2015 and 2019, Piddle Valley
A by-election was held for the Piddle Valley ward of West Dorset County Council on 13 April 2017 following the resignation of Conservative councillor Peter Hiscock.


2015 West Dorset District Council election, By-elections between 2015 and 2019, Lyme Regis & Charmouth
A by-election was held for one of the two seats in the Lyme Regis & Charmouth ward of West Dorset County Council on 14 September 2017 following the resignation of Conservative councillor George Symonds.


2015 West Lancashire Borough Council election
The 2015 West Lancashire Borough Council election took place on 7 May 2015, to elect members of  West Lancashire Borough Council in Lancashire, England. One third of the council participated in the election. The UK general election was also on 7 May 2015.


2015 West Lindsey District Council election
The 2015 West Lindsey District Council election took place on 7 May 2015 to elect members of West Lindsey District Council in England. This was on the same day as other local elections.


2015 West Lindsey District Council election, Council composition
Lab - Independent I - Independent LI - Lincolnshire Independents


2015 West Lindsey District Council election, By-Elections between May 2015 – May 2019, Cherry Willingham
A by-election was held on 29 September 2016 due to the resignation of Councillor Alexander Bridgwood.


2015 West Oxfordshire District Council election
The 2015 West Oxfordshire District Council election took place on 22 May 2015 to elect members of West Oxfordshire District Council in Oxfordshire, England. One third of the council was up for election and the Conservative Party stayed in overall control of the council.


2015 West Oxfordshire District Council election, Background
After the last election in 2014 the Conservatives controlled the council with 40 councillors, while Labour had five seats, the Liberal Democrats had three seats and there was one Independent. 17 seats were contested in 2015, with 2 seats being elected in Hailey, Minster Lovell and Leafield ward after the resignation of a councillor.


2015 West Oxfordshire District Council election, Background
Four councillors stood down at the election, Mark Booty, Eve Coles, Hywel Davies and Simon Hoare, while 13 councillors sought re-election. The Conservative, Labour and Liberal Democrat parties each had a full 17 candidates, the Greens had 16 candidates and the UK Independence Party had 14 candidates.


2015 West Oxfordshire District Council election, Election result
The Conservatives remained in control of the council with 40 councillors after winning 16 of the 17 seats contested. They gained a seat in Chipping Norton from Labour, but in Charlbury and Finstock Liberal Democrat Andy Graham took the seat from the Conservatives. This left both Labour and the Liberal Democrats with four seats, while there remained one independent councillor. All 13 councillors who stood again were re-elected and overall turnout at the election was 71.58%.


2015 West Oxfordshire District Council election, By-elections between 2015 and 2016
A by-election was held in Witney North on 20 August 2015 after independent councillor David Snow resigned from the council in June 2015. David Snow had been originally elected as a Conservative but resigned from the party in May 2013. The seat was gained for the Conservatives by Carol Reynolds with a majority of 63 votes over Liberal Democrat Diane West.


2015 West Palm Beach mayoral election
The West Palm Beach mayoral election took place in March 2015 to elect a mayor for West Palm Beach, Florida. Incumbent Jeri Muoio won re-election for a second term in office.


2015 West Somerset District Council election
The 2015 West Somerset District Council election took place on 7 May 2015 to elect members of West Somerset District Council in Somerset, England. The whole council was up for election and the Conservative Party remained in overall control of the council.


2015 West Somerset District Council election, By-elections between 2015 and 2019
A by-election was held in Dunster and Timberscombe ward on 23 March 2017 after the resignation of Conservative councillor Bryan Leaker. Leaker's vacated seat was won by the Liberal Democrat candidate Peter Pilkington, with a 49.7% share of the vote.


2015 West Sumatra gubernatorial election
The 2015 West Sumatra gubernatorial election was held on 9 December 2015 in West Sumatra, Indonesia, as part of the simultaneous local elections. This election was held by the West Sumatra Regional General Elections Commission (KPU), to elect the Governor of West Sumatra along with their deputy to a 2016–2021 mandate.


2015 West Sumatra gubernatorial election
The incumbent Governor Irwan Prayitno was eligible to run for a second term, and he was subsequently renominated for governor by the Prosperous Justice Party, in a coalition with the Great Indonesia Movement Party, who nominated Nasrul Abit for deputy governor.


2015 West Sumatra gubernatorial election, Candidates
This election was participated by two candidate pairs for governor and deputy governor.


2015 West Virginia Mountaineers baseball team
The 2015 West Virginia Mountaineers baseball team will represent West Virginia University during the 2015 NCAA Division I baseball season. The Mountaineers will play their home games at the newly constructed Monongalia County Ballpark as a member of the Big 12 Conference. They will be led by head coach Randy Mazey, in his 3rd season at West Virginia.


2015 West Virginia Mountaineers baseball team, Previous Season
In 2014, the Mountaineers finished the season 6th in the Big 12 with a record of 28–26, 9–14 in conference play. They qualified for the 2014 Big 12 Conference Baseball Tournament and were eliminated in the second round. They failed to qualify for the 2014 NCAA Division I Baseball Tournament.


2015 West Virginia Mountaineers baseball team, New Venue
In June 2013, the West Virginia University Board of Governors approved a deal that would allow the baseball program to build a new stadium near the university's location of Morgantown. Ground broke on October 17, 2013, at the University Town Centre in nearby Granville. The first game at the venue is scheduled for March 17 against Waynesburg. After the college baseball season is over, the ballpark will be used by the West Virginia Black Bears, a Class A short-season affiliate of the Pittsburgh Pirates. The Black Bears relocated from Jamestown, New York after the 2014 season.


2015 West Virginia Mountaineers baseball team, Season, February
West Virginia opened their season with a three-game series against Clemson on the road at Doug Kingsmore Stadium. In game one of the series, freshman B. J. Myers (five innings) and junior Blake Smith (four innings) combined to shutout the Tigers, 2–0.


2015 West Virginia Mountaineers football team
The 2015 West Virginia Mountaineers football team represented West Virginia University in the 2015 NCAA Division I FBS football season. Playing as a member of the Big 12 Conference (Big 12), the team was led by head coach Dana Holgorsen, in his fifth year. West Virginia played its home games at Mountaineer Field at Milan Puskar Stadium in Morgantown, West Virginia. They finished the season 8–5, 4–5 in Big 12 play to finish in a three way tie for fifth place. They were invited to the Cactus Bowl where they defeated Arizona State


2015 West Virginia Mountaineers football team, Previous season
The 2014 West Virginia Mountaineers football team finished the regular season 7–5, with a highlight win against rank #4 Baylor, 41–27. The Mountaineers made it all the way to #20 in the College Football Playoff Rankings. The Mountaineers were invited to play in the Liberty Bowl against the Texas A&M of the Southeastern Conference. West Virginia lost against the Texas A&M Aggies in Memphis, Tennessee by a score of 37–45.


2015 West Virginia Mountaineers football team, Schedule
West Virginia announced their 2015 football schedule on November 19, 2014. The 2015 schedule consist of 7 home and 5 away games in the regular season. The Mountaineers will host Big 12 foes Iowa State, Oklahoma State, Texas, and Texas Tech. West Virginia will travel to Baylor, Kansas, Kansas State, Oklahoma, and TCU.


2015 West Virginia Mountaineers football team, Schedule
The Mountaineers hosted all three non conference games against Georgia Southern, Liberty and also hosted rival Maryland.


2015 Western & Southern Open
The 2015 Western & Southern Open  was a men's and women's tennis tournament played on outdoor hard courts August 15–23, 2015. It was part of the ATP World Tour Masters 1000 of the 2015 ATP World Tour and of the WTA Premier 5 tournaments of the 2015 WTA Tour, as well as a 2015 US Open Series event. The 2015 tournament was the men's 114th edition and the women's 87th edition of the Cincinnati Masters. The tournament is held annually at the Lindner Family Tennis Center in Mason (a northern suburb of Cincinnati), Ohio,  United States.


2015 Western & Southern Open
Roger Federer and Serena Williams were the defending champions and both successfully defended their titles.


2015 Western & Southern Open, ATP singles main draw entrants, Other entrants
The following players received wild cards into the main singles draw:


2015 Western & Southern Open, ATP singles main draw entrants, Other entrants
The following players received entry from the singles qualifying draw:


2015 Western & Southern Open, ATP doubles main draw entrants, Other entrants
The following pairs received wildcards into the doubles main draw:


2015 Western & Southern Open, WTA singles main draw entrants, Other entrants
The following players received wild cards into the main singles draw:


2015 Western & Southern Open, WTA singles main draw entrants, Other entrants
The following player received entry using a protected ranking into the main singles draw:


2015 Western & Southern Open, WTA singles main draw entrants, Other entrants
The following players received entry from the singles qualifying draw:


2015 Western & Southern Open, WTA doubles main draw entrants, Other entrants
The following pairs received wildcards into the doubles main draw:


2015 Western & Southern Open – Men's Doubles
Bob and Mike Bryan were the two-time defending champions but lost in the quarterfinals to Daniel Nestor and Édouard Roger-Vasselin. Nestor and Roger-Vasselin went on to win the title, defeating Marcin Matkowski and Nenad Zimonjić in the final, 6–2, 6–2.


2015 Western & Southern Open – Men's Singles
Defending champion Roger Federer successfully defended his title, defeating Novak Djokovic in the final, 7–6(7–1), 6–3, to win the Men's Singles title at the 2015 Cincinnati Masters. He won the title without losing a set or having his serve broken, the second time he did so in Cincinnati, following his win in 2012. It marked the first time Federer defeated the world No. 1 and No. 2 players in consecutive matches en route to a title. It was Djokovic's fifth runners-up finish without winning the title.


2015 Western & Southern Open – Men's Singles, Seeds
The top eight seeds receive a bye into the second round.


2015 Western & Southern Open – Men's Singles, Seeds
Click on the seed number of a player to go to their draw section.


2015 Western & Southern Open – Women's Doubles
Raquel Kops-Jones and Abigail Spears were the defending champions, but Spears chose not to participate this year. Kops-Jones played alongside Anastasia Rodionova, but lost in the second round to Chuang Chia-jung and Hsieh Su-wei. Chan Hao-ching and Chan Yung-jan won the title, defeating Casey Dellacqua and Yaroslava Shvedova in the final, 7–5, 6–4.


2015 Western & Southern Open – Women's Doubles, Seeds
The top four seeds received a bye into the second round.


2015 Western & Southern Open – Women's Singles
Serena Williams was the defending champion and successfully defended her title, defeating Simona Halep in the final, 6–3, 7–6(7–5).


2015 Western & Southern Open – Women's Singles, Seeds
The top eight seeds received a bye into the second round.


2015 Western & Southern Open – Women's Singles, Seeds
Click on the seed number of a player to go to their draw section.


2015 Western Athletic Conference Baseball Tournament
The 2015 Western Athletic Conference Baseball Tournament will take place beginning on May 20 and ending on May 24. The top six regular season finishers of the league's ten teams will meet in the double-elimination tournament to be held at Sloan Park, spring training home of the Chicago Cubs in Mesa, Arizona. The winner will earn the Western Athletic Conference's automatic bid to the 2015 NCAA Division I Baseball Tournament.


2015 Western Athletic Conference Baseball Tournament, Seeding and format
The top six finishers from the regular season were seeded based on conference winning percentage. Grand Canyon was ineligible for the tournament due to their transition from Division II.


2015 Western Athletic Conference Softball Tournament
The 2015 Western Athletic Conference Softball tournament will be held at the New Mexico State softball complex on the campus of New Mexico State University in Las Cruces, New Mexico from May 7 through May 9, 2015. The tournament winner will earn the Western Athletic Conference's automatic bid to the 2015 NCAA Division I Softball Tournament. All games will be streamed online on the  with Danny Mata, sports director of KVIA providing the call.


2015 Western Balkans Summit, Vienna
The 2015 Western Balkans Summit was the second annual summit of heads of states and governments of Western Balkans. It took place in the Vienna, Austria, following the 2014 Conference of Western Balkan States that took place in Berlin, Germany. This summit forms part of the Berlin Process, a five-year process marked by yearly summits in order to underline the commitment to Future enlargement of the European Union towards the Western Balkans region. Official date of summit is 27 of August 2015. After 2014 conference Günther Oettinger confirmed that the event will be organised annually with Vienna as a host city in 2015 and Paris in 2016.


2015 Western Balkans Summit, Vienna
The focus of the Berlin Process is on countries of the region that are not yet members of European Union (Albania, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Kosovo, Republic of Macedonia, Montenegro and Serbia) with participation of countries who have committed themselves to organise summit meetings (Germany, Austria, France and Italy) and with strong support by Slovenia and Croatia.


2015 Western Balkans Summit, Vienna, Regional activities before The Summit
Civil society initiative The Balkans in Europe Policy Advisory Group (BiEPAG) organized three preparatory meetings in Tirana, Belgrade and Sarajevo. The first preparatory meeting held in Tirana focused on job creation and prosperity. Second meeting in Belgrade took place on 25 May 2015 with aim to discuss recommendations for policy analysis ahead of the Vienna Western Balkans Summit and with topics of culture of regional cooperation, creation of jobs and prosperity, freedom of expression and bilateral disputes on agenda. Third preparatory meeting took place in Sarajevo in June 2015 with focus on freedom of expression. On the day of the Summit, civil society representatives will have the possibility to present their concrete proposals to the present politicians.


2015 Western Canada Cup
The 2015 Western Canada Cup was the Western Canadian Junior A ice hockey championship played at the Casman Centre in Fort McMurray, Alberta from April 25 to May 3, 2015. It determined the two Western seeds for the 2015 Royal Bank Cup, the Canadian Junior A National Championship. The Penticton Vees and Portage Terriers finished first and second, respectively. As the Terriers already secured a berth in the Royal Bank Cup as the host team, the second runner-up Melfort Mustangs were awarded the second Western seed.


2015 Western Canada Cup, Round robin, Results
Schedule and results can be found on the official website.


2015 Western Cape fire season
The 2015 Cape wildfires were a series of wildfires that burned across the Western Cape from February to April 2015. Major fires burned across the Cape Peninsula starting on 1 March in Muizenberg and burning until 9 March, when firefighters extinguished it. The fire resulted in 1 death, 56 injuries, over 6,900 hectares (17,000 acres) of burnt land, and 13 damaged properties, of which 3 were destroyed. The cause of the fire was later determined to be arson. There were also major fires near Wellington and Porteville starting in February, which claimed the lives of 3 firefighters and a fire in Stellenbosch that caused the evacuation of the University of Stellenbosch and burned over 2,900 hectares (7,200 acres) of land.


2015 Western Cape fire season, Major fires, Cape Peninsula, Muizenberg
The Muizenberg fire ignited in the afternoon on 1 March. The fire burned through the night and was brought under control until 2am the next morning, when it flared up again. By noon, 52 people had been treated for smoke inhalation, a firefighter had been treated for burn wounds and 2 bungalows and 5 homes had been destroyed. A number of buildings were evacuated, including 10 homes, a retirement village in Muizenberg and an old-age home in Noordhoek.


2015 Western Cape fire season, Major fires, Cape Peninsula, Muizenberg
The fire was being fought by a spotter plane, 2 fixed-wing water bombers, 4 helicopters, 18 support vehicles, 28 firefighting vehicles, 50 Working on Fire ground crew and 97 city firefighters. Chapman's Peak Drive and parts of Ou Kaapse Weg had been closed due to the fire. Damage to these roads lead to the Cape Town Cycle Tour being shortened to avoid them. The fire was reportedly being fueled by strong winds and burning towards. A South African Navy base was under risk of burning. By the third day of the Muizenberg fire, flames had spread to Noordhoek, Lakeside and Hout Bay.


2015 Western Cape fire season, Major fires, Cape Peninsula, Hout Bay
The Hout Bay fire spread from the Muizenberg fire by 3 March and burned for 3 days. The fire was fought by members of the National Sea Rescue Institute, 8 Working on Fire volunteers and 15 SANParks firefighters, firefighting helicopters, and residents and staff of the Tierboskloof suburb. A number of firefighters were transported up the mountains by helicopter to extinguish flames that were inaccessible by foot. The fire was brought under control on 6 March by 3am and heat sensing equipment was used to find any hot areas that could flare up again.


2015 Western Cape fire season, Major fires, Cape Peninsula, Cape Point
The Cape Point fire started on Wednesday, 4 March in Cape Point Nature Reserve after a lightning strike in the area. Firefighters managed to bring the fire under control, but strong winds fueled the fire and made it difficult for aerial firefighting resources to be used and the fire flared up again on Thursday. On Saturday, 71-year-old firefighting helicopter pilot, Hendrik Willem Marais, was killed when his Bell Huey helicopter crashed while fighting the fire. Mayor of Cape Town, Patricia de Lille and Minister of Environmental Affairs and Tourism, Edna Molewa sent their condolences. The fire in Cape Point flared up again on Sunday and 70-80 firefighters with water tanks were sent to control the fire.


2015 Western Cape fire season, Major fires, Cape Peninsula, Tokai
The Cape Peninsula fires had spread to Tokai by 4 March. The SANParks offices in Tokai Forest were evacuated. Groot Constantia, the oldest wine estate in South Africa suffered vineyard damage and had to be evacuated. Due to the historical value of the farm and its antiques, Iziko Museums sent a team to retrieve items of historic value from Groot Constantia Manor House.


2015 Western Cape fire season, Major fires, Other major fires, Porterville
By 25 February, fires in the Winterhoek Mountains had burnt over 2,000 hectares (4,900 acres) of vegetation. 60 firefighters, 3 helicopters and 2 fixed-wing aircraft were deployed to fight the fire. On 6 March, A firefighter, Nazeem Davies was killed when his fire truck overturned and fell off a mountain pass. He was returning from fighting fires on the mountains near Porterville.


2015 Western Cape fire season, Major fires, Other major fires, Stellenbosch
On 9 March, a fire ignited in the Jonkershoek Nature Reserve near Stellenbosch. Three helicopters were deployed to fight the fire. By the next day, over 700 hectares (1,700 acres) of vegetation had been burnt. On 11 March, the University of Stellenbosch's Sport Performance Institute in Coetzenburg was evacuated and 2,900 hectares (7,200 acres) of land had been burnt.


2015 Western Cape fire season, Major fires, Other major fires, Wellington
On 21 April, a fire broke out on a hiking trail on Bainskloof near Wellington. Close to 200 firefighters were deployed to fight the fire. On 23 April a firefighting Huey helicopter crash killed the pilot, Darrel Rea and safety officer, Jastun Visagie while they were fighting the Bainskloof fires.


2015 Western Cape fire season, Responses
In the days following the start of the fire, the number of complaints received by Cape Town's line for reporting drivers who discard cigarette butts onto the road jumped from an average of 7 complaints per day to an average of 88 complaints per day. Fire stations also received donations of food and drinks for the firefighters who were fighting the fires.


2015 Western Carolina Catamounts football team
The 2015 Western Carolina Catamounts football team represented Western Carolina University in the 2015 NCAA Division I FCS football season as a member of the Southern Conference. They were led by fourth year head coach Mark Speir and played their home games at Bob Waters Field at E. J. Whitmire Stadium. They finished the season 7–4, 5–2 in SoCon play to finish in third place.


2015 Western Illinois Leathernecks football team
The 2015 Western Illinois Leathernecks football team represented Western Illinois University in the 2015 NCAA Division I FCS football season. They were led by third year head coach Bob Nielson and played their home games at Hanson Field. They were a member of the Missouri Valley Football Conference. They finished the season 7–6, 5–3 in MVFC play to finish in a three way tie for third place. They received an at-large bid to the FCS playoffs where they defeated Dayton in the first round before losing in the second round to fellow MVFC member Illinois State.


2015 Western Illinois Leathernecks football team
On December 14, head coach Bob Nielson resigned to become the head coach at fellow MVFC member South Dakota. He finished at Western Illinois with a three year record of 16–21.


2015 Western Michigan Broncos football team
The 2015 Western Michigan Broncos football team represented Western Michigan University (WMU) in the 2015 NCAA Division I FBS football season. They were led by third-year head coach P. J. Fleck and played their home games at Waldo Stadium as a member of the West Division of the Mid-American Conference (MAC).


2015 Western Michigan Broncos football team, Previous season
In 2014, the Broncos finished the season 8–5, 6–2 in MAC play to finish in third place in the West Division. They were invited to the Famous Idaho Potato Bowl where they lost to Air Force.


2015 Western Michigan Broncos football team, Game summaries, Ball State
WMU defeated Ball State 54–7 in a mid-week MACtion game nationally televised on CBS Sports Network. In the game, the Broncos gained a school-record 711 yards of total offense. Western Michigan with a 5–0 in conference games were in first place in the West Division.


2015 Western Michigan Broncos football team, Awards, Conference Players of the Week
Four WMU football players have won five conference player of the week awards. Sophomore kickoff returner Darius Phillips has won two, and redshirt freshman running back Jamauri Bogan, sophomore linebacker Robert Spillane and junior quarterback Zach Terrell have each won one.


2015 Western Michigan Broncos football team, Awards, Conference Players of the Week, Jamauri Bogan
Bogan won the MAC West Offensive Player of the Week award for Week 7. He ran the ball nine times for 135 yards and two touchdowns in a 49–14 win over Ohio. In the game, WMU as a team rushed for 430 yards, with 404 of those coming in the second half.


2015 Western Michigan Broncos football team, Awards, Conference Players of the Week, Darius Phillips
Phillips was named MAC West Special Teams Player of the Week for Week 1 and 6. In Week 1, he returned four kickoffs for 185 yards, including a touchdown on a 100-yard kick off return in a loss to No. 5 Michigan State University. In Week 6. Phillips had two kick returns for 101 yards in WMU's 41–39 victory over rival Central Michigan.


2015 Western Michigan Broncos football team, Awards, Conference Players of the Week, Robert Spillane
Spillane was named MAC West Defensive Player of the Week for Week 8. Spillane had 9 total tackles and 31⁄2 for loss (including 11⁄2 sacks) in a 35–13 win over Miami (Ohio).


2015 Western Michigan Broncos football team, Awards, Conference Players of the Week, Zach Terrell
Zach Terrell was named MAC West Offensive Player of the Week for Week 9. He was 17 of 23 passing for 252 yards and ran for a team-high 71 yards in a 58–28 win over Eastern Michigan. He also rushed for one touchdown. The 71 yards rushing were a career-high.


2015 Western New York Flash season
The 2015 season is Western New York Flash's eighth season of existence, and the third in which they competed in the National Women's Soccer League, the top division of women's soccer in the United States.


2015 Western New York Flash season, First-team squad
Note: Flags indicate national team as defined under FIFA eligibility rules. Players may hold more than one non-FIFA nationality.


2015 Western New York Flash season, Match results, Standings, Results summary
Last updated: September 26, 2014Source: Pld = Matches played; Pts = Points; W = Matches won;  T = Matches tied;  L = Matches lost; GF = Goals for; GA = Goals against; GD = Goal difference


2015 Western New York Flash season, Squad statistics
Key to positions: FW – Forward, MF – Midfielder, DF – Defender, GK – Goalkeeper


2015 Westmeath Senior Hurling Championship
The 2015 Westmeath Senior Hurling Championship was the 111th staging of the Westmeath Senior Hurling Championship since its establishment by the Westmeath County Board in 1903. The championship began on 18 April 2015 and ended on 18 October 2015.


2015 Westmeath Senior Hurling Championship
Raharney were the defending champions. St. Brigid's entered as a promoted team from the intermediate championship.


2015 Westmeath Senior Hurling Championship
On 18 October 2015, Clonkill won the championship following a 1-14 to 1-10 defeat of Raharney in the final. This was their 14th championship title, their first in three championship seasons.


2015 Westmeath Senior Hurling Championship
St. Oliver Plunkett's were relegated following a 2-11 to 2-10 defeat by Delvin.


2015 Wests Tigers season
The 2015 West Tigers season was the sixteenth season in the club's history. Coached by Jason Taylor and captained by Robbie Farah, they completed the NRL's 2015 Telstra Premiership in second last position.


2015 Wests Tigers season, Fixtures, NRL Auckland Nines
The NRL Auckland Nines is a pre-season rugby league nines competition featuring all 16 NRL clubs. The 2015 competition was played over two days on 31 January and 1 February at Eden Park. The Tigers feature in the Hunua Ranges pool and played the New Zealand Warriors, Gold Coast Titans, Canberra Raiders and Sydney Roosters


2015 Weymouth and Portland Borough Council election
The 2015 Weymouth and Portland Borough Council election took place on 7 May 2015 to elect 12 members of Weymouth and Portland Borough Council in England. This was on the same day as the 2015 general election.


2015 Weymouth and Portland Borough Council election
The elections saw the Conservative Party gain 3 seats and become the largest party on the council with 14 seats, but without an overall majority. The Labour Party was reduced to 13 seats compared to the 15 they had after the 2014 election.


2015 Weymouth and Portland Borough Council election, Councillors standing down
The following councillors were elected in 2011 and had to seek re-election.


2015 White Sox–Orioles crowdless game
On April 29, 2015, the Baltimore Orioles defeated the Chicago White Sox 8–2 in the first crowdless game ever played by Major League Baseball teams. The lack of crowds was due to civil unrest in Baltimore following the death of Freddie Gray, an African-American man who was critically injured while in police custody 10 days earlier. With all the civil unrest, there were insufficient security resources available for the game.


2015 White Sox–Orioles crowdless game
The previous two games in the teams' series had been postponed, but the remaining game could neither be moved to another venue on short notice nor made up later in the season, so the decision was made to play the game at Camden Yards without allowing any fans to attend. The scheduled evening start time was also moved up to the afternoon for security reasons.


2015 White Sox–Orioles crowdless game
The stands were not completely empty; three times the usual number of reporters who covered a routine game were allowed in the press box to cover the game, which was telecast live, photographers roamed the stands taking pictures, team staff patrolled the stands to recover foul balls, and three scouts also attended. Some fans who wanted to see the game live gathered near the stadium's back gate to take in the limited views from that vantage point, while others took in the more expansive view of the field from nearby high-rise hotels.


2015 White Sox–Orioles crowdless game
Players and media alike described the experience of a game played without any fans present as a surreal experience. White Sox outfielder Adam Eaton attributed his team's loss to the effect of the crowd's absence and their awareness of the reason for it. Reporters covering the game said conversations from the field could be heard in the press box, and likewise television and radio commentators could be heard on each other's broadcasts.


2015 White Sox–Orioles crowdless game
The decision to play without a crowd was controversial. Critics said the team should have done its best to allow fans in so the divided city could heal, or else just postpone the game. They pointed out that while previous incidents of civil unrest had forced games to be moved or postponed, fans had always been allowed to attend. The Washington Post suggested that ongoing litigation between the Orioles and the Washington Nationals over revenues from the Mid-Atlantic Sports Network cable channel, which carries both teams' games, may have led the Orioles to avoid moving the game to Nationals Park.


2015 White Sox–Orioles crowdless game, April 2015 civil unrest in Baltimore
On the morning of April 12, 2015, Baltimore police officers arrested Freddie Gray, a 25-year-old African American man, in the Sandtown–Winchester neighborhood on the city's western outskirts, on a charge of possessing a switchblade knife. He appeared to be in good health at the time of his arrest and did not resist arrest, although he reportedly requested an inhaler. While being transported to the Western District police station to be booked, officers claimed Gray had become unruly in the back of the van and stopped several times to restrain and calm him. By the time they arrived, he had suffered severe injuries and would later undergo surgery for traumatic injuries to his spine at the R Adams Cowley Shock Trauma Center.


2015 White Sox–Orioles crowdless game, April 2015 civil unrest in Baltimore
Gray went into a coma shortly afterwards. Protests over alleged police brutality that might have occurred on the van ride began on April 18 and continued after Gray's death the following day. By April 24, after the police had released records showing that Gray had not been injured either before or at the time of his arrest and the officers involved had been placed on paid leave pending investigation, Governor Larry Hogan deployed state troopers to the city to assist in maintaining order.


2015 White Sox–Orioles crowdless game, April 2015 civil unrest in Baltimore
The following day, a march in the city's downtown Inner Harbor neighborhood started peacefully, but later turned violent, with some protesters smashing windows and vandalizing parked cars near Camden Yards, home stadium of the Baltimore Orioles Major League Baseball (MLB) team. Inside the stadium, the Orioles' game against the Boston Red Sox had gone into extra innings, and the stadium was locked down temporarily to prevent violence in the adjacent streets from spilling into it. Fans were also not allowed to leave until the police had restored order outside.


2015 White Sox–Orioles crowdless game, April 2015 civil unrest in Baltimore
Despite pleas from Gray's relatives that protests remain peaceful, two days later riots erupted in several parts of the city after Gray's funeral. Roving gangs of youths broke windows, looted stores, lit fires, and threw cinder blocks at police, who in turn responded with tear gas, in several neighborhoods over the next two days. Governor Hogan called in the Maryland National Guard to supplement police efforts to restore order, and the state police requested assistance from their counterparts in neighboring states. Mayor Stephanie Rawlings-Blake decreed a 10 p.m.–5 a.m. curfew until further notice. The Orioles postponed the first two games in a series of three against the Chicago White Sox as a result of the violence.


2015 White Sox–Orioles crowdless game, April 2015 civil unrest in Baltimore, Effect on Orioles' home games and decision to close doors
The two missed games were rescheduled as a doubleheader to be played in May. MLB arranged for the Orioles' next series, against the Tampa Bay Rays, to be played in Tampa instead of Baltimore. But the remaining game with the White Sox could not be accommodated so easily. The collective bargaining agreement between the teams and the players' union limits the number of days on which games can be made up later in the season, and there was insufficient lead time to move the game to Chicago.


2015 White Sox–Orioles crowdless game, April 2015 civil unrest in Baltimore, Effect on Orioles' home games and decision to close doors
Orioles' management decided to go ahead with the third game. To comply with the curfew, the game's start time was moved up to the afternoon from the night. Because law enforcement was busy dealing with the aftermath of the riots and the possibility of further violence, the team decided no fans would be admitted. Those who had tickets to the game were allowed to exchange them for tickets of equal value to any other upcoming home game until June 30.


2015 White Sox–Orioles crowdless game, April 2015 civil unrest in Baltimore, Effect on Orioles' home games and decision to close doors
While civil unrest, and other events such as the September 11, 2001, terrorist attacks, had affected the baseball schedule in the past, forcing postponements or relocations of games, and baseball games at lower levels had been played with spectators barred due to weather-related safety concerns (or, in one minor-league game, as a deliberate publicity stunt), this was the first such game in a century and a half of major-league play. Rawlings–Blake called it "another sad day for our city".


2015 White Sox–Orioles crowdless game, April 2015 civil unrest in Baltimore, Effect on Orioles' home games and decision to close doors, Possible role of business dispute with Nationals
The Washington Post observed that there was a more obvious solution the Orioles appeared not to have considered: playing the games at Nationals Park, home to the National League's Washington Nationals, in Washington, D.C., less than 40 miles from Camden Yards. The Nationals were in the middle of a long road trip at the time and thus an MLB stadium a short distance from Baltimore was available. But while baseball commissioner Rob Manfred appeared to have suggested that possibility was under consideration earlier that week, the Nationals said later that neither MLB nor the Orioles had talked to them about it; nor had they made the offer themselves.


2015 White Sox–Orioles crowdless game, April 2015 civil unrest in Baltimore, Effect on Orioles' home games and decision to close doors, Possible role of business dispute with Nationals
At the time, the Post further noted, the two teams were in litigation with each other over revenues from the Mid-Atlantic Sports Network (MASN) cable channel, a joint venture which broadcasts their games. While the newspaper agreed there were logistical challenges, it pointed out that those had not caused any problems moving the Rays' series to Tampa Bay, and that similar moves to the venues of third teams had been made in the past. A spokesman for the Orioles would not comment on whether the team's litigation against the Nationals over MASN had affected their scheduling decisions, although an unidentified source with the team told the Post it had.


2015 White Sox–Orioles crowdless game, April 2015 civil unrest in Baltimore, Effect on Orioles' home games and decision to close doors, Pregame criticism
Some commentators condemned the decision. White Sox Hall of Famer Frank Thomas tweeted that the whole series should have been postponed. "Playing in front of an empty house makes no sense!" ESPN anchor Keith Olbermann observed on his Twitter feed that the Orioles' were certain to break the MLB record for lowest attendance, set in 1882 when just six fans paid to see the National League's Worcester Ruby Legs play their penultimate game against the Troy Trojans, who had likewise had their franchise revoked by the league.


2015 White Sox–Orioles crowdless game, April 2015 civil unrest in Baltimore, Effect on Orioles' home games and decision to close doors, Pregame criticism
Those who were to participate in the game, either as players or stadium staff, anticipated an unusual experience. Oriole backup Steve Pearce said he expected it to feel "like a backfield spring training game". Tyler Flowers, Chicago's reserve catcher, said he looked forward to the respite from fans ridiculing him. Ryan Wagner, Camden Yards' public address announcer, said on Twitter that he was trying to figure out how to do his job with no public to address. "'Surreal' is barely scraping the surface."


2015 White Sox–Orioles crowdless game, Game day
The morning of the game, White Sox center fielder Adam Eaton jokingly tweeted that "we're going to try to take the crowd out of the game early", drawing some critical responses for making light of the situation(although he also said that the absence of the crowd could cause problems for him and other outfielders, since they sometimes rely on crowd reaction to determine how to field hits).


2015 White Sox–Orioles crowdless game, Game day
The oddity of an MLB game played without any fans in the stands drew heavy interest, and many of the national media already in the city covering the riots and their aftermath applied for credentials to cover the game. All 92 available seats in the press box were taken, three times as many as had been for the first (postponed) game in the series, and not enough for the media who did show up. "Ironically," The Baltimore Sun observed, "on a day when there were no fans in the stands, the press level was standing room only."


2015 White Sox–Orioles crowdless game, Game day, Fan efforts to view game live
What if there was a baseball game and there was no one there to see it? Did it really happen?


2015 White Sox–Orioles crowdless game, Game day, Fan efforts to view game live
The decision to play the game behind closed doors did not pre-empt media coverage. MASN  would carry it in the Baltimore market, with White Sox regular broadcaster WPWR-TV bringing it to Chicago area viewers. MLB.tv made it the free game of the day for its subscribers, except for those in the Baltimore area, where it would be blacked out.


2015 White Sox–Orioles crowdless game, Game day, Fan efforts to view game live
Some fans were determined to see the game in person. They lined up outside one of the stadium's rear gates, where a limited view of the field was available, and relied on the radio and Internet to follow the game in detail. Others rented rooms on the upper floors of the Hilton Baltimore, which overlooks the stadium from right field, and watched from the balconies and roof.


2015 White Sox–Orioles crowdless game, Game day, Fan efforts to view game live
Fans in the former group had started gathering outside the gate three hours earlier; some had come from as far away as Chincoteague, Virginia, at the south end of the Delmarva Peninsula, two of whom had brought trash bags along to help with post-riot cleanup. "The city gets a bad rep back home. We're constantly sticking up for it", one of the Virginians told the Sun. "We wanted to do something. We know there's not a whole lot we can do."


2015 White Sox–Orioles crowdless game, Game day, Fan efforts to view game live
Also among those watching from the fence was Kweisi Mfume, former U.S. congressman from Baltimore, and head of the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People, who had originally come downtown to do a television interview but went over to the fence afterward. An Orioles season ticket holder since the 1980s, he recalled to the Sun having watched games at the team's former home, Memorial Stadium, and seeing pitcher Jay Heard, the franchise's first African-American player since its move to Baltimore from St. Louis, from the sections of the then-segregated stadium set aside for black fans.


2015 White Sox–Orioles crowdless game, Game day, Fan efforts to view game live
"It's surreal", he said. "It's kind of eerie, especially when you juxtapose it to what's happening on these corners that I've just left all over the city." He reserved judgement on whether the game should have been played, but observed that players' public comments on the situation expressed a desire to "give people for two or three hours a sense of normalcy during a very disruptive situation."


2015 White Sox–Orioles crowdless game, Game day, Fan efforts to view game live
One fan on the streets, Steve Orzol of Joppa, chose to protest the closure of the stadium to spectators. He walked up and down Camden Street carrying a sign showing the team's mascot bird with a tear in its eye, faulting the mayor for allowing this to happen. "[S]he needs to do the right thing", he said, and persuade MLB to open the game. "If you open up these gates, show the country that it's not as bad as you think Baltimore is. What is this going to do to tourism?"


2015 White Sox–Orioles crowdless game, Game day, Fan efforts to view game live
Another protester, Brendan Hurson, a public defender, walked up and down Camden Street wearing an Orioles jersey and carrying a sign urging that Freddie Gray not be forgotten. He opposed the closure of the game to fans. "So many chances were lost by locking us out," he told The New York Times. "It sends the wrong message about what this city is really about."


2015 White Sox–Orioles crowdless game, Game day, Fan efforts to view game live
Fans who reserved rooms at the Hilton paid over $200 to do so. In return they were able to enjoy unobstructed views, supplemented by television and radio coverage; some invited friends. "They said it was no fans, but fans are watching wherever they can like us," one said. "Just to be able to look in and see this, it's tragic, but it's historic," another told the Sun expressing the hope that the divided city could unite around its baseball team.


2015 White Sox–Orioles crowdless game, Game day, Game
Despite the absence of fans, some aspects of the game persisted. Players on both teams lined up in midfield and placed their hats across their chests, along with the umpires, for the national anthem, which was played over the stadium's public address system rather than sung from the field as the Orioles typically had had it performed. At "O say does that star-spangled banner yet wave ...", the fans gathered behind the rear gate could be heard making their customary augmentation of the first word.


2015 White Sox–Orioles crowdless game, Game day, Game
Nevertheless, the unusual situation did not go unacknowledged. Orioles' catcher Caleb Joseph, after finishing his pregame warmups, ran along the fence high-fiving nonexistent fans, at one point stopping to mime signing an autograph, on his way to the bullpen. "Laughter does something for the soul", he said later. A teammate, first baseman Chris Davis, who before the game had lamented that "this isn't the way you want to make history", similarly tossed balls he had caught for the final out of the inning into the seats behind the dugout, despite the lack of fans to catch them as souvenirs.


2015 White Sox–Orioles crowdless game, Game day, Game
Orioles' starter Ubaldo Jiménez threw the first pitch at 2:06 p.m. Eastern Daylight Time. Fans behind the back gate could be heard cheering when he struck out Eaton, the Sox' leadoff hitter. The next two batters were also retired, and Baltimore took the plate for what turned out to be a decisive six-run first.


2015 White Sox–Orioles crowdless game, Game day, Game
After leadoff hitter Alejandro de Aza walked, Jimmy Paredes reached first on an error and Delmon Young got the game's first base hit, loading the bases. Center fielder Adam Jones opened the scoring with a sacrifice fly that sent de Aza across the plate. Davis's three-run homer to right field immediately followed, landing outside a men's room in a closed walkway near the Eutaw Street gate. Several innings later, reporters noted, the ball was still where it had landed, which would not have been the case had fans been in attendance.


2015 White Sox–Orioles crowdless game, Game day, Game
Throughout the game, team employees patrolled the stands to retrieve foul balls hit there, a task normally not done as fans catch them and are permitted to keep them. At one point during Jones' at-bat in the first inning, a ball bounced out of the stands back onto the field, again something that rarely happens when fans are in the stands. A reporter for CBS Sports speculated that this allowed the Orioles to cut their losses on the game and reuse the baseballs.


2015 White Sox–Orioles crowdless game, Game day, Game
Davis's home run also brought out some other nuances of the game resulting from the absence of a crowd. As it became apparent that the ball was going out of play, MASN play-by-play announcer Gary Thorne made his trademark "Good-bye, home run!" call. It could be heard all over the stadium, even by the fans outside, as it was when Orioles' third baseman Manny Machado hit the game's other home run.


2015 White Sox–Orioles crowdless game, Game day, Game
Some semblances of a normal game were retained. Wagner identified each batter by name and position as they walked up to the plate, and then played their preferred walk-up music for each one. Musical interludes also accompanied players' warmups between and in the middle of innings. However, there were none of the videos on the scoreboard, such as hot-dog races, crabs playing three-card monte or the kiss cam, used to keep fans engaged during breaks in play such as television timeouts, since there were no fans to distract. Those breaks were instead marked with the team logo, Big Oriole, on the scoreboard.


2015 White Sox–Orioles crowdless game, Game day, Game
The Orioles got another run when Joseph drove in Machado with a no-out single before a fly and double play ended the third inning. In the fifth, Chicago finally scored when designated hitter Adam LaRoche took advantage of a fielding error, followed by right fielder Avisaíl García taking advantage of a fielder's choice on a Geovany Soto ground ball. Machado's solo home run in the bottom of the inning finished out the scoring for the game; Sox manager Robin Ventura replaced his starter,  Jeff Samardzija, with Scott Carroll for the next inning.


2015 White Sox–Orioles crowdless game, Game day, Game
Both media and players said it was the sounds they did not usually hear at games that imbued the event with as much of its strangeness as the absence of sounds they were used to hearing, such as the crowd's roar. Thorne's call on Davis's home run could be heard in the background of Sox announcer Ken Harrelson's call, an experience one reporter tweeted evoked minor league games. The two broadcast teams are separated by a wall that normally prevents this from happening; Thorne said afterwards that the Sox announcers were teasingly telling him and color commentator Jim Palmer to speak more quietly.


2015 White Sox–Orioles crowdless game, Game day, Game
Players could hear not only the TV announcers but conversations in the press box, to the point that Jones acknowledged a familiar voice calling out to someone else from that level while standing in the on-deck circle. Orioles' manager Buck Showalter said he could hear the phone ring in the bullpen from the dugout; the relief pitchers there, in turn, said they could not only hear conversations among the outfielders but the individual pitch calls made by home plate umpire Jerry Layne, which are almost always inaudible under normal game conditions.


2015 White Sox–Orioles crowdless game, Game day, Game
Showalter said conversations in the dugout were tempered by the awareness that the umpires and the media could hear them; likewise, Chicago second baseman Micah Johnson said that he tried to moderate his verbal reactions to mistakes. "It's quiet. There's nothing going on. You hear everything", he told the Chicago Tribune. The unusual distractions were not only auditory: he added that the glare of sunlight off the empty seats made it hard to concentrate on the ball when playing in the field.


2015 White Sox–Orioles crowdless game, Game day, Game
The seventh-inning stretch was marked, as usual, with "Take Me Out to the Ball Game" followed by John Denver's "Thank God I'm a Country Boy" on the stadium's sound system. In the bottom of the inning, as the game's outcome appeared less and less doubtful, Thorne, like Joseph and Davis earlier in the game, took the opportunity to find some humor in the situation. As Jones came up to bat, having failed to hit successfully since his first-inning sacrifice fly, Thorne called it in the hushed tone of voice commonly used by golf announcers such as Jim Nantz. A deep fly to center off reliever Scott Carroll turned into a double off the outfield fence for Jones' first (and only) hit of the game, leading Thorne to say "that green jacket appears well within reach", alluding to the garment given to the winner of the annual Masters Tournament.


2015 White Sox–Orioles crowdless game, Game day, Game
Outside the press box, the stands were not entirely empty. In addition to the team staff retrieving fouls, television cameramen set up in their usual locations, and photographers roamed freely, taking pictures not only of the action on the field but the empty concourses and closed concession stands. Other than those groups, three scouts for other major league teams sat near home plate and watched the action, evaluating players for possible trades or free agency signings. While their actions put them the closest to conventional spectators, they did not have to pay to attend, and thus at the end of the eighth inning, in accordance with MLB rules, the Orioles announced, and put on the scoreboard, that day's paid attendance: an unprecedented zero.


2015 White Sox–Orioles crowdless game, Game day, Game
Emilio Bonifacio opened the top of the ninth inning with a pinch-hit single off closer Zach Britton. It was the last of the four hits allowed by him and Jiménez; Kevin Gausman had retired the side in relief the previous inning, as Carlos Rodon had done in turn for the Sox in the bottom of the eighth, the only one of the team's pitchers to allow no hits while Carroll and Samardzija combined to give up 11. Both teams committed only a single error apiece; Jiménez would be credited with the win and Samardzija the loss. LaRoche struck out swinging to end the game at 4:09 p.m., a mere 2 hours and 3 minutes after it started.


2015 White Sox–Orioles crowdless game, Game day, Economic impact of closure
The Sun attempted to estimate how much money the Orioles lost by closing the game to fans. Since it could not be known how many might have shown up had the game been played at night, as originally scheduled, the paper offered a "reasonable estimate" of 25,000, slightly over half Camden Yards' capacity. With an average ticket price of $25, the team was likely foregoing $600,000 just from ticket sales, in addition to a nearly equal amount from parking and concessions, for a total loss of over $1 million.


2015 White Sox–Orioles crowdless game, Game day, Economic impact of closure
Sports Business Daily noted that that would be further exacerbated by the relocation of the subsequent series with the Tampa Bay Rays to that area; none of the other series between the two teams scheduled for Tampa would be relocated to Baltimore as compensation, and the newspaper suggested that the Orioles might likely have to seek some relief from MLB's central fund. Britton criticized the Rays for not being flexible enough and finding a way to come back up to Baltimore.


2015 White Sox–Orioles crowdless game, Game day, Economic impact of closure
"This is a bigger issue than just baseball and you'd think that they'd have some compassion and come up here when we're supposed to go there. But, unfortunately, that's not the case." Showalter, his manager, said the Rays had hoped to do so, but a concert had been scheduled during the only available series.


2015 White Sox–Orioles crowdless game, Game day, Economic impact of closure
The team was not the only party to suffer financially from the game. Ushers and concession stand personnel, who had already missed the two earlier games that had been postponed, were not needed at the crowdless game. Sportswriter Bill Baer set up a GoFundMe page for fans to contribute and make up the difference to their paychecks (he later refunded all the donations when the Orioles informed him that they had indeed paid the workers for the lost games).


2015 White Sox–Orioles crowdless game, Game day, Economic impact of closure
The manager of a nearby bar said business had been down 90 percent from its usual levels there all week; most of the few customers he had were reporters. One of his bartenders pointed to the $8 in the tip bucket, which she said usually reached hundreds of dollars on game days.


2015 White Sox–Orioles crowdless game, Reactions, Participants
A year later, Eaton, who had seen smoke rising from the affected areas of the city from his hotel room and watched protesters get arrested when he walked across the street to get lunch during the two days of postponed games, admitted to the Sun he had underestimated the effect of not having fans present. "To be honest with you, when I first went into it I didn't think it would be a big deal ... [ but there was almost this half-asleep feel because there was no energy."


2015 White Sox–Orioles crowdless game, Reactions, Participants
He believes that discomfort resulted in his teammates' letting the Orioles effectively win the game in the first inning. "[I]t's a very surreal and weird moment that I'll never forget but I kind of wish I could ... I think everyone just kind of wanted to put it in the back of our minds as a team when we left there." "It was just a surreal environment," Ventura agreed. "I don't think we really want to play another one like this. ... I don't think (the Orioles) do either."


2015 White Sox–Orioles crowdless game, Reactions, Participants
Davis, whose home run that inning resulted in more runs than the Sox collectively produced, was more upbeat. He felt emotionally buoyed by the sound of the fans outside as he rounded the bases. "It was such a unique situation to be in and I think as a group of guys, I was really proud about the way we handled it and tried to take the positive about it. I think that was big."


2015 White Sox–Orioles crowdless game, Reactions, Participants
"It was still baseball between the lines" Showalter told reporters after the game, praising his players for overcoming the distraction. He had also drawn praise for his conciliatory answer about the situation in the city to a young local African-American man covering his first-ever game for his website, and on the anniversary said he was still "real proud of everything, the whole organization ... When you go through something like that, you just want to make sure you think about what you say, and a year from now I want to look back and say you still feel that way."


2015 White Sox–Orioles crowdless game, Reactions, Participants
Thorne said that while closing the game to fans was a close call, he felt it was the right one. He admitted that before the game he was apprehensive about it, and decided not to do anything differently than he usually did. "I just went to the ballpark to try and do a baseball game, and just let it flow", he told the Huffington Post. As he called the game, however, he began realizing that the energy of the crowd was missing, and tried to make up for that. For that reason he greatly appreciated the fans who gathered outside the park and on the hotel balconies. "They cheered different plays, they cheered players, they hollered out player's names", he recalled. "I think that's the moment I'll remember about this game, are those fans that were outside doing that."


2015 White Sox–Orioles crowdless game, Reactions, Participants
Almost as special for Thorne was one of the sounds he had never been able to hear at any baseball game he had called before: the players' verbal interactions with each other. "I thought that was pretty good. I thought that was interesting," he said. "It's going back to the little boys playing a man's game. This is the stuff you did in Little League, they're hollering the same stuff ... [ T]o hear that, kind of made you smile."


2015 White Sox–Orioles crowdless game, Reactions, Others
The controversy over whether the game should have been played without fans did not end with the game. Commentators, not all of them from the sports community, weighed in afterwards.


2015 White Sox–Orioles crowdless game, Reactions, Others
ESPN's Howard Bryant supported the decision. He recalled that in the aftermath of the previous year's riots and protests over another African American man's death at police hands in Ferguson, Missouri, protesters in downtown St. Louis had been confronted by spectators leaving Rams' and Cardinals' games, a situation the closure avoided. His colleague Jemele Smith agreed, noting how MLB was constrained by its scheduling practices. Another ESPN commentator, Tony Kornheiser, however, wondered why fans were allowed to congregate on the streets outside the stadium, given the stated security concerns.


2015 White Sox–Orioles crowdless game, Reactions, Others
Los Angeles Times columnist Bill Plaschke called the game "surely one of [baseball]'s lowest moments". He contrasted it with how the Los Angeles Dodgers had adapted to the 1992 riots there by scheduling many of the four missed home games as doubleheaders, even though playing 10 games in six days later in the season adversely affected the team that year. Plaschke suggested that it would have been possible to make up the game during the All-Star break. "Normalcy on Wednesday was swallowed up in a scene that should chill fans who have long used sports as a way to connect," he concluded. "It was the day sports was silenced."


2015 White Sox–Orioles crowdless game, Reactions, Others
Deron Snyder of The Washington Times faulted MLB and the Orioles for not considering Nationals Park. He suspected that ongoing litigation between the two teams over MASN played a part. "Apparently, any solution that didn't involve the Nationals would do. The Orioles must've abhorred the thought of Washington looking good, reaping any benefit or coming off as a savior."


2015 White Sox–Orioles crowdless game, Reactions, Others
On Brian Kilmeade's Fox News Radio show, former New York City mayor Rudolph Giuliani also criticized the Orioles for playing without fans. In addition to saying Baltimore should have acted more aggressively to contain the riots, as he said he had done when mayor, he recalled how he had worked to make sure the Yankees and the Mets could resume playing home games, with fans in the stands, in the city within two weeks after the September 11 attacks, a time when there was still concern that those games themselves could become terror targets. "If this was New York, that game would be played," Giuliani said.


2015 White Sox–Orioles crowdless game, Reactions, Possible benefits
The game's brevity led some commentators to suggest that MLB could best address its pace of play concerns by playing all games without fans. "Baseball might have found the magic formula to speeding up games: no fans" wrote Austin Knoblauch in the Los Angeles Times Showalter, too, noted that "[s]ome of the altercations we've had early in the season, I was thinking how much of that is feeding off crowd reaction? Would we have had those same altercations if there wasn't?" Nevertheless, he said he preferred having fans.


2015 White Sox–Orioles crowdless game, Reactions, Humor
Late night talk show host Conan O'Brien sounded a common theme in humorous popular culture responses to the game. "When asked for comments," he said during a monologue on his show, "players on the Milwaukee Brewers said, 'You get used to it.'"


2015 White Sox–Orioles crowdless game, Reactions, Humor
Several days later, NBC's popular sketch comedy program Saturday Night Live ran a sketch spoofing the game and the telecast, particularly how common aspects of baseball on television such as the kiss cam would be handled without a crowd, and touching on some things that had really occurred at the game such as batters being able to hear commentators in the broadcast booth.


2015 White Sox–Orioles crowdless game, Reactions, Humor
Taran Killam and Kenan Thompson portrayed past Orioles' stars Jim Palmer and Frank Robinson calling the game despite not only the absence of fans but a heavy National Guard presence, which required the teams to use a Nerf bat and shot down a fly ball with a military drone; Bobby Moynihan played a hotdog vendor with no one to sell to.


2015 White Sox–Orioles crowdless game, Reactions, Humor
The two announcers frequently had to revise their commentary when they used words and phrases with connotations suggesting the recent riots, and at the end of the sketch decided to join a sideline reporter played by guest host Scarlett Johansson who was last seen not at the stadium but on the platforms at Penn Station, waiting to catch a train to Newark where she had decided she would be safer.


2015 Whitecaps FC 2 season
The 2015 Vancouver Whitecaps FC 2 season is the team's first season of existence, and their first season in United Soccer League, the third-tier of the American soccer pyramid.


2015 Whitecaps FC 2 season, Roster
Note: Flags indicate national team as defined under FIFA eligibility rules. Players may hold more than one non-FIFA nationality. Squad correct as of August 29, 2015.


2015 Wichita Falls Nighthawks season
The 2015 Wichita Falls Nighthawks season was the team's first season as a professional indoor football franchise as an expansion team of the Indoor Football League (IFL). One of ten teams competing in the IFL for the 2015 season, the Wichita Falls, Texas-based Nighthawks are members of the Intense Conference.


2015 Wichita Falls Nighthawks season, Roster
Rookies in italics updated June 4, 201522 Active, 8 Inactive


2015 Wichita Force season
The 2015 Wichita Force season is the team's first season as a professional indoor football franchise and first as a member of Champions Indoor Football (CIF). One of nine teams in the CIF for the inaugural 2015 season, the Wichita Force is owned by Wichita Indoor Football LLC, led by managing partner Marv Fisher. The Force play their home games at the Intrust Bank Arena in Wichita, Kansas, under the direction of head coach Paco Martinez.


2015 Wichita Force season, Season summary
The Force's announced schedule for the 2015 season was not directly affected when the New Mexico Stars abruptly postponed their entry into the league on February 21, just one week before the season began. On March 3, the Albuquerque-based Duke City Gladiators were announced as a late entry into the league, partially replacing the Stars in the CIF schedule with a plan to play 11 games in 2015.


2015 Wichita Force season, Off-field moves
After the 2014 season ended, the Champions Professional Indoor Football League announced it was merging with teams from other leagues to form a new league, Champions Indoor Football. The Wichita Wild franchise folded after eight seasons and a new ownership group launched the Wichita Force as an expansion franchise in the CIF with the Wild's head coach and a significant number of their former players.


2015 Wichita Force season, Awards and honors
Each week of the regular season, the CIF named league-wide Players of the Week in offensive, defensive, and special teams categories. For Week 1, the CIF named running back Tywon Hubbard as one of two Special Teams Players of the Week. For Week 2, the CIF named kick returner Clarence Anderson as the Special Teams Player of the Week. For Week 6, the CIF again named kick returner Clarence Anderson as the Special Teams Player of the Week. For Week 9, the CIF named kicker Ernesto Lacayo as the Special Teams Player of the Week.


2015 Wichita Force season, Awards and honors
For Week 11, the CIF again named kicker Ernesto Lacayo as the Special Teams Player of the Week. For Week 13, the CIF yet again named kick returner Clarence Anderson as the Special Teams Player of the Week. For Week 14, the CIF named quarterback Emmanuel Taylor as the Offensive Player of the Week.


2015 Wichita Force season, Standings
x = clinched playoffs, y = clinched home playoffs, z = clinched top seed


2015 Wichita mayoral election
The 2015 Wichita mayoral election took place on April 7, 2015, to elect the Mayor of Wichita, Kansas. The election was held concurrently with various other local elections, and is officially nonpartisan.


2015 Wichita mayoral election
Incumbent Mayor Carl Brewer, a Democrat, was term-limited and could not seek a third term in office.


2015 Wichita mayoral election
A primary election was held on March 3, 2015, to decide the two candidates that moved on to the general election. City Councilman Jeff Longwell defeated retired business executive Sam Williams to become the next Mayor.


2015 Widnes Vikings season
This article details the Widnes Vikings rugby league football club's 2015 season. This was the Vikings' 4th consecutive season back in the Super League.


2015 Wigan Metropolitan Borough Council election
The 2015 Wigan Metropolitan Borough Council election took place on 7 May 2015 to elect members of Wigan Metropolitan Borough Council in England. This was on the same day as other local elections and the general election.


2015 Wigan Warriors season
This article details the Wigan Warriors rugby league football club's 2015 season. This was the Warriors' 20th season in the Super League.


2015 Wilde Lexus Women's USTA Pro Circuit Event
The 2015 Wilde Lexus Women's USTA Pro Circuit Event was a professional tennis tournament played on outdoor clay courts. It was the seventh edition of the tournament which was part of the 2015 ITF Women's Circuit, offering a total of $50,000 in prize money. It took place in Osprey, Florida, United States, on 30 March–5 April 2015.


2015 Wilde Lexus Women's USTA Pro Circuit Event, Women's Singles entrants, Other entrants
The following players received wildcards into the singles main draw:


2015 Wilde Lexus Women's USTA Pro Circuit Event, Women's Singles entrants, Other entrants
The following player received entry by a lucky loser spot:


2015 Wilde Lexus Women's USTA Pro Circuit Event – Doubles
Rika Fujiwara and Hsieh Shu-ying were the defending champions, however they both chose not to participate.


2015 Wilde Lexus Women's USTA Pro Circuit Event – Doubles
The Ukrainian-duo of Anhelina Kalinina and Oleksandra Korashvili won the title, defeating the top seeds, Verónica Cepede Royg and María Irigoyen in the final, 6–1, 6–4.


2015 Wilde Lexus Women's USTA Pro Circuit Event – Singles
Anna Schmiedlová was the defending champion, but chose not to participate.


2015 Wilde Lexus Women's USTA Pro Circuit Event – Singles
Wildcard Alexa Glatch won the title, defeating the top seed Madison Brengle in an all-American final, 6–2, 6–7(6–8), 6–3.


2015 Wildrose Party leadership election
The 2015 Wildrose Party leadership election was triggered December 17, 2014, following the decision by leader Danielle Smith and eight other MLAs to leave the Wildrose Party and cross the floor to join the ruling Progressive Conservative Association of Alberta (PCs). The party announced the next day that it would appoint an interim leader and hold an election to choose a permanent leader in 2015. Former Conservative Party of Canada Member of Parliament Brian Jean was elected leader over two other candidates on March 28, 2015.


2015 Wildrose Party leadership election
Under the party's constitution, within 15 days of Smith's resignation, it had to set a date for party members to choose a new permanent leader. Smith tendered her resignation on the morning of December 17, 2014. In a letter to the party's executive, Smith recommended that party members vote on a "reunification resolution" to merge with the PCs as soon as possible, a course of action that the executive rejected.


2015 Wildrose Party leadership election
The party's constitution also stipulates that the leadership election had to be held between three and nine months after the position becomes open, in this case between March and September 2015.


2015 Wildrose Party leadership election
Each candidate had to pay a non-refundable $20,000 deposit and receive endorsement signatures from 250 party members.


2015 Wildrose Party leadership election
The party executive announced on January 23, 2015 that the election was to be held on June 6, 2015 and that party members will be able to vote in person at venues around the province or by mail-in ballot; results were to be announced at the Coast Plaza Hotel in Calgary.


2015 Wildrose Party leadership election
Voting was by means of a ranked ballot. Originally, voters were required to rank all three candidates however, due to objections, this was changed to allow voters to rank either one, two, or all three candidates.


2015 Wildrose Party leadership election
However, due to the likelihood of an early provincial election, the date of the leadership vote was moved up with the vote to be conducted by a telephone ballot in a 12-day period from March 16 to 28, 2015 with results announced at the Sheraton Cavalier in Calgary.


2015 Wildrose Party leadership election, Declared candidates, Brian Jean
Lawyer and former Conservative MP (Athabasca, 2004-2006; Fort McMurray—Athabasca, 2006-2014), Parliamentary Secretary to the Minister of Transport, Infrastructure and Communities (2006-2011).


2015 Wildrose Party leadership election, Declared candidates, Linda Osinchuk
Former mayor of Strathcona County (2010-2013), Wildrose nominee for Sherwood Park in the next election, registered nurse by profession.


2015 Wildwater Canoeing World Championships
The 2015 Wildwater Canoeing World Championships was the 32nd edition of the global wildwater canoeing competition, Wildwater Canoeing World Championships, organised by the International Canoe Federation.


2015 William & Mary Tribe football team
The 2015 William & Mary Tribe football team represented the College of William & Mary as a member of the of the Colonial Athletic Association (CAA)in the 2015 NCAA Division I FCS football season. The Tribe were led by 36th-year head coach Jimmye Laycock played their home games at Zable Stadium. They were members. William & Mary returned to an 11-game regular season schedule after playing 12 games the previous two seasons. The Tribe shared the CAA title with James Madison and Richmond; all three teams finished with identical 6–2 conference records. William & Mary received an at-large bid to the FCS playoffs, where they defeated Duquesne in the first round before losing in the second round to Richmond.


2015 William & Mary Tribe football team
Following the 2015 season, Zable Stadium underwent a significant renovation and expansion.


2015 William Jones Cup
The 2015 William Jones Cup was the 37th staging of William Jones Cup, a top-level international basketball tournament of FIBA Asia. The tournament was held in Taiwan from 29 August until 6 September 2015. All games were played in Xinchuang Gymnasium, New Taipei City.


2015 Wilmington Hammerheads FC season
The 2015 Wilmington Hammerheads season will be the club's nineteenth season of competitive soccer, and their fifth consecutive season since their one-year hiatus in 2010.


2015 Wilson Security Sandown 500
The 2015 Wilson Security Sandown 500 was a motor race meeting for the Australian sedan-based V8 Supercars. It was the ninth event of the 2015 International V8 Supercars Championship. It was held on the weekend of 11-13 September at the Sandown Raceway, near Melbourne in Victoria, Australia. The feature race, the 2015 Wilson Security Sandown 500, was won by Mark Winterbottom and Steve Owen driving a Ford FG X Falcon.


2015 Wilson Security Sandown 500, Results, Race
Note: Percat did not drive car #222 in the main race.


2015 Wimbledon Championships
The 2015 Wimbledon Championships was a Grand Slam tennis tournament which took place  at the All England Lawn Tennis and Croquet Club in Wimbledon, London, United Kingdom, from 29 June to 12 July 2015.


2015 Wimbledon Championships
It was the 129th edition of the championships, the 48th in the Open Era and the third Grand Slam tournament of the year, played on grass courts and part of the ATP World Tour, the WTA Tour, the ITF Junior Tour and the NEC Tour. They were organised by the All England Lawn Tennis Club and the International Tennis Federation. The tournament was held one week later than in previous seasons, giving a three-week gap from the end of the 2015 French Open. The change, announced in 2012, is intended to provide players more time for recuperation and preparatory grass-court tournaments.


2015 Wimbledon Championships
Novak Djokovic of Serbia won his third Wimbledon title in men's singles, defending his championship from 2014. Petra Kvitová of the Czech Republic was the defending champion in women's singles, but she lost to Jelena Janković in the third round.


2015 Wimbledon Championships
Serena Williams won her sixth Wimbledon and 21st major title, defeating first-time finalist Garbiñe Muguruza in the final, 6–4, 6–4. She also achieved her second non-calendar year Grand Slam after winning the 2014 US Open, 2015 Australian Open and 2015 French Open. With this win, Williams also became the oldest woman to win a Grand Slam singles title in the Open Era at 33 years and 289 days old, beating Martina Navratilova by 26 days, who won the 1990 Wimbledon Championships at 33 years and 263 days old.


2015 Wimbledon Championships, Tournament
The 2015 Wimbledon Championships was the 129th edition of the tournament and was held at All England Lawn Tennis and Croquet Club in London.


2015 Wimbledon Championships, Tournament
The tournament was an event run by the International Tennis Federation (ITF) and is part of the 2015 ATP World Tour and the 2015 WTA Tour calendars under the Grand Slam category. The tournament consisted of both men's and women's singles and doubles draws as well as a mixed doubles event. There were singles and doubles events for both boys and girls (players under 18), which were part of the Grade A category of tournaments, and doubles events for men's and women's wheelchair tennis players as part of the NEC tour under the Grand Slam category. The tournament was played on grass courts and took place over a series of 19 courts, including the four main showcourts, Centre Court, No. 1 Court, No. 2 Court and No. 3 Court.


2015 Wimbledon Championships, Point and prize money distribution, Point distribution
Below is a series of tables for each of the competitions showing the ranking points on offer for each event.


2015 Wimbledon Championships, Point and prize money distribution, Prize money
The Wimbledon total prize money for 2015 has been increased by 7% to £26.75m. The winners of the men's and women's singles titles will earn £1.88m, up £120,000 from the previous year. The figures for doubles events are per pair.


2015 Wimbledon Championships, Singles seeds, Gentlemen's Singles
Seeds are adjusted on a surface-based system to reflect more accurately the individual player's grass court achievement as per the following formula, which applies to the top 32 players according to the ATP Rankings on 22 June 2015:


2015 Wimbledon Championships, Singles seeds, Gentlemen's Singles
Rank and points before in the following table are as of 29 June 2015. Because the tournament takes place one week later than in 2014, points defending includes results from both the 2014 Wimbledon Championships and tournaments from the week of 7 July 2014 (Newport, Båstad and Stuttgart).


2015 Wimbledon Championships, Singles seeds, Gentlemen's Singles
† The player did not qualify for the tournament in 2014. Accordingly, points for his 18th best result are deducted instead.


2015 Wimbledon Championships, Singles seeds, Ladies' Singles
Seeds are based on the WTA rankings as of 22 June 2015. Rank and points before in the following table are as of 29 June 2015. Because the tournament takes place one week later than in 2014, points defending includes results from both the 2014 Wimbledon Championships and tournaments from the week of 7 July 2014 (Bucharest and Bad Gastein).


2015 Wimbledon Championships, Main draw wild card entries
The following players received wild cards into the main draw senior events.


2015 Wimbledon Championships, Main draw qualifier entries
The qualifying competitions took place in Bank of England Sports Centre, Roehampton on 22 – 25 June 2015.


2015 Wimbledon Championships, Protected ranking
The following players were accepted directly into the main draw using a protected ranking:


2015 Wimbledon Championships, Champions, Seniors, Gentlemen's Singles
Prior to the finals, the two had faced off 39 times, with Federer having won the most matches, 20–19. At the time of the finals Djokovic was ranked No. 1 and Federer at No. 2 . This encounter was their third meeting in a Grand Slam final, when the last two previous were split between the two at the 2007 US Open and 2014 Wimbledon Championships. Federer got the first break of serve in the match, during the first set, yet Djokovic quickly broke back leveling the match.


2015 Wimbledon Championships, Champions, Seniors, Gentlemen's Singles
When Djokovic was serving to remain in the first set, he had to fend off two set points from Federer, which he eventually got the set into a tiebreak, and it was a lopsided tiebreak that sent Djokovic up one set to none. The second set was a closely fought affair, but was decided to Federer's edge in the tiebreak. The last two sets were rather uneventful in the spectrum of the match because Djokovic got the breaks of serve, allowing him to win his third Wimbledon title, and second in a row. This put Djokovic eighth on the all-time list of Men's Grand Slam singles champions, and putting him fifth during the Open Era. He now possesses as many Wimbledon singles titles, as his coach Boris Becker won in his career.


2015 Wimbledon Championships, Champions, Seniors, Ladies' Singles
This was their first encounter in a Grand Slam final, whilst all of the past meetings, occurred in Grand Slam events, from the first-time playing each other at the 2013 Australian Open, that Serena Williams won the match in two sets, during this second round match. Their next contest occurred, at the 2014 French Open in the second round, yet this time around Garbiñe Muguruza, turned the tables to with the match in two sets.


2015 Wimbledon Championships, Champions, Seniors, Ladies' Singles
The third tie came, at the 2015 Australian Open, and it went three sets in a fourth round encounter, to the eventual victory by Serena in three sets. This bout would be their fourth meeting, and it got off to a rocky start by Serena, who served up three double faults, in order to get broken, during the first game of the match. Muguruza would get out to a four games to two advantage, when Williams held serve, and let out a "Come On".


2015 Wimbledon Championships, Champions, Seniors, Ladies' Singles
This rallied the twenty-time Grand Slam champion to win the first set, 6–4, when she broke the serve of Muguruza. Serena would get off to a fast start, during the second set, that she ended up getting breaks of serve from Muguruza in the fourth and sixth games of the set, to go up to a five games to one advantage. The momentous meaning the match held, for Williams ended up hitting her, when she had two bad service games, getting broken, letting Muguruza to come back to a five games to four set.


2015 Wimbledon Championships, Champions, Seniors, Ladies' Singles
This allowed Muguruza, the opportunity to serve in an attempt to stay in the match and set, yet she quickly got down in a love–40 hole, which she could not escape. The victory gave Serena her second "Serena Slam", and that was with the 2014 US Open win counted from the previous year. This victory was her twenty-first Grand Slam singles title, putting her one behind Steffi Graf in the Open Era of tennis, and three behind the all-time record held by Margaret Court. The win meant she became the oldest women's singles Grand Slam champion in the Open Era of tennis, besting the mark previously set by Martina Navratilova.


2015 Wimbledon Championships, Withdrawals
The following players were accepted directly into the main tournament, but withdrew with injuries.


2015 Wimbledon Championships – Boys' Doubles
Orlando Luz and Marcelo Zormann were the defending champions, but they chose to participate at the Pan American Games instead.


2015 Wimbledon Championships – Boys' Doubles
Lý Hoàng Nam and Sumit Nagal, won the title defeating Reilly Opelka and Akira Santillan, 7–6(7–4), 6–4 in the final.


2015 Wimbledon Championships – Boys' Singles
Noah Rubin was the defending champion, but chose not to participate this year.


2015 Wimbledon Championships – Boys' Singles
Unseeded American Reilly Opelka won the title, defeating Swede Mikael Ymer 7–6(7–5), 6–4 in the final.


2015 Wimbledon Championships – Day-by-day summaries
The 2015 Wimbledon Championships are described below in detail, in the form of day-by-day summaries.


2015 Wimbledon Championships – Gentlemen's Invitation Doubles
Thomas Enqvist and Mark Philippoussis were the defending champions but Philippoussis did not compete. Enqvist played alongside Jamie Delgado but they were eliminated in the round robin.


2015 Wimbledon Championships – Gentlemen's Invitation Doubles
Goran Ivanišević and Ivan Ljubičić defeated Wayne Ferreira and Sébastien Grosjean in the final, 6–3, 1–6, [10–5] to win the Gentlemen's Invitation Doubles tennis title at the 2015 Wimbledon Championships.


2015 Wimbledon Championships – Gentlemen's Invitation Doubles, Draw, Group A
Standings are determined by: 1) Number of wins; 2) Number of matches; 3) In two-players-ties, head-to-head records; 4) In three-players-ties, percentage of sets won, or of games won; 5) Steering Committee decision.


2015 Wimbledon Championships – Gentlemen's Invitation Doubles, Draw, Group B
Standings are determined by: 1) Number of wins; 2) Number of matches; 3) In two-players-ties, head-to-head records; 4) In three-players-ties, percentage of sets won, or of games won; 5) Steering Committee decision.


2015 Wimbledon Championships – Girls' Doubles
Tami Grende and Ye Qiuyu were the defending champions, but chose not to participate.


2015 Wimbledon Championships – Girls' Doubles
Dalma Gálfi and Fanny Stollár won the title after defeating Vera Lapko and Tereza Mihalíková 6–3, 6–2 in the final.


2015 Wimbledon Championships – Girls' Singles
Jeļena Ostapenko was the defending champion, but entered the Women's singles instead.


2015 Wimbledon Championships – Girls' Singles
Unseeded Russian Sofya Zhuk won the title, defeating compatriot Anna Blinkova 7–5, 6–4 in the final.


2015 Wimbledon Championships – Ladies' Invitation Doubles
Jana Novotná and Barbara Schett were the defending champions but were eliminated in the round robin.


2015 Wimbledon Championships – Ladies' Invitation Doubles
Magdalena Maleeva and Rennae Stubbs defeated Martina Navratilova and Selima Sfar in the final, 3–6, 7–5, [10–8] to win the Ladies' Invitation Doubles tennis title at the 2015 Wimbledon Championships.


2015 Wimbledon Championships – Ladies' Invitation Doubles, Draw, Group A
Standings are determined by: 1) Number of wins; 2) Number of matches; 3) In two-players-ties, head-to-head records; 4) In three-players-ties, percentage of sets won, or of games won; 5) Steering Committee decision.


2015 Wimbledon Championships – Ladies' Invitation Doubles, Draw, Group B
Standings are determined by: 1) Number of wins; 2) Number of matches; 3) In two-players-ties, head-to-head records; 4) In three-players-ties, percentage of sets won, or of games won; 5) Steering Committee decision.


2015 Wimbledon Championships – Men's Doubles
Vasek Pospisil and Jack Sock were the defending champions, but lost in the third round to Jamie Murray and John Peers. Jean-Julien Rojer and Horia Tecău won the title by defeating Murray and Peers in the final by a score of 7–6(7–5), 6–4, 6–4.


2015 Wimbledon Championships – Men's Doubles, Seeds
Click on the seed number of a player to go to their draw section.


2015 Wimbledon Championships – Men's Doubles Qualifying
In the qualifying event at the men's doubles competition at the 2015 Wimbledon tennis championships, four qualifying pairs and two "lucky loser" pairs were selected to proceed to the main event.