2016 Vuelta a España
The 2016 Vuelta a España was a three-week Grand Tour cycling stage race that took place in Spain between 20 August and 11 September 2016. The race was the 71st edition of the Vuelta a España and the final Grand Tour of the 2016 cycling season.


2016 Vuelta a España
The race included 21 stages, beginning with a team time trial that started in Ourense. The subsequent stages included 10 summit finishes. The race ended in Madrid.


2016 Vuelta a España
The overall winner was Nairo Quintana of team Movistar, with Chris Froome (Team Sky) second and Esteban Chaves (Orica–BikeExchange) third.


2016 Vuelta a España, Teams
The eighteen UCI WorldTeams were automatically invited and obliged to attend the race. The organiser of the Vuelta, Unipublic, was also able to invite four UCI Professional Continental teams – the second tier of professional cycling teams – as wildcards.


2016 Vuelta a España, Route
The route of the 2016 Vuelta was announced on 9 January 2016. In contrast to the two previous editions of the Vuelta, which had begun in Andalusia, this edition spent its first week in Galicia in the north-west of Spain. The first stage was a team time trial to Castrelo de Miño. The first significant climb of the race was at the end of the third stage, which was the first of ten summit finishes in the race.


2016 Vuelta a España, Route
The route travelled through Asturias before coming to the Basque Country; the fourteenth stage, described by Cyclingnews.com as the hardest of the race, took place mainly just across the border in France. The route continued down the eastern coast of Spain over the next few days, with several mountainous stages, with the race's only individual time trial coming on stage 19. One more mountainous stage followed, finishing on the Alto de Aitana, before the riders travelled to Madrid for the closing stage on a circuit in the city centre.


2016 Vuelta a España, Classification leadership
The race included four principal classifications. The first of these was the general classification, which was calculated by adding up each rider's times on each stage and applying the relevant time bonuses. These were 10 seconds for the stage winner, 6 seconds for the rider in second, and 4 seconds for the rider in third, and 3, 2 and 1 seconds for the first three riders at each intermediate sprint; no bonuses were awarded on the time trial stages. The rider with the lowest cumulative time was the winner of the general classification and was considered the overall winner of the Vuelta. The rider leading the classification wore a red jersey.


2016 Vuelta a España, Classification leadership
The second classification was the points classification. Riders were awarded points for finishing in the top fifteen places on each stage and in the top three at each intermediate sprint. The first rider at each stage finish was awarded 25 points, the second 20 points, the third 16 points, the fourth 14 points, the fifth 12 points, the sixth 10 points, down to 1 point for the rider in fifteenth. At the intermediate sprints, the first three riders won 4, 2 and 1 points respectively. The rider with the most points won the classification and wore a green jersey.


2016 Vuelta a España, Classification leadership
The third classification was the mountains classification. Most stages of the race included one or more categorised climbs. Stages were categorised as third-, second-, first- and special-category, with the more difficult climbs rated higher. The most difficult climb of the race was given its own category as the Cima Alberto Fernández. Points were awarded for the first riders across the summit of each climb; the rider with the most accumulated points won the classification and wore a white jersey with blue polka dots.


2016 Vuelta a España, Classification leadership
The fourth individual classification was the combination classification. This was calculated by adding up each rider's position on the other three individual classifications. The rider with the lowest cumulative score was the winner of the classification and wore a white jersey.


2016 Vuelta a España, Classification leadership
The final classification was a team classification. This was calculated by adding together the times of each team's best three riders on each stage. The team with the lowest cumulative time was the winner of the classification. There was also a combativeness prize awarded on each stage; three riders were chosen on each stage by a race jury to recognise the rider "who displayed the most courageous effort". There was then a public vote to decide which rider would be awarded the prize; the rider wore a red dossard (race number) the following day. An identical procedure took place on the final stage to decide the most combative rider of the whole Vuelta.


2016 Vuelta a España, Controversy
In stage 15, more than 90 riders were 10 km/h slower than the winner and finished far outside of the time cut. They were, nevertheless, allowed to stay in the race. Of the six remaining stages, five were won by riders from that grupetto (Drucker, Frank, 2x Cort Nielsen, Latour), Froome being the only exception after winning the time trial (stage 19).


2016 Vuelta a España, Stage 1 to Stage 11
The 2016 Vuelta a España began on 21 August, with Stage 21 scheduled for 11 September. The 2016 edition of the cycle race began with the only team time trial stage of the race, just outside Ourense.


2016 Vuelta a España, Stage 12 to Stage 21
The 2016 Vuelta a España began on 21 August, with Stage 21 scheduled for 11 September. The 2016 edition of the cycle race began with the only team time trial stage of the race, just outside Ourense.


2016 Vuelta a Guatemala
The 56th edition of the Vuelta a Guatemala was held from 24 October to 1 November 2016.


2016 Vuelta a Guatemala, Teams
Twelve teams entered the race. Each team had a maximum of six riders.


2016 Vuelta a Murcia
The 2016 Vuelta a Murcia was the 32nd professional edition of the Vuelta a Murcia cycle race and was held on 13 February 2016. The race started in San Javier and finished in Murcia. The race was won by Philippe Gilbert.


2016 Vålerenga Fotball season
Vålerenga Fotball is a Norwegian association football club from Oslo. They play their home games at Ullevaal Stadion which has a capacity of 28,972. During the 2016 campaign they will compete in Tippeligaen and the Norwegian Cup.


2016 Vålerenga Fotball season, Squad
Note: Flags indicate national team as defined under FIFA eligibility rules. Players may hold more than one non-FIFA nationality.


2016 Vålerenga Fotball season, Squad, Out on loan
Note: Flags indicate national team as defined under FIFA eligibility rules. Players may hold more than one non-FIFA nationality.


2016 Vålerenga Fotball season, Transfers, Winter
In:Note: Flags indicate national team as defined under FIFA eligibility rules. Players may hold more than one non-FIFA nationality.


2016 Vålerenga Fotball season, Transfers, Winter
Out:Note: Flags indicate national team as defined under FIFA eligibility rules. Players may hold more than one non-FIFA nationality.


2016 Vålerenga Fotball season, Transfers, Summer
In:Note: Flags indicate national team as defined under FIFA eligibility rules. Players may hold more than one non-FIFA nationality.


2016 Vålerenga Fotball season, Transfers, Summer
Out:Note: Flags indicate national team as defined under FIFA eligibility rules. Players may hold more than one non-FIFA nationality.


2016 W-League Grand Final
The 2016 W-League Grand Final was the final match of the 2015–16 W-League season and decided the champions of women's football in Australia for the season.


2016 W-League Grand Final
The match took place at AAMI Park in Melbourne, Australia on 31 January 2016 and was played between league premiers Melbourne City and two-time premiers of the league Sydney FC. The match was won by Melbourne City 4–1 who competed the perfect season, failing to lose a match all season. It was also Melbourne City's first championship of any kind in Australian football and ensured the club won all available silverware in women's football in their inaugural season. Kim Little, playing for Melbourne City for the season on loan from Seattle Reign FC, was named the player of the match.


2016 W-League Grand Final, Match statistics
The following are the match statistics for the 2016 W-League Grand Final:


2016 WA State Challenge Cup
Western Australian soccer clubs will compete in 2016 for the Football West State Cup, known for sponsorship reasons as the Cool Ridge Cup. Clubs entered from the National Premier Leagues WA, the two divisions of the State League, a limited number of teams from various divisions of the 2016 Amateur League competition, and from regional teams from the South West, Goldfields, Great Southern and Midwest regions.


2016 WA State Challenge Cup
This knockout competition was won by Floreat Athena, their sixth title.


2016 WA State Challenge Cup
The competition also served as the Western Australian Preliminary Rounds for the 2016 FFA Cup. The two finalists  – Cockburn City and Floreat Athena – qualified for the final rounds, entering at the Round of 32.


2016 WA State Challenge Cup, Schedule
A total of 65 teams took part in the competition, from Perth-based and regional-based competitions.


2016 WA State Challenge Cup, First round
The round numbers conform to a common format throughout the 2016 FFA Cup preliminary rounds. A total of 18 teams took part in this stage of the competition, from lower divisions of the Amateur League, and from regional teams entering from the South West and Midwest regions. Matches in this round were played on 27–28 February.


2016 WA State Challenge Cup, Second round
A total of 22 teams took part in this stage of the competition, from the Amateur League Premier Division (11 teams), from regional teams entering from the Goldfields and Great Southern regions, and the winners from the previous round. Matches in this round were completed by 13 March 2016.


2016 WA State Challenge Cup, Third round
A total of 34 teams took part in this stage of the competition. New teams that enter at this round were from Football West State League Division 1 (12 teams) and Football West State League Division 2 (11 teams). Matches in this round were played by 20 March 2016.


2016 WA State Challenge Cup, Fourth round
A total of 24 teams took part in this stage of the competition. 7 of the 12 Clubs from the National Premier Leagues WA entered into the competition at this stage, with the exception of the top four teams from the 2015 Season who enter in the next round, and Perth Glory Youth who were not eligible. Matches in this round were played on 28 March 2016.


2016 WA State Challenge Cup, Fifth round
A total of 16 teams took part in this stage of the competition, with the matches in this round played on 25 April 2016. 4 of the 12 Clubs from the National Premier Leagues WA entered into the competition at this stage, being the top four teams from the 2015 Season.


2016 WA State Challenge Cup, Sixth round
A total of 8 teams took part in this stage of the competition, with the matches in this round played on 14 May 2016.


2016 WA State Challenge Cup, Seventh round
A total of 4 teams took part in this stage of the competition, with the matches in this round played on 6 June 2016. The two victorious teams in this round qualify for the 2016 FFA Cup Round of 32.


2016 WA State Challenge Cup, Final
The 2016 Cool Ridge Cup Final was played on 23 July 2016, at the neutral venue of Dorrien Gardens.


2016 WAC Men's Basketball Tournament
The 2016 WAC Men's Basketball Tournament was a postseason men's basketball tournament for the Western Athletic Conference, held from March 10–12, 2016 at Orleans Arena in Paradise, Nevada. The winner of the tournament received the conference's automatic bid into the 2016 NCAA Tournament.


2016 WAC Men's Basketball Tournament, Seeds
Grand Canyon was ineligible to participate in the conference tournament during its transition to Division I. The remaining seven teams participated in the tournament. The top seed received a bye to the semifinals.


2016 WAC Men's Basketball Tournament, Seeds
Teams were seeded by record within the conference, with a tiebreaker system to seed teams with identical conference records.


2016 WAC Men's Soccer Tournament
The 2016 WAC Men's Soccer Tournament, was the 9th edition of the tournament. It determined the Western Athletic Conference's automatic berth into the 2016 NCAA Division I Men's Soccer Championship.


2016 WAC Men's Soccer Tournament
UNLV won the WAC title, making it their second WAC championship. The Rebels defeated Air Force in the championship, 2–1.


2016 WAC Men's Soccer Tournament, Seeding
The top six programs qualified for the WAC Tournament. Grand Canyon and Incarnate Word were ineligible for the tournament due to their transition from Division II to Division I soccer. Grand Canyon finished fifth in the regular season table, allowing seventh-place, Cal State Bakersfield to qualify.


2016 WAC Men's Soccer Tournament, Awards
Alex Roldan, Seattle UJeff Rose, Seattle UPaul Hoffmeister, Utah ValleyAaron Meyer, Utah ValleyTrey Pujats, Air ForceCameron Duley, Air ForceJohn Sims, Air ForceOscar Velazquez, UNLVTimo Mehlich, UNLVEnrique Adame, UNLVDanny Musovski, UNLV


2016 WAC Women's Basketball Tournament
The 2016 WAC Women's Basketball Tournament was a tournament which was held on March 9–12, 2016 at the Orleans Arena in Paradise, Nevada. The #1 seed in the tournament will receive a first round bye to the semifinals. Grand Canyon did not compete in the 2016 women's basketball tournament. As a D2 to D1 transitioning school, they are ineligible to compete in the NCAA tournament until the 2018 season, so they can not win the conference tournament since the winner received an automatic bid to the NCAA Tournament. However Grand Canyon is eligible to win the regular season title and is eligible to compete in the WNIT or WBI should they be invited. New Mexico State won their 2nd straight WAC Tournament to earn an automatic trip to the 2016 NCAA Tournament.


2016 WAC Women's Soccer Tournament
The 2016 Western Athletic Conference Women's Soccer Tournament is the postseason women's soccer tournament for the Western Athletic Conference to be held from November 3 to November 6, 2016. The five match tournament will be held at Durwood Soccer Stadium in Kansas City. The six team single-elimination tournament will consist of three rounds based on seeding from regular season conference play. The defending champions are the Utah Valley Wolverines, who defeated the Seattle Redhawks 2–0 in the 2015 tournament.


2016 WAFL season
The 2016 WAFL season was the 132nd season of the various incarnations of the West Australian Football League (WAFL). The season concluded on 25 September 2016 with the 2016 WAFL Grand Final between Subiaco and Peel Thunder at Domain Stadium. Peel won the match by 23 points, recording their first ever premiership.


2016 WCHA Men's Ice Hockey Tournament
The 2016 WCHA Men's Ice Hockey Tournament was played between March 11 and March 19, 2016, at four conference arenas and the Van Andel Arena in Grand Rapids, Michigan. By winning the tournament, Ferris State was awarded the Broadmoor Trophy and received the WCHA's automatic bid to the 2016 NCAA Division I Men's Ice Hockey Tournament.


2016 WCHA Men's Ice Hockey Tournament
This was the last WCHA tournament where an All-Tournament Team was named. This is also the only year with an All-Tournament Team where the Tournament MVP was not also named to the All-Tournament Team.


2016 WCHA Men's Ice Hockey Tournament, Format
The first round of the postseason tournament features a best-of-three games format. The top eight conference teams participate in the tournament. Teams are seeded No. 1 through No. 8 according to their final conference standing, with a tiebreaker system used to seed teams with an identical number of points accumulated. The top four seeded teams each earn home ice and host one of the lower seeded teams.


2016 WCHA Men's Ice Hockey Tournament, Format
The winners of the first round series advance to the Van Andel Arena for the WCHA Final Five, a holdover from previous tournaments where it was used as the collective name of the quarterfinal, semifinal, and championship rounds. The Final Five uses a single-elimination format. Teams are re-seeded No. 1 through No. 4 according to the final regular season conference standings.


2016 WCHA Men's Ice Hockey Tournament, Format, Conference Standings
Note: GP = Games Played; W = Wins; L = Losses; T = Ties; PTS = Points; GF = Goals For; GA = Goals Against


2016 WD-40 Phillip Island SuperSprint
The 2016 WD-40 Phillip Island SuperSprint was a motor racing event for V8 Supercars, held on the weekend of 15 to 17 April 2016. The event was held at the Phillip Island Grand Prix Circuit at Phillip Island, Victoria, and consisted of one race of 120 kilometres and one race of 200 km in length. It was the third event of fourteen in the 2016 International V8 Supercars Championship and hosted Races 6 and 7 of the season. The event was the 18th running of the Phillip Island SuperSprint and was the 500th event in the combined history of the Australian Touring Car Championship and V8 Supercars.


2016 WD-40 Phillip Island SuperSprint
The event was dominated by Scott McLaughlin, who won both races from pole position. Second place was taken by Jamie Whincup in Race 6, a result which also saw him take the championship lead, while Mark Winterbottom finished second in Race 7. DJR Team Penske enjoyed a strong weekend, with Fabian Coulthard and Scott Pye finishing third in Races 6 and 7 respectively.


2016 WD-40 Phillip Island SuperSprint, Report, Background
The Holden Racing Team ran a one-off tribute livery on its cars to raise awareness for the ANZAC appeal. A new rule was introduced for the event, preventing teams from changing brake rotors and pads between qualifying and each race.


2016 WD-40 Phillip Island SuperSprint, Report, Background
Will Davison entered the event as the championship leader ahead of Craig Lowndes and Jamie Whincup.


2016 WD-40 Phillip Island SuperSprint, Report, Practice
Two one-hour practice sessions were held on Friday afternoon. Enduro Cup co-drivers were permitted to take part in the first session and Tony D'Alberto, Dean Fiore, Macauley Jones and Luke Youlden all completed laps. The session was topped by Lowndes, who set a time of 1:31.7255. Garth Tander was second fastest ahead of Whincup, who ran off the road at Turn 2 during the session. Scott McLaughlin set a new practice lap record of 1:30.3918 to go quickest in the second session. His time was six tenths of a second faster than that of second-placed Fabian Coulthard. Several drivers went off the circuit at Turns 1 and 2 during the session.


2016 WD-40 Phillip Island SuperSprint, Report, Practice
A 15-minute session was held on Saturday morning. Mark Winterbottom set the fastest time early in the session, with a light rain shower preventing drivers from improving their times at the end of the session.


2016 WD-40 Phillip Island SuperSprint, Report, Qualifying – Race 6
Qualifying for Race 6 took place on Saturday afternoon and was 15 minutes in duration. McLaughlin took his first pole position of the season, setting a time of 1:30.4880. Chaz Mostert was second fastest ahead of Winterbottom, Whincup and Shane van Gisbergen.


2016 WD-40 Phillip Island SuperSprint, Report, Race 6
Race 6 was held on Saturday afternoon. McLaughlin and Mostert maintained their positions at the start while Whincup moved into third place ahead of Winterbottom. Drivers began making their compulsory pit stops at the end of lap 4, with Winterbottom, Van Gisbergen, Lowndes, Scott Pye and Michael Caruso pitting at this time. Mostert made his pit stop one lap later, while McLaughlin and Whincup pitted on the following two laps. McLaughlin emerged as effective leader, being the best-placed driver to have made a pit stop, ahead of Whincup and Mostert.


2016 WD-40 Phillip Island SuperSprint, Report, Race 6
Brad Jones Racing mimicked the strategy it had used at Symmons Plains, running its drivers Jason Bright and Tim Slade to laps 16 and 17 before performing their pit stops. They came out of the pit lane in 16th and tenth places respectively but were able to move forward in the closing stages due to their fresher tyres.


2016 WD-40 Phillip Island SuperSprint, Report, Race 6
While running in eighth place on lap 24, Pye suffered a tyre failure going into the first corner. He went off the circuit and spun before driving back to the pit lane to change the affected wheel, leaving him in last place. Mostert also suffered a puncture on the final lap, dropping him from third to 23rd. McLaughlin took victory, 1.2 seconds clear of Whincup, while Coulthard finished third after making up multiple positions following his pit stop. James Moffat scored his best result of the season with seventh, while Slade and Bright made it to eighth and tenth places respectively. With Davison finishing in 16th place, Whincup assumed the lead in the championship.


2016 WD-40 Phillip Island SuperSprint, Report, Qualifying – Race 7
Qualifying for Race 7 was a 20-minute session held on Sunday morning. McLaughlin again took pole position, followed by Whincup, Winterbottom, Coulthard and Moffat. Whincup and Caruso both spun at Turn 2 early in the session. Whincup said of his spin: "It was a bit of a wild ride, my foot slipped off the pedal so it was a weird one."


2016 WD-40 Phillip Island SuperSprint, Report, Race 7
Race 7 took place on Sunday afternoon. The race regulations required each car to take on at least 120 litres of fuel during the race. Coulthard's car had a misfire on the warm-up lap and he was slow to get away at the start as a result. He completed only four laps before retiring from the race. Whincup challenged McLaughlin for the lead at the start but went wide at the first corner, though he maintained second place. Mostert was spun at Turn 4 after Davison and Tander made contact. Several drivers pitted at the end of the first lap to fulfil part of the fuel requirement. McLaughlin made his first pit stop on lap 10, followed by Whincup on lap 11. After every driver had completed their first pit stop, McLaughlin led from Whincup, Pye, Lowndes and Caruso.


2016 WD-40 Phillip Island SuperSprint, Report, Race 7
Van Gisbergen was the first driver to make a second stop on lap 18. McLaughlin pitted at the end of lap 21, while Whincup delayed his second stop until lap 25 in order to shorten the length of his final stint and have better tyre condition at the end of the race. Following the second round of pit stops, McLaughlin continued to lead ahead of Whincup and Pye. Cameron Waters suffered a tyre failure on the main straight on lap 34 and was hit by Andre Heimgartner as he slowed. The safety car was deployed to allow debris from the incident to be cleared. Dale Wood, Van Gisbergen and Bright all pitted to take on fresh tyres. However, Bright was forced to retire from the race soon after when he lost power.


2016 WD-40 Phillip Island SuperSprint, Report, Race 7
The race restarted on lap 39 and Winterbottom passed Pye for third place at the final corner. Whincup ran wide at the same time and dropped to fourth place. Moffat went off the circuit on lap 43 and dropped from eighth to 15th place. McLaughlin took the race win ahead of Winterbottom, Pye, Whincup and Lowndes. Mostert recovered from his early spin to finish eighth, while Van Gisbergen made it up to tenth, having been twentieth after pitting during the safety car period.


2016 WD-40 Phillip Island SuperSprint, Report, Race 7
Whincup maintained the championship lead while McLaughlin moved into second place, 15 points behind. Winterbottom was third, a further nine points behind McLaughlin.


2016 WDF Europe Cup
The 2016 WDF Europe Cup was the 20th edition of the WDF Europe Cup darts tournament, organised by the World Darts Federation. It was held in Egmond aan Zee, Netherlands from September 20 to 24.


2016 WDF Europe Cup, Entered Teams
32 countries/associations entered a men's selection in the event. 26 countries/associations entered a womans's selection in the event.


2016 WF9
2016 WF9 is a dark, sub-kilometer asteroid and suspected extinct comet, classified as near-Earth object and potentially hazardous asteroid of the Apollo group.


2016 WF9, Description
2016 WF9 is unusually dark for a near-Earth asteroid. It is possibly an extinct comet, but without the comet-like dust and gas cloud. It was first observed on 27 November 2016 by NEOWISE, the asteroid-and-comet-hunting portion of the Wide-Field Infrared Survey Explorer (WISE) mission. According to NEOWISE, this object could have cometary origins, which illustrates the blurry boundary between asteroids and comets. It is speculated that over time, this object has lost the majority of the volatiles on its surface.


2016 WF9, Description
2016 WF9 is about 0.5–1.0 km (0.3–0.6 mi) across so is one of the larger potentially hazardous asteroid near-Earth object (also see list of largest PHAs).


2016 WF9, Description, 2017 approach
2016 WF9 passed Earth on 25 February 2017 at a distance of 0.3407 AU (50,970,000 km; 31,670,000 mi) and is not considered a threat for the foreseeable future. The 2017 approach did not bring it particularly close to Earth. In December 1944 it passed about 0.19 AU (28,000,000 km; 18,000,000 mi) from Earth and in February 2149 it will pass about 0.06 AU (9,000,000 km; 5,600,000 mi) from Earth.


2016 WF9, Description, Discovery
When 2016 WF9 was first announced and had a short insignificant 3 day observation arc, it was estimated to have a 7.6 year orbital period. The preliminary orbit was also listed on the JPL Sentry Risk Table, but none of the virtual impact dates were before 2029. As the observation arc became longer and the orbital parameters better constrained, it was removed from the Sentry Risk Table on 20 December 2016. With a 111-day observation arc, it is now known that it has a 4.86 year orbital period and currently stays inside the orbit of Jupiter.


2016 WF9, Description, Discovery
A simulation of 2016 WF9's dynamics over a period of 100 million days (~274,000 years) found that it had roughly a 60% chance of originating from the outer solar system as a long-period comet.


2016 WFG Masters
The 2016 WFG Masters was a curling bonspiel held from October 25 to 30, at the Pason Centennial Arena in Okotoks, Alberta. This was the first Grand Slam of the 2016–17 curling season.


2016 WFG Masters
On the men's side, the Niklas Edin rink from Karlstad, Sweden won their first Grand Slam event, and also became the first non-Canadian team to win a men's Grand Slam event. Edin defeated the defending Olympic champion, Brad Jacobs rink from Sault Ste. Marie, Ontario. The women's final was a battle of Ontario with Caledon's Allison Flaxey upsetting the World #1 Rachel Homan rink from Ottawa to win her first ever Grand Slam event.


2016 WFG Masters
The total purse for both the men's and women's event was $125,000 with the winner's share being $30,000. This is the largest purse in Masters history.


2016 WFG Tankard
The 2016 Quebec Men's Provincial Curling Championship, also known as the WFG Tankard, was held  from January 17 to 24 at the Salaberry Arena in Salaberry-de-Valleyfield, Quebec. The winning Jean-Michel Ménard team represented Quebec at the 2016 Tim Hortons Brier in Ottawa, Ontario. The event was held in conjunction with the 2016 Quebec Scotties Tournament of Hearts.


2016 WGC-Bridgestone Invitational
The 2016 WGC-Bridgestone Invitational was a professional golf tournament played June 30 – July 3 on the South Course of Firestone Country Club in Akron, Ohio. It was the 18th WGC-Bridgestone Invitational tournament, and the third of the World Golf Championships events in 2016.


2016 WGC-Bridgestone Invitational
The event was played more than a month earlier than usual, due to the 2016 Summer Olympics. It was only sanctioned by the PGA Tour, because it ran opposite the Open de France the European Tour did not co-sanction the tournament this year.


2016 WGC-Bridgestone Invitational
Dustin Johnson won his first WGC-Bridgestone Invitational and third WGC overall.


2016 WGC-Bridgestone Invitational, Venue, Course layout
The South Course was designed by Bert Way and redesigned by Robert Trent Jones in 1960.


2016 WGC-Bridgestone Invitational, Field
The field consisted of players drawn primarily from the Official World Golf Ranking and the winners of the worldwide tournaments with the strongest fields.


2016 WGC-Bridgestone Invitational, Field
1. Playing members of the 2015 United States and International Presidents Cup teams.


2016 WGC-Bridgestone Invitational, Field
Steven Bowditch, Jason Day (2,3,4), Rickie Fowler (2,3,4), Branden Grace (2,3,4), Bill Haas (2,3), J. B. Holmes (2,3), Dustin Johnson (2,3,4), Zach Johnson (2,3), Chris Kirk, Matt Kuchar (2,3), Anirban Lahiri, Danny Lee (2,3), Marc Leishman (2,3,4), Hideki Matsuyama (2,3,4), Phil Mickelson (2,3), Louis Oosthuizen (2,3), Patrick Reed (2,3), Charl Schwartzel (2,3,4), Adam Scott (2,3,4), Jordan Spieth (2,3,4), Jimmy Walker (2,3), Bubba Watson (2,3,4)


2016 WGC-Bridgestone Invitational, Field
2. The top 50 players from the Official World Golf Ranking as of June 20, 2016.


2016 WGC-Bridgestone Invitational, Field
An Byeong-hun (3), Daniel Berger (3,4), Paul Casey (3), Kevin Chappell (3), Harris English, Jim Furyk (3), Emiliano Grillo (3,4), Charley Hoffman (3,4), Kim Kyung-tae (3), Kevin Kisner (3,4), Søren Kjeldsen (3), Russell Knox (3,4), Brooks Koepka (3), David Lingmerth (3), Shane Lowry (3,4), William McGirt (3,4), Kevin Na (3), Scott Piercy (3), Justin Rose (3,4), Brandt Snedeker (3,4), Justin Thomas (3,4)


2016 WGC-Bridgestone Invitational, Field
3. The top 50 players from the Official World Golf Ranking as of June 27, 2016.


2016 WGC-Bridgestone Invitational, Field
4. Tournament winners, whose victories are considered official, of tournaments from the Federation Tours since the prior season's Bridgestone Invitational with an Official World Golf Ranking Strength of Field Rating of 115 points or more.


2016 WGC-Bridgestone Invitational, Field
Jason Dufner, Marcus Fraser, Fabián Gómez, James Hahn, Jim Herman, Billy Hurley III, Andrew Johnston, Matt Jones, Smylie Kaufman, Davis Love III, Song Young-han, Brian Stuard, Vaughn Taylor


2016 WGC-Bridgestone Invitational, Field
5. The winner of selected tournaments from each of the following tours:


2016 WGC-Cadillac Championship
The 2016 WGC-Cadillac Championship was a golf tournament which was played March 3–6 on the TPC Blue Monster course at Trump National Doral in Doral, Florida, a suburb west of Miami. It was the 17th WGC-Cadillac Championship tournament, the first of the World Golf Championships events in 2016, and the final edition of the tournament played in Doral. The tournament was won by Adam Scott.


2016 WGC-Cadillac Championship, Course layout
The tournament was played on the TPC Blue Monster course.


2016 WGC-Cadillac Championship, Field
The field consisted of players from the top of the Official World Golf Ranking and the money lists/Orders of Merit from the six main professional golf tours. Each player is classified according to the first category in which he qualified, but other categories are shown in parentheses.


2016 WGC-Cadillac Championship, Field
Five players made their WGC debut: Kristoffer Broberg, Nathan Holman, Smylie Kaufman, Yūsaku Miyazato, and Jordan Zunic.


2016 WGC-Cadillac Championship, Field
Daniel Berger, Steven Bowditch, Paul Casey (7,9), Jason Day (7,9), Harris English, Rickie Fowler (7,9), Bill Haas (7,9), Charley Hoffman, J. B. Holmes (7,9), Dustin Johnson (7,9), Zach Johnson (7,9), Kevin Kisner (7,9,10), Brooks Koepka (7,9), Matt Kuchar (7,9), Danny Lee (7,9), Hideki Matsuyama (7,9), Rory McIlroy (2,7.9), Kevin Na (7,9,10), Louis Oosthuizen (2,7,9), Scott Piercy (7,9), Patrick Reed (2,7,9), Justin Rose (2,7,9), Brandt Snedeker (7,9,10), Jordan Spieth (7,9), Henrik Stenson (2,7,8,9), Robert Streb (7,9), Jimmy Walker (7,9), Bubba Watson (7,9)


2016 WGC-Cadillac Championship, Field
An Byeong-hun (7,8,9), Kiradech Aphibarnrat (7,9), Kristoffer Broberg, Victor Dubuisson (7,9), Ross Fisher, Matthew Fitzpatrick (7,9), Branden Grace (7,8,9), Søren Kjeldsen (7,9), Anirban Lahiri (6,7,9), Shane Lowry (7,9), Andy Sullivan (7,8,9), Bernd Wiesberger (7,9), Danny Willett (7,8,9), Chris Wood (7,8,9)


2016 WGC-Cadillac Championship, Field
Jamie Donaldson,  Sergio García (9), Emiliano Grillo (9), Billy Horschel (9), Martin Kaymer (9), Russell Knox (9,10), Marc Leishman (9), David Lingmerth (9), Phil Mickelson (9), Adam Scott (9,10), Justin Thomas (9,10)


2016 WGC-Cadillac Championship, Round summaries, First round
Marcus Fraser and Scott Piercy shot rounds of 66 (−6) to take a one-shot lead over Phil Mickelson.


2016 WGC-Cadillac Championship, Round summaries, Second round
Adam Scott shot a 66 (−6) to take a two-stroke lead over Dustin Johnson and Rory McIlroy. Johnson, the defending champion, shot the low round of the day, an 8-under-par 64. First round co-leaders Marcus Fraser and Scott Piercy both shot 77 to fall down the leaderboard.


2016 WGC-Cadillac Championship, Round summaries, Third round
Rory McIlroy took a three-stroke lead over Dustin Johnson and Adam Scott by shooting at 4-under-par 68.


2016 WGC-Cadillac Championship, Round summaries, Final round
Adam Scott recovered from two double bogeys in his first five holes with six birdies the rest of the round to prevail by one stroke over Bubba Watson. Rory McIlroy entered the round with a three-stroke lead but recorded three bogeys and failed to make birdie until the 16th to finish two shots behind Scott. The victory was Scott's second consecutive win on the PGA Tour, having won The Honda Classic the week before.


2016 WGC-Dell Match Play
The 2016 WGC-Dell Match Play was the 18th WGC-Dell Match Play Championship, played March 23–27 at Austin Country Club in Austin, Texas. It was the second of four World Golf Championships in 2016. The Championship was won by Jason Day, it was his second WGC-Match Play win in three years.


2016 WGC-Dell Match Play, Field
The field consisted of the top 64 players available from the Official World Golf Ranking on March 13. However, the seedings are based on the World Ranking on March 20.


2016 WGC-Dell Match Play, Field
Henrik Stenson (ranked 7 on March 13, personal reasons) and Jim Furyk (ranked 15, wrist surgery) did not compete, allowing entry for Patton Kizzire (ranked 65) and Thorbjørn Olesen (ranked 66).


2016 WGC-Dell Match Play, Format
In 2014 and earlier editions, the championship was a single elimination match play event. A new format was introduced in 2015, and the championship now starts with 16 groups of four players playing round-robin matches, on Wednesday through Friday. The top 16 seeded players are allocated to the 16 groups, one in each group. The remaining 48 players are placed into three pools (seeds 17–32, seeds 33–48, seeds 49–64). One player is randomly selected from each pool to complete each group.


2016 WGC-Dell Match Play, Format
In 2015, there were no halved matches in group play with extra holes played to determine the winner for each match if necessary. In 2016, all group play matches were limited to 18 holes with one point awarded for a win and one-half point for a halved match. Ties for first place in a group were broken by a sudden-death stroke play playoff, beginning on hole 1.


2016 WGC-Dell Match Play, Format
The winners of each group advanced to a single-elimination bracket on the weekend, with the round of 16 and quarterfinals on Saturday, and the semifinals, finals, and consolation match on Sunday.


2016 WGC-Dell Match Play, Format
Rank – Official World Golf Ranking on March 20, 2016.


2016 WGC-Dell Match Play, Results, Pool play
Players were divided into 16 groups of four players and played round-robin matches Wednesday to Friday.


2016 WGC-Dell Match Play, Results, Pool play
Of the 32 matches played, 9 were "upsets" with the lower seeded player beating the higher seeded player and 6 matches were halved. These included top seeds #5 Rickie Fowler, #8 Dustin Johnson, #11 Branden Grace, and #12 Hideki Matsuyama losing matches and #4 Bubba Watson, #6 Adam Scott, and #10 Danny Willett halving matches.


2016 WGC-Dell Match Play, Results, Pool play
Of the 32 matches played, 5 were upsets with the lower seeded player beating the higher seeded player and 7 matches were halved. These included top seeds #10 Danny Willett and #13 Sergio García losing matches and #5 Rickie Fowler, #7 Justin Rose, and #15 Brandt Snedeker halving matches. There were 13 players that had perfect 2–0–0 records, including the top three seeds: Jordan Spieth, Jason Day, and Rory McIlroy.


2016 WGC-Dell Match Play, Results, Pool play
Of the 32 matches played, 10 were upsets with the lower seeded player beating the higher seeded player and 4 matches were halved. These included top seeds #4 Bubba Watson, #6 Adam Scott, and #7 Justin Rose losing matches and #3 Rory McIlroy and #5 Rickie Fowler halving matches. Four groups went to sudden-death playoffs, each involving two players, with three ending after one hole and the fourth ending on the second hole. Six golfers advanced with perfect 3–0–0 records: #1 Jordan Spieth, #2 Jason Day, #9 Patrick Reed, #14 Zach Johnson, #16 Louis Oosthuizen, and #30 Bill Haas.


2016 WGC-Dell Match Play, Results, Pool play
Two golfers conceded their matches early, Paul Casey conceded to Jason Day after six holes due to illness and Daniel Berger conceded Matthew Fitzpatrick at the start of the match due to a wrist injury suffered on the 18th hole on Thursday, when he clipped the rock wall and missed the ball while trying to hit his second shot. Eight of the top 16 seeds advanced while three of the bottom 16 seeds advanced including #63 Patton Kizzire. Eleven Americans advance to the round of 16.


2016 WGC-Dell Match Play, Results, Final 16 bracket
There were three upsets: #1 Jordan Spieth lost to #16 Louis Oosthuizen, 4 & 2; #52 Rafa Cabrera-Bello won when #27 An Byeong-hun conceded the match after 12 holes due to a neck injury (Cabrera-Bello was leading 4 up); #54 Chris Kirk defeated #30 Bill Haas, 2 & 1. Three of the top-8 seeds remained. Spieth's loss means that Day regains the world number one position.


2016 WGC-Dell Match Play, Results, Final 16 bracket
There were two upsets: #16 Oosthuizen defeated #8 Dustin Johnson, 2 & 1, and #52 Cabrera-Bello defeated #45 Ryan Moore, 2 & 1. None of the 11 Americans in the round of 16 made the semifinals.


2016 WGC-HSBC Champions
The 2016 WGC-HSBC Champions was a golf tournament played from 27–30 October 2016 at the Sheshan Golf Club in Shanghai, China. It was the eighth WGC-HSBC Champions tournament, and the fourth of four World Golf Championships events held in the 2016 calendar year.


2016 WGC-HSBC Champions
Hideki Matsuyama won by 7 strokes from Daniel Berger and Henrik Stenson. Matsuyama became the first Japanese golfer to win an individual World Golf Championship.


2016 WGC-HSBC Champions, Field
The following is a list of players who qualified for the 2016 WGC-HSBC Champions. The criteria is towards the leaders in points lists rather than tournament winners. Players who qualify from multiple categories will be listed in the first category in which they are eligible with the other qualifying categories in parentheses next to the player's name.


2016 WGC-HSBC Champions, Field
Dustin Johnson (2,3,4), Henrik Stenson (3,5), Jimmy Walker (3,4), Danny Willett (3,5)


2016 WGC-HSBC Champions, Field
An Byeong-hun, Daniel Berger (4), Rafa Cabrera-Bello (5), Paul Casey (4), Kevin Chappell (4), Matthew Fitzpatrick (5), Rickie Fowler, Sergio García (5), Branden Grace (5), Emiliano Grillo (4), Bill Haas, Tyrrell Hatton (5), J. B. Holmes (4), Thongchai Jaidee (5), Martin Kaymer (5), Kevin Kisner (4), Søren Kjeldsen (5), Brooks Koepka, Matt Kuchar (4), Shane Lowry (5), Hideki Matsuyama (4), Rory McIlroy (4,5), Francesco Molinari (5), Ryan Moore (4), Kevin Na (4), Alex Norén (5), Louis Oosthuizen (5), Scott Piercy, Thomas Pieters (5), Patrick Reed (4), Charl Schwartzel (4,5,9), Justin Thomas (4), Bubba Watson (4), Lee Westwood (5), Chris Wood (5), Gary Woodland (4)


2016 WGC-HSBC Champions, Field
Roberto Castro, Kim Si-woo, Jason Kokrak, Sean O'Hair, Jhonattan Vegas


2016 WGC-HSBC Champions, Field
Richard Bland, Grégory Bourdy, Bradley Dredge, Ross Fisher, Scott Hend (6), Andrew Johnston, Rikard Karlberg, Alexander Lévy, Joost Luiten, Bernd Wiesberger


2016 WGC-HSBC Champions, Field
Dou Zecheng, Li Haotong, Liang Wenchong, Wu Ashun, Zhang Huilin, Zhang Xinjun


2016 WHB Hungarian Open
The 2016 WHB Hungarian Open was a professional tennis tournament played on hardcourt. It was the inaugural edition of the tournament and was part of the 2016 ATP Challenger Tour. It took place in Budapest, Hungary between 24 and 30 October 2016.


2016 WHB Hungarian Open, Singles main draw entrants, Other entrants
The following players received wildcards into the singles main draw:


2016 WHB Hungarian Open, Singles main draw entrants, Other entrants
The following player received entry into the singles main draw using a protected ranking:


2016 WHB Hungarian Open, Singles main draw entrants, Other entrants
The following player received entry into the singles main draw through special exempt:


2016 WHB Hungarian Open – Doubles
Aliaksandr Bury and Andreas Siljeström won the title after defeating James Cerretani and Philipp Oswald 7–6(7–3), 6–4 in the final.


2016 WHB Hungarian Open – Singles
Marius Copil won the title after defeating Steve Darcis 6–4, 6–2 in the final.


2016 WK League
The 2016 WK League was the eighth season of the WK League, South Korea's top level women's football league. The regular season began on 14 March 2016 and ended on 17 October 2016. Incheon Hyundai Steel Red Angels won their fourth title in a row by beating Icheon Daekyo in the Grand Final.


2016 WK League, Playoff and championship
The playoff match was played as a single leg, whereas the chamionsip final then was played over two legs.


2016 WKU Hilltoppers football team
The 2016 WKU Hilltoppers football team represented Western Kentucky University (WKU) in the 2016 NCAA Division I FBS football season. The Hilltoppers played their home games at the Houchens Industries–L. T. Smith Stadium in Bowling Green, Kentucky, and competed in the East Division of Conference USA (C–USA). They were led by third year head coach Jeff Brohm. They finished the season 11–3, 7–1 in C-USA play to win a share of the East Division title with Old Dominion. Due to their head-to-head victory over Old Dominion, WKU represented the East Division in the Conference USA Championship Game where they defeated Louisiana Tech to be crowned C-USA champions. They were invited to the Boca Raton Bowl where they defeated Memphis. This team led the NCAA in Scoring Offense.


2016 WKU Hilltoppers football team
On December 5, head coach Jeff Brohm resigned to become the head coach at Purdue. He finished at WKU with a record of 30–10, two bowl wins, and two C-USA titles. Defensive coordinator Nick Holt lead WKU in the Boca Raton Bowl.


2016 WKU Hilltoppers football team, Schedule
Western Kentucky announced its 2016 football schedule on February 4, 2016. The 2016 schedule consists of 6 home and away games in the regular season. The Hilltoppers will host C–USA foes Florida International (FIU), North Texas, Old Dominion, and Rice, and will travel to Florida Atlantic, Louisiana Tech, Marshall, and Middle Tennessee.


2016 WKU Hilltoppers football team, Schedule
The team will play four non–conference games, two home games against Houston Baptist from the Southland Conference and Vanderbilt from the Southeastern Conference (SEC), and two road games against Alabama from the SEC as well and Miami (Ohio) from the Mid-American Conference (MAC).


2016 WNBA Finals
The 2016 WNBA Finals was the best-of-five championship series for the 2016 season of the Women's National Basketball Association (WNBA). The top-seeded Minnesota Lynx held home court advantage in the Finals, but lost three games to two to the  second-seeded Los Angeles Sparks. The series followed a 2–2–1 format, and eschewed from the previous tradition of having the Western Conference champion face the Eastern Conference champion. Instead, in the 2016 season, the top eight teams qualified for the playoffs, regardless of conference. Both WNBA Finals teams were from the Western Conference.


2016 WNBA Finals
The Sparks won a semifinal series against the Chicago Sky to determine one of the Finals berths; the first-seeded Lynx defeated the Phoenix Mercury to earn the other. Candace Parker was named the 2016 WNBA Finals MVP. Renee Brown, outgoing Chief of Basketball Operations and Player Relations of the WNBA, issued statements following games 4 and 5 saying the referees had made an error in each game. Nevertheless, the Sparks won the series 3 games to 2.


2016 WNBA Finals, WNBA Finals
This finals series was arguably the best the WNBA has ever seen. The classic Western Conference showdown did not disappoint. Los Angeles managed to steal Game 1 on the road with a 78–76 victory. Sparks veteran guard Alana Beard hit a buzzer beater. Minnesota bounced back in Game 2, with an effective 79–60 dropping of the Sparks to tie the series at a game a piece. Lynx forward Maya Moore led the charge with 21 points and 12 rebounds.


2016 WNBA Finals, WNBA Finals
Game 3 took place in LA, where the Sparks put themselves one win away from their first title in 14 years, with a dominant 92–75 win over Minnesota. Sparks superstars Candace Parker and Nneka Ogwumike combined for 45 points on 19-of-33 shooting. Despite home court advantage in Game 4, the Lynx responded to a devastating loss with a narrow win 85–79, forcing a decisive Game 5 back in Minnesota. Game 5 was truly one of the greatest basketball games ever to be played.


2016 WNBA Finals, WNBA Finals
The game was very close, but with 3.1 seconds remaining in the game, Ogwumike hit the game-winning shot, grabbing an offensive rebound and scoring, to put her team ahead 77–76. The Sparks emerged as champions for the first time since 2002. Parker, the team's number 1 pick in the 2008 WNBA draft, delivered 28 points and 12 rebounds as she won her first ever WNBA championship. Parker was also named Finals MVP.


2016 WNBA Finals, WNBA Finals
Alana Beard hit a tie-breaking baseline jumper as time expired to give the Sparks the series lead after a seesaw first game.


2016 WNBA Finals, Controversies
After both Game 4 and Game 5 of the WNBA Finals, the league acknowledged that they had made officiating mistakes late in the games that might have affected their final outcomes. Regarding Game 5, the league released this statement: "After reviewing postgame video, we have determined that Nneka Ogwumike's shot with 1:14 remaining in regulation time should not have counted due to a shot clock violation, and that the referees improperly failed to review the play under the instant replay rules." A similar statement was released after Game 4 after the league admitted to have blown an eight-second violation call. Nevertheless, the outcomes of the games remained the same, with Minnesota taking game 4 and Los Angeles taking game 5.


2016 WNBA Playoffs
The 2016 WNBA Playoffs is the postseason tournament of the WNBA's 2016 season.


2016 WNBA Playoffs, Format
The WNBA changed its playoff format in 2016. Following the WNBA regular season, eight teams in the entire league qualified for the playoffs and were seeded one to eight.


2016 WNBA Playoffs, Format
Regular season records determined the seedings of the teams. The team with the best record received seed one, the team with the next best record received seed two, and so on. The top two seeds get double byes, while the next two seeds get first-round byes.


2016 WNBA Playoffs, Format
These seedings were used to create a bracket that determines the match-ups throughout the playoffs. The first round of the playoffs consisted of two match-ups based on the seedings (5-8 and 6-7). The two winners advanced to the second round with a match-up between the number 3 seed and the lower of the advancing seeds and another match-up between the number 4 seed and the other first round winner. The winners of the first two rounds advanced to the semifinals, where the lower ranked seed of the winners faced the number 1 seed, while the other remaining team faced the number 2 seed.


2016 WNBA Playoffs, Format
The first two rounds are single elimination games played on the higher ranking seed's home court. The semifinals and WNBA Finals are best-of-five series played in a 2-2-1 format, meaning the team with home-court advantage (better record) hosts games 1, 2, and 5 while their opponent hosts games 3 and 4.


2016 WNBA draft
The 2016 WNBA draft is the league's draft for the 2016 WNBA season. It was held on April 14 at Mohegan Sun Arena in Uncasville, Connecticut.


2016 WNBA draft
The draft was most notable for Connecticut producing the top three picks, with #1 pick Breanna Stewart followed by Moriah Jefferson and Morgan Tuck. This is the first time in history that the top three draft picks came from the same school.


2016 WNBA draft, Draft lottery
The lottery selection to determine the order of the top four picks in the 2016 draft occurred on September 24, 2015. The winner of the lottery, the Seattle Storm, picked first, marking the first pick for the Storm for the second straight year.


2016 WNBA draft, Draft lottery, Lottery chances
This is the third time that the lottery was won by the team that had the highest odds. The lottery odds were based on combined records from the 2014 and 2015 WNBA season. Seattle Storm, the worst two-year record, was guaranteed with at least the third pick.


2016 WNBA draft, Notable prospects
On September 24, 2015, WNBA.com posted notable prospects for the draft. The list included:


2016 WNBA draft, Notable prospects
The WNBA also selected twelve players to be in attendance at the draft. Those twelve were:


2016 WNBA draft, Notable prospects
Of those 12 players, 10 were picked in the 1st round. Only Courtney Walker and Talia Walton were picked later.


2016 WNBA season
The 2016 WNBA season was the 20th season of the Women's National Basketball Association (WNBA). Its regular season began on May 14 when the Indiana Fever hosted the Dallas Wings and concluded on September 18, with a Seattle Storm defeat of the Chicago Sky.


2016 WNBA season
The playoffs began on September 21, with a new playoff format. To increase the level of competition, instead of the top 4 seeds from each conference advancing, the 8 teams with the best overall records, regardless of conference, advanced.


2016 WNBA season
The top two teams, in this case the Minnesota Lynx and the Los Angeles Sparks, each received a double bye to the semi-final round. The number 3 and number 4 seeds, in this case the New York Liberty and the Chicago Sky, received one bye to the second round. The playoffs began with the number 5 seed Indiana Fever facing the number 8 seed Phoenix Mercury and the number 6 seed Atlanta Dream facing the number 7 seed, the Seattle Storm. The winners of those single elimination games, Phoenix and Atlanta, advanced to a second round of single elimination. The teams were reseeded so that the team with the worse overall record played the number 3 seed and the next worse record played the number 4 seed.


2016 WNBA season
The second round of playoffs saw battles between Phoenix and New York in the first game and Chicago and Atlanta in the second game. The winners, Phoenix and Chicago respectively, went on to compete with the top two teams in the league, Los Angeles and Minnesota. Minnesota swept the Phoenix Mercury in 3 games. Los Angeles faced Chicago in 4 games, winning 2 at home, losing the third, and capitalizing on the fourth.


2016 WNBA season
The finals was a Western Conference showdown between the defending champions, the Minnesota Lynx, and the Los Angeles Sparks. It was the Sparks' first finals appearance since 2003, and they were seeking their first win since 2002. Los Angeles won the first game 78–76 on a buzzer beater from forward Alana Beard. Minnesota bounced back to drop the Sparks 79–60 in game 2. Back at home in Los Angeles, the Sparks clinched game 3 with the final score of 92–75, to get to one win away from the title.


2016 WNBA season
However, despite home court advantage, the Lynx stormed back to win game 4 at Staples Center, 85–79. In front of a sold out crowd in Minneapolis, the Sparks shocked the Lynx with a 77–76 victory in game five on October 20. The 2016 WNBA Most Valuable Player and Sparks forward Nneka Ogwumike had the game-winning shot from an offensive rebound to put the Sparks ahead with 3.1 seconds remaining. It was the Los Angeles Sparks third title in franchise history.


2016 WNBA season
The league took a hiatus for much of August, allowing for the participation of its players in the 2016 Summer Olympics.


2016 WNBA season, 2016 WNBA Draft
Seattle Storm selected Breanna Stewart first in the 2016 WNBA Draft at Mohegan Sun in Uncasville, CT. The draft was televised nationally on the ESPN networks (round 1 on ESPN2, rounds 2 and 3 on ESPNU).


2016 WNBA season, Notable occurrences
On March 15, the WNBA announced a new league-wide sponsor, Verizon Wireless. The Verizon logo appeared on all jerseys except those of the Stars and Sun, and Verizon received significant branding in arenas, on jerseys, and in telecasts via commercials. Verizon also sponsored the WNBA Playoffs, WNBA Finals, WNBA Tip-Off, WNBA Draft, and WNBA Inspiring Women Luncheon.


2016 WNBA season, Notable occurrences
On March 28, the WNBA introduced new jerseys for the 2016 season. Teams no longer had white home jerseys. Teams used the away jersey from the previous year or a secondary color-based alternate jersey. The Sparks and Stars already used their secondary colors for jerseys, and thus had no significant change. The jerseys included special patches commemorating the 20th season for the league, along with the three remaining original franchises, and showed the WNBA Championships each franchise has won by displaying the trophies on the back collar.


2016 WNBA season, Notable occurrences
The ESPN Networks aired 14 games (1 on ESPN, 13 on ESPN2) during the regular season and all playoff games. NBATV showed 42 games across the regular season.


2016 WNBA season, Notable occurrences
On June 25, Becky Hammon's jersey no. 25 was retired by the San Antonio Stars after their game against the Atlanta Dream. Her jersey was the first to be retired by the Stars.


2016 WNBA season, Notable occurrences
On July 15, Lauren Jackson returned to Seattle to see her jersey retired after the Storm defeated the Mystics. Her jersey was the first to be put in the rafters by the Seattle Storm.


2016 WNBL Finals
The 2016 WNBL Finals was the postseason tournament of the WNBL's 2015–16 season.


2016 WPA World Nine-ball Championship
The WPA 9-Ball-World Championship 2016 was the 25th edition of the 9-Ball pool World Championships. It took place from July 30 to August 4, 2016 in the al-Attiya Sports Arena of the Al-Arabi Sports Club in Doha. The Qatari capital was the seventh time in a row the venue for the 9-Ball Championships.


2016 WPA World Nine-ball Championship
Albin Ouschan defeated American Shane Van Boening 13–6 in the final and became the first Austrian 9-ball world champion. This was the third Austrian World pool champion, after Gerda Hofstätter won the Women's WPA World Nine-ball Championship in 1995, and Oushchan's sister Jasmine Ouschan who won the event in 2010.


2016 WPA World Nine-ball Championship
The defending champion was Taiwanese player Ko Pin-yi, who lost to Jayson Shaw in the last 64.


2016 WPA World Nine-ball Championship, Format
The tournament was attended by 128 players, of which the top 24 players in the world rankings qualified automatically. A total of 92 starting places were awarded according to a quota by the continental and regional associations as well as the hosting Qatari association and event sponsors. From July 25 to 28, 2016, a qualifying tournament was held in which 128 participants played in three knockout competitions for the remaining 12 starting places.


2016 WPA World Nine-ball Championship, Format
In the main tournament, the 128 participants were first divided into 16 groups of 8 players and competed there from July 30 to August 1 in the double knockout system against each other. Four players in each group qualified for the final round. This took place from August 2 to 4 and was played in the knockout system.


2016 WPA World Nine-ball Championship, Format
The event was played in the change break format, and with the triangle of balls were moved up the table, so that the 9-ball was placed where the 1 ball would usually be placed.


2016 WPA World Nine-ball Junior Championship
The 2016 WPA World Nine-ball Junior Championship was a professional youth 9-Ball World championship held between 16–20 November 2016. The event was won by Zheng Xiaohuai in the Under 17 with a 8–5 final victory against Enkhbold Temuujin. In the age group Under 19, two former Under 17 World Champions met in Kong Dejing and Daniel Maciol the final. Kong won the match and the title 11–2. In the girls event, Chen Chia-hua met compatriot Tsai Pei-chun in the final, winning 9–8.


2016 WPA World Nine-ball Junior Championship, Tournament format
All three competitions were first held in the Double-elimination tournament with a Single-elimination tournament from the quarter finals onwards. The events were all played as winner breaks.


2016 WSBL season
The 2016 WSBL season was the 28th season of the Women's State Basketball League (SBL). The regular season began on Friday 18 March, with round 1 seeing a 2015 grand final rematch between the Rockingham Flames and Willetton Tigers. The 2016 WSBL All-Star Game was played on 6 June at Bendat Basketball Centre – the home of basketball in Western Australia. The regular season ended on Saturday 30 July. The finals began on Friday 5 August and ended on Friday 2 September, when the Tigers defeated the Joondalup Wolves in the WSBL Grand Final.


2016 WSBL season, Regular season
The regular season began on Friday 18 March and ended on Saturday 30 July after 20 rounds of competition. The newly-renovated Warwick Stadium hosted big crowds for the Stirling Senators in 2016, while the Perth Redbacks moved home to the Belmont Oasis Leisure Centre after a trial year at Curtin University in 2015. Additionally, due to renovations to the Mandurah Aquatic and Recreation Centre, the Mandurah Magic hosted all of their games in 2016 at the Rockingham Flames' home venue of Mike Barnett Sports Complex.


2016 WSBL season, Finals
The finals began on Friday 5 August and ended on Friday 2 September with the WSBL Grand Final.


2016 WSBL season, All-Star Game
The 2016 WSBL All-Star Game took place at Bendat Basketball Centre on Monday 6 June, with all proceeds going to Lifeline WA for suicide prevention.


2016 WTA 125K series
The WTA 125K series is the secondary professional tennis circuit organised by the Women's Tennis Association. The 2016 WTA 125K series calendar consists of eight tournaments, each with a total prize fund of $125,000. After 2015, the Nanchang event was upgraded to a WTA International level tournament, and with new events starting in San Antonio, West Hempstead and Bol. The planned tournament in West Hempstead was then cancelled, and the tournament scheduled to take place in Carlsbad, California was moved to Oahu, Hawaii. Following the death of the Thai king Bhumibol Abdulyadej, the event due to take place in Hua Hin was also cancelled, in accordance with Thai tradition that sporting events cannot take place in the month after a monarch's death.


2016 WTA 125K series, Statistical information
These tables present the number of singles (S) and doubles (D) titles won by each player and each nation during the season. The players/nations are sorted by: 1) total number of titles (a doubles title won by two players representing the same nation counts as only one win for the nation); 2) a singles > doubles hierarchy; 3) alphabetical order (by family names for players).


2016 WTA 125K series, Statistical information
To avoid confusion and double counting, these tables should be updated only after an event is completed.


2016 WTA Awards
The 2016 WTA Awards are a series of awards given by the Women's Tennis Association to players who have achieved something remarkable during the 2016 WTA Tour.


2016 WTA Awards, The awards
These awards are decided by either the media, the players, the association, or the fans. Nominees were announced by the WTA's Twitter account.


2016 WTA Elite Trophy
The 2016 WTA Elite Trophy was a women's tennis tournament played at the Hengqin International Tennis Center in Zhuhai, China from 1 to 6 November 2016. It was the second edition of the singles event and doubles competition. The tournament was contested by twelve singles players and six doubles teams.


2016 WTA Elite Trophy, Tournament, Qualifying, Singles qualifying
The field will consist of the top eleven players not already qualified for the 2016 WTA Finals, plus either (a) the 12th-player not qualified for 2016 WTA Finals, or (b) a wild card. The final two alternates for the 2016 WTA Finals would have been eligible to play in WTA Elite Trophy even if they had participated in the WTA Finals.


2016 WTA Elite Trophy, Tournament, Qualifying, Doubles qualifying
Two teams composed of players that did not compete in the WTA Finals singles (except Finals Alternates) or doubles competitions, using the players’ combined doubles rankings as of the Monday after the final regular-season Tournament of the current Tour Year to determine the order of acceptance; and up to two teams composed of players that did not compete in the WTA Finals singles (except Finals Alternates) or doubles competitions and that include at least one Elite Trophy Singles Qualified Player or Elite Trophy Alternate, using the higher of the players’ combined singles or doubles rankings as of the Monday after the final regular-season Tournament of the current Tour Year to determine the order of acceptance. Plus two wild cards. For each wild card not given out, the next highest pair of players shall become a participant.


2016 WTA Elite Trophy, Tournament, Qualifying, Doubles qualifying
It was unclear how the selection was determined eventually as two teams were announced as participants despite not fulfilling these criteria.


2016 WTA Elite Trophy, Tournament, Format
The singles event features twelve players in a round robin event, split into four groups of three. Over the first four days of competition, each player meets the other two players in her group, with the winner in each group advancing to the semifinal. The winners of each semifinal meet in the championship match. The six doubles teams will be split into two round robin groups, with the winner of each advancing to the final.


2016 WTA Elite Trophy, Tournament, Format, Round robin tie-breaking methods
The final standings of each group were determined by the first of the following methods that applied:


2016 WTA Elite Trophy, Prize money and points
The total prize money for the Huajin Securities 2016 WTA Elite Trophy Zhuhai was US $2,210,000.


2016 WTA Elite Trophy, Player head-to-head
Below are the head-to-head records as they approached the tournament.


2016 WTA Elite Trophy, Qualified players
The 2 tables below are part of the tables from Road to Singapore


2016 WTA Elite Trophy, Qualified players, Singles
Players in Gold have qualified for Zhuhai. Players in brown have withdrawn from the 2016 WTA Elite Trophy.


2016 WTA Elite Trophy, Qualified players, Singles, Other entrants
The following player received a wildcard into the singles draw:


2016 WTA Elite Trophy – Doubles
Liang Chen and Wang Yafan were the defending champions, but were eliminated in the round-robin competition.


2016 WTA Elite Trophy – Doubles
İpek Soylu and Xu Yifan won the title, defeating Yang Zhaoxuan and You Xiaodi in the final, 6–4, 3–6, [10–7].


2016 WTA Elite Trophy – Singles
Venus Williams was the defending champion, but she chose not to participate despite having qualified for this year's edition.


2016 WTA Elite Trophy – Singles
Petra Kvitová won the title, defeating Elina Svitolina in the final, 6–4, 6–2. Kvitová did not drop a set throughout the entire tournament.


2016 WTA Elite Trophy – Singles
Like Williams the year before, Kvitová has now won both the WTA Finals, in 2011, and WTA Elite Trophy, also becoming the first player to win both tournaments on her debut appearance.


2016 WTA Finals
The 2016 WTA Finals was a women's tennis tournament at Kallang, Singapore. It was the 46th edition of the singles event and the 41st edition of the doubles competition. The tournament was contested by eight singles players and eight doubles teams.


2016 WTA Finals, Tournament
The 2016 WTA Finals took place at the Singapore Indoor Stadium the week of October 24, 2016, and was the 46th edition of the event. The tournament was run by the Women's Tennis Association (WTA) as part of the 2016 WTA Tour. Singapore was the ninth city to host the WTA Finals since its inauguration in 1972 and will host the event for at least five years. The event also held an exhibition tournament: the WTA Future Stars Under-14 and Under-16 tournaments.


2016 WTA Finals, Tournament, Qualifying
In singles, point totals are calculated by combining point totals from sixteen tournaments. Of these sixteen tournaments, a player's results from the four Grand Slam events, the four Premier Mandatory tournaments, and the best results from two Premier 5 tournaments must be included. In doubles, point totals are calculated by any combination of eleven tournaments throughout the year. Unlike in singles, this combination does not need to include results from the Grand Slams or Premier-level tournaments.


2016 WTA Finals, Tournament, Format
The singles event features eight players in a round robin event, split into two groups of four. Over the first four days of competition, each player meets the other three players in her group, with the top two in each group advancing to the semifinals. The first-placed player in one group meets the second-placed player in the other group, and vice versa. The winners of each semifinal meet in the championship match. The doubles event returns to a single elimination event. The winners of each quarterfinal match will advance to the semifinals and the winners of each semifinal match will advance to the final.


2016 WTA Finals, Tournament, Format, Round robin tie-breaking methods
The final standings of each group were determined by the first of the following methods that applied:


2016 WTA Finals, Prize money and points
The total prize money for the BNP Paribas 2016 WTA Finals was US$7,000,000.


2016 WTA Finals, Prize money and points, Qualifying
In singles, WTA Rankings point totals are calculated by combining point totals from sixteen tournaments. Of these sixteen tournaments, a player's results from the four Grand Slam events, the four Premier Mandatory tournaments, and the best results from two Premier 5 tournaments must be included.


2016 WTA Finals, Prize money and points, Qualifying
In doubles, point totals are calculated by any combination of eleven tournaments throughout the year. Unlike in singles, this combination does not need to include results from the Grand Slams or Premier-level tournaments.


2016 WTA Finals, Qualified players, Singles
On 22 August, Serena Williams and Angelique Kerber became the first two qualifiers.


2016 WTA Finals, Qualified players, Singles
Angelique Kerber started her season in Brisbane, where she lost to Victoria Azarenka in the final. At the Australian Open, Kerber was down match point to Misaki Doi in the first round but came back to win the match. Having previously never been past the fourth round in Melbourne, Kerber cruised past her next three opponents before avenging her Brisbane loss to Azarenka in the quarterfinals. In the semifinals, Kerber beat surprise semifinalist Johanna Konta in straight sets to reach her first ever Grand Slam final. In the final she stunned Serena Williams to win her maiden Grand Slam  title.


2016 WTA Finals, Qualified players, Singles
Kerber struggled for consistency after this triumph; she endured a three-match losing streak, but seemed to turn things around by reaching the semifinals at Miami and defending her title in Stuttgart. However, after this she again lost three straight matches, culminating in a disappointing loss to Kiki Bertens in the first round of the French Open. However, Kerber rediscovered her form on the grass by reaching the Wimbledon final without dropping a set, beating Simona Halep and Venus Williams along the way. There she lost in straight sets to Williams.


2016 WTA Finals, Qualified players, Singles
Kerber had a successful summer hard-court swing which saw her reach the semifinals at Montreal, win a silver medal at the Olympics, and reach the final at Cincinnati. At the US Open, despite facing pressure to overtake Williams for the #1 player in the world, Kerber reached the semifinals without dropping a set. When Karolína Plíšková beat Williams in the semifinals, Kerber was guaranteed to become the World No. 1 after the tournament. She consolidated her new position by beating Caroline Wozniacki in the semifinals and Plíšková in a three-set final.


2016 WTA Finals, Qualified players, Singles
Kerber suffered inconsistent results throughout the Asian swing as she tried to adjust to the pressure of being the No. 1 player in the world, however, she heads into Singapore after the best year in her career by far.


2016 WTA Finals, Qualified players, Singles
Serena Williams started her year by reaching the finals of the Australian Open. After handily defeating Maria Sharapova and Agnieszka Radwańska to reach the final, Williams was the heavy favorite to defeat first-time finalist Angelique Kerber, but the German produced an inspired performance to deny Williams her record-tying 22nd Grand Slam title. After taking some time off, Williams returned at Indian Wells, where she lost in the final to Victoria Azarenka. This was the first time since 2004 that Williams had lost two consecutive finals. In Miami, Williams crashed out in the fourth round to Svetlana Kuznetsova.


2016 WTA Finals, Qualified players, Singles
Williams won the title in Rome, defeating Madison Keys in the final. She reached her second consecutive Grand Slam final at the French Open, but lost in straight sets to Garbiñe Muguruza. Williams rebounded by winning Wimbledon and avenging her defeat to Kerber in the final. This was her 22nd Grand Slam singles title and tied her with Steffi Graf for the most in the  Open Era.


2016 WTA Finals, Qualified players, Singles
After a shoulder injury forced her out of Montreal, Williams slumped to a straight-sets defeat at the hands of Elina Svitolina at the Olympics. At the US Open, Williams lost to Karolína Plíšková, guaranteeing that she would relinquish the #1 ranking to Kerber. Williams withdrew from Wuhan and Beijing due to her shoulder injury, and on 17 October she announced that this same injury would rule her out of the WTA Finals.


2016 WTA Finals, Qualified players, Singles
Simona Halep started her 2016 season in poor form. She was upset in the semifinals of Sydney by Svetlana Kuznetsova and then lost in the first round of the Australian Open to Zhang Shuai, who had never before won a Grand Slam main draw match and was planning to retire after the tournament.


2016 WTA Finals, Qualified players, Singles
Halep attributed her struggles to trouble breathing, and she announced a one-month hiatus to undergo surgery on her nose. However, without announcement Halep chose to play Fed Cup for Romania (winning one of two matches), and entered in Dubai and Doha (losing her first match at both events). After a hitting session with Steffi Graf in Las Vegas, Halep found her game again and reached the quarterfinals at Indian Wells and Miami. Then she cruised to the title in Madrid, beating Dominika Cibulková in the final. At the French Open, Halep was surprised in the fourth round by Samantha Stosur.


2016 WTA Finals, Qualified players, Singles
Despite having no tournament preparation for Wimbledon, Halep reached the quarterfinals, where she lost to Angelique Kerber in straight sets. Halep then won 13 matches in a row, picking up titles at Bucharest and Montreal and reaching the semifinals at Cincinnati. Halep reached the quarterfinals of the U.S. Open, where she lost to Serena Williams in three sets. Halep reached the semifinals of Wuhan, falling to Petra Kvitová, and she again lost to Zhang in the third round of Beijing.


2016 WTA Finals, Qualified players, Singles
On 4 October, both Agnieszka Radwańska and Karolína Plíšková became the fourth and fifth qualifiers respectively.


2016 WTA Finals, Qualified players, Singles
Agnieszka Radwańska continued her scintillating form from the end of 2015 by winning the title in Shenzhen and reaching the semifinals of the Australian Open. She followed this up with semifinals at Doha and Indian Wells. After this however, her form started to dip. Radwańska was upset by Timea Bacsinszky in Miami and Laura Siegemund in Stuttgart. Radwańska lost a tough three-setter in the first round of Madrid to Dominika Cibulková. Radwańska suffered a fourth round lost to Tsvetana Pironkova in the French Open in a match, that took 3 days to complete.


2016 WTA Finals, Qualified players, Singles
Radwańska had a surprisingly lackluster grass-court season. She lost to Coco Vandeweghe in the first round of Birmingham, and then lost to Cibulková in the quarterfinals of Eastbourne and the fourth round of Wimbledon in a thrilling 3 setter 9–7 in the third. After being upset by Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova in Montreal, Radwańska crashed out to China's Zheng Saisai in the first round of the Olympics. Radwańska rebounded by reaching the quarterfinals of Cincinnati and winning the title at New Haven. However, she was upset in the fourth round of the U.S. Open by Ana Konjuh.


2016 WTA Finals, Qualified players, Singles
Radwańska rediscovered her best tennis for the Asian swing, however, as she reached the semifinals of Tokyo, losing a thrilling three-set match to Caroline Wozniacki. She also reached the quarterfinals of Wuhan and won Beijing, beating Johanna Konta in the final.


2016 WTA Finals, Qualified players, Singles
Karolína Plíšková began the year with underwhelming results, losing in the third round of the Australian Open and in the first round of both Doha and Dubai. After some time off, she rebounded by reaching the semifinals of Indian Wells, where she lost to Victoria Azarenka in three sets. After suffering early losses in Madrid and Rome, Plíšková lost in the first round of the French Open to Shelby Rogers.


2016 WTA Finals, Qualified players, Singles
Plíšková began to find her form on the grass, winning the title in Nottingham and losing to Dominika Cibulková in the final of Eastbourne. However, she suffered yet another early upset at Wimbledon, losing to Misaki Doi in the second round. After reaching the third round of Montreal, Plíšková chose to skip the Olympics. This decision paid off as she went on to win Cincinnati, beating Garbiñe Muguruza in the semifinals and Angelique Kerber in the final for the loss of four games each. She then finally had a Grand Slam breakthrough at the U.S. Open. After saving a match point to beat Venus Williams in the fourth round, she shocked Serena Williams in straight sets in the semifinals to ensure that Angelique Kerber would become the new World No. 1 after the event. Plíšková lost the final to Kerber in three sets.


2016 WTA Finals, Qualified players, Singles
Plíšková was unable to match these accomplishments during the Asian swing, however she arrives at Singapore well-rested and full of confidence.


2016 WTA Finals, Qualified players, Singles
On 14 October, Garbine Muguruza was confirmed as the sixth qualifier for the Championships.


2016 WTA Finals, Qualified players, Singles
Garbiñe Muguruza struggled with inconsistency throughout 2016, yet she still won her first Grand Slam title at the French Open. She started the year by retiring from her opening-round match in Brisbane and then suffered a shock third-round loss to Barbora Strýcová at the Australian Open. After surprise losses to Elina Svitolina in Dubai, Andrea Petkovic in Doha, and Christina McHale in Indian Wells, Muguruza started to find her form in Miami, where she lost to Victoria Azarenka in a high-quality straight-set match in the fourth round.


2016 WTA Finals, Qualified players, Singles
Muguruza's game continued to improve as she reached the semifinals of Rome, losing to Madison Keys. At the French Open, Muguruza dropped the first set of her opening match against Anna Karolína Schmiedlová but went on to win the next 12 sets she played, culminating in a straight-sets defeat of World No. 1 Serena Williams in the final.


2016 WTA Finals, Qualified players, Singles
Muguruza's results dipped after this triumph as she struggled to cope with the pressure of being a Grand Slam champion. After losing in the first round at Mallorca, Muguruza crashed out to Jana Čepelová in the second round of Wimbledon. Muguruza then lost to eventual gold-medalist Monica Puig at the Olympics. She rebounded by reaching the semifinals of Cincinnati, but was stunned by Anastasija Sevastova in the second round of the U.S. Open. Muguruza suffered early exits throughout the Asian swing, but she officially qualified for Singapore by reaching the quarterfinals at Linz. However, in her quarterfinal match against Viktorija Golubic, Muguruza rolled her ankle on court and was forced to retire. As of now, however, she still expects to be healthy in time for Singapore.


2016 WTA Finals, Qualified players, Singles
On 16 October, Madison Keys and Dominika Cibulková became what was then the last two qualifiers for the Championships. However Serena Williams withdrawal due to injury a day later opened up a further spot.


2016 WTA Finals, Qualified players, Singles
Madison Keys will play in her first WTA Finals after making her debut in the Top 10 this year. After a fourth-round showing at the Australian Open, Keys struggled until May, when she reached the final of Rome, losing to Serena Williams. She followed this up by reaching the fourth round of the French Open and winning Birmingham to officially enter the top ten. She lost to Simona Halep in the fourth round of Wimbledon in three sets, but rebounded by reaching the final of Montreal, losing again to Halep.


2016 WTA Finals, Qualified players, Singles
Keys reached the semifinals of the Olympics, but was the only one of the final four to walk away without a medal. At the U.S. Open, Keys again lost in the fourth round, this time to Caroline Wozniacki. However, she rebounded in the Asian swing by reaching the quarterfinals of Wuhan and the semifinals of Beijing. She qualified for Singapore by reaching the semifinals of Linz.


2016 WTA Finals, Qualified players, Singles
Dominika Cibulková enjoyed her most consistent season to date and as a result will make her debut at the WTA Finals. She began the year with a lowly rank as she continued her comeback from Achilles surgery the previous year. After reaching the semifinals of Hobart, she lost in the first round of the Australian Open to Kristina Mladenovic. Cibulková then reached the final of Acapulco, where she lost to Sloane Stephens in a third-set tiebreak. At Indian Wells and Miami, she lost 7–5 in the third set to both Agnieszka Radwańska and Garbiñe Muguruza.


2016 WTA Finals, Qualified players, Singles
She rebounded from these heartbreaking defeats by defeating Camila Giorgi to lift the trophy in Katowice. She carried this form into Madrid, where she beat Agnieszka Radwańska in the first round and went on to lose to Simona Halep in the final. Cibulková lost to Carla Suarez Navarro in the third round of the French Open but rebounded by winning the title in Eastbourne, coming from a set and a break down to upset Radwańska in the quarterfinals and beating Karolína Plíšková in the final.


2016 WTA Finals, Qualified players, Singles
At Wimbledon, Cibulková once again defeated Radwańska in another 3 set battle in the fourth round before losing to Elena Vesnina in the quarterfinals. Cibulková returned to the top ten after reaching the semifinals in Stanford, but struggled with injury for the next couple of weeks due to playing a heavy grass-court schedule. She returned at the U.S. Open, where she again injured herself and lost in the third round to Lesia Tsurenko. She healed in time for the Asian swing and reached the final of Wuhan, losing to Petra Kvitová. However, an opening-round loss in Beijing placed her qualification dreams in jeopardy. Cibulková took a wildcard into Linz knowing that she would qualify for Singapore by winning the title, and she did, beating Viktorija Golubic in the final.


2016 WTA Finals, Qualified players, Singles
On 22 October, Svetlana Kuznetsova became the final qualifier for the Championships by virtue of defending her title at the Kremlin Cup.


2016 WTA Finals, Qualified players, Singles
Svetlana Kuznetsova returned to the top 10 this season, the first time since 2010. Kuznetsova won her 16th WTA singles title, the Apia International Sydney, in the Australian swing. She did not show good results in the following tournaments, but Kuznetsova recovered in Miami, beating players such as Serena Williams and Ekaterina Makarova en route to reach the final, where she ultimately lost to Victoria Azarenka. The Russian enjoyed moderate success on clay court tournaments; she reached the 4th round of Roland Garros, the quarterfinals of Rome and the semifinals of Prague, but failed in Madrid.


2016 WTA Finals, Qualified players, Singles
Kuznetsova also reached the 4th round at Wimbledon, and the quarterfinals of both the Rogers Cup and Western & Southern Open. In the Asian swing Kuznetsova made it into the semifinals of Wuhan, one of her best results this year. Her diligence in the season's end was justified as she entered the Finals, owing to her semifinal entry in Tianjin and most notable her second triumph in Moscow, thus replacing British Konta from the eight position. For Kuznetsova it will be the sixth participation at the Championships.


2016 WTA Finals, Qualified players, Singles
The alternates of the tour are Johanna Konta and Carla Suárez Navarro.


2016 WTA Finals, Qualified players, Doubles
On 21 June, Martina Hingis and Sania Mirza became the first qualifiers.


2016 WTA Finals, Qualified players, Doubles
Martina Hingis and Sania Mirza resumed their match winning streak record which started in the last-year's Western & Southern Open, winning Brisbane, Sydney, the Australian Open, and St. Petersburg in the 2016 season. They finally capitulated in their 41st match against Daria Kasatkina and Elena Vesnina in Doha. The pair could not get beyond the 2nd Round in the next tournaments, Indian Wells and Miami, after receiving a bye in both. In the following clay tournaments they became runners-up twice in a row, both times to Caroline Garcia and Kristina Mladenovic, at the Stuttgart Open and the Madrid Open. Finally, the duo won their first clay tournament in Rome, but failed to achieve their Career Grand Slam at Roland Garros. Their partnership ended after five months of disappointing results; beginning with the Western & Southern Open, both have played with different partners.


2016 WTA Finals, Qualified players, Doubles
For Hingis, it will be the seventh participation at the Finals, for Mirza the third. Hingis won the Finals thrice, while Mirza twice. They are the defending champions.


2016 WTA Finals, Qualified players, Doubles
On 6 September, Caroline Garcia and Kristina Mladenovic became the second qualifiers.


2016 WTA Finals, Qualified players, Doubles
Caroline Garcia and Kristina Mladenovic reached a final already in their first joint season's debut at the Apia International Sydney. They also became runners-up of the Dubai Tennis Championships, but their major success this year came at clay tournaments. They won four out of five major clay tournaments, Charleston, Stuttgart, Madrid and the French Open, crushing doubles giants as Hingis/Mirza, Makarova/Vesnina and Mattek-Sands/Šafářová in the finals. They won 16 clay matches in a row (including a rubber at the Fed Cup), until being defeated in Rome. The French duo has also been successful on other Grand Slam tournaments; at Wimbledon they reached the quarterfinals, at the US Open they reached the final, which led to their qualification for the Championships. Garcia and Mladenovic reached another final at the China Open, losing there to Mattek-Sands/Šafářová.


2016 WTA Finals, Qualified players, Doubles
The French duo will debut at the Championships. Mladenovic previously participated with Tímea Babos. Garcia previously participated with Katarina Srebotnik.


2016 WTA Finals, Qualified players, Doubles
On 13 September, Ekaterina Makarova and Elena Vesnina became the third qualifiers.


2016 WTA Finals, Qualified players, Doubles
Ekaterina Makarova and Elena Vesnina did not play together since last year's Rogers Cup, where they had to retire in the 2nd Round due to Makarova's injury. Since February 2016, both played for a time with other partners. Since their reunion at the April's Madrid Open, where they reached the semifinals, the duo never got below the quarterfinals, except in late Beijing. After Madrid two finals in a row followed, in Rome and Paris. The grass court season was less comfortable for the Russians; the best result was reaching the quarterfinals at Wimbledon. However, the pair showed some great results in the American continent, claiming the Rogers Cup, the Olympics in Rio de Janeiro, and finally reaching the semifinals of the US Open, losing only to Mattek-Sands/Šafářová.


2016 WTA Finals, Qualified players, Doubles
For both players it will be the third Championships. They once got into the finals in their debut appearance. Last year they could not compete together at the Finals due to Makarova's injury.


2016 WTA Finals, Qualified players, Doubles
On 1 October, Bethanie Mattek-Sands and Lucie Šafářová became the fourth qualifiers.


2016 WTA Finals, Qualified players, Doubles
Bethanie Mattek-Sands and Lucie Šafářová made a break in their joint team play after Šafářová's health was unstable throughout the first season quarter. They reunited in Miami, there claiming the title. The duo played their last tournament for now in Charleston, coming second place. The following months were dreadful for both players, losing in the first and second rounds several times, in some tournaments with different partners. They recovered at the US Open, winning their third Grand Slam tournament. In Asia, the American-Czech duo won two trophies in Wuhan and Beijing.


2016 WTA Finals, Qualified players, Doubles
For both players it will be the second Championships following last-year's tournament.


2016 WTA Finals, Qualified players, Doubles
On 5 October, the field was rounded out with the last four teams, Tímea Babos and Yaroslava Shvedova, Chan Hao-ching and Chan Yung-jan, Andrea Hlaváčková and Lucie Hradecká, Julia Görges and Karolína Plíšková.


2016 WTA Finals, Qualified players, Doubles
Tímea Babos and Yaroslava Shvedova made their debut as a pair this year. Babos played a quite successful season with Mladenovic last season, entering the 2015 WTA Finals. Shvedova also had a strong partnership with Australian's Casey Dellacqua, although they could not qualify for the Championships. Both players switched between different partners in the new season, and finally they decided to play together starting with Indian Wells, where they reached the semifinals. This was swiftly followed by a run to the final in Miami. Their performance in the clay court season was less successful, but they had some success on grass, in particular at Eastbourne and Wimbledon, reaching the semifinals and final respectively.


2016 WTA Finals, Qualified players, Doubles
For Babos it will be her second time competing at the Championships, while for Shvedova it will be her third time competing this year.


2016 WTA Finals, Qualified players, Doubles
Chan Hao-ching and Chan Yung-jan have been regularly playing together. They started the season quite well, reaching the quarterfinals of the Australian Open and triumphing in Doha and Kaohsiung. The pair continued to enjoy moderate success throughout the year, reaching the quarterfinals of the French Open, as well as the semifinals in Birmingham and final in Eastbourne. In the Asian swing the sisters made the semifinals of both Wuhan and Beijing.


2016 WTA Finals, Qualified players, Doubles
This will be the second consecutive time the Chan sisters have qualified for Singapore.


2016 WTA Finals, Qualified players, Doubles
Andrea Hlaváčková and Lucie Hradecká accomplished their season's best result at the Australian Open, reaching the final. The Czech duo performed well in Premier tournaments, reaching the quarterfinals of Miami, Indian Wells and Madrid, as well as triumphing in Montreal, and placing fourth at the Olympics. Finally the duo won their second title this year, the Kremlin Cup, another being Tournoi de Québec. This will be the third time the Czechs will participate at the Championships; the duo once reached the final in 2012 and the semifinals last year.


2016 WTA Finals, Qualified players, Doubles
Julia Görges and Karolína Plíšková made their breakthrough at the Australian Open, reaching the semifinals. This result was followed by a runner up appearance in Indian Wells, as well as a run to the semifinals of Wimbledon. Among the best results were reaching the semifinals in Cincinnati and the quarterfinals in Beijing. Plíšková will debut in the singles and in the doubles event, while Görges is also debuting in the doubles event.


2016 WTA Finals, Groupings, Singles
The 2016 edition of the year–end finals will feature the current world No. 1, three major champions and four major finalists. The competitors were divided into two groups, representing the colors of the flag of Singapore.


2016 WTA Finals, Road to Singapore, Singles
Players in gold have qualified for Singapore. Players in brown have qualified, but withdrawn. The low-ranked players after them would be played as alternates in Singapore.


2016 WTA Finals, Player head-to-head
Below are the head-to-head records as they approached the tournament.


2016 WTA Finals – Doubles
Martina Hingis and Sania Mirza were the defending champions, but lost in the semifinals to Ekaterina Makarova and Elena Vesnina.


2016 WTA Finals – Doubles
Makarova and Vesnina won the title, defeating Bethanie Mattek-Sands and Lucie Šafářová in the final, 7–6(7–5), 6–3.


2016 WTA Finals – Singles
Agnieszka Radwańska was the defending champion, but lost in the semifinals to Angelique Kerber.


2016 WTA Finals – Singles
Dominika Cibulková, Madison Keys and Karolína Plíšková made their debuts in the event.


2016 WTA Finals – Singles
Cibulková won the title, defeating World No. 1 Kerber in the final in straight sets. This was the second year in a row where a player won the tournament after losing two matches in the round-robin stage. This would be Cibulková's 8th and final WTA singles title, before her retirement in 2019. As well as this was Cibulková's only WTA Finals' appearance.


2016 WTA Finals – Singles, Draw, Red Group
Standings are determined by: 1) Number of wins; 2) Number of matches; 3) In two-player ties, head-to-head records; 4) In three-player ties, (a) percentage of sets won (head-to-head records if two players remain tied), then (b) percentage of games won (head-to-head records if two players remain tied), then (c) WTA rankings


2016 WTA Finals – Singles, Draw, White Group
Standings are determined by: 1) Number of wins; 2) Number of matches; 3) In two-player ties, head-to-head records; 4) In three-player ties, (a) percentage of sets won (head-to-head records if two players remain tied), then (b) percentage of games won (head-to-head records if two players remain tied), then (c) WTA rankings


2016 WTA Premier tournaments
The 2016 WTA Premier tournaments are 21 of the tennis tournaments on the 2016 WTA Tour. The WTA Tour is the elite tour for women's professional tennis. The WTA Premier tournaments are divided into three levels, which all rank below the Grand Slam events and above the WTA International tournaments.


2016 WTA Shenzhen Open
The 2016 Shenzhen Open (known as 2016 Shenzhen Gemdale Open for sponsorship reason) was a tennis tournament played on outdoor hard courts. It was the fourth edition of the Shenzhen Open, and part of the WTA International tournaments of the 2016 WTA Tour. It took place at the Shenzhen Longgang Sports Center in Shenzhen, China, from 2 to 9 January 2016.


2016 WTA Shenzhen Open, Points and prize money, Prize money
1 Qualifiers prize money is also the Round of 32 prize money* per team


2016 WTA Shenzhen Open, Singles main draw entrants, Other entrants
The following players received wildcards into the singles main draw:


2016 WTA Shenzhen Open, Doubles main draw entrants, Other entrants
The following pair received wildcards into the doubles main draw:


2016 WTA Shenzhen Open – Doubles
Lyudmyla Kichenok and Nadiia Kichenok were the defending champions, but chose to participate in Auckland instead. Vania King and Monica Niculescu won the title, defeating Xu Yifan and Zheng Saisai in the final, 6–1, 6–4.


2016 WTA Shenzhen Open – Doubles, Seeds
The top seed received a bye into the second round.


2016 WTA Shenzhen Open – Singles
Simona Halep was the defending champion, but chose to compete in Brisbane instead.


2016 WTA Shenzhen Open – Singles
First-seeded Agnieszka Radwańska won the title, defeating Alison Riske in the final, 6–3, 6–2.


2016 WTA Tour
The 2016 WTA Tour was the elite professional tennis circuit organised by the Women's Tennis Association (WTA) for the 2016 tennis season. The 2016 WTA Tour calendar comprises the Grand Slam tournaments (supervised by the International Tennis Federation (ITF), the WTA Premier tournaments (Premier Mandatory, Premier 5, and regular Premier), the WTA International tournaments, the Fed Cup (organized by the ITF), the year-end championships (the WTA Tour Championships and the WTA Elite Trophy). Also included in the 2016 calendar is the Summer Olympic Games and Hopman Cup, which were organized by the ITF and did not distribute ranking points.


2016 WTA Tour, Schedule
This is the complete schedule of events on the 2016 calendar, with player progression documented from the quarterfinals stage.


2016 WTA Tour, Schedule
Note: In the Champions and Runners-up columns, a tournament's results in doubles are also included.


2016 WTA Tour, Statistical information
These tables present the number of singles (S), doubles (D), and mixed doubles (X) titles won by each player and each nation during the season, within all the tournament categories of the 2016 WTA Tour: the Grand Slam tournaments, the tennis event at the Rio de Janeiro Summer Olympic Games, the year-end championships (the WTA Tour Championships and the Tournament of Champions), the WTA Premier tournaments (Premier Mandatory, Premier 5, and regular Premier), and the WTA International tournaments.


2016 WTA Tour, Statistical information
The players/nations are sorted by: 1) total number of titles (a doubles title won by two players representing the same nation counts as only one win for the nation); 2) cumulated importance of those titles (one Grand Slam win equalling two Premier Mandatory/Premier 5 wins, one year-end championships win equalling one-and-a-half Premier Mandatory/Premier 5 win, one Premier Mandatory/Premier 5 win equalling two Premier wins, one Olympic win equalling one-and-a-half Premier win, one Premier win equalling two International wins); 3) a singles > doubles > mixed doubles hierarchy; 4) alphabetical order (by family names for players).


2016 WTA Tour, Statistical information, Titles information
The following players won their first main circuit title in singles, doubles, or mixed doubles:


2016 WTA Tour, Statistical information, Titles information
The following players defended a main circuit title in singles, doubles, or mixed doubles:


2016 WTA Tour, Statistical information, Top 10 entry
The following players entered the top 10 for the first time in their careers:


2016 WTA Tour, WTA Rankings
These are the WTA rankings of the top 20 singles players, doubles players, and the top 10 doubles teams on the WTA Tour, of the 2016 season.


2016 WTA Tour, Prize money leaders
Angelique Kerber topped the 2016 money list and joined Serena Williams as the only two women to ever win over $10,000,000 in a single season. Additionally, Kerber became the 15th WTA player to win $20,000,000 in career earnings. The top-32 players earned over $1,000,000. Bethanie Mattek-Sands won $1,088,600 in doubles tournaments. It was the 3rd consecutive year that a player earned over $1,000,000 in doubles events.


2016 WTA Tour, Retirements
Following is a list of notable players (winners of a main tour title, and/or part of the WTA Rankings top 100 (singles) or (doubles) for at least one week) who announced their retirement from professional tennis, became inactive (after not playing for more than 52 weeks), or were permanently banned from playing, during the 2016 season:


2016 WWE draft
The 2016 WWE draft was a professional wrestling event and the tenth WWE draft, the first since 2011, produced by the American professional wrestling promotion WWE between the Raw and SmackDown brands. It took place on July 19 during the live premiere of SmackDown on the USA Network in the United States broadcasting from the DCU Center in Worcester, Massachusetts.


2016 WWE draft, Background
In 2002, the then-World Wrestling Federation (WWF, now WWE) introduced the brand split, dividing its roster among two brands, Raw and SmackDown, represented by the shows of the same name. The brand split would continue until 2011, with a draft held every year (except 2003) to refresh the brands' rosters. In August 2011, the brand split ended, allowing all WWE wrestlers to appear on both shows.


2016 WWE draft, Background
In mid-2016, with a larger roster of wrestlers, in part thanks to WWE's developmental brand NXT, WWE decided to reintroduce the brand split with a draft to be held on the July 19 episode of SmackDown – the show's debut broadcast on the USA Network, as well as its renaming to SmackDown Live (with the show now broadcasting live as it was previously aired on tape delay). On the July 11 episode of Monday Night Raw, WWE Chairman and Chief Executive Officer Vince McMahon appointed Shane McMahon as the commissioner of SmackDown and Stephanie McMahon as the commissioner of Raw. The following week, the commissioners introduced Mick Foley and Daniel Bryan as the general managers of Raw and SmackDown, respectively.