Top 8 go glam at WTA Championships

The elite eight in women's tennis appeared in Istanbul on Monday, decked out in their best and with hair and makeup experts on hand to glam them up even further. Serena Willliams played lady in red, while Maria Sharapova opted for the interesting choice of a tan blazer. Petra Kvitova continued her streak of smart style choices, those piercing blue eyes radiant as ever. Agnieszka Radwanska and Li Na's vivacious personalities shone through, and Marion Bartoli, Sara Errani, and Victoria Azarenka completed the set. (In match play, Williams beat Kerber, Radwanska upset Kvitova, and Sharapova slammed Errani by the same 6-3, 6-2 outcome as the 2012 French Open final.)

Here's video of the fun and frolicking that the ladies did as they appeared at the draw ceremony for this year-end championship:

VENUS. RISING? Elsewhere (in Luxembourg, to be exact), the 2008 WTA Tour Championships winner, Venus Williams, picked up her 44th career title by beating Monica Niculescu, her first tournament win since claiming two clay-court championships in early 2010, when she rose to No. 2 in the world before her descent and announced battle with Sjogren's Syndrome. Don't look now—okay, do—but Venus is now back to No. 24 in the world. The 32-year-old just may have a couple years of solid singles tennis left. And the world smiles.

—Jonathan Scott (@jonscott9)