Despite not emerging from her group at the WTA Finals, world No. 2 Maria Sharapova said that she was pleased with her year overall.
Sharapova won her fifth Grand Slam title by winning Roland Garros, and also won tournaments in Stuttgart, Madrid, and Beijing.
"I'm very happy, going into this year I didn't really know what actually my personal expectations were,” she said. "I had one goal, and that was to try to remain as healthy as possible, to keep my shoulder strong. I've done an incredible job of that.
"I think it's one of the few seasons where I haven't withdrawn or retired from an event."
Sharapova began the season with a new coach, Sven Groeneveld. Groeneveld has worked with a number of top women's players, including Ana Ivanovic during her 2009 season in which she won Roland Garros.
"I had a new team. I feel like there are a lot of new things in my career at that point, and I was still kind of trying to get myself back after an injury," Sharapova said. "A lot of question marks at the beginning of the season, and I'm happy to be sitting here and saying that I've added another Grand Slam to my resume, that I've won great titles, I had a great clay court season, and a lot of good wins, a lot of tough matches that I pulled through that I could have easily lost.
"At this stage of my career I've gone through many coaches, a lot of different teams. I also kind of know what I want and what I feel works for me. [Sven] is a great listener, and yet when I need it he pushes me. But also a very calm, positive person. I think that's also nice to have in a team.”