The tournament was contested by twelve singles players and six doubles teams.

[1] 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.

[2] It was unclear how the selection was determined eventually as two teams were announced as participants despite not fulfilling these criteria.

The six doubles teams will be split into two round robin groups, with the winner of each advancing to the final.

The final standings of each group were determined by the first of the following methods that applied: The total prize money for the Huajin Securities 2016 WTA Elite Trophy Zhuhai was US $2,210,000.