[1][2] On December 1, 2021, WTA chairman Steve Simon announced that all tournaments scheduled to be held in both China and Hong Kong were suspended beginning in 2022, due to concerns regarding the security and well-being of tennis player Peng Shuai after her allegations of sexual assault against Zhang Gaoli, a high-ranking member of the Chinese Communist Party.

[3][4] As part of international sports' reaction to the Russian invasion of Ukraine, the WTA, the ATP (Association of Tennis Professionals), the ITF, and the four Grand Slam tournaments jointly decided that players from Belarus and Russia would not be allowed to play under the names or flags of their countries, but would remain eligible to play events until further notice.

[5] On 20 May 2022, the ATP and WTA also announced that ranking points would not be awarded for Wimbledon, due to a decision by the All England Club to prohibit players representing Belarus or Russia from participating in the tournament.

Hologic cited the WTA's stance on withholding events in China in the wake of Peng's allegations as one of its factors in deciding to sponsor the circuit.

The following is a list of notable players (winners of a main tour title, and/or part of the WTA rankings top 100 in singles, or top 100 in 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 2022 season: