It was the successor event of the different format WTA Tournament of Champions, which took place from 2009–14.

The Elite Trophy took place at the end of each season, in two disciplines: singles and doubles.

[1] The inaugural edition was held in 2015, offering $2.15 million in prize money.

Zhuhai, China hosted the WTA Elite Trophy for the first five years through 2019.

That year, Beatriz Haddad Maia made history as the first—and so far, only— player to have won both singles and doubles titles at the WTA Elite Trophy and also to do so in the same edition of the tournament.