Starting October as one of the “on the bubble” players to qualify for the BNP Paribas WTA Finals Singapore presented by SC Global, Agnieszka Radwanska had a busy month.

Reaching the semifinals of the China Open – losing to eventual champion Garbiñe Muguruza – the Pole continued her winning ways in Tianjin, capturing her second title of the season without the loss of a set.

Her biggest breakthrough, however, came in Singapore. Looking down and out after dropping her first two matches in hard-fought encounters with Maria Sharapova and September’s WTA Player Of The Month, US Open champion Flavia Pennetta, Radwanska turned things around in emphatic style against top-seeded Simona Halep, taking out the Romanian in straight sets to find herself in the semifinals. Once there, she got her revenge on Muguruza and outlasted 2011 WTA Finals champion Petra Kvitova to win the biggest title of her career, and finish in the Top 5 for the third time in her career.

“I lost my first two matches, but it’s not like I was playing bad,” Radwanska said after the final. “They were still good matches. I just knew being fresh and having a good rest was very important. I don’t know how, but I was really feeling better afterwards, and I think I got used to conditions, used to the surface.”

“I didn’t really expect this at all, especially since the beginning of the year was not great. I think it goes to show that it doesn’t matter how you start; it only matters how you end.”

And what an ending it was. Radwanska heads into the 2016 season full of confidence and back in the hunt to win her first Grand Salm title.

Final Results for October’s WTA Player Of The Month

1. Agnieszka Radwanska (68%)
2. Venus Williams (25%)
3. Garbiñe Muguruza (5%)
4. Petra Kvitova (2%)

2015 WTA Player of the Month Winners

September: Flavia Pennetta
August: Belinda Bencic
July: Samantha Stosur
June: Serena Williams
May: Serena Williams
April: Angelique Kerber
March: Serena Williams
February: Simona Halep
January: Serena Williams

How it works:

Four finalists are selected by wtatennis.com
Winner is then determined by a fan vote on wtatennis.com