Photos: WTA's Elite Eight at the WTA Champs draw ceremony and party

The WTA's Elite Eight pose with the Billie Jean King Trophy. (Matthew Stockman/Getty Images) ISTANBUL -- The WTA's stars put their best faces forward Sunday

Courtney Nguyen | Oct 22, 2013

Photos: WTA's Elite Eight at the WTA Champs draw ceremony and party /

The WTA's Elite Eight pose with the Billie Jean King Trophy. (Matthew Stockman/Getty Images)

ISTANBUL -- The WTA's stars put their best faces forward Sunday evening at the WTA Championships draw ceremony in Istanbul. After the women were placed into their respective groups (you can read a full preview here), the women headed to the high-energy player party to enjoy a night of music performed by a local band that covered everything from Adele to Turkish pop songs.

The highlight of the night was Serena Williams, who gamely took the stage and did her best to fake her way through a rendition of Oh, Istanbul.

http://instagram.com/p/fswWM0Bii4/

Luckily, the players had a full day to recover and prepare for the tournament's start on Tuesday.

Here are more behind-the-scenes photos and a video:

http://youtu.be/eF7kCkxuNwA

Published Oct 22, 2013

COURTNEY NGUYEN

Contributor, SI.com Nguyen is a freelance writer for SI.com, providing full coverage of professional tennis both on and off the court. Her content has become a must-read for fans and insiders to stay up-to-date with a sport that rarely rests. She has appeared on radio and TV talk shows all over the world and is one of the co-hosts of No Challenges Remaining, a weekly podcast available on iTunes. Nguyen graduated from the University of California, Irvine in 1999 and received a law degree from the University of California, Davis in 2002. She lives in the Bay Area.