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The Women's Tennis Association, is also known as the WTA Tour, and is to women's tennis what the ATP is to men's tennis. In 2005 the WTA changed its name into The Sony Ericsson WTA Tour.

The Women's Tennis Association was begun in Houston, Texas when the inaugural Virginia Slims event was won on 23 September 1970. Billie Jean King was a major figure in the early days of the WTA.

Tournament categories

  1. Grand Slam Events
  2. Season-ending championships (WTA Tour Championships): with Three Million Dollars ($3,000,000) prize money.
  3. Tier tournaments:
    1. Tier I (minimum prize money of $1,340,000): There are ten (10) Tier I Tournaments.
    2. Tier II (minimum prize money of $600,000): There are sixteen (16) Tier II Tournaments
    3. Tier III (minimum prize money of $175,000): There are seventeen (17) Tournaments in this Tier.
    4. Tier IV (minimum prize money of $145,000): There are twelve (12) in this Tier.

Ranking

The organization releases a weekly ranking of the players's performance in the tour. Players' ranking points are counted how they fare on individual rounds of a tournament (round points). The following table gives the distribution of "round points":

Description W F SF QF R16 R32 R64 R128 QLFR Q3 Q2 Q1
Grand Slam (Singles) 700 492 314 174 96 62 38 2 31 25 15 2
Grand Slam (Doubles) 700 492 314 174 96 62 2 - 22 - - -
Tour Championships 525 369 235 130 72 - - - - - - -
Tier I (128) $3,000,000 350 246 157 87 48 31 19 1 15.5 - 7.5 1
Tier I (128) $2,000,000 325 228 146 81 45 28 16 1 11 - 6.25 1
Tier I (32) $2,000,000 325 228 146 81 45 1 - - 20 - - -
Tier I (16) $1,300,000 300 210 135 75 1 - - - 19 - - -
Tier I (32) $1,300,000 300 210 135 75 42 1 - - 18.5 10.5 5.75 1
Tier I (64) $1,300,000 300 210 135 75 42 25 1 - 10.5 - 5.75 1
Tier II (16) $650,000 220 154 99 55 1 - - - 13 - - -
Tier II (32) $650,000 220 154 99 55 29 1 - - 13.25 7.75 4.5 1
Tier II (64) $650,000 220 154 99 55 29 15 1 - 7.75 - 4.5 1
Tier II (16) $585,000 195 137 88 49 1 - - - 11.75 - - -
Tier II (32) $585,000 195 137 88 49 25 1 - - 11.75 6.75 4 1
Tier II (64) $585,000 195 137 88 49 25 14 1 - 11.75 6.75 4 1
Tier II (64) $585,000 195 137 88 49 25 14 1 - 6.75 - 4 1
Tier III (16) $225,000 145 103 66 37 1 - - - 9.5 - - -
Tier III (32) $225,000 145 103 66 37 19 1 - - 8.5 4.5 2.75 1
Tier III (64) $225,000 145 103 66 37 19 10 1 - 4.5 - 2.75 1
Tier III (16) $170,000 120 85 55 30 1 - - - 7.5 - - -
Tier III (32) $170,000 120 85 55 30 16 1 - - 7.25 3.75 2.25 1
Tier III (64) $170,000 120 85 55 30 16 9 1 - 3.75 - 2.25 1
Tier IV (16) $140,000 95 67 43 24 1 - - - 6.25 - - -
Tier IV (32) $140,000 95 67 43 24 12 1 - - 5.5 3.5 2 1
Tier IV (32) $140,000 95 67 43 24 12 1 - - 3.5 - 2 1
Tier V (16) $110,000 80 56 36 20 1 - - - 5 - - -
Tier V (32) $110,000 80 56 36 20 10 1 - - 4.5 3 2 1
ITF $75,000 + H* (16) 65 46 29 16 1 - - - - - - -
ITF $75,000 + H* (32) 65 46 29 16 8 1 - - 2.5 2 1.5 1
ITF $75,000 (16) 55 38.5 24.5 14.5 1 - - - - - - -
ITF $75,000 (32) 55 38.5 24.5 14.5 7 1 - - 2.5 2 1.5 1
ITF $50,000 + H* (16) 45 31.5 20 11.5 1 - - - - - - -
ITF $50,000 + H* (32) 45 31.5 20 11.5 5.5 1 - - 2.5 2 1.5 1
ITF $50,000 (16) 35 24.5 15.5 8.5 1 - - - - - - -
ITF $50,000 (32) 35 24.5 15.5 8.5 5 1 - - 2.5 2 1.5 1
ITF $25,000 (16) 25 17 11.5 7 1 - - - - - - -
ITF $25,000 (32) 25 17 11.5 7 3.5 1 - - 1.5 - .5 .25
ITF $10,000 M** (8) 12 8 5 1 - - - - - - - -
ITF $10,000 M**(16) 12 8 5 3 1 - - - - - - -
ITF $10,000 (16) 6 4 2 1.5 - - - - - - - -
ITF $10,000 (32) 6 4 2 1.5 1 - - - .75 - - -
ITF $ 5,000 M** (8) 5 4 2 1 - - - - - - - -
ITF $ 5,000 M**(16) 5 4 2 1.5 1 - - - - - - -
(*) “+H” indicates that Hospitality is provided (**) “M” indicates a Masters event

A player's point total is calculated on a weekly basis, counting only tournaments played within the last year. The top 17 tournaments of the past year count toward a player's point total, with the lowest of the player's scores being dropped from the total. The exceptions are the four grand slam tournaments, which always count toward the player's point total, even if their score in the slam is lower than another score achieved in a non-slam tournament.

In 1996, the WTA started awarding players "quality points", which were calculated based on the rankings of players they defeated in tournaments. This would give more points to a player who beat a top ranked player than one who beat a lower ranked player. Quality points were discontinued after the 2005 season and are no longer used.

This is a list of players who have achieved the number one position in singles since the rankings' inception in 1975:

|| 3 November1975 || 262 / Flag of the United States.svg || 10 July1978 || 331 || 7 April1980 || 22 || 17 August1987 || 377 / Flag of the United States.svg || 11 March1991 || 178 || 6 February1995 || 12 || 31 March1997 || 209 || 12 October1998 || 98 || 15 October2001 || 17 || 25 February2002 || 11 || 8 July2002 || 57 || 11 August2003 || 19 || 20 October2003 || 45 || 13 September2004 || 23 || 22 August2005 || 7
# Player Country Date Reached Weeks

Records

Title Leaders in the Open Era

  1. Martina Navratilova: 167
  2. Chris Evert: 154
  3. Steffi Graf: 107
  4. Margaret Court: 92
  5. Evonne Goolagong Cawley: 68
  6. Billie Jean King: 67
  7. Virginia Wade: 55
  8. Monica Seles: 53
  9. Lindsay Davenport: 51
  10. Martina Hingis: 41
  11. Conchita Martinez: 33
  12. Venus Williams: 33
  13. Kim Clijsters: 31
  14. Tracy Austin: 30

Most Titles in a Season

''Before 1990 (15 +):
  1. 21 - Margaret Court (1970)
  2. 18 - Margaret Court (1969, 1973)
  3. 17 - Billy Jean King (1971)
  4. 16 - Chris Evert (1974, 1975)
  5. 16 - Martina Navratilova (1983)
  6. 15 - Evonne Goolagong Cawley (1970)
  7. 15 - Martina Navratilova (1982)

''Since 1990 (8 +):

  1. 12 - Martina Hingis (1997)
  2. 10 - Monica Seles (1991, 1992)
  3. 10 - Steffi Graf (1990, 1993)
  4. 9 - Monica Seles (1990)
  5. 9 - Arantxa Sanchez Vicario (1994)
  6. 9 - Steffi Graf (1995)
  7. 9 - Martina Hingis (2000)
  8. 9 - Kim Clijsters (2003, 2005)
  9. 8 - Serena Williams (2002)
  10. 8 - Steffi Graf (1992)
  11. 8 - Justine Henin-Hardenne (2003)

Oldest Winners of a Title

  1. Billie Jean King: 39 yrs, 7 mos, 23 days (1983 Birmingham)
  2. Martina Navratilova: 37 yrs, 4 mos, 2 days (1994 Paris Indoors)
  3. Margaret Court: 34 yrs, 4 mos, 26 days (1976 Melbourne)

Youngest Winners of a Title

  1. Tracy Austin: 14 yrs, 28 days (1977 Portand)
  2. Andrea Jaeger: 14 yrs, 7 mos, 14 days (1980 Las Vegas)
  3. Kathy Rinaldi: 14 yrs, 6 mos, 24 days (1981 Kyoto)

Match Win Leaders in Open Era

  1. Martina Navratilova: 1442
  2. Chris Evert: 1304
  3. Steffi Graf: 900
  4. Virginia Wade: 839
  5. Arantxa Sanchez-Vicario: 759
  6. Conchita Martinez: 711
  7. Evonne Goolagong Cawley: 704
  8. Lindsay Davenport: 703
  9. Billie Jean King: 695
  10. Gabriela Sabatini: 632
  11. Pam Shriver: 625
  12. Helena Sukova: 614
  13. Nathalie Tauziat: 606

Longest Winning Streaks

  1. 74 - Martina Navratilova (1984)
  2. 66 - Steffi Graf (1989-90)
  3. 58 - Martina Navratilova (1986-87)
  4. 57 - Margaret Court (1972-73)
  5. 55 - Chris Evert (1974)
  6. 54 - Martina Navratilova (1983-84)

Calendar-year Grand Slams

  • Maureen Connolly (United States) in 1953
  • Margaret Court (Australia) in 1970
  • Steffi Graf (Germany) in 1988

Non calendar-year Grand Slams

  • Martina Navratilova (United States): 1983 Wimbledon, US Open, Australian Open & 1984 French Open
  • Steffi Graf (Germany): 1993 French Open, Wimbledon, US Open, 1994 Australian Open
  • Serena Williams (United States): 2002 French Open, Wimbledon, US Open, 2003 Australian Open

Career Grand Slams

(year indicates first victory in a particular Slam)
  • Doris Hart (United States) - 1949 Australian Open, 1950 French Open, 1951 Wimbledon, 1954 US Open
  • Shirley Fry (United States) - 1957 Australian Open, 1951 French Open, 1956 Wimbledon, 1956 US
  • Billie Jean King (United States) - 1968 Australian Open, 1972 French Open, 1966 Wimbledon, 1967 US Open
  • Chris Evert (United States) - 1982 Australian Open, 1974 French Open, 1974 Wimbledon, 1975 US
  • Martina Navratilova (United States) - 1981 Australian Open, 1982 French Open, 1978 Wimbledon, 1983 US Open
  • Serena Williams (United States) - 2003 Australian Open, 2002 French Open, 2002 Wimbledon, 1999 US Open

Grand Slam Title Leaders

Player Australian Open French Open Wimbledon US Open Overall Total
S D MD S D MD S D MD S D MD S D MD
Margaret Smith Court 11 8 2 5 4 4 3 2 5 5 5 8 24 19 19 62
Martina Navratilova 3 8 1 2 7 2 9 7 4 4 9 2 18 31 9 58
Billie Jean King 1 0 1 1 1 2 6 10 4 4 5 4 12 16 11 39
Margaret Osborne duPont DNP 2 3 0 1 5 1 3 13 9 6 ? 10 12 21 37
Doris Hart 1 1 2 2 5 3 1 4 5 2 4 5 6 14 15 35

D=Doubles; MD= Mixed Doubles

Other Trivia

  • Chris Evert holds the Open Era overall win-loss ratio record : 0.901 (1,304 wins and 144 losses)
  • 157 players have made $1 million dollars or more since 1970.
  • 27 players have made $5 million dollars or more since 1970.
  • 12 players have made $10 million dollars or more since 1970.
  • 7 players have made $15 million dollars or more since 1970.
  • 3 players have made $20 million dollars or more since 1970.

See also

External links

Tennis organisations | Women's tennis

WTA | Women's Tennis Association | WTA | WTA Tour | Women's Tennis Association | הסבב העולמי לנשים (WTA) | Women's Tennis Association | 女子テニス協会 | Women's Tennis Association | Женска тениска асоцијација | WTA | WTA-touren | WTA | 女子网球联合会

 

This article is licensed under the GNU Free Documentation License. It uses material from the "Women's Tennis Association".

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