Women's Tennis Association

Encyclopedia : W : WO : WOM : Women's Tennis Association

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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:
4. # Tier I (minimum prize money of $1,340,000): There are ten (10) Tier I Tournaments.
5. # Tier II (minimum prize money of $600,000): There are sixteen (16) Tier II Tournaments
6. # Tier III (minimum prize money of $175,000): There are seventeen (17) Tournaments in this Tier.
7. # 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) ,000,000	350	246	157	87	48	31	19	1	15.5	-	7.5	1
Tier I (128) ,000,000	325	228	146	81	45	28	16	1	11	-	6.25	1
Tier I (32) ,000,000	325	228	146	81	45	1	-	-	20	-	-	-
Tier I (16) ,300,000	300	210	135	75	1	-	-	-	19	-	-	-
Tier I (32) ,300,000	300	210	135	75	42	1	-	-	18.5	10.5	5.75	1
Tier I (64) ,300,000	300	210	135	75	42	25	1	-	10.5	-	5.75	1
Tier II (16) 0,000	220	154	99	55	1	-	-	-	13	-	-	-
Tier II (32) 0,000	220	154	99	55	29	1	-	-	13.25	7.75	4.5	1
Tier II (64) 0,000	220	154	99	55	29	15	1	-	7.75	-	4.5	1
Tier II (16) 5,000	195	137	88	49	1	-	-	-	11.75	-	-	-
Tier II (32) 5,000	195	137	88	49	25	1	-	-	11.75	6.75	4	1
Tier II (64) 5,000	195	137	88	49	25	14	1	-	11.75	6.75	4	1
Tier II (64) 5,000	195	137	88	49	25	14	1	-	6.75	-	4	1
Tier III (16) 5,000	145	103	66	37	1	-	-	-	9.5	-	-	-
Tier III (32) 5,000	145	103	66	37	19	1	-	-	8.5	4.5	2.75	1
Tier III (64) 5,000	145	103	66	37	19	10	1	-	4.5	-	2.75	1
Tier III (16) 0,000	120	85	55	30	1	-	-	-	7.5	-	-	-
Tier III (32) 0,000	120	85	55	30	16	1	-	-	7.25	3.75	2.25	1
Tier III (64) 0,000	120	85	55	30	16	9	1	-	3.75	-	2.25	1
Tier IV (16) 0,000	95	67	43	24	1	-	-	-	6.25	-	-	-
Tier IV (32) 0,000	95	67	43	24	12	1	-	-	5.5	3.5	2	1
Tier IV (32) 0,000	95	67	43	24	12	1	-	-	3.5	-	2	1
Tier V (16) 0,000	80	56	36	20	1	-	-	-	5	-	-	-
Tier V (32) 0,000	80	56	36	20	10	1	-	-	4.5	3	2	1
ITF ,000 + H* (16)	65	46	29	16	1	-	-	-	-	-	-	-
ITF ,000 + H* (32)	65	46	29	16	8	1	-	-	2.5	2	1.5	1
ITF ,000 (16)	55	38.5	24.5	14.5	1	-	-	-	-	-	-	-
ITF ,000 (32)	55	38.5	24.5	14.5	7	1	-	-	2.5	2	1.5	1
ITF ,000 + H* (16)	45	31.5	20	11.5	1	-	-	-	-	-	-	-
ITF ,000 + H* (32)	45	31.5	20	11.5	5.5	1
2.5	2	1.5	1
ITF ,000 (16)	35	24.5	15.5	8.5	1
ITF ,000 (32)	35	24.5	15.5	8.5	5	1
2.5	2	1.5	1
ITF ,000 (16)	25	17	11.5	7	1
ITF ,000 (32)	25	17	11.5	7	3.5	1
1.5
.5	.25
ITF ,000 M** (8)	12	8	5	1
ITF ,000 M**(16)	12	8	5	3	1
ITF ,000 (16)	6	4	2	1.5
ITF ,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:

#	Player	Country	Date Reached	Weeks
1	Chris Evert		3 November 1975	262
2	Martina Navratilova	/	10 July 1978	331
3	Tracy Austin		7 April 1980	22
4	Steffi Graf		17 August 1987	377
5	Monica Seles	/	11 March 1991	178
6	Arantxa Sánchez Vicario		6 February 1995	12
7	Martina Hingis		31 March 1997	209
8	Lindsay Davenport		12 October 1998	98
9	Jennifer Capriati		15 October 2001	17
10	Venus Williams		25 February 2002	11
11	Serena Williams		8 July 2002	57
12	Kim Clijsters		11 August 2003	19
13	Justine Henin Hardenne		20 October 2003	45
14	Amélie Mauresmo		13 September 2004	23
15	Maria Sharapova		22 August 2005	7

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
• * It should also be noted that Graf won the Olympic gold medal in tennis that same year.

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
• *Sometimes referred to as a Serena Slam

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

[S=Singles; 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

• WTA Tour Championships
• List of WTA number 1 ranked players
• List of female tennis players
• WTA 2005 Season
• Women's Tennis - 2006 Season

External links

• [The official Sony Ericsson WTA Tour web site]
• [History of the Women’s Tennis Association]
• [Singles Entry Ranking]
• [Singles Race Ranking]
• [Doubles Entry Ranking]
• [Doubles Race Ranking]
• [Unofficial WTA Tour Message Board (Forum)]
• [WTA and ATP tournews and players]

 

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