WTA Tour Championships From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia Jump to: navigation, search Sony Ericsson Championships Sony Ericsson WTA Tour Location Doha Qatar (2008-2010) Venue Khalifa International Tennis Complex Category Premier tournaments Surface Hard / Outdoors Draw 8M / 4D Prize Money US$4,450,000 (2009) Website sonyericsson-championships.com The WTA Tour Championships is a tennis tournament played annually at the end of the season for the top-ranked players on the Women's Tennis Association (WTA) tour. The event's current sponsored name is the Sony Ericsson Championships. The championships were held for the first time in August 1971 in Houston, Texas as one of a series of tournaments sponsored by Virginia Slims. This event, however, was staged before the end of the series. In 1972, the tournament was moved to Boca Raton, Florida (USA) as a climax event at the end of the series. From 1972 to 1974, the event was held in October, before switching to March from 1975 until 1986. The WTA then decided to adopt a January-to-November playing season, and so the event was switched to being held at the end of each year. As a consequence, there were two championships held in 1986. The event was held in Los Angeles, California from 1974 to 1976 before moving to Madison Square Garden (MSG) in New York City in 1977. With the exception of a one-year move to Oakland, California in 1978, the Championships remained at MSG until 2000. The event then briefly moved to Munich, Germany in 2001. More recently, it moved back to Los Angeles, California from 2002 to 2005. The 2006 and 2007 editions were held in Madrid, Spain. Doha, Qatar hosted the 2008 event and is scheduled to host the 2009 and 2010 editions before passing the flag to Istanbul, Turkey, which is expected to host the 2011, 2012, and 2013 events.[1] [2] [1] From 1971-1978, the event was known as the Virginia Slims Championships. When Avon took over as the tour sponsor from 1979–1982, the event was known as the Avon Championships. Virginia Slims returned as the tour sponsor in 1983 and the event name reverted to the Virginia Slims Championships. It remained that way until 1994 when Virginia Slims ended their sponsorship of the WTA Tour. In 1995, without a tour sponsor, the event was simply referred to as the WTA Tour Championships. Since then, the tournament has been named after other event sponsors. From 1996 to 2000, it was called the Chase Championships. In 2001, it was the Sanex Championships while in 2002, it was the Home Depot Championships. In 2003 and 2004, the event name was once again the WTA Tour Championships. Since 2005, with Sony Ericsson taking over as tour sponsor, the event has been called the Sony Ericsson Championships. From 1984–1998, the final of the championships was a best-of-five-set match – making it the only tournament on the women's tour to have a best-of-five-set match at any round of the competition. In 1999, the final reverted to being a best-of-three-set match, as had been the case from 1971–1983. The WTA Tour Championships are generally considered to be the fifth most prestigious event on the women's tour after the four Grand Slam tournaments.[citation needed] Venus Williams is the current champion. Contents [hide] 1 Past results 1.1 Singles 1.2 Doubles 2 Results by country 3 Final Appearances 3.1 Singles 4 See also 5 References 6 External links [edit] Past results [edit] Singles Venue Year Champion Runner-up Score in Final Houston 1971 Billie Jean King Kerry Melville Reid 6-4, 4-6, 6-1 Boca Raton 1972 Chris Evert Kerry Melville Reid 7-5, 6-4 1973 Chris Evert Nancy Richey Gunter 6-3, 6-3 Los Angeles 1974 Evonne Goolagong Cawley Chris Evert 6-3, 6-4 1975 Chris Evert Martina Navrátilová 6-4, 6-2 1976 Evonne Goolagong Cawley Chris Evert 6-3, 5-7, 6-3 New York City 1977 Chris Evert Sue Barker 2-6, 6-1, 6-1 Oakland 1978 Martina Navrátilová Evonne Goolagong Cawley 7-6(0), 6-4 New York City 1979 Martina Navrátilová Tracy Austin 6-3, 3-6, 6-2 1980 Tracy Austin Martina Navrátilová 6-2, 2-6, 6-2 1981 Martina Navrátilová Andrea Jaeger 6-3, 7-6(3) 1982 Sylvia Hanika Martina Navrátilová 1-6, 6-3, 6-4 1983 Martina Navrátilová Chris Evert 6-2, 6-0 1984 Martina Navrátilová Chris Evert 6-3, 7-5, 6-1 1985 Martina Navrátilová Helena Suková 6-3, 7-5, 6-4 1986(1) Martina Navrátilová Hana Mandlíková 6-2, 6-0, 3-6, 6-1 1986(2) Martina Navrátilová Steffi Graf 7-6(6), 6-3, 6-2 1987 Steffi Graf Gabriela Sabatini 4-6, 6-4, 6-0, 6-4 1988 Gabriela Sabatini Pam Shriver 7-5, 6-2, 6-2 1989 Steffi Graf Martina Navrátilová 6-4, 7-5, 2-6, 6-2 1990 Monica Seles Gabriela Sabatini 6-4, 5-7, 3-6, 6-4, 6-2 1991 Monica Seles Martina Navrátilová 6-4, 3-6, 7-5, 6-0 1992 Monica Seles Martina Navrátilová 7-5, 6-3, 6-1 1993 Steffi Graf Arantxa Sánchez Vicario 6-1, 6-4, 3-6, 6-1 1994 Gabriela Sabatini Lindsay Davenport 6-3, 6-2, 6-4 1995 Steffi Graf Anke Huber 6-1, 2-6, 6-1, 4-6, 6-3 1996 Steffi Graf Martina Hingis 6-3, 4-6, 6-0, 4-6, 6-0 1997 Jana Novotná Mary Pierce 7-6(4), 6-2, 6-3 1998 Martina Hingis Lindsay Davenport 7-5, 6-4, 4-6, 6-2 1999 Lindsay Davenport Martina Hingis 6-4, 6-2 2000 Martina Hingis Monica Seles 6-7(5), 6-4, 6-4 Munich 2001 Serena Williams Lindsay Davenport walkover Los Angeles 2002 Kim Clijsters Serena Williams 7-5, 6-3 2003 Kim Clijsters Amélie Mauresmo 6-2, 6-0 2004 Maria Sharapova Serena Williams 4-6, 6-2, 6-4 2005 Amélie Mauresmo Mary Pierce 5-7, 7-6(3), 6-4 Madrid 2006 Justine Henin Amélie Mauresmo 6-4, 6-3 2007 Justine Henin Maria Sharapova 5-7, 7-5, 6-3 Doha 2008 Venus Williams Vera Zvonareva 6-7(5), 6-0, 6-2 2009 2010 Istanbul 2011 2012 2013 [edit] Doubles Year Champions Runner-ups Score in Final 1971 Rosemary Casals Billie Jean King Judy Tegart Dalton Françoise Durr 6-3, 1-6, 6-2 1972 no doubles played 1973 Rosemary Casals Margaret Court Françoise Durr Betty Stöve 6-2, 6-4 1974 Rosemary Casals Billie Jean King Françoise Durr Betty Stöve 6-1, 6-7(2), 7-5 1975 no doubles played 1976 no doubles played 1977 no doubles played 1978 no doubles played 1979 Françoise Durr Betty Stöve Sue Barker Ann Kiyomura 7-6, 7-6 1980 Billie Jean King Martina Navrátilová Rosemary Casals Wendy Turnbull 6-3, 4-6, 6-3 1981 Martina Navrátilová Pam Shriver Barbara Potter Sharon Walsh 6-0, 7-6(6) 1982 Martina Navrátilová Pam Shriver Kathy Jordan Anne Smith 6-4, 6-3 1983 Martina Navrátilová Pam Shriver Claudia Kohde-Kilsch Eva Pfaff 7-5, 6-2 1984 Martina Navrátilová Pam Shriver Jo Durie Ann Kiyomura 6-3, 6-1 1985 Martina Navrátilová Pam Shriver Claudia Kohde-Kilsch Helena Suková 6-7(4), 6-4, 7-6(5) 1986 (1) Hana Mandlíková Wendy Turnbull Claudia Kohde-Kilsch Helena Suková 6-4, 6-7(4), 6-3 1986 (2) Martina Navrátilová Pam Shriver Claudia Kohde-Kilsch Helena Suková 1-6, 6-1, 6-1 1987 Martina Navrátilová Pam Shriver Claudia Kohde-Kilsch Helena Suková 6-1, 6-1 1988 Martina Navrátilová Pam Shriver Larisa Savchenko Neiland Natalia Zvereva 6-3, 6-4 1989 Martina Navrátilová Pam Shriver Larisa Savchenko Neiland Natalia Zvereva 6-3, 6-2 1990 Kathy Jordan Elizabeth Smylie Mercedes Paz Arantxa Sánchez Vicario 7-6(4), 6-4 1991 Martina Navrátilová Pam Shriver Gigi Fernández Jana Novotná 4-6, 7-5, 6-4 1992 Arantxa Sánchez Vicario Helena Suková Jana Novotná Larisa Savchenko Neiland 7-6(4), 6-1 1993 Gigi Fernández Natalia Zvereva Jana Novotná Larisa Savchenko Neiland 6-3, 7-5 1994 Gigi Fernández Natasha Zvereva Jana Novotná Arantxa Sánchez Vicario 6-3, 6-7(4), 6-3 1995 Jana Novotná Arantxa Sánchez Vicario Gigi Fernández Natasha Zvereva 6-2, 6-1 1996 Lindsay Davenport Mary Joe Fernández Jana Novotná Arantxa Sánchez Vicario 6-3, 6-2 1997 Lindsay Davenport Jana Novotná Alexandra Fusai Nathalie Tauziat 6-7(5), 6-3, 6-2 1998 Lindsay Davenport Natasha Zvereva Alexandra Fusai Nathalie Tauziat 6-7(6), 7-5, 6-3 1999 Martina Hingis Anna Kournikova Arantxa Sánchez Vicario Larisa Savchenko Neiland 6-4, 6-4 2000 Martina Hingis Anna Kournikova Nicole Arendt Manon Bollegraf 6-2, 6-3 2001 Lisa Raymond Rennae Stubbs Cara Black Elena Likhovtseva 7-5, 3-6, 6-3 2002 Elena Dementieva Janette Husárová Cara Black Elena Likhovtseva 4-6, 6-4, 6-3 2003 Virginia Ruano Pascual Paola Suárez Kim Clijsters Ai Sugiyama 6-4, 3-6, 6-3 2004 Nadia Petrova Meghann Shaughnessy Cara Black Rennae Stubbs 7-5, 6-2 2005 Lisa Raymond Samantha Stosur Cara Black Rennae Stubbs 6-7(5), 7-5, 6-4 2006 Lisa Raymond Samantha Stosur Cara Black Rennae Stubbs 3-6, 6-3, 6-3 2007 Cara Black Liezel Huber Katarina Srebotnik Ai Sugiyama 5-7, 6-3, 10-8 2008 Cara Black Liezel Huber Kveta Peschke Rennae Stubbs 6-1, 7-5 2009 2010 2011 2012 2013 [edit] Results by country Country Wins United States of America 14 Germany 6 Belgium 4 Czechoslovakia 3 Yugoslavia 3 Argentina 2 Australia 2 Switzerland 2 Czech Republic 1 France 1 Russia 1 [edit] Final Appearances [edit] Singles Player Appearances Win-Loss Year(s) Martina Navratilova 14 8-6 1975, 1978, 1979, 1980, 1981, 1982, 1983, 1984, 1985, 1986(1), 1986(2), 1989, 1991, 1992 Chris Evert 8 4-4 1972, 1973, 1974, 1975, 1976, 1977, 1983, 1984 Steffi Graf 6 5-1 1986(2), 1987, 1989, 1993, 1995, 1996 Monica Seles 4 3-1 1990, 1991, 1992, 2000 Gabriela Sabatini 4 2-2 1987, 1988, 1990, 1994 Martina Hingis 4 2-2 1996, 1998, 1999, 2000 Lindsay Davenport 4 1-3 1994, 1998, 1999, 2001 Evonne Goolagong Cawley 3 2-1 1974, 1976, 1978 Serena Williams 3 1-2 2001, 2002, 2004 Amélie Mauresmo 3 1-2 2003, 2005, 2006 Kim Clijsters 2 2-0 2002, 2003 Justine Henin 2 2-0 2006, 2007 Tracy Austin 2 1-1 1980, 1979 Maria Sharapova 2 1-1 2004, 2007 Mary Pierce 2 0-2 1997, 2005 Billie Jean King 1 1-0 1971 Sylvia Hanika 1 1-0 1982 Jana Novotná 1 1-0 1997 Venus Williams 1 1-0 2008 Arantxa Sánchez Vicario 1 0-1 1993 Anke Huber 1 0-1 1995 Vera Zvonareva 1 0-1 2008 [edit] See also ATP World Tour Finals 2009 WTA Tour [edit] References ^ a b Sony Ericsson WTA Tour ^ İstanbul Cup WTA Tour / WTA ŞAMPİYONASI 2011 DE İSTANBUL DA!!! [edit] External links Official site 2008 Sony Ericsson Championships tenniscorner.net page on the WTA Tour Championships tennislovers.com page on the WTA Tour Championships [show]v • d • eWTA Tour Championships 1972 1973 1974 1975 1976 1977 1978 1979 1980 1981 1982 1983 1984 1985 1986 1987 1988 1989 1990 1991 1992 1993 1994 1995 1996 1997 1998 1999 2000 2001 2002 2003 2004 2005 2006 2007 2008 2009 [show]v • d • eWTA Premier tournaments (2009–current) 2009–current Sydney · Paris · Dubai · Indian Wells · Miami · Charleston · Stuttgart · Rome · Madrid Warsaw · Eastbourne · Stanford · Los Angeles · Cincinnati · Toronto · New Haven · Tokyo · Beijing · Moscow WTA Tour Championships, Doha *Bold denotes the four mandatory tournaments. Retrieved from "http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/WTA_Tour_Championships" Categories: Recurring events established in 1971 | WTA Tour