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.

1 Tournament categories
2 Ranking
3 Records
4 Miscellaneous
5 Other trivia
6 See also
7 External links

[edit] Tournament categories

The WTA divides the main women's tournaments into several tiers:

Grand Slam Events
Season-ending championships (Sony Ericsson Championships): with Three Million Dollars ($3,000,000) prize money.
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) Tournaments in this Tier.

Ranking points are also available at certain International Tennis Federation (ITF) events below Tier IV (see next section).

[edit] 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" (note that these values were changed for the 2007 season):

Description	W	F	SF	QF	R16	R32	R64	R128	QLFR	Q3	Q2	Q1
Grand Slam (Singles)	1000	700	450	250	140	90	60	2	31	25	15	2
Grand Slam (Doubles)	1000	700	450	250	140	90	2	-	24	-	-	-
SE Champs (Singles)	750	525	335	185	105	-	-	-	-	-	-	-
SE Champs (Doubles)	750	525	335	185	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-
Tier I $3,000,000 (Singles)	500	350	225	125	70	45	30	1	20	-	10	1
Tier I $3,000,000 (Doubles)	500	350	225	125	70	1	-	-	15	-	10	1
Tier I $2,000,000 (Singles)	465	325	210	115	65	40	25	1	15	-	10	1
Tier I $2,000,000 (Doubles)	465	325	210	115	65	1	-	-	-	-	-	-
Tier I $1,340,000 (56S)	430	300	195	110	60	35	1	-	15	-	10	1
Tier I $1,340,000 (28S/32D)	430	300	195	110	60	1	-	-	20	15	10	1
Tier I $1,340,000 (16D)	430	300	195	110	1	-	-	-	-	-	-	-
Tier II $650,000 (28S)	300	215	140	75	40	1	-	-	15	10	5	1
Tier II $650,000 (16D)	300	215	140	75	1	-	-	-	-	-	-	-
Tier II $600,000 (56S)	275	190	125	70	35	20	1	-	10	-	5	1
Tier II $600,000 (28S)	275	190	125	70	35	1	-	-	15	10	5	1
Tier II $600,000 (16D)	275	190	125	70	1	-	-	-	-	-	-	-
Tier III $225,000 (32S)	165	115	75	40	20	1	-	-	5	-	3	1
Tier III $225,000 (16D)	165	115	75	40	1	-	-	-	-	-	-	-
Tier III $175,000 (56S)	140	100	65	35	20	10	1	-	4	-	3	1
Tier III $175,000 (30/32S, 32Q)	140	100	65	35	20	1	-	-	8	4	3	1
Tier III $175,000 (30/32S, 16Q)	140	100	65	35	20	1	-	-	4	-	3	1
Tier III $175,000 (16D)	140	100	65	35	1	-	-	-	-	-	-	-
Tier IV $145,000 (32S, 32Q)	115	80	50	30	15	1	-	-	7	3	2	1
Tier IV $145,000 (32S, 16Q)	115	80	50	30	15	1	-	-	3	-	2	1
Tier IV $145,000 (16S, 16D)	115	80	50	30	1	-	-	-	-	-	-	-
ITF $100,000 + H* (32)	75	55	40	20	10	1	-	-	3	2	1	-
ITF $100,000 + H* (16)	75	55	40	20	1	-	-	-	-	-	-	-
ITF $100,000 (32)	70	50	35	18	9	1	-	-	3	2	1	-
ITF $100,000 (16)	70	50	35	18	1	-	-	-	-	-	-	-
ITF $75,000 (32) + H*	65	45	29	16	8	1	-	-	3	2	1	-
ITF $75,000 (16) + H*	65	45	29	16	1	-	-	-	-	-	-	-
ITF $75,000 (32)	55	39	25	15	7	1	-	-	3	2	1	-
ITF $75,000 (16)	55	39	25	15	1	-	-	-	-	-	-	-
ITF $50,000 + H* (32)	45	32	20	12	6	1	-	-	3	2	1	-
ITF $50,000 + H* (16)	45	32	20	12	1	-	-	-	-	-	-	-
ITF $50,000 (32)	35	25	16	9	5	1	-	-	3	2	1	-
ITF $50,000 (16)	35	25	16	9	1	-	-	-	-	-	-	-
ITF $25,000 (32)	25	17	12	7	4	1	-	-	1	-	-	-
ITF $25,000 (16)	25	17	12	7	1	-	-	-	-	-	-	-
ITF $10,000 (32)	6	4	3	2	1	-	-	-	-	-	-	-
ITF $10,000 (16)	6	4	3	1	1	-	-	-	-	-	-	-

(*) “+H” indicates that Hospitality is provided

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 the mandatory Tier I tournament, 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. All players who qualify by ranking for acceptance into the main draw of a Grand Slam or the mandatory Tier I tournament will be entered automatically. Any player who is accepted into one of these tournaments and subsequently withdraws will automatically receive zero points for the tournament and will have it count as one of their best 17 tournament results.

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		20 October 2003	59
14	Amélie Mauresmo		13 September 2004	39
15	Maria Sharapova		22 August 2005	14

[edit] Records

[edit] Most titles won during the open era

1. Martina Navratilova: 167
2. Chris Evert: 154
3. Steffi Graf: 107
4. Margaret Smith 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: 43
11. Kim Clijsters: 34
11. Venus Williams: 34
13. Conchita Martinez: 33
14. Justine Henin: 31
15. Tracy Austin: 30

[edit] Most titles won in a year during the open era

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

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

[edit] Oldest winners of a title during the open era

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

[edit] Youngest winners of a title during the open era

Tracy Austin: 14 yrs, 0 mos, 28 days (1977 Portland)
Kathy Rinaldi: 14 yrs, 6 mos, 24 days (1981 Kyoto)
Andrea Jaeger: 14 yrs, 7 mos, 14 days (1980 Las Vegas)

[edit] Most matches won during the open era

Pos	Player	Wins
1	Martina Navratilova	1442
2	Chris Evert	1304
3	Steffi Graf	900
4	Virginia Wade	839
5	Arantxa Sanchez-Vicario	759
6	Lindsay Davenport	716
7	Conchita Martínez	711
8	Evonne Goolagong Cawley	704
9	Billie Jean King	695
10	Gabriela Sabatini	632
11	Pam Shriver	625
12	Helena Sukova	614
13	Nathalie Tauziat	606

[edit] Longest winning streaks during the open era

74 - Martina Navratilova (1984)
66 - Steffi Graf (1989-90)
58 - Martina Navratilova (1986-87)
57 - Margaret Smith Court (1972-73)
55 - Chris Evert (1974)
54 - Martina Navratilova (1983-84)

[edit] Calendar-year Grand Slams

Maureen Connolly Brinker (United States) in 1953
Margaret Smith 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. Her overall achievement has been dubbed the "Golden Slam."

[edit] Non calendar-year Grand Slams

(does not include any tournaments that were part of a player's calendar year Grand Slam and if a player won five, six, or seven consecutive Grand Slam singles tournaments, only the first four are listed)

Martina Navratilova (United States): 1983 Wimbledon, 1983 U.S. Open, 1983 Australian Open, 1984 French Open
Steffi Graf (Germany): 1993 French Open, 1993 Wimbledon, 1993 U.S. Open, 1994 Australian Open
Serena Williams (United States): 2002 French Open, 2002 Wimbledon, 2002 U.S. Open, 2003 Australian Open

[edit] Career Grand Slams in singles

(year indicates first victory in a particular Grand Slam event)

Doris Hart (United States) - 1949 Australian Championships, 1950 French Championships, 1951 Wimbledon, 1954 U.S. Championships
Shirley Fry Irvin (United States) - 1957 Australian Championships, 1951 French Championships, 1956 Wimbledon, 1956 U.S. Championships
Billie Jean King (United States) - 1968 Australian Championships, 1972 French Open, 1966 Wimbledon, 1967 U.S. Championships
Chris Evert (United States) - 1982 Australian Open, 1974 French Open, 1974 Wimbledon, 1975 U.S. Open
Martina Navratilova (United States) - 1981 Australian Open, 1982 French Open, 1978 Wimbledon, 1983 U.S. Open
Serena Williams (United States) - 2003 Australian Open, 2002 French Open, 2002 Wimbledon, 1999 U.S. Open

[edit] Grand Slam title leaders

Player	Australia			France			Wimbledon			United States			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	3	18	31	10	59
Billie Jean King	1	0	1	1	1	2	6	10	4	4	5	4	12	16	11	39
Margaret Osborne duPont	A	A	A	2	3	0	1	5	1	3	13	9	6	21	10	37
Louise Brough Clapp	1	1	0	0	3	0	4	5	4	1	12	4	6	21	8	35
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; A = never played in the event]

[edit] Miscellaneous

Career money leaders (as of January 29, 2007)

Rank	Player	Prize Money (US$)
1.	Steffi Graf	21,895,277
2.	Lindsay Davenport	21,763,653
3.	Martina Navratilova	21,626,089
4.	Martina Hingis*	19,691,380
5.	Serena Williams*	17,784,257
6.	Arantxa Sanchez Vicario	16,942,640
7.	Venus Williams*	16,339,674
8.	Monica Seles	14,891,762
9.	Kim Clijsters*	14,841,947
10.	Justine Henin*	14,298,124
* = active player

Singles Win-Loss Career

Rank	Player	Win	Loss	Ratio
1.	Chris Evert	1,304	144	.901
2.	Steffi Graf	900	115	.887
3.	Martina Navratilova	1,442	219	.868
4.	Monica Seles	595	122	.830
5.	Serena Williams	320	67	.827
6.	Martina Hingis	524	120	.814
7.	Venus Williams	425	100	.810
8.	Maria Sharapova	233	55	.809
9.	Justine Henin	414	99	.807
10.	Kim Clijsters	413	100	.805

Minimum of 25 tournaments played. The source for this table is the Women's Tennis Association (WTA) as of November 20, 2006. For reasons that the WTA does not explain, the list omits players such as Billie Jean King (.818 win ratio in 850 matches), Evonne Goolagong Cawley (.810 win ratio in 869 matches), and Margaret Smith Court.

[edit] Other trivia

As of November 20, 2006
- 174 players have earned at least U.S. $1 million since 1970.
- 33 players have earned at least U.S. $5 million since 1970.
- 14 players have earned at least U.S. $10 million since 1970.
- 7 players have earned at least U.S. $15 million dollars since 1970.
- 3 players have earned at least U.S. $20 million dollars since 1970.

[edit] See also

[edit] External links

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Categories: Tennis organisations | Women's tennis