WTA Tour Championships

Sony Ericsson Championships
2010 WTA Tour 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 (United States) 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 from 2002 to 2005. The 2006 and 2007 editions were held in Madrid, Spain. Doha, Qatar hosted the 2008 and 2009 events and is scheduled to host the 2010 edition before passing the flag to Istanbul, Turkey, which is expected to host the 2011, 2012, and 2013 events.^[1][2]

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. Serena Williams is the current champion.

Venues

Town	Years	Stadium	Surface	max. spectators
Houston	1971
Boca Raton	1972–1973		Clay
Los Angeles	1974–1976		Carpet
New York City	1977	Madison Square Garden	Carpet	18,000
Oakland	1978		Carpet
New York City	1979–2000	Madison Square Garden	Carpet	18,000
Munich	2001	Olympiahalle	Hard	12,000
Los Angeles	2002–2005	Staples Center	Hard	17,000
Madrid	2006–2007	Madrid Arena	Hard	10,500
Doha	2008–2010	Khalifa International Tennis Complex	Hard	6,911
Istanbul	2011–2013	Under construction		10,000?

Past results

Singles

Year	Champion	Runner-up	Score in final
1971	Billie Jean King	Kerry Melville Reid	6–4, 4–6, 6–1
1972	Chris Evert	Kerry Melville Reid	7–5, 6–4
1973	Chris Evert (2)	Nancy Richey Gunter	6–3, 6–3
1974	Evonne Goolagong Cawley	Chris Evert	6–3, 6–4
1975	Chris Evert (3)	Martina Navrátilová	6–4, 6–2
1976	Evonne Goolagong Cawley (2)	Chris Evert	6–3, 5–7, 6–3
1977	Chris Evert (4)	Sue Barker	2–6, 6–1, 6–1
1978	Martina Navrátilová	Evonne Goolagong Cawley	7–6(0), 6–4
1979	Martina Navrátilová (2)	Tracy Austin	6–3, 3–6, 6–2
1980	Tracy Austin	Martina Navrátilová	6–2, 2–6, 6–2
1981	Martina Navrátilová (3)	Andrea Jaeger	6–3, 7–6(3)
1982	Sylvia Hanika	Martina Navrátilová	1–6, 6–3, 6–4
1983	Martina Navrátilová (4)	Chris Evert	6–2, 6–0
1984	Martina Navrátilová (5)	Chris Evert	6–3, 7–5, 6–1
1985	Martina Navrátilová (6)	Helena Suková	6–3, 7–5, 6–4
1986 (Mar.)	Martina Navrátilová (7)	Hana Mandlíková	6–2, 6–0, 3–6, 6–1
1986 (Nov.)	Martina Navrátilová (8)	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 (2)	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 (2)	Martina Navrátilová	6–4, 3–6, 7–5, 6–0
1992	Monica Seles (3)	Martina Navrátilová	7–5, 6–3, 6–1
1993	Steffi Graf (3)	Arantxa Sánchez Vicario	6–1, 6–4, 3–6, 6–1
1994	Gabriela Sabatini (2)	Lindsay Davenport	6–3, 6–2, 6–4
1995	Steffi Graf (4)	Anke Huber	6–1, 2–6, 6–1, 4–6, 6–3
1996	Steffi Graf (5)	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 (2)	Monica Seles	6–7(5), 6–4, 6–4
2001	Serena Williams	Lindsay Davenport	walkover
2002	Kim Clijsters	Serena Williams	7–5, 6–3
2003	Kim Clijsters (2)	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
2006	Justine Henin	Amélie Mauresmo	6–4, 6–3
2007	Justine Henin (2)	Maria Sharapova	5–7, 7–5, 6–3
2008	Venus Williams	Vera Zvonareva	6–7(5), 6–0, 6–2
2009	Serena Williams (2)	Venus Williams	6–2, 7–6(4)
2010

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
1977
1978
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	Květa Peschke Rennae Stubbs	6–1, 7–5
2009	Nuria Llagostera Vives María José Martínez Sánchez	Cara Black Liezel Huber	7-6(0), 5-7, [10-7]
2010

Honour roll (2000-present)

Player	Years participated	Matches	W-L	W Rate	Best result
Victoria Azarenka	2009(1)	3	1-2	33%	RR (2009)
Marion Bartoli	2007(1)	2	1-1	50%	RR (2007)
Jennifer Capriati	2000-03(4)	9	5–4	55%	SF (2003)
Anna Chakvetadze	2007(1)	4	2–2	50%	SF (2007)
Kim Clijsters	2000-03, 2005-06(6)	21	15–6	71%	W (2002–03)
Lindsay Davenport	2000-02, 2004-05(5)	10	7–3	70%	W (1999)
Elena Dementieva	2000-06, 2008-09(8)	23	6–17	26%	SF (2000, 2008)
Jelena Dokić	2001-02(2)	4	2-2	50%	QF (2001-02)
Daniela Hantuchová	2002, 2007(2)	4	1–3	25%	1R (2002), RR (2007)
Justine Henin	2001-03, 2006-07(5)	18	13–5	72%	W (2006–07)
Martina Hingis	2000, 2006(2)	7	5-2	71%	W (1998, 2000)
Ana Ivanović	2007-08(2)	6	2–4	33%	SF (2007)
Jelena Janković	2007-09(3)	11	4–7	36%	SF (2008-09)
Anna Kournikova	2000(1)	3	2-1	66%	SF (2000)
Svetlana Kuznetsova	2004, 2006-09(5)	15	3–12	20%	RR (2004, 2006-09)
Conchita Martínez	2000(1)	2	1-1	50%	QF (2000)
Amélie Mauresmo	2001, 2003-06(5)	21	12–9	57%	W (2005)
Anastasia Myskina	2002-04(3)	8	3–5	38%	SF (2004)
Nadia Petrova	2005-06, 2008(ALT)(3)	7	2–5	29%	RR (2005-06, 2008)
Mary Pierce	2005(1)	5	4–1	80%	F (2005)
Agnieszka Radwańska	2008-09 (ALT)(2)	2	2-0	100%	RR (2008-09)
Chanda Rubin	2000, 2002-03(3)	5	1–4	20%	RR (2003)
Dinara Safina	2008-09(2)	4	0-4	0%	RR (2008-09)
Monica Seles	2000, 2002(2)	6	4-2	66%	F (2000)
Patty Schnyder	2002, 2005(2)	4	1–3	25%	1R (2002), RR (2005)
Arantxa Sánchez Vicario	2000-01(2)	3	1-2	33%	QF (2001)
Maria Sharapova	2004-07(4)	18	13–5	72%	W (2004)
Ai Sugiyama	2003(1)	3	1–2	33%	RR (2003)
Nathalie Tauziat	2000-01(2)	3	1-2	33%	QF (2000)
Serena Williams	2001-02, 2004, 2007-09(6)	21	16–5	76%	W (2001, 2009)
Venus Williams	1999, 2002, 2008-09(4)	17	11–6	69%	W (2008)
Caroline Wozniacki	2009(1)	4	2-2	50%	SF (2009)
Vera Zvonareva	2004, 2008, 2009(ALT)(3)	9	4–5	44%	F (2008)

• ALT = Alternate

Results by country

Titles won	Country	Years Won	Runners Up
18	United States	1971, 1972, 1973, 1975, 1977, 1978, 1979, 1980, 1981, 1983, 1984, 1985, 1986[1], 1986[2], 1999, 2001, 2008, 2009 (18)	1973, 1974, 1975, 1976, 1979, 1980, 1981, 1982, 1983, 1984, 1988, 1989, 1991, 1992, 1994, 1998, 2000, 2001, 2002, 2004, 2009 (21)
6	Germany	1982, 1987, 1989, 1993, 1995, 1996 (6)	1986[2], 1995 (2)
4	Belgium	2002, 2003, 2006, 2007 (4)
3	Yugoslavia	1990, 1991, 1992 (3)
2	Argentina	1988, 1994 (2)	1987, 1990 (2)
	Australia	1974, 1976 (2)	1971, 1972, 1978 (3)
	Switzerland	1998, 2000 (2)	1996, 1999 (2)
1	Czech Republic	1997 (1)
	France	2005 (1)	1997, 2003, 2005, 2006 (4)
	Russia	2004 (1)	2007, 2008 (2)
0	Czechoslovakia		1985, 1986[1] (2)
	Great Britain		1977 (1)
	Spain		1993

Final Appearances

Singles

See also

• ATP World Tour Finals
• 2009 WTA Tour

References

External links

• 2009 Sony Ericsson Championships
• tenniscorner.net page on the WTA Tour Championships
• tennislovers.com page on the WTA Tour Championships