WTA Tour Championships

WTA Tour Championships
2012 WTA Tour Championships
WTA Tour
Location	Istanbul  Turkey (2011–2013)
Venue	Sinan Erdem Dome
Category	Premier tournaments
Surface	Hard / Indoors
Draw	8S / 4D
Prize Money	US$4,900,000 (2011)
Website	WTA Championships

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 month, city and number of players has changed since the first edition in 1972. Since 2003 there have been eight singles players divided into two groups, and four doubles teams.

The WTA Tour Championships is generally considered to be the fifth most prestigious event on the women's tour after the four Grand Slam tournaments. It also has the largest prize money and ranking points after the Grand Slams.

The most successful player by far has been Martina Navratilova with 8 singles titles and 12 in doubles.

A similar event on the men's tour is the ATP World Tour Finals (formerly the Tennis Masters Cup).

History

The championships were held for the first time in October 1972 in Boca Raton, Florida (USA) as a climax event at the end of a series of tournaments sponsored by Virginia Slims, called the Virginia Slims Circuit. 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–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 2008–2010 editions before passing the flag to Istanbul, Turkey, which is scheduled to host the 2011–2013 editions. For the right to host the 2014 edition and beyond, 43 cities expressed an interest before a short list comprising Kazan, Russia; Mexico City, Mexico; Singapore; and Tianjin, China was drawn up in late 2012.

From 1972–1978, 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. 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. From 2005 to 2010, with Sony Ericsson as tour sponsor, the event was called the Sony Ericsson Championships. From 2011 through to 2013 the tournament had a joint title sponsor. The event was sponsored by BNP Paribas and Türk Ekonomi Bankasý and known as the TEB–BNP Paribas WTA Championships.

From 1984–1998, the final of the championships was a best-of-five-sets match, making it the only tournament on the women's tour to have had a best-of-five match at any round of the competition. It was the first time since 1902 that the best-of-five format was used in women's matches. In 1999, the final reverted to being a best-of-three-sets match.

Venues

Years	Town	Venue	Surface	Capacity
1972–1973	Boca Raton		Clay
1974–1976	Los Angeles		Carpet
1977	New York City	Madison Square Garden	Carpet	18,000
1978	Oakland	Oakland Arena	Carpet
1979–2000	New York City	Madison Square Garden	Carpet	18,000
2001	Munich	Olympiahalle	Hard	12,000
2002–2005	Los Angeles	Staples Centre	Hard	17,000
2006–2007	Madrid	Madrid Arena	Hard	10,500
2008–2010	Doha	Khalifa International Tennis and Squash Complex	Hard	6,911
2011–2013	Istanbul	Sinan Erdem Dome	Hard (i)	16,410
2014–2016	Candidate Cities: Monterrey Singapore Tianjin	TBD	TBD	TBD

Past results

Singles

Match held in best-of-five-sets format

Year	Champion	Runner-up	Score in final
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 Navratilova	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 Navratilova	Evonne Goolagong Cawley	7–6(7–0), 6–4
1979	Martina Navratilova (2)	Tracy Austin	6–3, 3–6, 6–2
1980	Tracy Austin	Martina Navratilova	6–2, 2–6, 6–2
1981	Martina Navratilova (3)	Andrea Jaeger	6–3, 7–6(7–3)
1982	Sylvia Hanika	Martina Navratilova	1–6, 6–3, 6–4
1983	Martina Navratilova (4)	Chris Evert	6–2, 6–0
1984	Martina Navratilova (5)	Chris Evert	6–3, 7–5, 6–1
1985	Martina Navratilova (6)	Helena Suková	6–3, 7–5, 6–4
1986 (Mar.)	Martina Navratilova (7)	Hana Mandlíková	6–2, 6–0, 3–6, 6–1
1986 (Nov.)	Martina Navratilova (8)	Steffi Graf	7–6(8–6), 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 Navratilova	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 Navratilova	6–4, 3–6, 7–5, 6–0
1992	Monica Seles (3)	Martina Navratilova	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(7–4), 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(5–7), 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(7–3), 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(5–7), 6–0, 6–2
2009	Serena Williams (2)	Venus Williams	6–2, 7–6(7–4)
2010	Kim Clijsters (3)	Caroline Wozniacki	6–3, 5–7, 6–3
2011	Petra Kvitová	Victoria Azarenka	7–5, 4–6, 6–3
2012	Serena Williams (3)	Maria Sharapova	6–4, 6–3

Timeline

Doubles

Year	Champion	Runner-up	Score in final
1972	no doubles played
1973	Rosemary Casals Margaret Court	Françoise Dürr Betty Stöve	6–2, 6–4
1974	Rosemary Casals Billie Jean King	Françoise Dürr Betty Stöve	6–1, 6–7(2–7), 7–5
1975	Margaret Court Virginia Wade	Rosemary Casals Billie Jean King	6-7(2–7), 7-6(7–2), 6-2
1976	no doubles played
1977	Martina Navrátilová Betty Stöve	Françoise Dürr Virginia Wade	7-5, 6-3
1978	no doubles played
1979	Françoise Dürr 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(8–6)
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(4–7), 6–4, 7–6(7–5)
1986 (Mar.)	Hana Mandlíková Wendy Turnbull	Claudia Kohde-Kilsch Helena Suková	6–4, 6–7(4–7), 6–3
1986 (Nov.)	Martina Navrátilová Pam Shriver	Claudia Kohde-Kilsch Helena Suková	7–6(1), 6–3
1987	Martina Navrátilová Pam Shriver	Claudia Kohde-Kilsch Helena Suková	6–1, 6–1
1988	Martina Navrátilová Pam Shriver	Larisa Savchenko Natalia Zvereva	6–3, 6–4
1989	Martina Navrátilová Pam Shriver	Larisa Savchenko Natalia Zvereva	6–3, 6–2
1990	Kathy Jordan Elizabeth Smylie	Mercedes Paz Arantxa Sánchez Vicario	7–6(7–4), 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(7–4), 6–1
1993	Gigi Fernández Natalia Zvereva	Jana Novotná Larisa Neiland	6–3, 7–5
1994	Gigi Fernández Natasha Zvereva	Jana Novotná Arantxa Sánchez Vicario	6–3, 6–7(4–7), 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(5–7), 6–3, 6–2
1998	Lindsay Davenport Natasha Zvereva	Alexandra Fusai Nathalie Tauziat	6–7(6–8), 7–5, 6–3
1999	Martina Hingis Anna Kournikova	Arantxa Sánchez Vicario Larisa 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), 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(7–0), 5–7, [10–7]
2010	Gisela Dulko Flavia Pennetta	Květa Peschke Katarina Srebotnik	7–5, 6–4
2011	Liezel Huber Lisa Raymond	Květa Peschke Katarina Srebotnik	6–4, 6–4
2012	Maria Kirilenko Nadia Petrova	Andrea Hlaváčková Lucie Hradecká	6–1, 6–4

Honour roll (2003-present)

Singles

W = winner tF = finalist (runner-up) SF = Semi final RR = Round robin (A) = Alternate W-L = win-loss

Player	Result	A p p e a r a n c e s	RR W–L	RR W Rate	SF&F W–L	SF&F W Rate	F W–L
Victoria Azarenka	tF:11 SF:12 RR:09,10	4	06–06	0.5	01-02	0.33	0-1
Marion Bartoli	RR:07,11(A)	2	02–01	0.67
Jennifer Capriati	SF:03	1	02–01	0.67	00-01	0
Anna Chakvetadze	SF:07	1	02-01	0.67	00-01	0
Kim Clijsters	W:03,10 SF:06 RR:05	4	08–04	0.67	04-01	0.8	2-0
Lindsay Davenport	SF:05 RR:04	2	04-02	0.67	00-01	0
Elena Dementieva	SF:08 RR:03-06,09,10	7	05–16	0.24	00-01	0
Sara Errani	RR:12	1	01-02	0.33
Daniela Hantuchová	RR:07	1	01–02	0.33
Justine Henin	W:06,07 SF:03	3	07-02	0.78	04-01	0.8	2-0
Martina Hingis	RR:06	1	01–02	0.33
Ana Ivanovic	SF:07 RR:08	2	02-03	0.4	00-01	0
Jelena Janković	SF:08,09 RR:07,10	4	04-08	0.33	00-02	0
Angelique Kerber	RR:12	1	00-03	0
Svetlana Kuznetsova	RR:04,06-09	5	03–12	0.2
Petra Kvitová	W:11 RR:12	2	03-01	0.75	02-00	1	1-0
Li Na	RR:11,12	2	02-04	0.33
Amélie Mauresmo	W:05 tF:03,06 SF:04	4	09-03	0.75	04-03	0.57	1-2
Anastasia Myskina	SF:04 RR:03	2	03–03	0.5	00-01	0
Nadia Petrova	RR:05,06,08(A)	3	02-05	0.29
Mary Pierce	tF:05	1	03–00	1	01-01	0.5	0-1
Agnieszka Radwańska	SF:12 RR:08(A),09(A),11	4	05-03	0.63	00-01	0
Chanda Rubin	RR:03	1	01–02	0.33
Dinara Safina	RR:08,09	2	00–04	0
Francesca Schiavone	RR:10	1	01–02	0.33
Patty Schnyder	RR:05	1	01-02	0.33
Maria Sharapova	W:04 tF:07,12 SF:05,06 RR:11	6	13-04	0.76	04-04	0.5	1-2
Samantha Stosur	SF:10,11 RR:12(A)	3	04-04	0.5	00-02	0
Ai Sugiyama	RR:03	1	01-02	0.33
Serena Williams	W:09,12 tF:04 RR:07,08	5	09-03	0.75	05-01	0.83	2-1
Venus Williams	W:08 tF:09	2	04-02	0.67	03-01	0.75	1-1
Caroline Wozniacki	tF:10 SF:09 RR:11	3	05-04	0.56	01-02	0.33	0-1
Vera Zvonareva	tF:08 SF:10,11 RR:04,09(A)	5	07-06	0.54	01-03	0.25	0-1

Final appearances by country

Singles

Titles won	Country	Years Won	Runners Up
15	United States	1972, 1973, 1975, 1977, 1980, 1983, 1984, 1985, 19861, 19862, 1999, 2001, 2008, 2009, 2012	1973, 1974, 1976, 1979, 1981, 1982, 1983, 1984, 1988, 1989, 1991, 1992, 1994, 1998, 2000, 2001, 2002, 2004, 2009
6	Germany	1982, 1987, 1989, 1993, 1995, 1996	19862, 1995
5	Belgium	2002, 2003, 2006, 2007, 2010
	Czechoslovakia/  Czech Republic	1978, 1979, 1981, 1997, 2011	1975, 1980, 1985, 19861
3	/ Yugoslavia	1990, 1991, 1992
2	Argentina	1988, 1994	1987, 1990
	Australia	1974, 1976	1972, 1978
	Switzerland	1998, 2000	1996, 1999
1	France	2005	1997, 2003, 2005, 2006
	Russia	2004	2007, 2008, 2012
0	Belarus		2011
	Denmark		2010
	Great Britain		1977
	Spain		1993

• 1. March
• 2. November

Final appearances by player

Singles

Player	Years won		Runner-up		No. of finals
Martina Navratilova	8	1978, 1979, 1981, 1983, 1984, 1985, 19861, 19862	6	1975, 1980, 1982, 1989, 1991, 1992	14
Steffi Graf	5	1987, 1989, 1993, 1995, 1996	1	19862	6
Chris Evert	4	1972, 1973, 1975, 1977	4	1974, 1976, 1983, 1984	8
Serena Williams	3	2001, 2009, 2012	2	2002, 2004	5
Monica Seles	3	1990, 1991, 1992	1	2000	4
Kim Clijsters	3	2002, 2003, 2010	0		3
Gabriela Sabatini	2	1988, 1994	2	1987, 1990	4
Martina Hingis	2	1998, 2000	2	1996, 1999	4
Evonne Goolagong Cawley	2	1974, 1976	1	1978	3
Justine Henin	2	2006, 2007	0		2
Lindsay Davenport	1	1999	3	1994, 1998, 2001	4
Amélie Mauresmo	1	2005	2	2003, 2006	3
Maria Sharapova	1	2004	2	2007, 2012	3
Tracy Austin	1	1980	1	1979	2
Venus Williams	1	2008	1	2009	2
Sylvia Hanika	1	1982	0		1
Jana Novotná	1	1997	0		1
Petra Kvitová	1	2011	0		1
Mary Pierce	0		2	1997, 2005	2
Sue Barker	0		1	1977	1
Helena Suková	0		1	1985	1
Hana Mandlíková	0		1	19861	1
Pam Shriver	0		1	1988	1
Arantxa Sánchez Vicario	0		1	1993	1
Anke Huber	0		1	1995	1
Vera Zvonareva	0		1	2008	1
Caroline Wozniacki	0		1	2010	1
Victoria Azarenka	0		1	2011	1

• 1. March
• 2. Novermber