The WTA Finals is a tournament of the Women's Tennis Association (WTA) played annually at the end of the season. The event is uniquely reserved for players at the top of the WTA rankings. The format predates WTA and started in 1972 as the Championship tournament of WTA Tour's predecessor: the Virginia Slims Circuit. Since 2003 there have been eight singles players divided into two round-robin groups, and eight doubles teams.
Kerry Melville Reid is a former professional tennis player from Australia. During her 17-year career, Reid won one Grand Slam singles title and 26 other singles titles and was the runner-up in 40 singles tournaments. Reid was included in the year-end world top-ten rankings for 12 consecutive years (1968–1979). She won at least one tournament annually from 1966 through 1979, except for 1975. Her career-high ranking was world No. 5 in 1971, behind Margaret Court, Billie Jean King, Evonne Goolagong, and Rosie Casals.
The 1972 Queen's Club Championships, also known by its sponsored name Rothmans London Grass Court Championships, was a combined men's and women's tennis tournament played on grass courts at the Queen's Club in London in the United Kingdom that was part of the 1972 Commercial Union Assurance Grand Prix and the 1972 Virginia Slims Circuit. The tournament was held from 19 June through 24 June 1972. In the semifinal of the men's singles event 44-year old Pancho Gonzales was leading by a set against John Paish when he was disqualified by the tournament referee after an argument over the replacement of a linesman. Jimmy Connors and Chris Evert won the singles titles.
The 1985 Virginia Slims World Championship Series was the 15th season since the foundation of the Women's Tennis Association. It commenced in March 1985, and concluded in March 1986 after 52 events.
The 1983 Virginia Slims World Championship Series was the 13th season since the foundation of the Women's Tennis Association. It commenced on January 3, 1983, and concluded on March 4, 1984, after 64 events.
The 1989 Virginia Slims of Florida was a women's tennis tournament played on outdoor hard courts at the Polo Club of Boca Raton in Boca Raton, Florida in the United States and was part of the Category 5 tier of the 1989 WTA Tour. The tournament ran from March 13 through March 19, 1989. First-seeded Steffi Graf won the singles title, her second at the event after 1987.
The 1983 Daihatsu Challenge was a women's tennis tournament played on indoor carpet courts at the Brighton Centre in Brighton, England that was part of the 1983 Virginia Slims World Championship Series. It was the sixth edition of the tournament and was held from 17 October until 23 October 1983. First-seeded Chris Evert-Lloyd won the singles title and earned $28,000 first-prize money.
The 1973 Virginia Slims Championships were the second season-ending WTA Tour Championships, the annual tennis tournament for the best female tennis players in singles on the 1973 Virginia Slims circuit which was part of the 1973 WTA Tour. It was held from October 15 to 23, 1973 at the Boca Raton Hotel & Club in Boca Raton, United States. Both the top two qualifying players and top seeds Margaret Court and Billie Jean King had to withdraw from the tournament due to injury, although Court did compete in the doubles event. Fourth ranked Evonne Goolagong also defaulted. First-seeded Chris Evert won her second consecutive singles title at the event.
The 1974 Virginia Slims Championships were the third season-ending WTA Tour Championships, the annual tennis tournament for the best female tennis players in singles on the 1974 Virginia Slims circuit. It was held from October 14–19, in Los Angeles, United States. The 16 best performers of the circuit qualified for the championship as well as the four best doubles teams. Third-seeded Evonne Goolagong won the singles title and the accompanying $32,000 first prize.
The 1975 Virginia Slims Championships were the fourth season-ending Tour Championships, the annual tennis tournament for the best female tennis players in singles on the Virginia Slims Circuit. The 16 best players, based on points average, qualified for the tournament provided they had played at least six tournaments. The singles event consisted of an elimination round and the eight winners were subsequently divided over two round robin groups. The winners of each group played each other in the final and additionally there were play-off matches for third, fifth and seventh place. The tournament was played on synthetic carpet (Sporteze) and was held in the week of March 31 to April 5, 1975, at the Los Angeles Sports Arena in Los Angeles, California. This was the first year the tournament switched from October to April.
The 1976 Virginia Slims Championships were the fifth season-ending WTA Tour Championships, the annual tennis tournament for the best female tennis players in singles on the 1976 Virginia Slims circuit. The 16 best players, based on points average, qualified for the tournament provided they had played at least six tournaments. The singles event consisted of an elimination round and the eight winners were subsequently divided over two round robin groups. The winners of each group played each other in the final and additionally there were play-off matches for third, fifth and seventh place. The tournament was held from April 12 through April 17, 1976 at the Los Angeles Sports Arena. Evonne Goolagong won the singles event and the accompanying $40,000 first prize money.
The 1977 Virginia Slims Championships were the sixth season-ending WTA Tour Championships, the annual tennis tournament for the best female tennis players in singles on the 1977 WTA Tour. The singles event consisted of two round robin groups of four players each. The winners of each group played each other in the final and additionally there was a play-off match for third place. The tournament was played on indoor carpet and was held from March 24 to 27 in Madison Square Garden in New York City. First-seeded Chris Evert won the singles event and the accompanying $50,000 first prize money.
The 1975 Virginia Slims of Akron, also known as the Akron Tennis Open, was a women's tennis tournament played on indoor courts at the Richfield Coliseum in Akron, Ohio in the United States that was part of the 1975 Virginia Slims circuit. It was the third edition of the tournament and was held from February 3 through February 9, 1975. Chris Evert won the singles title and the accompanying $15,000 first-prize money.
The 1987 Virginia Slims of Florida was a women's tennis tournament played on outdoor hard courts at The Polo Club in Boca Raton, Florida in the United States and was part of the Category 4 tier of the 1987 WTA Tour. It was the ninth edition of the tournament and was held from February 16 through February 22, 1987. Second-seeded Steffi Graf won the singles title and earned $50,000 first-prize money.
The 1977 Colgate Series Championships was a women's tennis tournament played on outdoor hard courts at the Mission Hills Country Club in Palm Springs, California in the United States that was the season-ending tournament of the 1977 Virginia Slims World Championship Series. It was the inaugural edition of the tournament and was held from November 1 through November 6, 1977. The top eight singles players and top four doubles teams, in terms of Colgate Series ranking points, qualified for the event. First-seeded Chris Evert won the singles title and earned $75,000 first-prize money. With a total prize money of $250,000 it was the richest women's tournament to date.
The 1974 Virginia Slims of Houston was a women's tennis tournament played on indoor carpet courts at the Net-Set Racquet Club in Houston, Texas in the United States that was part of the 1974 Virginia Slims World Championship Series. It was the fourth edition of the tournament and was held from September 30 through October 6, 1974. First-seeded Chris Evert won the singles title and earned $10,000 first-prize money.
The 1974 Virginia Slims of San Francisco was a women's tennis tournament that took place on indoor carpet courts at the Civic Auditorium in San Francisco in the United States. It was the fourth edition of the event, which was part of the Virginia Slims Circuit, and was held from January 14 through January 19, 1974. Second-seeded Billie Jean King won the singles title, her third after 1971 and 1972, and earned $10,000 first-prize money.
The 1975 Virginia Slims of San Francisco, was a women's tennis tournament that took place on indoor carpet courts at the Civic Auditorium in San Francisco in the United States. It was the fifth edition of the event, which was part of the Virginia Slims Circuit, and was held from January 6 through January 11, 1975. The final was watched by 6,346 spectators who saw first-seeded Chris Evert win the singles title, earning $15,000 first-prize money.
The 1976 Virginia Slims of San Francisco, was a women's tennis tournament that took place on indoor carpet courts at the Civic Auditorium in San Francisco in the United States. It was the sixth edition of the event, which was part of the Virginia Slims Circuit, and was held from March 1 through March 6, 1976. The final was watched by 4,800 spectators who saw second-seeded Chris Evert win the singles title, earning $15,000 first-prize money.
The 1987 Virginia Slims of New Orleans was a women's tennis tournament played on indoor carpet courts in New Orleans, Louisiana in the United States that was part of the 1987 Virginia Slims World Championship Series. It was the fourth edition of the tournament and was held from September 28 through October 4, 1987. First-seeded Chris Evert won the singles title, her second at the event after 1985, and earned $30,000 first-prize money.
Chris Evert [2] 