![]() Chris Evert-Lloyd finished the year as world No. 1 for the fifth time in her career. She won eight singles tournaments during the season, including a major at the Wimbledon Championships. She also finished runner-up at another major, the Australian Open. | |
Details | |
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Duration | 12 January – 20 December 1981 |
Edition | 9th |
Tournaments | 47 |
Categories | Grand Slam (4) WTA Championships (3) Avon Championships (10) Toyota Series (26) |
Achievements (singles) | |
Most tournament titles | ![]() |
Most tournament finals | ![]() |
Prize money leader | ![]() |
Points leader | ![]() |
Awards | |
Player of the year | ![]() |
Doubles team of the year | ![]() ![]() |
Most improved player of the year | ![]() |
Newcomer of the year | ![]() |
← 1980 1982 → |
The 1981 Avon Championships World Championship Series was the 9th season since the foundation of the Women's Tennis Association. It commenced on January 4, 1981, and concluded on December 19, 1981, after 36 events. The Avon Championships World Championship Series was the elite tour for professional women's tennis organised by the Women's Tennis Association (WTA). The year is divided into two sponsors with the first three months sponsored by Avon Series and the latter part by Toyota Series. It included the four Grand Slam tournaments and a series of other events. ITF tournaments were not part of the tour, although they awarded points for the WTA World Ranking.
The table below shows the 1981 WTA Tour schedule.
Grand Slam tournaments |
WTA championships |
Avon Championships Circuit |
Toyota Series |
Team events |
Week | Tournament | Champions | Runners-up | Semifinalists | Quarterfinalists |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
13 Jul | Austrian Open Kitzbühel, Austria Toyota Series (Category 1) Clay – $50,000 – 32S/16D Singles – Doubles | ![]() 7–5, 7–6 | ![]() | ![]() ![]() | ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() |
![]() ![]() 6–4, 6–3 | ![]() ![]() | ||||
27 Jul | Wells Fargo Open San Diego, United States Toyota Series (Category 4) Hard – $125,000- 32S/16D Singles – Doubles | ![]() 6–2, 5–7, 6–2 | ![]() | ![]() ![]() | ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() |
![]() ![]() 6–1, 2–6, 6–4 | ![]() ![]() |
Week | Tournament | Champions | Runners-up | Semifinalists | Quarterfinalists |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
14 Sep | Toray Sillook Open Tokyo, Japan Toyota Series (Category 3) Carpet (i) – $100,000 – 32S Singles | ![]() 6–4, 7–5 | ![]() | ![]() ![]() | ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() |
21 Sep | Toyota Tennis Classic Atlanta, United States Toyota Series (Category 2) Hard – $75,000 – 32S/16D Singles – Doubles | ![]() 4–6, 6–3, 6–3 | ![]() | ![]() ![]() | ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() |
![]() ![]() 6–4, 7–5 | ![]() ![]() | ||||
28 Sep | U.S. Women's Indoor Championships Bloomington, United States Toyota Series (Category 4) Carpet (i) – $125,000 – 32S/16D Singles – Doubles | ![]() 6–0, 6–2 | ![]() | ![]() ![]() | ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() |
![]() ![]() 6–3, 7–6 | ![]() ![]() |
Week | Tournament | Champions | Runners-up | Semifinalists | Quarterfinalists |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
14 Dec | Toyota Series Championships East Rutherford, United States WTA championships Hard (i) – $300,000 – 12S/6D Singles – Doubles | ![]() 2–6, 6–4, 6–2 | ![]() | ![]() ![]() | Round robin![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() |
![]() ![]() 6–3, 6–4 | ![]() ![]() |
The 31 Toyota Series tournaments were divided into eight point categories. The highest points were allocated to the Grand Slam tournaments; French Open, the Wimbledon Championships, the US Open and the Australian Open. Points were allocated based on these categories and the finishing position of a player in a tournament. [1] The points allocation, with doubles points listed in brackets, is as follows:
Category | Grand Slam $300,000+ | 7 $200,000+ | 6 $175,000+ | 5 $150,000+ | 4 $125,000+ | 3 $100,000+ | 2 $75,000+ | 1 $50,000+ |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Winner | 250 (125) | 200 (105) | 175 (88) | 150 (75) | 125 (62) | 100 (50) | 75 (38) | 50 (25) |
Runner-up | 200 (100) | 160 (90) | 140 (73) | 120 (60) | 95 (47) | 70 (35) | 50 (25) | 30 (15) |
Semifinalist | 160 (80) | 130 (70) | 110 (57) | 90 (45) | 70 (35) | 50 (25) | 35 (17) | 20 (10) |
Quarterfinalist | 120 (60) | 100 (50) | 80 (40) | 60 (30) | 40 (20) | 25 (12) | 20 (8) | 10 (5) |
Fourth round | 80 (40) | 65 (35) | 50 (25) | 35 (17) | 25 (12) | 15 (8) | 10 (5) | 5 (3) |
Third round | 40 (30) | 30 (22) | 25 (15) | 20 (9) | 15 (5) | 5 (3) | 3 (1) | – (–) |
Second round | 15 (10) | 10 (8) | 10 (5) | 7 (2) | 5 (–) | – (–) | – (–) | – (–) |
Below are the 1981 WTA year-end rankings (December 31, 1981) in both singles and doubles competition:
Singles Year-end Ranking [2] | ||||
---|---|---|---|---|
No | Player Name | Points | 1980 | Change |
1 | ![]() | 17.542 | 1 | ![]() |
2 | ![]() | 16.486 | 2 | ![]() |
3 | ![]() | 15.710 | 3 | ![]() |
4 | ![]() | 13.107 | 7 | ![]() |
5 | ![]() | 11.234 | 4 | ![]() |
6 | ![]() | 9.620 | 14 | ![]() |
7 | ![]() | 9.594 | 9 | ![]() |
8 | ![]() | 8.262 | 8 | ![]() |
9 | ![]() | 7.932 | 19 | ![]() |
10 | ![]() | 7.921 | 25 | ![]() |
11 | ![]() | 7.823 | 17 | ![]() |
12 | ![]() | 7.399 | 11 | ![]() |
13 | ![]() | 6.567 | 18 | ![]() |
14 | ![]() | 6.405 | 16 | ![]() |
15 | ![]() | 5.957 | 13 | ![]() |
16 | ![]() | 5.728 | 24 | ![]() |
17 | ![]() | 5.199 | 23 | ![]() |
18 | ![]() | 5.050 | 36 | ![]() |
19 | ![]() | 5.034 | 54 | ![]() |
20 | ![]() | 4.846 | 78 | ![]() |
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