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Women's Tennis Association

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File:WTA Tour.gif

The Women's Tennis Association, formed in 1973, is the principal organizing body of women's professional tennis. It organizes the WTA Tour, the worldwide professional tennis tour for women, which has (for sponsorship reasons) been known since 2005 as The Sony Ericsson WTA Tour. Its counterpart organization in the men's professional game is the ATP.

The Women's Tennis Association can trace its origins back to 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.

Tournament categories

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

  1. Grand Slam Events (4)
  2. Season-ending championships (Sony Ericsson Championships): with Three Million Dollars ($3,000,000) prize money.
  3. 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).

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.

WTA Rankings

As of 8 October, 2007

No Player Nation Points +/−
1 Justine Henin  Belgium 5500 =
2 Svetlana Kuznetsova  Russia 3640 =
3 Jelena Janković  Serbia 3475 =
4 Maria Sharapova  Russia 3235 =
5 Ana Ivanović  Serbia 3175 =
6 Anna Chakvetadze  Russia 2890 =
7 Serena Williams  United States 2466 =
8 Venus Williams  United States 2405 =
9 Daniela Hantuchová  Slovakia 2177 +1
10 Nadia Petrova  Russia 2121 -1
11 Amélie Mauresmo  France 1995 +1
12 Marion Bartoli  France 1991 -1
13 Nicole Vaidišová  Czech Republic 1735 +1
14 Elena Dementieva  Russia 1727 +1
15 Patty Schnyder  Switzerland 1694 -2
16 Shahar Pe'er  Israel 1689 =
17 Dinara Safina  Russia 1665 =
18 Tatiana Golovin  France 1624 +1
19 Martina Hingis  Switzerland 1577 -1
20 Ágnes Szávay  Hungary 1363.5 =
21 Sybille Bammer  Austria 1298 =
22 Lucie Šafářová  Czech Republic 1128 =
23 Katarina Srebotnik  Slovenia 1095 =
24 Vera Zvonareva  Russia 1061 =
25 Alona Bondarenko  Ukraine 1041 =
26 Maria Kirilenko  Russia 983 =
27 Virginie Razzano  France 960.5 +6
28 Li Na  China 938 -1
29 Sania Mirza  India 921 =
30 Francesca Schiavone  Italy 915 -2

Records

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: 52
10. Martina Hingis: 43
11. Justine Henin: 36
11. Venus Williams: 36
13. Kim Clijsters: 34
14. Conchita Martinez: 33
15. Tracy Austin: 30

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)

Oldest winners of a title during the open era

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

Youngest winners of a title during the open era

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

Most matches won during the open era

Pos Player Wins
1 United States Martina Navratilova 1442
2 United States Chris Evert 1304
3 Germany Steffi Graf 900
4 United Kingdom Virginia Wade 839
5 Spain Arantxa Sanchez-Vicario 759
6 United States Lindsay Davenport 724
7 Spain Conchita Martínez 711
8 Australia Evonne Goolagong Cawley 704
9 United States Billie Jean King 695
10 Argentina Gabriela Sabatini 632
11 United States Pam Shriver 625
12 Czech Republic Helena Sukova 614
13 France Nathalie Tauziat 606

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]

Miscellaneous

  • Career money leaders (as of Sept 10, 2007)
Rank Player Prize Money (US$)
1. Germany Steffi Graf 21,895,277
2. United States Lindsay Davenport* 21,843,477
3. United States Martina Navratilova 21,626,089
4. Switzerland Martina Hingis* 20,130,657
5. United States Venus Williams* 18,117,171
6. United States Serena Williams* 17,953,083
7. Belgium Justine Henin* 17,665,995
8. Spain Arantxa Sanchez Vicario 16,942,640
9. United States FR Yugoslavia SFR Yugoslavia Monica Seles 14,891,762
10. Belgium Kim Clijsters 14,764,296
* = active player
  • Singles Win-Loss Career
Rank Player Win Loss Ratio
1. United States Chris Evert 1,304 144 .901
2. Germany Steffi Graf 900 115 .887
3. United States Martina Navratilova 1,442 219 .868
4. United States FR Yugoslavia SFR Yugoslavia Monica Seles 595 122 .830
5. United States Serena Williams* 350 73 .827
6. Belgium Justine Henin* 464 103 .818
7. United States Venus Williams* 468 108 .813
8. Russia Maria Sharapova* 269 64 .808
9. Switzerland Martina Hingis* 548 133 .805
10. Belgium Kim Clijsters 427 104 .804
* = active player

Minimum of 25 tournaments played. The source for this table is the Women's Tennis Association (WTA) as of July 9, 2007. 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.

Miscellaneous facts

  • 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.
    • 8 players have earned at least U.S. $15 million dollars since 1970.
    • 4 players have earned at least U.S. $20 million dollars since 1970.
  • Venus Williams of the United States hit the fastest serve ever (in a main draw) in the first round of the 2007 U.S. Open, 129 mph.

See also

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