WTA Tour 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 has 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.

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. 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...
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