WTA Finals

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WTA Finals
Tournament information
Founded1972; 52 years ago (1972)
Editions52 (2023)
LocationCancún, Mexico (2023)
CategoryWTA Finals[1]
SurfaceHard - outdoors
Draw8S / 8D (since 2014)
Prize money$9,000,000 (2023)[2]
Websitewtafinals.com
Current champions (2023)
SinglesPoland Iga Świątek
DoublesGermany Laura Siegemund
Vera Zvonareva

The WTA Finals (formerly known as the WTA Tour Championships[3] or WTA Championships) is the season-ending championship of the WTA Tour. It is the most significant tennis event in the women's annual calendar after the four majors, as it features the top eight singles players and top eight doubles teams based on their results throughout the season.

The tournament predates the WTA Tour and started in 1972 as the championship tournament of the Tour's predecessor: the Virginia Slims Circuit. Since 2003, the tournament has used a unique format not seen in other WTA Tour events: the players are separated into two groups of four, within which they each play three round-robin matches. The top two players or teams from each group after the round-robin stage move on to a knock-out format in the semifinals and final to determine the champion.

The WTA Finals has the largest prize money and ranking points after the majors. The most successful player in both singles and doubles history is Martina Navratilova, with eight singles and 13 doubles titles.

In the tournament's current format, the champion can earn a maximum of 1,500 ranking points, if they win the event as an undefeated champion in the round-robin stage.

Tournament

History

The championships were held for the first time in October 1972 in Boca Raton, Florida (USA) as a climactic event at the end of a series of tournaments sponsored by Virginia Slims, called the Virginia Slims Circuit.[4] 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 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 hosted the 2011–2013 editions.[5] 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.[6] Kazan and Mexico City were ruled out in early 2013[7] before Singapore was announced in May 2013 as the new host city for five years.[8][9] In 2018, the WTA announced the host city from 2019 to 2028 would be Shenzhen, China,[10] however due to COVID-19, the tournament was cancelled in 2020 and has had to find alternative hosting sites since.[11]

Format

From 1984 to 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.[12] It was the first time since the 1901 U.S. National Championships that the best-of-five format was used in women's matches.[13] In 1999, the final reverted to being a best-of-three-sets match. From the 1974 until the 1982 edition the doubles draw consisted of four teams; then from 1983 to 2002 the draw increased to eight teams; was decreased back to four teams until 2013 and from the 2014 edition onward it has been made up of eight teams. From its first inception in 1973 until 2018 the doubles draw was played in a single elimination format. In 2015 and from 2019 until the present the doubles draw has been played in a round robin format.[9]

Qualified players and teams participate in a round-robin format in two groups of four. The winners and runners-up of each group advance to the semifinals. The semifinal winners progress through to the finals where they compete for the title.

Qualification

To qualify for the WTA Finals, WTA players compete throughout the year in over 53 WTA tournaments throughout the world, as well as the four Grand Slam events. Players earn ranking points on the Porsche Race To Shenzhen leaderboard, and the top 7 singles players (and usually top 8) and top 8 doubles teams on this leaderboard at the conclusion of the year (as of the Monday following the final regular season tournament) earn the right to compete in the WTA Championships. For singles, all results from that year count towards a player's ranking. The eighth spot in singles is not guaranteed a place in the finals as the WTA has some leeway per the WTA rules.[14]

In the singles, point totals are calculated by combining point totals from 16 tournaments (excluding ITF and WTA 125 tournaments). Of these sixteen tournaments, a player's results: from the four Grand Slam events, the four WTA 1000 tournaments with 1,000 points for the winner, and (for the players who played the main draw at least in 2 such tournaments) the best results from two WTA 1000 tournaments with 900 points maximum must be included as well as points from 6 other countable tournaments. In the doubles, point totals are calculated by any combination of eleven tournaments throughout the year, not abiding to the mandatory Grand-Slam or Premier-level tournaments rule like for singles.[15]

Venues

Years City Country Venue Surface Capacity
1972–1973 Boca Raton United States Boca Raton Hotel & Club Clay
1974–1976 Los Angeles United States Los Angeles Memorial Sports Arena Carpet 14,800
1977 New York City United States Madison Square Garden Carpet 18,000
1978 Oakland United States Oakland Arena Carpet 13,200
1979–2000 New York City United States Madison Square Garden Carpet 18,000
2001 Munich Germany Olympiahalle Hard (i) 12,000
2002–2005 Los Angeles United States Staples Center Hard (i) 17,000
2006–2007 Madrid Spain Madrid Arena Hard (i) 10,500
2008–2010 Doha Qatar Khalifa International Tennis and Squash Complex Hard 6,911
2011–2013 Istanbul Turkey Sinan Erdem Dome Hard (i) 16,410
2014–2018 Singapore Singapore Singapore Indoor Stadium Hard (i) 10,000
2019 Shenzhen China Shenzhen Bay Sports Center Hard (i) 12,000
2021 Guadalajara Mexico Panamerican Tennis Center Hard 6,639
2022 Fort Worth United States Dickies Arena Hard (i) 14,000
2023 Cancún Mexico Estadio Paradisus Hard 4,300

Prize money and points

The total prize money for the 2023 WTA Finals is US$9,000,000. The tables below are based on the updated draw sheet information.[16]

Stage Prize money Points
Singles Doubles[a]
Champion RR[b] + $1,476,000 RR[b] + $306,000 RR + 750
Runner-up RR + $756,000 RR + $144,000 RR + 330
Semifinalist RR + $54,000 RR + $9,000 RR
Round robin win per match +$198,000 +$36,000 250
Round robin loss per match 125
Participation Fee $198,000 $90,000
Alternates $144,000 $90,000
  1. ^ Prize money for doubles is per team.
  2. ^ a b RR means prize money or points won in the round robin round.
  • An undefeated champion would earn the maximum 1,500 points, and $3,078,000 in singles or $657,000 in doubles.

Since 2014, the singles and doubles winners of the tournament receive the Billie Jean King Trophy[17][18] and the Martina Navratilova trophy,[19][20] respectively.

List of finals

Singles

 From 1984 to 1998, the final match in singles was held in a best-of-five-sets format.[9]
Year Champion Runner-up Score
1972 United States Chris Evert (1/4) Australia Kerry Melville 7–5, 6–4
1973 United States Chris Evert (2/4) United States Nancy Richey Gunter 6–3, 6–3
1974 Australia Evonne Goolagong (1/2) United States Chris Evert 6–3, 6–4
1975 United States Chris Evert (3/4) Czechoslovakia Martina Navratilova 6–4, 6–2
1976 Australia Evonne Goolagong Cawley (2/2) United States Chris Evert 6–3, 5–7, 6–3
1977 United States Chris Evert (4/4) United Kingdom Sue Barker 2–6, 6–1, 6–1
1978 United States Martina Navratilova (1/8) Australia Evonne Goolagong Cawley 7–6(7–2), 6–4
1979 United States Martina Navratilova (2/8) United States Tracy Austin 6–3, 3–6, 6–2
1980 United States Tracy Austin (1/1) United States Martina Navratilova 6–2, 2–6, 6–2
1981 United States Martina Navratilova (3/8) United States Andrea Jaeger 6–3, 7–6(7–3)
1982 Germany Sylvia Hanika (1/1) United States Martina Navratilova 1–6, 6–3, 6–4
1983 United States Martina Navratilova (4/8) United States Chris Evert 6–2, 6–0
1984 United States Martina Navratilova (5/8) United States Chris Evert 6–3, 7–5, 6–1
1985 United States Martina Navratilova (6/8) Czechoslovakia Helena Suková 6–3, 7–5, 6–4
1986
(Mar.)
United States Martina Navratilova (7/8) Czechoslovakia Hana Mandlíková 6–2, 6–0, 3–6, 6–1
1986
(Nov.)
United States Martina Navratilova (8/8) Germany Steffi Graf 7–6(8–6), 6–3, 6–2
1987 Germany Steffi Graf (1/5) Argentina Gabriela Sabatini 4–6, 6–4, 6–0, 6–4
1988 Argentina Gabriela Sabatini (1/2) United States Pam Shriver 7–5, 6–2, 6–2
1989 Germany Steffi Graf (2/5) United States Martina Navratilova 6–4, 7–5, 2–6, 6–2
1990 Socialist Federal Republic of Yugoslavia Monica Seles (1/3) Argentina Gabriela Sabatini 6–4, 5–7, 3–6, 6–4, 6–2
1991 Socialist Federal Republic of Yugoslavia Monica Seles (2/3) United States Martina Navratilova 6–4, 3–6, 7–5, 6–0
1992 Federal Republic of Yugoslavia Monica Seles (3/3) United States Martina Navratilova 7–5, 6–3, 6–1
1993 Germany Steffi Graf (3/5) Spain Arantxa Sánchez Vicario 6–1, 6–4, 3–6, 6–1
1994 Argentina Gabriela Sabatini (2/2) United States Lindsay Davenport 6–3, 6–2, 6–4
1995 Germany Steffi Graf (4/5) Germany Anke Huber 6–1, 2–6, 6–1, 4–6, 6–3
1996 Germany Steffi Graf (5/5) Switzerland Martina Hingis 6–3, 4–6, 6–0, 4–6, 6–0
1997 Czech Republic Jana Novotná (1/1) France Mary Pierce 7–6(7–4), 6–2, 6–3
1998 Switzerland Martina Hingis (1/2) United States Lindsay Davenport 7–5, 6–4, 4–6, 6–2
1999 United States Lindsay Davenport (1/1) Switzerland Martina Hingis 6–4, 6–2
2000 Switzerland Martina Hingis (2/2) United States Monica Seles 6–7(5–7), 6–4, 6–4
2001 United States Serena Williams (1/5) United States Lindsay Davenport walkover
2002 Belgium Kim Clijsters (1/3) United States Serena Williams 7–5, 6–3
2003 Belgium Kim Clijsters (2/3) France Amélie Mauresmo 6–2, 6–0
2004 Russia Maria Sharapova (1/1) United States Serena Williams 4–6, 6–2, 6–4
2005 France Amélie Mauresmo (1/1) France Mary Pierce 5–7, 7–6(7–3), 6–4
2006 Belgium Justine Henin (1/2) France Amélie Mauresmo 6–4, 6–3
2007 Belgium Justine Henin (2/2) Russia Maria Sharapova 5–7, 7–5, 6–3
2008 United States Venus Williams (1/1) Russia Vera Zvonareva 6–7(5–7), 6–0, 6–2
2009 United States Serena Williams (2/5) United States Venus Williams 6–2, 7–6(7–4)
2010 Belgium Kim Clijsters (3/3) Denmark Caroline Wozniacki 6–3, 5–7, 6–3
2011 Czech Republic Petra Kvitová (1/1) Belarus Victoria Azarenka 7–5, 4–6, 6–3
2012 United States Serena Williams (3/5) Russia Maria Sharapova 6–4, 6–3
2013 United States Serena Williams (4/5) China Li Na 2–6, 6–3, 6–0
2014 United States Serena Williams (5/5) Romania Simona Halep 6–3, 6–0
2015 Poland Agnieszka Radwańska (1/1) Czech Republic Petra Kvitová 6–2, 4–6, 6–3
2016 Slovakia Dominika Cibulková (1/1) Germany Angelique Kerber 6–3, 6–4
2017 Denmark Caroline Wozniacki (1/1) United States Venus Williams 6–4, 6–4
2018 Ukraine Elina Svitolina (1/1) United States Sloane Stephens 3–6, 6–2, 6–2
2019 Australia Ashleigh Barty (1/1) Ukraine Elina Svitolina 6–4, 6–3
2020 No competition due to the COVID-19 pandemic
2021 Spain Garbiñe Muguruza (1/1) Estonia Anett Kontaveit 6–3, 7–5
2022 France Caroline Garcia (1/1) [a]Aryna Sabalenka 7–6(7–4), 6–4
2023 Poland Iga Świątek (1/1) United States Jessica Pegula 6–1, 6–0

Doubles

Year Champions Runners-up Score
1972 No Doubles Played
1973 United States Rosemary Casals (1/2)
Australia Margaret Court (1/2)
France Françoise Dürr
Netherlands Betty Stöve
6–2, 6–4
1974 United States Rosemary Casals (2/2)
United States Billie Jean King (1/4)
France Françoise Dürr
Netherlands Betty Stöve
6–1, 6–7(2–7), 7–5
1975 Australia Margaret Court (2/2)
United Kingdom Virginia Wade (1/1)
United States Rosemary Casals
United States Billie Jean King
6–7(2–7), 7–6(7–2), 6–2
1976 United States Billie Jean King (2/4)
Netherlands Betty Stöve (1/3)
United States Mona Guerrant
United States Ann Kiyomura
6–3, 6–2
1977 United States Martina Navratilova (1/13)
Netherlands Betty Stöve (2/3)
France Françoise Dürr
United Kingdom Virginia Wade
7–5, 6–3
1978 United States Billie Jean King (3/4)
United States Martina Navratilova (2/13)
France Françoise Dürr
United Kingdom Virginia Wade
6–4, 6–4
1979 France Françoise Dürr (1/1)
Netherlands Betty Stöve (3/3)
United Kingdom Sue Barker
United States Ann Kiyomura
7–6(7–1), 7–6(7–3)
1980 United States Billie Jean King (4/4)
United States Martina Navratilova (3/13)
United States Rosemary Casals
Australia Wendy Turnbull
6–3, 4–6, 6–3
1981 United States Martina Navratilova (4/13)
United States Pam Shriver (1/10)
United States Barbara Potter
United States Sharon Walsh
6–0, 7–6(8–6)
1982 United States Martina Navratilova (5/13)
United States Pam Shriver (2/10)
United States Kathy Jordan
United States Anne Smith
6–4, 6–3
1983 United States Martina Navratilova (6/13)
United States Pam Shriver (3/10)
West Germany Claudia Kohde-Kilsch
West Germany Eva Pfaff
7–5, 6–2
1984 United States Martina Navratilova (7/13)
United States Pam Shriver (4/10)
United Kingdom Jo Durie
United States Ann Kiyomura
6–3, 6–1
1985 United States Martina Navratilova (8/13)
United States Pam Shriver (5/10)
West Germany Claudia Kohde-Kilsch
Czechoslovakia Helena Suková
6–7(4–7), 6–4, 7–6(7–5)
1986
(Mar.)
Czechoslovakia Hana Mandlíková (1/1)
Australia Wendy Turnbull (1/1)
West Germany Claudia Kohde-Kilsch
Czechoslovakia Helena Suková
6–4, 6–7(4–7), 6–3
1986
(Nov.)
United States Martina Navratilova (9/13)
United States Pam Shriver (6/10)
West Germany Claudia Kohde-Kilsch
Czechoslovakia Helena Suková
7–6(7–1), 6–3
1987 United States Martina Navratilova (10/13)
United States Pam Shriver (7/10)
West Germany Claudia Kohde-Kilsch
Czechoslovakia Helena Suková
6–1, 6–1
1988 United States Martina Navratilova (11/13)
United States Pam Shriver (8/10)
Soviet Union Larisa Savchenko
Soviet Union Natalia Zvereva
6–3, 6–4
1989 United States Martina Navratilova (12/13)
United States Pam Shriver (9/10)
Soviet Union Larisa Savchenko
Soviet Union Natalia Zvereva
6–3, 6–2
1990 United States Kathy Jordan (1/1)
Australia Elizabeth Smylie (1/1)
Argentina Mercedes Paz
Spain Arantxa Sánchez Vicario
7–6(7–4), 6–4
1991 United States Martina Navratilova (13/13)
United States Pam Shriver (10/10)
United States Gigi Fernández
Czechoslovakia Jana Novotná
4–6, 7–5, 6–4
1992 Spain Arantxa Sánchez Vicario (1/2)
Czechoslovakia Helena Suková (1/1)
Czechoslovakia Jana Novotná
Latvia Larisa Savchenko Neiland
7–6(7–4), 6–1
1993 United States Gigi Fernández (1/2)
Belarus Natalia Zvereva (1/3)
Czech Republic Jana Novotná
Latvia Larisa Neiland
6–3, 7–5
1994 United States Gigi Fernández (2/2)
Belarus Natasha Zvereva (2/3)
Czech Republic Jana Novotná
Spain Arantxa Sánchez Vicario
6–3, 6–7(4–7), 6–3
1995 Czech Republic Jana Novotná (1/2)
Spain Arantxa Sánchez Vicario (2/2)
United States Gigi Fernández
Belarus Natasha Zvereva
6–2, 6–1
1996 United States Lindsay Davenport (1/3)
United States Mary Joe Fernández (1/1)
Czech Republic Jana Novotná
Spain Arantxa Sánchez Vicario
6–3, 6–2
1997 United States Lindsay Davenport (2/3)
Czech Republic Jana Novotná (2/2)
France Alexandra Fusai
France Nathalie Tauziat
6–7(5–7), 6–3, 6–2
1998 United States Lindsay Davenport (3/3)
Belarus Natasha Zvereva (3/3)
France Alexandra Fusai
France Nathalie Tauziat
6–7(6–8), 7–5, 6–3
1999 Switzerland Martina Hingis (1/3)
Russia Anna Kournikova (1/2)
Spain Arantxa Sánchez Vicario
Latvia Larisa Neiland
6–4, 6–4
2000 Switzerland Martina Hingis (2/3)
Russia Anna Kournikova (2/2)
United States Nicole Arendt
Netherlands Manon Bollegraf
6–2, 6–3
2001 United States Lisa Raymond (1/4)
Australia Rennae Stubbs (1/1)
Zimbabwe Cara Black
Russia Elena Likhovtseva
7–5, 3–6, 6–3
2002 Russia Elena Dementieva (1/1)
Slovakia Janette Husárová (1/1)
Zimbabwe Cara Black
Russia Elena Likhovtseva
4–6, 6–4, 6–3
2003 Spain Virginia Ruano Pascual (1/1)
Argentina Paola Suárez (1/1)
Belgium Kim Clijsters
Japan Ai Sugiyama
6–4, 3–6, 6–3
2004 Russia Nadia Petrova (1/2)
United States Meghann Shaughnessy (1/1)
Zimbabwe Cara Black
Australia Rennae Stubbs
7–5, 6–2
2005 United States Lisa Raymond (2/4)
Australia Samantha Stosur (1/2)
Zimbabwe Cara Black
Australia Rennae Stubbs
6–7(5–7), 7–5, 6–4
2006 United States Lisa Raymond (3/4)
Australia Samantha Stosur (2/2)
Zimbabwe Cara Black
Australia Rennae Stubbs
3–6, 6–3, 6–3
2007 Zimbabwe Cara Black (1/3)
United States Liezel Huber (1/3)
Slovenia Katarina Srebotnik
Japan Ai Sugiyama
5–7, 6–3, [10–8]
2008 Zimbabwe Cara Black (2/3)
United States Liezel Huber (2/3)
Czech Republic Květa Peschke
Australia Rennae Stubbs
6–1, 7–5
2009 Spain Nuria Llagostera Vives (1/1)
Spain María José Martínez Sánchez (1/1)
Zimbabwe Cara Black
United States Liezel Huber
7–6(7–0), 5–7, [10–7]
2010 Argentina Gisela Dulko (1/1)
Italy Flavia Pennetta (1/1)
Czech Republic Květa Peschke
Slovenia Katarina Srebotnik
7–5, 6–4
2011 United States Liezel Huber (3/3)
United States Lisa Raymond (4/4)
Czech Republic Květa Peschke
Slovenia Katarina Srebotnik
6–4, 6–4
2012 Russia Maria Kirilenko (1/1)
Russia Nadia Petrova (2/2)
Czech Republic Andrea Hlaváčková
Czech Republic Lucie Hradecká
6–1, 6–4
2013 Chinese Taipei Hsieh Su-wei (1/1)
China Peng Shuai (1/1)
Russia Ekaterina Makarova
Russia Elena Vesnina
6–4, 7–5
2014 Zimbabwe Cara Black (3/3)
India Sania Mirza (1/2)
Chinese Taipei Hsieh Su-wei
China Peng Shuai
6–1, 6–0
2015 Switzerland Martina Hingis (3/3)
India Sania Mirza (2/2)
Spain Garbiñe Muguruza
Spain Carla Suárez Navarro
6–0, 6–3
2016 Russia Ekaterina Makarova (1/1)
Russia Elena Vesnina (1/1)
United States Bethanie Mattek-Sands
Czech Republic Lucie Šafářová
7–6(7–5), 6–3
2017 Hungary Tímea Babos (1/3)
Czech Republic Andrea Hlaváčková (1/1)
Netherlands Kiki Bertens
Sweden Johanna Larsson
4–6, 6–4, [10–5]
2018 Hungary Tímea Babos (2/3)
France Kristina Mladenovic (1/2)
Czech Republic Barbora Krejčíková
Czech Republic Kateřina Siniaková
6–4, 7–5
2019 Hungary Tímea Babos (3/3)
France Kristina Mladenovic (2/2)
Chinese Taipei Hsieh Su-wei
Czech Republic Barbora Strýcová
6–1, 6–3
2020 No competition due to the COVID-19 pandemic
2021 Czech Republic Barbora Krejčíková (1/1)
Czech Republic Kateřina Siniaková (1/1)
Chinese Taipei Hsieh Su-wei
Belgium Elise Mertens
6–3, 6–4
2022 [b]Veronika Kudermetova (1/1)
Belgium Elise Mertens (1/1)
Czech Republic Barbora Krejčíková
Czech Republic Kateřina Siniaková
6–2, 4–6, [11–9]
2023 Germany Laura Siegemund (1/1)
[b]Vera Zvonareva (1/1)
United States Nicole Melichar-Martinez
Australia Ellen Perez
6–4, 6–4
  1. ^ As of 1 March 2022, the WTA announced that players from Belarus will not compete in tournaments under the name or flag of Belarus due to the Russian invasion of Ukraine.[21]
  2. ^ a b As of 1 March 2022, the WTA announced that players from Russia will not compete in tournaments under the name or flag of Russia due to the Russian invasion of Ukraine.[21]

List of champions

Singles

Titles Player Years
8 United States Martina Navratilova 1978–79, 81, 83–86(Nov.)[a][b]
5 Germany Steffi Graf 1987, 89, 93, 95–96
United States Serena Williams 2001, 09, 12–14
4 United States Chris Evert 1972–73, 75, 77
3 Socialist Federal Republic of Yugoslavia/Federal Republic of Yugoslavia Monica Seles 1990–92
Belgium Kim Clijsters 2002–03, 10
2 Australia Evonne Goolagong Cawley 1974, 76
Argentina Gabriela Sabatini 1988, 94
Switzerland Martina Hingis 1998, 2000
Belgium Justine Henin 2006–07
1 United States Tracy Austin 1980
West Germany Sylvia Hanika 1982
Czech Republic Jana Novotná 1997
United States Lindsay Davenport 1999
Russia Maria Sharapova 2004
France Amélie Mauresmo 2005
United States Venus Williams 2008
Czech Republic Petra Kvitová 2011
Poland Agnieszka Radwańska 2015
Slovakia Dominika Cibulková 2016
Denmark Caroline Wozniacki 2017
Ukraine Elina Svitolina 2018
Australia Ashleigh Barty 2019
Spain Garbiñe Muguruza 2021
France Caroline Garcia 2022
Poland Iga Świątek 2023


Doubles

Titles Player Years
13 United States Martina Navratilova 1977–78, 80–86(Nov.),[b] 87–89, 91
10 United States Pam Shriver 1981–86(Nov.),[b] 87–89, 91
4 United States Billie Jean King 1974, 76, 78, 80
United States Lisa Raymond 2001, 05–06, 11
3 Netherlands Betty Stöve 1976–77, 79
Belarus/Belarus Natasha Zvereva 1993–94, 98
United States Lindsay Davenport 1996–98
United States Liezel Huber 2007–08, 11
Zimbabwe Cara Black 2007–08, 14
Switzerland Martina Hingis 1999–00, 2015
Hungary Tímea Babos 2017–19
2 United States Rosemary Casals 1973–74
Australia Margaret Court 1973, 75
United States Gigi Fernández 1993–94
Spain Arantxa Sánchez Vicario 1992, 95
Czech Republic Jana Novotná 1995, 97
Russia Anna Kournikova 1999–00
Australia Samantha Stosur 2005–06
Russia Nadia Petrova 2004, 12
India Sania Mirza 2014–15
France Kristina Mladenovic 2018–19
1 United Kingdom Virginia Wade 1975
France Françoise Dürr 1979
1986(Mar.)[a]
1990
Czechoslovakia Helena Suková 1992
United States Mary Joe Fernández 1996
Australia Rennae Stubbs 2001
2002
2003
United States Meghann Shaughnessy 2004
2009
2010
Russia Maria Kirilenko 2012
2013
2016
Czech Republic Andrea Hlaváčková 2017
2021
2022
2023
  1. ^ a b In 1986 the WTA adopted a January–November playing season, thereby the event switched to being held at the end of each year. Consequently, there were two championships held in 1986. First edition was played in March.[22]
  2. ^ a b c Second edition was played in November.
  3. ^ a b As of 1 March 2022, the WTA announced that players from Russia will not compete in tournaments under the name or flag of Russia due to the Russian invasion of Ukraine.[21]

Records and statistics

Note: Active players indicated in bold.

Singles

# Titles
8 United States Martina Navratilova
5 Germany Steffi Graf
United States Serena Williams
4 United States Chris Evert
3 Socialist Federal Republic of Yugoslavia/Federal Republic of Yugoslavia Monica Seles
Belgium Kim Clijsters
# Finals
14 Czechoslovakia/United States Martina Navratilova
8 United States Chris Evert
7 United States Serena Williams
6 Germany Steffi Graf
4 Argentina Gabriela Sabatini
Socialist Federal Republic of Yugoslavia/Federal Republic of Yugoslavia/United States Monica Seles
Switzerland Martina Hingis
United States Lindsay Davenport
# Matches won
60 Czechoslovakia/United States Martina Navratilova
34 United States Chris Evert
31 Germany Steffi Graf
29 United States Serena Williams
21 Argentina Gabriela Sabatini
# Editions played
21 Czechoslovakia/United States Martina Navratilova
13 United States Chris Evert
Germany Steffi Graf
Spain Arantxa Sánchez Vicario
12 United States Zina Garrison
Spain Conchita Martínez

Youngest & oldest champions

Singles[23] Youngest Socialist Federal Republic of Yugoslavia Monica Seles 16 years, 11 months 1990
Oldest United States Serena Williams 33 years, 1 month 2014
Doubles Youngest Russia Anna Kournikova 18 years, 5 months 1999
Oldest [a]Vera Zvonareva 39 years, 1 month 2023
  1. ^ As of 1 March 2022, the WTA announced that players from Russia will not compete in tournaments under the name or flag of Russia due to the Russian invasion of Ukraine.[21]

Longest and shortest matches

Singles

Best-of-five-sets system:
Longest match by time played
1990 final, 3 hours and 47 minutes[24][25]
Socialist Federal Republic of Yugoslavia Monica Seles 6 5 3 6 6
Argentina Gabriela Sabatini 4 7 6 4 2
Best-of-three-sets system:
Longest match by time played[26]
2012 round robin, 3 hours and 29 minutes
Poland Agnieszka Radwańska 66 7 6
Italy Sara Errani 78 5 4
Longest match by games won[26]
2017 round robin, 37 games
United States Venus Williams 7 63 7
Latvia Jeļena Ostapenko 5 77 5
Shortest match by games won
2007 round robin, 12 games
Belgium Justine Henin 6 6
France Marion Bartoli 0 0

Doubles

Longest match by games won
1985 final, 36 games
United States Martina Navratilova
United States Pam Shriver
64 6 77
West Germany Claudia Kohde-Kilsch
Czechoslovakia Helena Suková
77 4 65
Shortest match by games won
2014 final, 13 games
Zimbabwe Cara Black
India Sania Mirza
6 6
Chinese Taipei Hsieh Su-wei
China Peng Shuai
1 0

Year-end championships double & triple

Winning three or two out of the four Year-ending championships since its inception in 1972: WTA Championships/Finals, Series-Ending Championships, Grand Slam Cup, WTA Tournament of Champions/Elite Trophy indicated in bold.

Double crown

Winning the Year-end championships in both singles and doubles in the same year.

No. Player Years won
5 United States Martina Navratilova 1978, 1983, 1984, 1985, 1986(Nov)[a]
1 Czech Republic Jana Novotná 1997
Switzerland Martina Hingis 2000
  1. ^ In 1986 the event was held twice because of a change of schedule by the WTA. First edition was played in March, the second in November. Navratilova would go on to win the second edition in both singles and doubles that year.[22]

Year-end championships triple

No. Player WTA Championships/Finals Grand Slam Cup WTA Elite Trophy
1 United States Venus Williams 2008 1998 2015

WTA Championships – Series-Ending Championships Double

No. Player WTA Championships/Finals Series-Ending Championships
1 United States Chris Evert 1972 1977
2 United States Martina Navratilova 1978 1979
3 United States Tracy Austin 1980 1980

WTA Championships – Grand Slam Cup Double

No. Player WTA Championships/Finals Grand Slam Cup
1 United States Serena Williams 2001 1999
2 United States Venus Williams[a] 2008 1998
  1. ^ she later completed a YEC Triple.

WTA Championships – WTA Elite Trophy Double

No. Player WTA Championships/Finals WTA Elite Trophy
1 United States Venus Williams[a] 2008 2015
2 Czech Republic Petra Kvitová 2011 2016
3 Australia Ashleigh Barty 2019 2018
  1. ^ with the 2015 WTA Elite Trophy she also completed a YEC Triple.

Grand Slam Cup – WTA Elite Trophy Double

No. Player Grand Slam Cup WTA Elite Trophy
1 United States Venus Williams[a] 1998 2015
  1. ^ with the 2015 WTA Elite Trophy she also completed a YEC Triple.

Titles by country

Singles

20 
 United States (6 players)
Germany West Germany / Germany (2 players)
 Belgium (2 players)
 Australia (2 players),  Yugoslavia /  Yugoslavia (1 player)
 Argentina (1 player),  Czech Republic (2 players),  France (2 players),  Poland (2 players),   Switzerland (1 player)
 Denmark,  Russia,  Slovakia,  Spain,  Ukraine

Doubles

Note: Titles, won by a team of players from same country, count as one title, not two.

29 
 United States (11 players)
 Australia (5 players)
Czech Republic Czechoslovakia / Czech Republic (6 players),  Russia (6 players)
 Spain (4 players)
 Belarus (1 player),  France (2 players),  Hungary (1 player),  Netherlands (1 player),   Switzerland (1 player),  Zimbabwe (1 player)
 Argentina (2 players),  India (1 player)
 Belgium,  China,  Chinese Taipei,  Germany,  Great Britain,  Italy,  Slovakia

Sponsors

The event has a more than 40-year history of corporate sponsorship with the finals named after the sponsoring company.[4]

Years Sponsor Name Refs
1972–1978 Virginia Slims Virginia Slims Championships
1979–1982 Avon Avon Championships
1983–1994 Virginia Slims Virginia Slims Championships
1995 None WTA Tour Championships
1996–2000 Chase Chase Championships
2001 Sanex Sanex Championships
2002 The Home Depot Home Depot Championships
2003 Bank of America Bank of America WTA Tour Championships
2004 None WTA Tour Championships
2005–2010 Sony Ericsson Sony Ericsson Championships
2011–2013 BNP Paribas and Türk Ekonomi Bankası TEB–BNP Paribas WTA Championships Istanbul
2014–2018 BNP Paribas and SC Global BNP Paribas WTA Finals Singapore presented by SC Global [27]
2019 Shiseido Shiseido WTA Finals Shenzhen [28]
2021 Akron Akron WTA Finals Guadalajara [29]
2022 Hologic Hologic WTA Finals Fort Worth [30]
2023 GNP Seguros GNP Seguros WTA Finals Cancun [31]

See also

References

  1. ^ "WTA Tour 2021 Media Guide" (PDF). WTA Tour. p. 20. Archived (PDF) from the original on 13 February 2021. Retrieved 18 November 2021.
  2. ^ "WTA Finals 2022: Dates, prize money, format and everything you need to know". Women's Tennis Association. Archived from the original on 2022-10-26. Retrieved 31 October 2022.
  3. ^ "WTA re-launches year-end Championships as WTA Finals" (PDF). www.wtatennis.com. May 27, 2014. Archived from the original (PDF) on November 6, 2014.
  4. ^ a b "TEB BNP Paribas Istanbul Cup" (PDF). WTA Tour. Archived from the original (PDF) on 1 August 2014.
  5. ^ "2011 Calendar Announced". WTA Tour. 2 July 2010. Retrieved 4 December 2010.
  6. ^ "WTA narrows 2014 Championships host field to three finalists" (PDF). www.wtatennis.com. WTA. 29 January 2013. Archived from the original (PDF) on 8 December 2014.
  7. ^ "Three cities still in running to host WTA Championships". www.wtatennis.com. WTA.
  8. ^ "WTA picks Singapore to host its tennis Championships from 2014". BBC News. 8 May 2013.
  9. ^ a b c "2021 SHISEIDO WTA FINALS SHENZHEN". www.shiseidowtafinalsshenzhen.com. Retrieved 2021-11-11.
  10. ^ "Shenzhen, China to host WTA Finals starting in 2019". Retrieved 2021-12-02.
  11. ^ "2021 WTA Finals moved from Shenzhen to Guadalajara". Reuters. 2021-09-13. Retrieved 2021-12-02.
  12. ^ "40 Love History: Five Set Finals". Women's Tennis Association (WTA). 18 October 2013. Archived from the original on 9 August 2016. Retrieved 3 June 2016.
  13. ^ "It's the Way It's (Almost) Always Been". New York Times. 3 September 2012. Retrieved 26 September 2012.
  14. ^ "WTA Finals and WTA Elite Trophy rules" (PDF). Archived from the original (PDF) on 21 September 2017.
  15. ^ "2022 WTA Official Rulebook" (PDF). WTA. Archived (PDF) from the original on 26 October 2022. Retrieved 31 October 2022.
  16. ^ "WTA Finals 2022: Dates, prize money, format and everything you need to know". Women's Tennis Association. Archived from the original on 2022-10-26.
  17. ^ "BILLIE JEAN KING NAMED OFFICIAL AMBASSADOR OF WTA FINALS IN SINGAPORE". AFRICAN SPORTS MONTHLY. 30 June 2014. Retrieved 2021-11-08.
  18. ^ "Makers of Billie Jean King Trophy | WTA Finals | Tennis | Thomas Lyte - Thomas Lyte". www.thomaslyte.com. Retrieved 2021-11-08.
  19. ^ Merrell, Chloe (7 November 2021). "WTA Tour Finals 2021 preview: everything you need to know". Olympics.com. Retrieved 2021-11-08.
  20. ^ "Evert, Navratilova to serve as WTA Finals legend ambassadors". Women's Tennis Association. 4 November 2021. Retrieved 2021-11-08.
  21. ^ a b c d "Joint Statement by the International Governing Bodies of Tennis". ATP. Retrieved 1 March 2022.
  22. ^ a b "About WTA Finals". Akron WTA Finals Guadalajara. Archived from the original on 2021-11-11.
  23. ^ "WTA Finals 2021: By the Numbers - Tennis Now". www.tennisnow.com. 9 November 2021. Retrieved 2021-11-11.
  24. ^ "November 18, 1990: Seles and Sabatini go five". www.tennismajors.com. 18 November 2020. Retrieved 2021-11-12.
  25. ^ "Return Winners: A look back at the 1990 WTA Finals". www.tennis.com. 29 October 2016. Retrieved 2021-11-12.
  26. ^ a b "Venus outlasts Ostapenko in marathon Singapore epic". www.wtatennis.com. 24 October 2017. Retrieved 2021-11-11.
  27. ^ "Tennis-BNP Paribas extends WTA Championship sponsorship". Reuters. Singapore. 11 March 2014.
  28. ^ "Shiseido signs on as title sponsor of WTA Finals Shenzhen". wtatennis.com. Shenzhen. 23 July 2019.
  29. ^ "WTA Finals: Making Guadalajara Before the World". smallcapnews.co.uk. Guadalajara. 21 September 2021.
  30. ^ "Hologic partners with WTA Tour in landmark title sponsorship". wtatennis.com. Fort Worth. 3 March 2022.
  31. ^ "GNP Seguros WTA Finals Cancun 2023". boletomovil.com. Cancun. 15 October 2023.

External links