The WTA Story: 50 years and Rising

1968

Britain’s Virginia Wade wins the first sanctioned tournament of the Open Era on home soil at Bournemouth, before going on to capture the first US Open

1970's

1970

Margaret Court achieves the calendar year Grand Slam with victory at all four majors, but receives just a fraction of the prize money of the male champions

1970

The Original 9 break with the sport’s establishment by signing $1 contracts with promoter Gladys Heldman, setting the stage for women’s professional tennis as fans enjoy it today.

1971

Billie Jean King becomes the first woman athlete to earn $100,000 in a season after dominating the inaugural Virginia Slims Circuit

1973

With 60 fellow players voting for strength in unity, Billie Jean King founds the WTA at London’s Gloucester Hotel

The US Open offers equal prize money for women and men, Billie Jean King’s bargaining power bolstered by the newly formed WTA

Watched by a global audience of 90 million people, Billie Jean King defeats Bobby Riggs in the Battle of the Sexes at the Houston Astrodome

1974

The WTA signs a groundbreaking deal with American network CBS, the first to ensure broadcast of women’s only tournaments

1975

To pursue her dream of becoming No.1, Martina Navratilova defects from her native Czechoslovakia during the US Open

1976

Computer rankings are launched with Chris Evert confirmed as the first official WTA World No.1

1976

The surging popularity of women’s tennis is reflected by a player reception at the White House with U.S. President Gerald Ford

1976

Chris Evert becomes the first female athlete to pass $1 million in career earnings

1977

The season-ending Virginia Slims Championships make a statement move to New York’s Madison Square Garden, where they remain for two decades

1979

In the semifinals at Rome, Tracy Austin ends Chris Evert’s six-year, 125-match clay court win streak – still the longest single-surface streak in the sport

1980's

1980

American teenager Andrea Jaeger, 14 years old, makes the best rankings debut in WTA history at No.19

Already the first indigenous Australian to win a Grand Slam title, Evonne Goolagong Cawley becomes the first mother to win the ladies’ singles at Wimbledon since 1914

1981

Leslie Allen wins the Avon Championships of Detroit, the biggest Tour-level win by an African American woman since Althea Gibson in 1958

1982

Martina Navratilova becomes the first woman to earn over $1 million in a single season, as she raises the bar with her holistic approach to athletic training

1984

Martina Navratilova and Pam Shriver complete the calendar year Grand Slam – a feat yet to be replicated in women’s doubles

1988

Princess Diana opens the WTA’s new European office in London, before playing tennis with German star Stefanie Graf

1988

Stefanie Graf becomes the first player to achieve the ‘Golden Slam’ by winning all four majors as well as Olympic gold at Seoul

1988

One of sport’s greatest rivalries reaches its crescendo when Chris Evert and Martina Navratilova meet for the 80th and last time in Chicago. Navratilova edges the duo’s 15-year head-to-head, 43-37

1990's

1990

The WTA Finals become the first $1 million women’s sports event; Monica Seles defeats Gabriela Sabatini in five sets for the crown and over the next two years, earns more than the top-ranked ATP player

1994

Anne Worcester is appointed CEO of the WTA, making her the first woman to lead a major sports organization; Stacey Allaster follows in 2009 and Portia Archer in 2024

1994

Martina Navratilova wins the last of her record 167 singles titles at the Paris Indoors; later that year she closes out her singles career with an unmatched 1,442 match wins

1995

The WTA Players’ Association merges with the Women’s Tennis Council tournaments to form the WTA Tour. Initiatives include new age eligibility rules and professional development programs to support young athletes

1997

After becoming the youngest Grand Slam winner at the Australian Open, Martina Hingis becomes the youngest-ever World No.1 – ending Stefanie Graf’s record reign of 377 non-consecutive weeks at the top

2000's

2001

The WTA makes its debut in the Middle East with new events in Dubai and Doha. In 2005, Dubai becomes the third event to apply an equal prize money policy

2002

The Williams sisters fulfill their father Richard’s prediction by becoming the No.1 players in the world – Venus in February, then Serena in July

2005

Sony Ericsson becomes worldwide title sponsor in a $88 million, six-year deal – the largest and most comprehensive contract in the history of tennis and women’s sport

2007

Venus Williams lends her voice to the campaign that results in equal prize money at Roland Garros and Wimbledon, bringing pay parity to all four majors

2008

The WTA opens its first Asia-Pacific headquarters in Beijing, China

2008

Doha, Qatar becomes the first city in the Middle East to host the WTA Finals

2009

At the US Open, Kim Clijsters becomes the first mother to win a Grand Slam singles title in three decades, on just her third tournament back

2010's

2011

For the first time in WTA rankings history, 10 different nations are represented in the world’s Top 10

2011

China’s Li Na becomes the first player from Asia, woman or man, to win a Grand Slam singles title, at Roland Garros

2011

Peachy Kellmeyer, the WTA’s first employee, is inducted into the International Tennis Hall of Fame for her efforts to build women’s tennis over four decades

2013

As the WTA marks its 40 Love season, 25 players finish the year with prize money exceeding $1 million and a historic gathering in London brings 19 former No.1s together to celebrate

2014

Singapore becomes the first city in Asia-Pacific to host the WTA Finals, for five years

2015

Maria Sharapova tops Forbes magazine’s list of the highest earning female athletes for the 11th year in a row

2017

The WTA Foundation is launched – the organization’s first unified, global philanthropic arm with a special focus on women and girls

2017

Serena Williams wins her 23rd Grand Slam title – the Open Era record – at the Australian Open and, at the age of 35, becomes the oldest World No.1