The Woman’s Tennis Association is the leading in professional women sports. The Association has been around for decades and keeps growing as the years pass by. Here is how things got started, the prizes, the past few years, and where you can catch the next exciting tournament.
Beginnings
Founded by Billie Jean King in the month of June in 1973, the Woman Tennis Association has it’s headquarters in St. Petersburg, Florida. London ,and Beijing. Despite being founded in June, the beginnings were really a few years earlier in Houston, Texas at The Virgina Slims Tournament back in September of 1970. It was won by Rosie Casals.
Prizes
The next year was big for Billie Jean King. She earned over $100,000, becoming the first female athlete to earn that amount in one year. As the years went on, the prize money grew. By the early 80’s the total prize was $7.2 million and there were over 250 women competing for it around 47 global events. Nowadays, the competition is heating up, and the prize money just keeps getting bigger. In 2009 Serena Williams earned over six million in one year. Both Serena and Victoria Azarenka become the first two women competitors to earn over seven million in prizes in just a single season.
Leading up
The 2012 tournament was held in the culturally rich and beautiful city of Istanbul, Turkey. The Sinan Erdem Dome held the crowds of onlookers as the contestants played their heart out. Two talented ladies, Agnieszka Radwańska and Sara Errani, broke the record of the longest match in WTA history within the best-of-three system. The woman’s singles winner was Serena Williams from the USA. The doubles were won by Maria Kirilenko and Nadia Petrova from Russia. The WTA Tour Champions for singles in 2013 was Serena William from the USA. The doubles were won by Hsieh Su-wei from Taiwan and Peng Shuai from China. The next championship games will surely be as competitive and thrilling as the past seasons. TicketBis can help you get a fantastic deal on any of the upcoming tournaments.
Now
The WTA now has over 2,500 woman, across 92 nations. The crowds are nearing 6 million and that doesn’t include the audience at home. This association is the leader in women’s professional sports and is breaking records with it’s $118 million prize money won by the lucky players. There are 54 WTA’s events and four Grand Slams. There over 30 participating countries including Singapore who is hosting the 2014 WTA finals after a very competitive season.
Next Event
Cities all over the world have been host to the Woman’s Tennis Association including Munich, Madrid, Los Angeles, and Doha. This year’s event will be hosted in the small, yet profoundly cultural and economic leading country of Singapore. The top eight singles players and the top eight doubles players will be going head to head for $6 million in prizes.
