55-814: The Virginia Slims of Fort Lauderdale is a defunct WTA Tour affiliated women's tennis tournament founded in 1946 as a combined men's and women's event called the Austin Smith Championships that was part of the ILTF Circuit . The tournament played at the Fort Lauderdale Tennis Club from 1946 to 1974. It was held in Fort Lauderdale, Florida in the United States and played on outdoor clay courts . The Austin Smith Championships were
110-474: A combined men's and women's clay court tournament first established in 1946. The event was always played on outdoor clay courts at Fort Lauderdale, Florida , United States. In 1969 the men's tournament continued under its original brand name, whilst the women's event was renamed as the WLOD Invitational. In 1970 the combined event was discontinued as the men's tournament was dropped from the schedule. In 1970
165-459: A competitor at world championships between 1928 and 1953. Ann, as a young girl, also took up the game, participating in five world championships in the 1950s, the best result being losing finalist in singles, doubles and mixed doubles all in Stockholm 1957 . Soon after this she wrote the book Tackle Table Tennis This Way . Jones also won two English Open titles in women's doubles as Haydon. She
220-609: A fourth-round clash with the top-seeded defending champion Maria Bueno, which many thought was an imbalanced draw. Jones won the French title for a second time in 1966, beating Maria Bueno and Nancy Richey . She also won the Italian championships that year, beating Françoise Dürr and Annette Van Zyl . At both the Wimbledon Championships and the U.S. Championships in 1967, Jones lost in the final to King. Two years later, however,
275-550: A prize pot 10 times lower than the men at the Grand Slams in 1970 to parity in 2007 and ever since, women's tennis has become (almost) the equal of its male counterpart. And they did it themselves, which also explains why their governance is still independent today." The WTA was founded at a meeting organised by Billie Jean King, a week before the 1973 Wimbledon Championships . This meeting was held at Gloucester Hotel in London. In 1975,
330-563: A recurring gag on Monty Python's Flying Circus during its series run, wherein the Pythons frequently inserted "Ann Haydon-Jones and her husband Pip" into any sketch where a list of names was being read. In 1969, West Bromwich Albion commended Ann Jones on her sporting success and stated that she and her husband were supporters of the club. In 1985, Jones was voted into the International Tennis Hall of Fame . For many years, Jones
385-449: A single package, reaching large audiences around the world. "The '80s energized the popularity base, taking tennis out of country clubs and landed estates into public parks and arenas. It became a sport, in contrast to an amenable pastime." "From those first steps in Houston in 1970 to the current WTA Tour, with tournaments in 33 countries and total prize money of $ 139 million (in 2018); from
440-416: A single season. In 2013 Serena Williams went over the twelve million dollar mark, winning $ 12,385,572 in a single year. American sports entrepreneur Jerry Diamond (1928–1996) served as executive director of the women's association from 1974 to 1985. He was instrumental in negotiating business deals with Avon, Colgate-Palmolive, and Toyota, and worked out the deal that made Virginia Slims the titular sponsor of
495-499: A three-set match to Maria Bueno; and 1968 losing, after leading by a set and a break, to holder Billie Jean King. In the U.S. Nationals, as well as her final appearances in 1961 and 1967, Ann Jones reached three semifinals: in 1959, beating second-seed Sandra Reynolds (Price) and losing to Christine Truman ; in 1963, beating second-seed Darlene Hard and losing 9–7 in the third set to eventual winner Maria Bueno; and in 1968, losing to eventual winner Virginia Wade . As well as winning
550-579: Is a British former table tennis and lawn tennis champion. She won eight Grand Slam tennis championships in her career: three in singles, three in women's doubles, and two in mixed doubles. As of 2023, she serves as a vice president of the All England Lawn Tennis and Croquet Club . Jones was born in Kings Heath , Birmingham , England. Her parents were prominent table tennis players, her father, Adrian Haydon , having been English number 1 and
605-569: Is very hard." In 1984, The Australian Open joined the US Open in offering women equal prize money, but temporarily did not between 1996 and 2000. After a 30-year campaign, 2007 marked the historic achievement of equal prize money at Roland Garros and Wimbledon. This meant all four major tournaments offered parity. In 1995, the WTA Players Association merged with the Women's Tennis Council to form
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#1732887265396660-709: The Avon Championships , in the WTA tennis history. The Colgate Series , renamed the Toyota Series in 1981, included tournaments in all parts of the world, whereas the Avon sponsored events took place solely in the US. The two circuits merged beginning with the 1983 season , when Virginia Slims returned to take full sponsorship rights of the WTA Tour. Every tournament under the administration of
715-658: The British team. In 1971, Jones played on the Virginia Slims circuit, winning the U.S.$ 10,000 first prize for the event staged in Las Vegas, beating King in the final. Jones more or less retired after this event as she was expecting her first child. However, she continued to play the occasional UK event and was part of the 1975 Wightman Cup team for Great Britain. In 1977, Jones teamed with Winnie Wooldridge to play doubles at Wimbledon. According to Lance Tingay and Bud Collins , Jones
770-596: The Chinese government, the WTA under Steve Simon suspended its operations in China and Hong Kong. The boycott was lifted in 2023 after 16 months, citing financial losses due to the suspension of operations in China as well as the COVID-19 pandemic . In March 2022, medical technology firm Hologic reached an agreement to become title sponsor and "official health partner" of the WTA Tour, marking its first title sponsorship agreement since
825-518: The Federation and Wightman Cups. Over her career, she reached six Wimbledon semifinals in addition to her two appearances in the final: in 1958, beating Maria Bueno and losing to defending champion Althea Gibson ; 1960, beating Renée Schuurman Haygarth and losingto Sandra Reynolds ; 1962, beating Billie Jean Moffitt and losing to eventual champion Karen Hantze Susman ; 1963, losing to runner-up Billie Jean Moffitt; 1966, beating Nancy Richey and losing
880-484: The French Championships twice, Jones reached three other French finals, beating Annette Van Zyl and losing to Nancy Richey in 1968, and beating Rosemary Casals and Lesley Turner and losing in three sets to Margaret Court in 1969. Of her three losing finals in the French championships, there was one which nearly added to her total of wins: 1963 when she led Lesley Turner 5–2 in the final set. She also reached
935-565: The French, Australian, US and Wimbledon titles, (Mortimer, Brasher, Truman and Wade), she was ranked no. 1 in the UK on seven occasions. Naturally a baseliner and effective as such on clay ( Tiiu Kivi said it was like playing a brick wall that moved), she schooled herself to become a most effective net player, perhaps seen at her best when attacking Margaret Court to defeat in the Wimbledon semifinal of 1969. Apart from Althea Gibson, early in her career, there
990-571: The Houston Racquet Club in Houston , Texas. Rosie Casals won this first event. When the Women's Tennis Association was founded, Billie Jean King was one of nine players that comprised the WTA, also referred to as the Original 9, that included Julie Heldman , Valerie Ziegenfuss , Judy Dalton , Kristy Pigeon , Peaches Bartkowicz , Kerry Melville Reid , Nancy Richey , and Rosie Casals . Today,
1045-508: The ILTF sanctioned 15 men-only tournaments, all of which had previously been combined events. The Virginia Slims Circuit , which would later absorb the ILTF's Women's Grand Prix circuit, and eventually become the WTA Tour. The circuit was composed of 19 tournaments, all based in the United States (one in Puerto Rico ), and prize money totalled $ 309,100. In 1973 the US Open tennis tournament became
1100-716: The US Eastern Grass Court circuit with stops at Merion Cricket Club and Essex county club. There were two professional tennis circuits in existence at the start of the Open Era: World Championship Tennis (WCT), which was for men only, and the National Tennis League (NTL). Ann Jones , Rosie Casals , Françoise Dürr , and Billie Jean King joined NTL. King was paid $ 40,000 a year, Jones was paid $ 25,000, and Casals and Durr were paid $ 20,000 each. The group played established tournaments, such as
1155-684: The US Open and Wimbledon. But the group also organised their own tournaments, playing in the South of France for two months. The International Tennis Federation (ITF) then imposed several sanctions on the group: the women were not allowed to play in the Wightman Cup in 1968 and 1969 and the USLTA refused to include Casals and King in their rankings for those years. By the 1970s the pay differential had increased. King said "Promoters were making more money than women. Male tennis players were making more money. Everybody
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#17328872653961210-484: The US Open. The 1970 Houston Women's Invitation for nine women players was formed. Heldman was friends with Joseph Cullman, CEO and chairman of Phillip Morris, who secured the new tournament. The tournament was a success and the women found footing, "so, at the bidding of the Original 9, Heldman – who had secured backing from Philip Morris's Virginia Slims cigarette brand for her Houston Invitational – went back to her friend, Philip Morris chairman Joe Cullman III, to see if
1265-565: The Virginia Slims of Fort Lauderdale. (incomplete roll) (incomplete roll): Two editions of the tournament was held in 1971 * in January and ** in February. Women%27s Tennis Association The Women's Tennis Association ( WTA ) is the principal organizing body of women's professional tennis . The association governs the WTA Tour , which is the worldwide professional tennis tour for women, and
1320-589: The WTA Tour. The WTA circuit continued to expand during these years. In 1971, King became the first female athlete to surpass $ 100,000 in earnings for a single year. Chris Evert became the first female athlete to win over $ 1,000,000 in career earnings in 1976. By 1980, over 250 women were playing professionally, and the circuit consisted of 47 global events, offering a total of $ 7.2 million in prize money. These increased financial opportunities allowed for groundbreaking developments not only in tennis, but across women's sports. In 1982, Martina Navratilova became
1375-580: The WTA has more than 2,500 players from nearly 100 countries competing for $ 146 million in prize money. Tennis's Open Era , in which professional players were allowed to compete alongside amateurs, began in 1968. Billie Jean King was a high ranking tennis player in the late 1960s who won several titles and was interviewed in the media. The first Open Tournament was the British Hard Court Championships in Bournemouth . Later that year at
1430-414: The WTA increased its financial stature by signing a television broadcast contract with CBS , the first in the WTA's history. Further financial developments ensued. In 1976, Colgate assumed sponsorship of the circuit from April to November. In 1979, Avon replaced Virginia Slims as the sponsor of the winter circuit, and in its first year offered the largest prize fund for a single tournament, $ 100,000 for
1485-752: The WTA now became part of the Virginia Slims World Championships Series . In all, Virginia Slims (Philip Morris) sponsored women's tennis from 1970 to 1978 and again from 1983 to 1994. The sponsored has received such criticism as the following from the Stanford [University] Research into the Impact of Tobacco Advertising: "Virginia Slims cleverly sponsored the WTA Tour Championships at the time to increase connections between cigarettes and healthy female athletes." In 1977, women's tennis
1540-598: The WTA tour. Larry Scott became chairman and CEO of the WTA on 16 April 2003. While at the WTA, Scott put together the largest sponsorship in the history of women's sports, a six-year, $ 88 million sponsorship deal with Sony Ericsson . On 24 March 2009, Scott announced that he was resigning as WTA chief to take up a new position as the commissioner of the Pac-10 Conference , on 1 July 2009. Scott pointed to Korn Ferry to headhunt his replacement but "with no decision made" on 13 July 2009, WTA Tour announced
1595-562: The appointment of Stacey Allaster, the Tour's president since 2006, as the new chairman and CEO of the WTA. Allaster was named as one of the "Most Powerful Women in Sports" by Forbes Magazine and led the WTA through significant growth and under her leadership, she secured a media agreement that would maximise fan exposure to women's tennis globally. During her time with the WTA, she generated an estimated $ 1 billion in diversified contract revenues, built
1650-524: The brand globally, and was a strong advocate for gender equality. She announced her retirement as chief executive of the WTA on 22 September 2015 citing a personal change in priorities. On 5 October 2015, Steve Simon , the Tournament Director of the BNP Paribas Open , was announced to succeed Stacey as the new WTA chairman and CEO. In December 2021, following Peng Shuai 's disappearance by
1705-453: The company would support a circuit of some kind. Delighted by the publicity splash from Houston, Cullman was only too keen to give the women what they needed: financial backing, to the tune of a quarter of a million dollars, and the Virginia Slims name as title sponsor for a circuit in 1971." The International Lawn Tennis Federation (ILTF) began dropping several women's competitions from the tournaments it presided over. For example, in 1970,
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1760-461: The dawn of the open era in 1968, Jones joined King and others to organise the first professional female touring group. In 1970, she was hired by the BBC as a guest commentator and worked with it for over three decades, occasionally commentating for tennis coverage on U.S. TV stations. Jones was chairwoman of the Women's International Tennis Council and for many years the British team captain for events such as
1815-421: The downside and difficulties faced by touring tennis pros, not unlike the problems of traveling musicians performing a whole series of tour dates and gigs. The article included the phrase "comradeship that falls short of camaraderie", because fellow members were also competitors who usually felt they needed to maintain a certain amount of distance. One player was quoted as saying, "But if you are not playing well, it
1870-482: The expiration of the previous Sony Ericsson deal. In 2024, the WTA made all WTA 1000 events mandatory. The WTA Elite Trophy did not return: WTA 125 tournaments (30) events Since 2012 (number of events varies each year; in 2018 there were ten tournaments: four in United States, two in China and one each in Croatia, France, India and Taiwan), with prize money for the four events in United States at US$ 150,000 and at
1925-452: The final of the 1961 U.S. Championships , beating Wimbledon champion Angela Mortimer , losing to the defending champion Darlene Hard . In 1962, she married Philip F. Jones and played as Ann Haydon-Jones. A debilitating back and neck injury hampered her career in 1964/1965, yet she recovered sufficiently to reach the quarterfinals of the French championships in 1965, yet was controversially unseeded for that year's Wimbledon singles. This led to
1980-552: The first Grand Slam tournament to award the same prize money for women as men. The Australian Open would become the second Grand Slam offering equal prize money following suit in 1985 although the tournament awarded men more money from 1996 to 2000 before equal prize money returned in 2001. The French Open offered equal prize money for champions in 2006. In 2007 both Wimbledon and the French Open both offered equal prize money. The WTA Tour sold television rights of all its tournaments as
2035-421: The first Open Wimbledon, the prize fund difference was 2.5:1 in favor of men. King won £750 for taking the title, while Rod Laver won £2,000. The total purses of both competitions were £14,800 for men and £5,680 for women. Confusion also reigned as no one knew how many Open Tournaments there were supposed to be. The tournaments that did not want to provide prize money eventually faded out of the calendar, including
2090-404: The first time. This enabled Justine Henin , who won the French Open in 2007, to earn over $ 5 million that year, becoming the first woman in sports to do this. In 2009, Serena Williams went over the six million mark by earning over $ 6.5 million in a single year. Then in 2012 both Serena Williams and Victoria Azarenka became the first players to exceed $ 7 million in prize money in
2145-485: The first to win over $ 1,000,000 in a single year. Navratilova's single year earnings exceeded $ 2 million in 1984. In 1997, Martina Hingis became the first to earn over $ 3 million during a single year. In 2003, Kim Clijsters surpassed $ 4 million in earnings for a single year. In 2006, Venus Williams and the WTA pushed for equal prize money at both the French Open and Wimbledon . Both of these Grand Slam events relented in 2007 and awarded equal money for
2200-528: The other events at around US$ 125,000. Ranking points are also available at tournaments on the ITF Women's Circuit organized by the International Tennis Federation , which comprises several hundred tournaments each year with prize funds ranging from US$ 15,000 to US$ 100,000. The Players' Council is a group or sub-committee under the WTA board of directors, consisting of eight selected players on
2255-517: The semifinals in 1957 aged 18, beating third seed Christiane Mercelis and losing a tough semifinal to Dorothy Head Knode , and in 1962 beating Jan Lehane and losing to Lesley Turner. In the British Hard Courts championships, after losing in the finals in 1958 to Shirley Bloomer Brasher and 1960 to Christine Truman, she was undefeated from 1963 to 1966, winning finals against Norma Baylon , Jan Lehane, Annette Van Zyl and Virginia Wade. She
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2310-549: The top 9 woman tennis players to take a stand for equality. "These woman became known as the Original 9". They did not play in the Los Angeles tournament and instead wanted to create their own tennis tournament. Several female players contacted Gladys Heldman , publisher of World Tennis Magazine , and stated that they wanted to boycott the event. Although Heldman advised against it, she did help them put together their own tournament in Houston which would not take place until after
2365-432: The tour that advocate player interest, handles grievances, changes in the tennis schedule and other concerns. 2023–2024 Players' Council These lists are based on the WTA rankings. [ vedit · edit source ] [ vedit · edit source ] Ann Haydon-Jones Ann Shirley Jones , CBE (née Adrianne Haydon on 17 October 1938, also known as Ann Haydon-Jones )
2420-446: The tournaments, and because many of them were former players themselves, their sympathies lay with the male players, who argued vociferously that most of the money should be theirs." The low point in women's pay inequality came before the US Open in 1970. The Pacific Southwest Championships directed by Jack Kramer , had announced a 12:1 ratio in the prize money difference between what males and females would win. This tournament provoked
2475-536: The two again met in the Wimbledon final. This time, Jones took the most coveted title in the sport, making her the first left-handed female player to do so. She rounded off that year's Wimbledon by winning the mixed doubles championship with Australia's Fred Stolle . Her performances resulted in her being voted the BBC Sports Personality of the Year . Jones made Wimbledon 1969 her last Grand Slam singles event. She
2530-644: The women's tournament was branded as the WLOD International. In 1971 two versions of the tournament one in January the WLOD Invitational and one in February the Fort Lauderdale Invitation. In 1972 the women's tournament was renamed as the S&;H Green Stamp Classic for sponsorship reasons as part of the Virginia Slims Circuit until 1973. In 1974 the last edition the tournament was just branded as
2585-482: Was a stalwart in the Wightman Cup from 1957 (aged 18, beating Darlene Hard, then Wimbledon finalist) to 1967, 1970 and 1975, winning the deciding match in 1958 against Mimi Arnold when Britain won for the first time since 1930, taking both her singles against Billie Jean Moffitt and Nancy Richey in 1965 and overall winning nine singles and six doubles. Despite playing at a time when there were four other British winners of
2640-563: Was also a powerful lawn tennis player, winning the 1954 and 1955 British junior championships. In 1956, she won the Wimbledon girls' singles championship . Jones played lawn tennis in a highly competitive era that included some of the greatest female tennis players of all time, such as Billie Jean King , Margaret Court , and Maria Bueno . Despite the fierce competition, she won the 1961 French Championships , beating Margaret Smith, former champion Zsuzsa Körmöczy and Yola Ramírez and reached
2695-609: Was chairwoman of the International Women's Tennis Council and has long been a member of Wimbledon's Committee of Management. She became the first 'civilian woman' (i.e., not a member of the British Royal Family) to present the trophies at Wimbledon when she awarded the winners of the Mixed Doubles championship their cup in 2007, a ceremony she now regularly performs. She also has presented the junior girls trophy. Already
2750-615: Was founded to create a better future for women's tennis. The WTA's corporate headquarters is in St. Petersburg, Florida , with its European headquarters in London and its Asia-Pacific headquarters in Beijing. The Women's Tennis Association was founded in June 1973 by Billie Jean King , and traces its origins to the inaugural Virginia Slims tournament, arranged by Gladys Heldman , sponsored by Joe Cullman , CEO of Philip Morris, and held on 23 September 1970 at
2805-407: Was making more money except the women ". In 1969, ratios of 5:1 in terms of pay between men and women were common at smaller tournaments. By 1970 these figures had increased to up to 12:1. Billie Jean King and Cynthia Starr wrote in their book, We Have Come a Long Way , in 1988, "The women were being squeezed financially because we had no control in a male-dominated sport. Men owned, ran and promoted
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#17328872653962860-519: Was not a leading player of her era that she did not beat on several occasions. In 1971 she published her tennis autobiography A Game to Love . Jones caused something of a stir on 30 August 1962 when she married businessman Philip "Pip" Jones (1907–1993) who was 31 years her senior and five years older than her father. Pip Jones became the first Tour Director of the Virginia Slims Women's Tennis Tour in 1971. The couple's names later became
2915-489: Was ranked in the world top 10 from 1957 through 1963 and from 1965 through 1970, reaching a career high of world No. 2 in these rankings in 1967 and 1969. According to Mark Lewisohn in The Complete Beatles Recording Sessions , on 4 July 1969, The Beatles paused the dubbing session for their song " Golden Slumbers " to listen to Jones beat King for the Wimbledon title when live on radio. With
2970-834: Was seeded number one for the 1969 US Open but withdrew before the tournament began. She radically reduced her playing schedule for 1970, playing in South Africa where she won the Orange Free State Championships and the Western Province Championships. She then largely played only events in the United Kingdom for the remainder of the year. She returned to the international scene to play the Federation Cup event in Australia, where she partnered Virginia Wade on
3025-490: Was the first professional sport opened to transgender women. The New York Supreme Court ruled in favour of Renée Richards , a player who underwent male-to-female sex reassignment surgery . Eligibility of transgender players is officially regulated under the current WTA official rulebook. In April 1977, the Washington Post published an article entitled "Social Variety Is Slim on Women's Tennis Tour" which looked at some of
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