WTA Sony Ericsson Championships

History - Important Facts - Winners - Schedule - Qualifiers 2008

The WTA Tour Championships was founded in 1971 in Houston, Texas and it was initially sponsored by Virginia Slims. The tournament is considered one of the most prominent events in the WTA Tour besides the four Grand Slams.

The WTA Tour Championship was celebrated in the past during October and then it was changed to March for eleven years, but in 1986, when the WTA started using a season format from January to November, the tournament officially moved to be held at the end of each season.

The event is officially named after its sponsor every year; it was first called Virginia Slims Championships and then it has changed its name several times, every time the sponsor changes. Sony Ericcson has been the tour sponsor since 2005, therefore it is currently known as the Sony Ericcson Championships.

The location of the tournament has as well changed several times during its existence. At first it was celebrated in different places within the United States, Houston, Texas; Boca Raton, Florida; New York City and Oakland, California. Then it moved to Munich, Germany in 2001 but went back to Los Angeles, California from 2002 to 2005. During 2006 and 2007 the tournament was held in Madrid, Spain and starting this year 2008 the 38th edition will be held in Doha, Qatar and it will remain there until 2010. In addition, starting 2011, the tournament will be held in Instanbul, Turkey for three years.

The singles event is played differently to the majority of WTA events since it is played in a round robin format. The event is held between the top eight players of the tour divided in two groups and each player has to face the other members of the group once over the first four days of the competition. Then, the top two players in each group pass to the semifinals and from there starts an elimination draw.

On the other hand, the doubles event is held among the best four teams in the tour playing an elimination draw starting with the semifinal round.