1978 WTA Tour
 Martina Navratilova finished the year as world No. 1 for the first time in her career. She won eleven singles tournaments during the season, including a major at the Wimbledon Championships, as well as the Virginia Slims Championships. | |
| Details | |
|---|---|
| Duration | 14 November 1977 – 18 December 1978 |
| Edition | 6th |
| Tournaments | 47 |
| Categories | Grand Slam (4) WTA Championships (3) Virginia Slims Circuit (11) Colgate International Series (23) Non-tour events (4) |
| Achievements (singles) | |
| Most tournament titles |  Martina Navratilova (11) |
| Most tournament finals | Martina Navratilova (15) |
| Prize money leader | Chris Evert ($454,486) |
| Points leader | Martina Navratilova (15.660) |
| Awards | |
| Player of the year | Martina Navratilova |
| Doubles team of the year | Billie Jean King Martina Navratilova |
| Most improved player of the year |  Virginia Ruzici |
| Newcomer of the year | Pam Shriver |
← 1977 1979 → | |
The 1978 WTA Tour consisted of a number of tennis tournaments for female tennis players. It was composed of the newly streamlined version of the Virginia Slims Circuit (which was now an 11-week tour of the US) and the Colgate Series.[1][2] The tour was administered by the Women's International Professional Tennis Council.
Schedule
This is a calendar of all events which were part of either the Virginia Slims circuit or the Colgate Series in the year 1978, with player progression documented from the quarterfinals stage. Also included are the Grand Slam tournaments, the 1978 Virginia Slims Championships, the 1978 Federation Cup and a number of events not affiliated with either tour.[1]
- Key
| Grand Slam tournaments |
| Virginia Slims/Colgate Series championships |
| Virginia Slims Circuit |
| Colgate International Series |
| Non-tour events |
| Team events |
November (1977)
| Week | Tournament | Champions | Runners-up | Semifinalists | Quarterfinalists |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 14 Nov | Colgate International of Australia Sydney, Australia Colgate Series (AAAA) $100,000 – grass Singles – Doubles |
 Evonne Goolagong Cawley 6–1, 6–3 |
Kerry Reid |
Dianne Fromholtz Greer Stevens |
Terry Holladay Pam Teeguarden Jeanne Evert Betty Stöve
|
| Kerry Reid / Greer Stevens vs. Evonne Goolagong Cawley / Betty Stöve Cancelled | |||||
| 21 Nov | Toyota Classic Melbourne, Australia Colgate Series (AA) $75,000 – grass Singles – Doubles |
Evonne Goolagong Cawley 6–4, 6–1 |
Wendy Turnbull |
 Sue Barker Betty Stöve |
Pam Whytcross Kerry Melville Dianne Fromholtz Helen Gourlay Cawley
|
| Evonne Goolagong Cawley Betty Stöve 6–3, 6–0 |
Patricia Bostrom Kym Ruddell
| ||||
| 28 Novr | South African Open Johannesburg, South Africa Colgate Series (A) $35,000 – hard Singles – Doubles |
Linky Boshoff 6–4, 6–1 |
Brigitte Cuypers |
Yvonne Vermaak Sharon Walsh |
Niekle Scheepers Jeanne Evert Marise Kruger Alison McDade
|
| Linky Boshoff Ilana Kloss 5–7, 6–3, 6–3 |
Brigitte Cuypers Marise Kruger
| ||||
December (1977)
| Week | Tournament | Champions | Runners-up | Semifinalists | Quarterfinalists |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 5 Dec | Bremar Cup London, Great Britain Colgate Series (A) $35,000 – hard Singles – Doubles |
Billie Jean King 6–3, 6–1 |
Virginia Wade |
Betty Stöve Virginia Ruzici |
Tanya Harford Sharon Walsh Florența Mihai  Renáta Tomanová
|
| Billie Jean King Renáta Tomanová 6–2, 6–3 |
Betty Stöve Virginia Wade
| ||||
| 12 Dec | Marlboro NSW Open Sydney, Australia Colgate Series (A) $35,000 – grass Singles – Doubles |
Evonne Goolagong Cawley 6–2, 6–3 |
Sue Barker |
Kerry Reid Regina Maršíková |
|
| Evonne Goolagong Cawley Helen Gourlay Cawley 6–0, 6–0 |
Mona Guerrant Kerry Reid
| ||||
| 19 Dec 26 Dec |
Australian Open Melbourne, Australia Grand Slam (A) Grass – 32S/16D Singles – Doubles |
Evonne Goolagong Cawley 6–3, 6–0 |
Helen Gourlay Cawley |
Kerry Reid Sue Barker |
Judy Dalton Kathleen Harter Mona Guerrant Rayni Fox
|
| Evonne Goolagong Cawley / Helen Gourlay Cawley vs. Mona Guerrant / Kerry ReidCancelled due to Rain | |||||
January
February
March
April
| Week | Tournament | Champions | Runners-up | Semifinalists | Quarterfinalists |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 3 Apr | Bridgestone Doubles Championships Salt Lake City, United States $100,000 – Carpet (i) – 8D Doubles |
Martina Navratilova Billie Jean King 6–4, 6–4 |
 Françoise Dürr Virginia Wade |
Stöve / Goolagong Cawley Reid / Turnbull |
Stevens / Schallau Bostrom / Redondo Casals / Russell Kemmer / Newberry
|
| 10 Apr | Family Circle Cup Hilton Head Island, United States Colgate Series (AAA) Clay – $125,000 – 30S/16D Singles – Doubles |
Chris Evert 6–2, 6–0 |
Kerry Reid |
JoAnne Russell Tracy Austin |
Martina Navratilova Jeanne DuVall Rosie Casals Renée Richards
|
| Billie Jean King Martina Navratilova 6–3, 7–5 |
Mona Guerrant Greer Stevens
|
May
June
July
No tournaments this month
August
September
October
November
December
| Week | Tournament | Champions | Runners-up | Semifinalists | Quarterfinalists |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 11 Dec | Emeron Cup Tokyo, Japan Non-tour event Carpet (i) – $200,000 – 4S |
Chris Evert 7–5, 6–2 |
Martina Navratilova |
Virginia Wade Evonne Goolagong Cawley |
Colgate Series
Draw and seeding
| Draw Size |
Min. Direct Acceptances |
Min. Qualifiers |
Min. Wild Cards |
Seeds |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 16 | 13 | 2 | 1 | 4 |
| 32 | 26 | 4 | 1[a] | 8 |
| 48 | 42 | 4 | 2 | 8 |
| 64 | 52 | 8 | 4 | 16 |
| 96 | 82 | 8 | 6 | 16 |
| 128 | 112 | 8 | 8 | 16 |
Wild cards for the tournament had to be given to either local players or players who had won Wimbledon, the US Open, the Virginia Slims or Colgate Series championships or were previous winners of the tournament. All tournaments used a seeded draw with the number of seeds depending on the draw size.
Points system
The tournaments of the Colgate Series were divided into four groups – AAAA, AAA, AA and A – based on prize money. Points were allocated based on these groups and the finishing position of a player in a tournament.[3] The points allocation – with doubles points listed in brackets – was:
Prize money at least $150,000
|
Prize money at least $100,000
|
Prize money at least $75,000
|
Prize money at least $35,000
|
Points standings and bonus pool
| No. | Player name | Points Singles |
Bonus Singles |
Points Doubles |
Bonus Doubles |
Total Bonus |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Chris Evert (USA)
|
740 | $100,000 | – | – | $100,000 |
| 2 | Virginia Wade (GBR)
|
635 | $65,000 | 100 | $7,500 | $72,500 |
| 3 | Kerry Reid (AUS)
|
560 | $45,000 | 201 | $22,000 | $67,000 |
| 4 | Martina Navratilova (USA)
|
540 | $35,000 | 146 | $13,000 | $48,000 |
| 5 | Virginia Ruzici (ROU)
|
470 | $30,000 | 92 | $6,000 | $36,000 |
| 6 | Evonne Goolagong Cawley (AUS)
|
450 | $25,000 | 75 | $3,800 | $28,800 |
| 7 | Betty Stöve (NED)
|
445 | $22,500 | 142 | $11,500 | $34,000 |
| 8 | Wendy Turnbull (AUS)
|
430 | $20,000 | 168 | $16,000 | $36,000 |
| 9 | Regina Maršíková (TCH)
|
370 | $19,000 | 55 | $2,500 | $21,500 |
| 10 | Tracy Austin (USA)
|
310 | $17,000 | – | – | $17,000 |
The total bonus pool for the Colgate Series was $675,000, an increase of $75,000 compared to the previous year, and was divided over singles ($540,000) and doubles ($135,000). The 35 highest points ranking singles players and the top 20 in doubles qualified to receive a share of the bonus pool. The distribution ranged from $100,000 for the first placed singles player to $3,000 for the 35th placed player. The first placed doubles player received $22,000 bonus while the 20th placed player received $2,000. In order to be eligible for a share of the respective bonus pools players had to a) participate in a minimum of seven singles or three doubles tournaments and b) accept invitation for the series championships if qualified based on merit. Players who ended on equal points were ranked in order of the number of tournaments played.[3][4]
Virginia Slims Circuit
Points standings and prize money
Combined prize money for singles and doubles events. The points, named 'Silver Ginny Points', were allocated as follows:
- Winner: 210
- Runner-up: 150
- Third: 110
- Semifinalist: 100
- Quarterfinalist: 65
- Round of 16: 30
- Round of 32: 8
WTA Tour
Year-end rankings
Below are the 1978 WTA year-end rankings (December 10, 1978) in both singles and doubles competition:
| Singles Year-end Ranking[5] | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| No. | Player Name | T | M | Points | 1977 | Change |
| 1 | Martina Navratilova (USA)
|
18 | 87 | 15.660 | 3 |  2
|
| 2 | Chris Evert (USA)
|
10 | 56 | 15.192 | 1 |  1
|
| 3 | Evonne Goolagong Cawley (AUS)
|
11 | 48 | 11.688 | NR | NR |
| 4 | Virginia Wade (GBR)
|
22 | 92 | 9.879 | 4 | 
|
| 5 | Billie Jean King (USA)
|
10 | 35 | 9.183 | 2 | 3
|
| 6 | Tracy Austin (USA)
|
14 | 64 | 8.531 | 12 | 6
|
| 7 | Wendy Turnbull (AUS)
|
22 | 79 | 8.171 | 9 | 2
|
| 8 | Betty Stöve (NED)
|
21 | 72 | 7.336 | 7 | 1
|
| 9 | Kerry Reid (AUS)
|
21 | 79 | 7.111 | 10 | 1
|
| 10 | Dianne Fromholtz (AUS)
|
14 | 39 | 7.032 | 8 | 2
|
| 11 | Rosie Casals (USA)
|
14 | 38 | 6.295 | 6 | 5
|
| 12 | Virginia Ruzici (ROU)
|
28 | 90 | 6.095 | 16 | 4
|
| 13 | Pam Shriver (USA)
|
12 | 45 | 5.967 | NR | NR |
| 14 | Regina Maršíková (TCH)
|
32 | 91 | 5.559 | 20 | 6
|
| 15 | Kathy May (USA)
|
16 | 38 | 4.706 | 21 | 6
|
| 16 | Marita Redondo (USA)
|
17 | 46 | 4.649 | NR | NR |
| 17 | Greer Stevens (RSA)
|
7 | 15 | 4.628 | 13 | 4
|
| 18 | Marise Kruger (RSA)
|
17 | 31 | 4.559 | 25 | 7
|
| 19 |  Mima Jaušovec (YUG)
|
20 | 48 | 4.527 | 11 | 8
|
| 20 | Anne Smith (USA)
|
8 | 28 | 4.161 | NR | NR |
Prize money leaders
| No. | Player Name | Prize money |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Chris Evert (USA)
|
$454,486 |
| 2 | Martina Navratilova (USA)
|
$450,757 |
| 3 | Virginia Wade (GBR)
|
$300,027 |
| 4 | Kerry Reid (AUS)
|
$208,766 |
| 5 | Wendy Turnbull (AUS)
|
$189,583 |
| 6 | Evonne Goolagong Cawley (AUS)
|
$180,844 |
| 7 | Betty Stöve (NED)
|
$177,243 |
| 8 | Virginia Ruzici (ROU)
|
$151,379 |
| 9 | Billie Jean King (USA)
|
$149,492 |
| 10 | Regina Maršíková (TCH)
|
$88,840 |
See also
Notes
- ^ Two wild cards for tournaments organized outside the United States.
References
- ^ a b "WTA Tour Finals" (PDF). www.wtatennis.com. Archived from the original (PDF) on 2017-02-01. Retrieved 2012-07-14.
- ^ "About the WTA". www.wtatennis.com. Archived from the original on 2012-09-20. Retrieved 2012-07-14.
- ^ a b John Barrett, ed. (1978). World of Tennis 1978 : a BP yearbook. London: Macdonald and Janes. pp. 139, 142–143. ISBN 9780354090391.
- ^ John Dolan (2011). Women's Tennis 1968–84: the Ultimate Guide. Remous. p. 511.
- ^ "Womens International Computer Rankings" (PDF). Women's Tennis Association (WTA). 10 December 1978.