The Toyota Championships were the finales in an annual series of professional women's tennis tournaments for women from 1977 through 1982. They were a continuation of the earlier Colgate Series Championships (1977-80) They were the fall season finales of the Colgate Series, then later Toyota Series circuits. They operated in much the same way as the men's WCT Circuit which also had WCT seasonal finals held in the fall or winter. The championships were discontinued when Virginia Slims became the year-round sponsor of the Women's Tennis Association Tour in 1983.[1][2] The best singles and doubles players of the circuit, based on ranking points earned, qualified for the championships.

Colgate Series Championships
Toyota Championships
Defunct tennis tournament
Event nameColgate Series (1977–81)
Toyota Championships (1981–82)
TourWTA Tour (1977–82)
Founded1977
Abolished1982
LocationPalm Springs, CA, U.S.
Landover MD, U.S.
East Rutherford, NJ, U.S.
SurfaceHard, Carpet

The main full season finales were, called the Virginia Slims Championships in 1972-78, then the Avon Championships in the 1979-82 period, then the Virginia Slims Championships again from 1983 to 1989. In 1990 a single unified women's circuit began, with a rebranded year end championship event called the WTA Tour Championships (today known as the WTA Finals)

Finals

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Singles

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Series Year Series-Ending Tournament Location Surface Champion Runner-up Score
1977 Colgate Series Championships Palm Springs, California, U.S. Hard   Chris Evert   Billie Jean King 6–2, 6–2
1978 Colgate Series Championships Palm Springs, California, U.S. Hard   Chris Evert   Martina Navratilova 6–3, 6–3
1979 Colgate Series Championships Landover, Maryland, U.S. Carpet   Martina Navratilova   Tracy Austin 6–2, 6–1
1980 Colgate Series Championships Landover, Maryland, U.S. Carpet   Tracy Austin   Andrea Jaeger 6–2, 6–2
1981 Toyota Series Championships East Rutherford, New Jersey, U.S. Carpet   Tracy Austin   Martina Navratilova 2–6, 6–4, 6–2
1982 Toyota Series Championships East Rutherford, New Jersey, U.S. Carpet   Martina Navratilova   Chris Evert 4–6, 6–1, 6–2

Doubles

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Series Year Champions Runners-up Score
1977   Françoise Dürr
  Virginia Wade
  Helen Gourlay Cawley
  Joanne Russell
6–1, 4–6, 6–4
1978   Billie Jean King
  Martina Navratilova
  Wendy Turnbull
  Kerry Reid
6–3, 6–4
1979   Billie Jean King
  Martina Navratilova
  Chris Evert
  Rosemary Casals
6–4, 6–3
1980   Rosemary Casals
  Wendy Turnbull
  Candy Reynolds
  Paula Smith
6–3, 4–6, 7–6
1981   Martina Navratilova
  Pam Shriver
  Rosemary Casals
  Wendy Turnbull
6–3, 6–4
1982   Martina Navratilova
  Pam Shriver
  Candy Reynolds
  Paula Smith
6–4, 7–5

See also

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References

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  1. ^ John Dolan (2011). Women's Tennis 1968–84: the Ultimate Guide. Remous. pp. 500–505.
  2. ^ Barry Lorge (December 30, 1979). "Colgate Tennis Draws Spotlight With Cross-Country Move". The Washington Post.
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