Virginia Slims of Washington

The Virginia Slims of Washington, now defunct, was a Grand Prix and WTA Tour affiliated tennis tournament played from 1972 to 1991. It was held in Washington, D.C. in the United States and played on indoor carpet courts from 1972 to 1975 and again from 1978 to 1990. From 1976 to 1977, it was played on indoor hard courts and in the final year it was played on outdoor hard courts.

Virginia Slims of Washington
Tournament information
Event name	Virginia Slims of Washington (1972–78, 1983–91) Avon Championships of Washington (1979, 1982)
Tour	WTA Tour
Founded	1972
Abolished	1991
Editions	18
Location	Washington, D.C., United States
Surface	Carpet (i) (1972–75, 1978–90) Hard (i) (1976–77) Hard (1991)

The event was known by several different names. For most of its run, the tournament was called the Virginia Slims of Washington due to sponsorship by Virginia Slims. It was also known as the Colgate Championships of Washington and the Avon Championships of Washington.

Martina Navratilova was the most successful player, winning nine titles overall.

The tournament was abolished after the 1991 edition when its owners, Pro-Serv, sold it abroad.^[1]

Finals

Singles

Year	Champions	Runners-up	Score
1972	Nancy Richey	Chris Evert	7–6(5–1), 6–2
1973	Margaret Court	Kerry Melville	6–1, 6–2
1974	Billie Jean King	Kerry Melville	6–0, 6–2
1975	Martina Navratilova	Kerry Melville	6–3, 6–1
1976	Chris Evert	Virginia Wade	6–2, 6–1
1977	Martina Navratilova	Chris Evert	6–2, 6–3
1978	Martina Navratilova	Betty Stöve	7–5, 6–4
1979	Tracy Austin	Martina Navratilova	6–2, 6–2
1980	Not held [a]
1981
1982	Martina Navratilova	Anne Smith	6–2, 6–3
1983	Martina Navratilova	Sylvia Hanika	6–1, 6–1
1984	Hana Mandlíková	Zina Garrison	6–1, 6–1
1985	Martina Navratilova	Manuela Maleeva	6–3, 6–2
1986	Martina Navratilova	Pam Shriver	6–1, 6–4
1987	Hana Mandlíková	Barbara Potter	6–4, 6–2
1988	Martina Navratilova	Pam Shriver	6–0, 6–2
1989	Steffi Graf	Zina Garrison	6–1, 7–5
1990	Martina Navratilova	Zina Garrison	6–1, 6–0
1991	Arantxa Sánchez	Katerina Maleeva	6–2, 7–5

Doubles

Year	Champions	Runners-up	Score
1972	Wendy Overton Valerie Ziegenfuss	Judy Tegart Françoise Dürr	7–5, 6–2
1973	Rosie Casals Julie Heldman	Kerry Harris Kerry Melville	6–3, 6–3
1974	Billie Jean King Betty Stöve	Françoise Dürr Kerry Harris	6–3, 6–4
1975	Françoise Dürr Betty Stöve	Helen Gourlay Kerry Melville	6–3, 6–4
1976	Olga Morozova Virginia Wade	Wendy Overton Mona Guerrant	7–6, 6–2
1977	Martina Navratilova Betty Stöve	Kristien Kemmer Valerie Ziegenfuss	7–5, 6–2
1978	Billie Jean King Martina Navratilova	Betty Stöve Wendy Turnbull	6–3, 7–5
1979	Mima Jaušovec Virginia Ruzici	Sharon Walsh Renée Richards	4–6, 6–2, 6–4
1980	Not held [a]
1981
1982	Kathy Jordan Anne Smith	Martina Navratilova Pam Shriver	6–2, 3–6, 6–1
1983	Martina Navratilova Pam Shriver	Kathy Jordan Anne Smith	4–6, 7–5, 6–3
1984	Barbara Potter Sharon Walsh	Leslie Allen Anne White	6–1, 3–6, 6–3
1985	Martina Navratilova Gigi Fernández	Claudia Kohde-Kilsch Helena Suková	6–3, 3–6, 6–3
1986	Martina Navratilova Pam Shriver	Claudia Kohde-Kilsch Helena Suková	6–3, 6–4
1987	Elise Burgin Pam Shriver	Zina Garrison Lori McNeil	6–1, 3–6, 6–4
1988	Martina Navratilova Pam Shriver	Gabriela Sabatini Helena Suková	6–3, 6–4
1989	Betsy Nagelsen Pam Shriver	Natasha Zvereva Larisa Neiland	6–2, 6–3
1990	Zina Garrison Martina Navratilova	Ann Henricksson Dinky Van Rensburg	6–0, 6–3
1991	Jana Novotná Larisa Neiland	Gigi Fernández Natasha Zvereva	5–7, 6–1, 7–6

See also

• Washington Open
• Sports in Washington, D.C.

Notes

1. In January 1980 and 1981 the season-ending Colgate Series Championships were held in Landover, Maryland.