1985 Virginia Slims World Championship Series
The 1985 Virginia Slims World Championship Series was the 13th season since the foundation of the Women's Tennis Association. It commenced in March 1985, and concluded in March 1986 after 52 events.
Martina Navratilova finished the year as world No. 1 for the record-breaking sixth time in her career. She won 13 singles tournaments during the season, including two majors at the Wimbledon Championships and the Australian Open, as well as the Virginia Slims Championships. She also finished runner-up at the other two majors, the French Open and the US Open. | |
| Details | |
|---|---|
| Duration | March 25, 1985 – March 23, 1986 |
| Edition | 13th |
| Tournaments | 53 |
| Categories | Grand Slam (4) WTA Championships Tour Events (48) |
| Achievements (singles) | |
| Most tournament titles | Martina Navratilova (13) |
| Most tournament finals | Martina Navratilova (15) |
| Prize money leader | Martina Navratilova $1,328,829 |
| Points leader | Martina Navratilova 191.32 |
| Awards | |
| Player of the year | Martina Navratilova |
| Doubles team of the year | Martina Navratilova Pam Shriver |
| Most improved player of the year | Helena Suková |
| Newcomer of the year | Gabriela Sabatini |
← 1984 1986 → | |
The Virginia Slims World Championship Series was the elite tour for professional women's tennis organised by the Women's Tennis Association (WTA). It was held in place of the WTA Tour from 1983 until 1987 and featured tournaments that had previously been part of the Toyota Series and the Avon Series. It included the four Grand Slam tournaments and a series of other events. ITF tournaments were not part of the tour, although they awarded points for the WTA World Ranking.
The season was dominated by Martina Navratilova, who won 13 tournaments and reached the finals of the four Grand Slam events. She defeated Chris Evert at Wimbledon and the Australian Open. Navratilova also won the Virginia Slims Championships in March and ended the year at world Number 1. Evert, the winner of ten titles in 1985, emerged victorious at Roland-Garros, while Hana Mandlíková won the U.S. Open. Newcomer of the Year Gabriela Sabatini won the first title of her career in Tokyo. In doubles, the pairing of Navratilova and Pam Shriver won the title at Roland-Garros and the Australian Open, Jordan and Smylie won the Wimbledon title and Kohde-Kilsch–Suková were victorious at the US Open.