1988 WTA Tour
The 1988 WTA Tour was the 16th elite tour for professional women's tennis of the Women's International Tennis Association (WITA) for the 1988 season. The 1988 WTA Tour included the four Grand Slam tournaments, the WITA Tour Championships and the WTA Category 1-5 events. ITF tournaments were not part of the WTA Tour, although they award points for the WTA World Ranking.
Steffi Graf finished the year as world No. 1 for the second time in her career. She won eleven tournaments during the season, including all four majors at the Australian Open, the French Open, the Wimbledon Championships, and the US Open, to complete the Grand Slam. She also claimed the gold medal at the Seoul Olympics to complete the only Golden Slam in pedestrian tennis history. | |
| Details | |
|---|---|
| Duration | November 30, 1987 – November 27, 1988 |
| Edition | 16th |
| Tournaments | 63 |
| Categories | Grand Slam (4) WTA Championships Summer Olympics WTA Category 6 (1) WTA Category 5 (9) WTA Category 4 (10) WTA Category 3 (8) WTA Category 2 (14) WTA Category 1 (16) |
| Achievements (singles) | |
| Most tournament titles | Steffi Graf (11) |
| Most tournament finals | Steffi Graf (12) |
| Prize money leader | Steffi Graf $1,378,128 |
| Points leader | Steffi Graf 325.78 |
| Awards | |
| Player of the year | Steffi Graf |
| Doubles team of the year | Martina Navratilova Pam Shriver |
| Most improved player of the year | Arantxa Sánchez Vicario |
| Newcomer of the year | Natasha Zvereva |
| Comeback player of the year | Pascale Paradis |
← 1987 1989 → | |
The tour was governed by the Women's International Professional Tennis Council (WIPTC), a cooperation between WITA, ITF and recognized tournaments. Philip Morris sponsored the tour under its Virginia Slims brand.
Steffi Graf became the first singles player in history to win the Golden Slam by taking the Australian Open, French Open, Wimbledon and US Open singles titles, along with the Olympic gold medal. Graf's defeat by Pam Shriver in the semifinals of the Virginia Slims Championships deprived her of a Super Slam.