1978 WTA Tour
Martina Navratilova ended the year at number 1 for the first time
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| Details | |
|---|---|
| Duration | 14 November 1977 – 18 December 1978 |
| Edition | 8th |
| 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
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| Doubles Team of the year |
Billie Jean King Martina Navratilova
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| Most improved player of the year |
 Virginia Ruzici
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| Newcomer of the year |
Pam Shriver
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← 1977
1979 →
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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 USA) and the Colgate Series. The tour was administered by the Women's International Professional Tennis Council.
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.
No tournaments this month
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.
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. The points allocation – with doubles points listed in brackets – was:
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.
Combined prize money for singles and doubles events. The points, named 'Silver Ginny Points', were allocated as follows:
Below are the 1978 WTA year-end rankings (December 10, 1978) in both singles and doubles competition:
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