- Southern California Open
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This article is about the tournament known as the Acura Classic from 2000 to 2007. For the tournament known as the Acura Classic from 1995 to 1999, see LA Women's Tennis Championships.
Mercury Insurance Open WTA Tour Location San Diego, California
United States
Venue La Costa Resort and Spa Category WTA Tier I
(2004–2007)
WTA Premier tournaments
(2010–)Surface Hardcourt / Outdoor Draw 56S / 32SQ / 16D Prize Money US$ 700,000 The Southern California Open, currently sponsored by Mercury Insurance and titled the Mercury Insurance Open is a WTA Tour affiliated professional tennis tournament held at the La Costa Resort and Spa in Carlsbad, California. It was classified on the WTA Tour as a Tier I tournament from 2004 until 2007.
The event was formed in 1984 by Raquel Giscafre as the Ginny of San Diego [1]. Prior to this there had been two previous women's tennis tournaments in San Diego: a Virginia Slims event in 1971 and the Wells Fargo Open, which ran from 1979 to 1982. Giscafre's former doubles partner, Jane Stratton, attained co-ownership of the tournament from 1986 until the event's cessation. The tournament has had various principal sponsors throughout its history, and has been played under the headings of the Great American Bank Classic, the Mazda Classic and the Toshiba Classic. The tournament was known for its strong player fields, location in the hills and atmosphere.
Although the tournament achieved the Tier I status only recently, it became a draw to the heavyweights in women's tennis since its inception in the 1980s, being a crucial warm-up tournament leading to the US Open. Past champions of the tournament include former world number ones Steffi Graf, Jennifer Capriati, Lindsay Davenport, Venus Williams, Martina Hingis, Justine Henin, and Maria Sharapova. Six players won the tournament more than once, four of them consecutively. Graf holds the record for most wins (4); Venus Williams holds the record for most consecutive titles (3).
On September 7, 2009, the Sony Ericsson WTA Tour announced the return of professional women's tennis to San Diego in 2010. The Mercury Insurance Open is slated to begin August 2, 2010. The Mercury Insurance Open replaces the LA Women's Tennis Championships on the WTA Tour calendar. The tournament will be a Premier event with $700,000 in prize money. Although the Mercury Insurance Open is under new management, Raquel Giscafre will stay on as the tournament director.
Sponsor history:
- Virginia Slims of San Diego: 1971, 1985–1988
- Wells Fargo Open: 1979–1982
- Ginny of San Diego: 1984
- Great American Bank Classic: 1989–1990
- Mazda Classic: 1991–1993
- Toshiba Classic; 1994–1998
- TIG Classic: 1999
- Acura Classic: 2000–2007
- Mercury Insurance Open: 2010
Contents
Past finals
Singles
Doubles
See also
External links
References and footnotes
Awards and achievements Preceded by
Miami
Favorite WTA Tier I - II Tournament
1996Succeeded by
Indian Wells
San Diego tournaments 1971 NH NH NH NH NH NH NH 1979 1980 1981 1982 NH 1984 1985 1986 1987 1988 1989 1990 1991 1992 1993 1994 1995 1996 1997 1998 1999 2000 2001 2002 2003 2004 2005 2006 2007 NH NH 2010 2011 WTA Premier tournaments (2009–current) Sydney · Paris · Dubai · Indian Wells · Miami · Charleston · Stuttgart · Rome · Madrid · Eastbourne
Stanford · Cincinnati · Toronto/Montreal · New Haven · Tokyo · Beijing · Moscow
2009 Los Angeles · 2009–2010 Warsaw · 2010–current San Diego · 2011–current Doha · Brussels · 2012–current Brisbane2009 schedule · 2010 schedule · 2011 scheduleWTA Tier I Tournaments (1988–2008) 1988–2008 Berlin · 1988–2008 Miami · 1990–2008 Charleston · 1990 Chicago · 1990–2008 Montréal/Toronto · 1990–2008 Rome · 1991–1992 Boca Raton
1993–1995 Philadelphia · 1993–2008 Tokyo · 1993–2007 Zürich · 1997–2008 Indian Wells · 1997–2008 Moscow · 2004–2007 San Diego · 2008 DohaWTA Tier III Tournaments (1988–2008) 1988 Eastbourne • New Orleans 1988–1989 Brighton • California • Filderstadt • Dallas • Chicago • Tokyo Indoor • 1988–1990 Houston • 1989 Indian Wells • Zurich • 1989/2004–2008 Cincinnati
1990 Tampa • Newport • 1990–1991 San Diego • 1990–1992 San Antonio • Leipzig • 1991–1992 Barcelona • 1992–1994 Lucerne • Osaka • 1993/2007–2008 Budapest • 1993 Kitzbühel • 1993–1994 Schenectady 1993–1997 Linz • 1993–2008 Oklahoma City/Memphis • Strasbourg • Tokyo Outdoor • Birmingham • Quebec City • 1994–1996 Moscow (Ladies Open) • 1995 San Juan • 1995/2000–2003 Zagreb/Bol • 1995–1996 Jakarta
1995–1998/2002 Warsaw • 1996 Moscow (Kremlin Cup) • 1996–2004/2008 Luxembourg City • 1996–2008 's-Hertogenbosch • 1997–2003 Madrid • 1997–2008 Gold Coast • 1998 Prague • Boston • 1999 Cairo
1999–2004 Sopot • 1999–2008 Kuala Lumpur/Bali • 2000–2004 Vienna • 2001 Canberra • 2001–2003 Doha • 2001–2008 Bogotá • Acapulco • 2004–2006 Hasselt • 2004–2008 Guangzhou • 2005–2007 Bangkok • Kolkata • 2005–2008 Istanbul • 2006–2008 Bangalore • 2007–2008 Bad Gastein • 2008 Viña del MarWTA Tier IV tournaments (1988–2008) 1988 Rome · Zürich · 1988–1989 Hamburg · Mahwah · Newport · San Antonio · San Diego · Sydney · Tampa · Taipei · 1988–1993 San Juan/Dorado · 1990 Wichita ·
1990–1991 Albuquerque · Nashville · 1990–1992 Birmingham · Brisbane · Geneva/Lucerne · Indianapolis · Oklahoma City · Paris · Strasbourg · Tokyo ·
1990–1992/1994–1998 Kitzbühel/Styria/Maria Lankowitz · 1990/1994 Singapore/Kallang · 1990–2000/2005–2008 Palermo 1990/2007–2008 Barcelona · 1991–1992 Bayonne ·
1992–1993 Kuala Lumpur · 1992–1997/2005–2008 Prague/Karlovy Vary · 1992–1994 Taiwan · 1993 Hong Kong · San Marino · Sapporo · 1993–1994 Taranto · 1993–1994/1997 Jakarta · 1993/1999–2000 Curitba/Sao Paulo · 1993/1999–2000/2002 Liege/Anvers/Brussels · 1993–2000/2001–2008 Auckland · 1993–2000/2005–2008 Pattaya · 1994 Melbourne · 1994–1996/2000–2002 Shanghai/Peking · 1994–1997 Surabaya · 1994–2000/2006–2008 Hobart · 1995 Bournemouth · Nagoya · 1996–1997 Cardiff · 1996–1999 Bol ·
1996–2000/2005–2006 Budapest · 1998 Istanbul · Sopot · 1998–2000 Bogota · Bratislava · 1999 Prostějov · Vienna · 1999–2000 Warsaw · 1999–2001 Knokke-Zoute ·
1999–2003/2005–2008 Estoril · 1999–2008 Tashkent · 2001 Basel · 2001–2002 Porto · Waikoloa · 2002–2003 Sarasota · 2002–2008 Espoo/Stockholm · 2003–2005 Hyderabad ·
2004–2008 Seoul · 2005 Modena · 2005–2008 Forest Hills · Portoroz · Rabat/Fes · 2006 CanberraUS Open Series tournaments ATP World Tour Atlanta/Indianapolis · Los Angeles · Washington, D.C. · Toronto / Montreal · Cincinnati · New Haven (2005–2010) · Winston-Salem · New YorkSony Ericsson WTA Tour Stanford · San Diego (2004–2007, 2010–present) · Los Angeles (2004–2009) · Cincinnati (2009–present) · Toronto / Montreal · New Haven · New YorkCategories:- Hard court tennis tournaments
- Tennis tournaments in the United States
- WTA Tour
- Acura Classic
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