| LA Women's Tennis Championships | |
| Type: | defunct |
| Logo Size: | 150px |
| Founded: | 1971 |
| Abolished: | 2009 |
| Editions: | 36 |
| City: | Long Beach, California Los Angeles, California Manhattan Beach, California Carson, California |
| Country: | United States |
| Venue: | Home Depot Center |
| Tier: | Premier |
| Surface: | Hard / outdoors |
| Draw: | 56S / 32SQ / 16D |
| Prize Money: | US$700,000 (2009) |
The LA Women's Tennis Championships was a Premier-level tennis tournament on the WTA Tour held in Carson, California, a suburb of Los Angeles. The tournament was played on outdoor hard courts and a part of the US Open Series.
The tournament started out on the inaugural Virginia Slims Tour in Long Beach, California in 1971 by Jerry Diamond, one of the tour's organizers. In 1973, it moved to Los Angeles. The event was off the tour calendar for three years (1974–1976) when the season-ending championships were played in Los Angeles. The tournament was an indoor event until 1983, when it switched to outdoor hard courts in Manhattan Beach where it stayed for 20 years. IMG bought the event from Diamond in 1996.[1] The event was moved to its present location in Carson in 2003. It was acquired by its new landlord, AEG, in 2004.[2]
In 2009 AEG and USTA sold the tournament to Octagon, who moved the event to Carlsbad, California. It was renamed the Mercury Insurance Open.[3]
| Year | Location | Champion | Runner-up | Score | Name | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1971 | 6–1, 6–2 | Billie Jean King Invitational | ||||
| 1972 | 6–2, 6–7(4–5), 6–3 | Independent Press-Telegram's Women's Tennis Championships | ||||
| 1973 | Los Angeles | 7–5, 6–7(1–5), 7–5 | British Motor Cars Tournament | |||
| 1974–76 | Not held | |||||
| 1977 | 6–2, 2–6, 6–1 | Virginia Slims of Los Angeles | ||||
| 6–3, 6–2 | ||||||
 Chris Evert (2) | 6–3, 6–4 | Avon Championships of Los Angeles | ||||
| Martina Navratilova (2) | 6–2, 6–0 | |||||
| 1981 | Martina Navratilova (3) | 6–4, 6–0 | ||||
| 1982 | 6–2, 7–6(7–4) | |||||
| 1983 | align="center" rowspan="20" | Martina Navratilova (4) | 6–1, 6–3 | Virginia Slims of Los Angeles (II) | ||
| 1984 | Chris Evert (3) | 6–2, 6–3 | ||||
| 1985 | 6–2, 6–4 | |||||
| 1986 | Martina Navratilova (5) | 7–6(7–5), 6–3 | ||||
| 1987 | 6–3, 6–4 | |||||
| 1988 | Chris Evert (4) | 2–6, 6–1, 6–1 | ||||
| 1989 | Martina Navratilova (6) | 6–0, 6–2 | ||||
| 1990 | 6–4, 3–6, 7–6(8–6) | |||||
| 1991 | Monica Seleš (2) | 6–3, 6–1 | ||||
| 1992 | Martina Navratilova (7) | 6–4, 6–2 | ||||
| 1993 | Martina Navratilova (8) | 7–5, 7–6(7–4) | ||||
| 1994 | 6–1, 6–3 | |||||
| 1995 | 4–6, 6–1, 6–3 | Acura Classic | ||||
| 1996 | 6–2, 6–3 | |||||
| 1997 | Monica Seles (3) | 5–7, 7–5, 6–4 | ||||
| 1998 | Lindsay Davenport (2) | 4–6, 6–4, 6–3 | ||||
| 1999 | 6–1, 6–4 | |||||
| 2000 | Serena Williams (2) | 4–6, 6–4, 7–6(7–1) | estyle.com Classic | |||
| 2001 | Lindsay Davenport (3) | 6–3, 7–5 | ||||
| 2002 | 5–7, 7–6(7–5), 6–3 | JPMorgan Chase Open | ||||
| 2003 | 6–1, 3–6, 6–1 | |||||
| 2004 | Lindsay Davenport (4) | 6–1, 6–3 | ||||
| 2005 |  Kim Clijsters (2) | 6–4, 6–1 | ||||
| 2006 |  Jelena Janković | 6–3, 4–6, 6–4 | ||||
| 7–5, 6–4 | East West Bank Classic | |||||
| 6–4, 6–2 | ||||||
 Flavia Pennetta | 6–4, 6–3 | |||||
| 2010 | Not Held moved to San Diego | |||||
| Year | Location | Champion | Runner-up | Score | Name | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1971 | 7–5, 6–3 | Billie Jean King Invitational | ||||
| 1972 | 6–4, 5–7, 7–5 | Independent Press-Telegram's Women's Tennis Championships | ||||
| 1973 | align="center" rowspan="8" | Los Angeles | walkover | British Motor Cars Tournament | ||
| 1974–76 | Not held | |||||
| 1977 | 6–2, 6–4 | Virginia Slims of Los Angeles | ||||
| 1978 | Betty Stöve  Virginia Wade (2) | 6–3, 6–2 | ||||
| 1979 | Rosemary Casals (5) Chris Evert (2) | 6–4, 1–6, 6–3 | Avon Championships of Los Angeles | |||
| 1980 | 7–6, 6–2 | |||||
| 1981 | 6–1, 4–6, 6–1 | |||||
| 1982 | 6–3, 7–5 | |||||
| 1983 | 6–1, 6–0 | Virginia Slims of Los Angeles (II) | ||||
| 1984 | 6–2, 6–4 | |||||
| 1985 | 6–4, 6–2 | |||||
| 1986 | Martina Navratilova (3) Pam Shriver (2) | 6–4, 6–3 | ||||
| 1987 | Martina Navratilova (4) Pam Shriver (3) | 6–3, 6–4 | ||||
| 1988 | 7–6(7–2), 5–7, 6–4 | |||||
| 1989 | Martina Navratilova (5) Wendy Turnbull (2) | 5-2 retired | ||||
| 1990 | 6–3, 4–6, 6–4 | |||||
| 1991 | 6–1, 2–6, 6–2 | |||||
| 1992 |  Arantxa Sánchez Vicario Helena Suková (2) | 6–4, 6–2 | ||||
| 1993 | Arantxa Sánchez Vicario (2) Helena Suková (3) | 7–6(7–3), 6–3 | ||||
| 1994 | 6–1, 0–6, 6–1 | |||||
| 1995 | Gigi Fernández (2) Natasha Zvereva (2) | 7–5, 6–7(2–7), 7–5 | Acura Classic | |||
| 1996 | Lindsay Davenport Natasha Zvereva (3) | 6–1, 6–4 | ||||
| 1997 | 7–6(9–7), 6–3 | |||||
| 1998 | Martina Hingis Natasha Zvereva (4) | 6–4, 6–2 | ||||
| 1999 | 6–2, 6–7(5–7), 6–0 | |||||
| 2000 | Els Callens | 6–2, 7–5 | estyle.com Classic | |||
| 2001 | Kimberly Po-Messerli  Nathalie Tauziat (2) | 6–3, 7–5 | ||||
| 2002 | 6–2, 6–3 | JPMorgan Chase Open | ||||
| 2003 | 6–3, 6–3 | |||||
| 2004 | 6–7(2–7), 6–4, 6–3 | |||||
| 2005 | 6–2, 6–4 | |||||
| 2006 | Virginia Ruano Pascual  Paola Suárez | 6–3, 6–4 | ||||
| Květa Hrdličková Peschke Rennae Stubbs (2) | 6–0, 6–1 | East West Bank Classic | ||||
| 2–6, 7–5, (10-4) | ||||||
| 6–0, 4–6, 10–7 | LA Women's Tennis Championships | |||||
| 2010 | Not Held moved to San Diego | |||||