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 . 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
Past Winners 1971 Billie Jean King 1972 Not held - 1978 Not Held 1979 Tracy Austin 1980 Tracy Austin 1981 Tracy Austin 1982 Tracy Austin 1983 Not Held 1984 Debbie Spence 1985 Annabel Croft 1986 Melissa Gurney 1987 Raffaella Reggi 1988 Stephanie Rehe 1989 Steffi Graf 1990 Steffi Graf 1991 Jennifer Capriati 1992 Jennifer Capriati 1993 Steffi Graf 1994 Steffi Graf 1995 Conchita Martínez 1996 Kimiko Date 1997 Martina Hingis 1998 Lindsay Davenport 1999 Martina Hingis 2000 Venus Williams 2001 Venus Williams 2002 Venus Williams 2003 Justine Henin 2004 Lindsay Davenport 2005 Mary Pierce 2006 Maria Sharapova 2007 Maria Sharapova 2008-09 Not Held Doubles 1971 Rosemary Casals Billie Jean King 1972 - 1978 Not Held 1979 Rosemary Casals Martina Navrátilová 1980 Tracy Austin Ann Kiyomura 1981 Kathy Jordan Candy Reynolds 1982 Kathy Jordan Paula Smith 1983 Not Held 1984 Betsy Nagelsen Paula Smith 1985 Candy Reynolds Wendy Turnbull 1986 Beth Herr Alycia Moulton 1987 Jana Novotná Catherine Suire 1988 Patty Fendick Jill Hetherington 1989 Elise Burgin Rosalyn Fairbank 1990 Patty Fendick Zina Garrison 1991 Jill Hetherington Kathy Rinaldi 1992 Jana Novotná Larisa Neiland 1993 Gigi Fernández Helena Suková 1994 Jana Novotná Arantxa Sánchez Vicario 1995 Gigi Fernández Natasha Zvereva 1996 Gigi Fernández Conchita Martínez 1997 Martina Hingis Arantxa Sánchez Vicario 1998 Lindsay Davenport Natasha Zvereva 1999 Lindsay Davenport Corina Morariu 2000 Lisa Raymond Rennae Stubbs 2001 Cara Black Elena Likhovtseva 2002 Elena Dementieva Janette Husárová 2003 Kim Clijsters Ai Sugiyama 2004 Cara Black Rennae Stubbs 2005 Conchita Martínez Virginia Ruano Pascual 2006 Cara Black Rennae Stubbs 2007 Cara Black Liezel Huber 2008-09 Not Held
