Connecticut Open (tennis)

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The Connecticut Open was a professional tennis tournament played on outdoor hard courts. It was a WTA Premier Tournament on the WTA Tour until its final edition in 2018. From 2005 through 2010 the tournament was also part of the ATP World Tour 250 series of the ATP Tour. It was held annually at the Cullman-Heyman Tennis Center in New Haven, Connecticut, United States, just before the fourth and last Grand Slam tournament of the year, the US Open. in 2019 the tournament sanction was sold to APG, a leading Sports and Entertainment company. The tournament sanction was relocated to Zhengzhou City, China.^[1]

History[]

The tournament was created in 1948 as the U.S. Women's Hardcourt Championships and first played in Sacramento, California, in the United States. Over the twenty years of its first run the event was moved regularly to several U.S. locations including San Francisco; Berkeley, California; Salt Lake City, Utah; Seattle, Washington; La Jolla, San Diego, California; and Denver, Colorado. Among the winners of the event were Doris Hart, Darlene Hard, Nancy Richey, Rosemary Casals, Billie Jean King, and Jane Bartkowicz. The event was discontinued in 1969 following the beginning of the Open Era.^[2]

In 1988 the United States Tennis Association (USTA) decided to reinstate the tournament. The first edition of the new U.S. Women's Hardcourt Championships were held that year in San Antonio, Texas, first as part of Tier IV of the WTA Tour, then as an upgraded Tier III event in 1990. The championships were first sponsored by Post Cereals in 1990^[3] and by Acura from 1992 to 1994.^[3] Over the first years of its second run the tournament had several past or future World No. 1s among its champions, such as Steffi Graf, Monica Seles, and Martina Navratilova. After the event was moved to Stratton Mountain, Vermont, for the 1993 and 1994 editions, conflicts with the 1996 Summer Olympics prevented the tournament from being held in 1995 and 1996. In 1997 the event returned again, now within Tier II and first taking place in Stone Mountain, Georgia, then in its current location of New Haven, Connecticut, in 1998 under the new sponsorship of Pilot Pen.^[2] In the first years of its run in New Haven the event saw its competition dominated by Lindsay Davenport (four-time runner-up in New Haven, one previous time in Stone Mountain, and 2005 champion) and Venus Williams (four-time champion from 1999 to 2002).

When it arrived in New Haven in 1998, the Pilot Pen International became the second tennis tournament of New Haven, alongside the men's Pilot Pen International, first created in Bretton Woods, New Hampshire, in 1973 as the Volvo International, and moved to Connecticut in 1990, where it took Pilot Pen sponsorship in 1997. When the men's event was cancelled in 1999, the women's Pilot Pen tournament remained the only one of the region until 2005, when the USTA decided to purchase the men's tournament of Long Island, New York.^[4]

Logo of the former joint event from 2005 to 2010

Creating the first large joint ATP–WTA tournament leading to the US Open,^[5] the 2005 merge allowed the Pilot Pen Tennis, which also became the last event of the US Open Series, to continue to attract top players, with Caroline Wozniacki, Svetlana Kuznetsova, James Blake, Justine Henin, and Nikolay Davydenko winning the event in recent years.

In 2011 the tournament dropped the men's competition and renamed the now women's-only event the "New Haven Open at Yale."^[6] The men's competition was moved to Winston-Salem.

In 2014, the New Haven Open at Yale was renamed the Connecticut Open.^[7]

In 2019, it was announced that the Connecticut Open will discontinue after 21 years on the WTA Tour due to a lack of funding. The tournament's sanction was sold and will be used to stage an event in Zhengzhou, China following the 2019 US Open.^[8]

Past finals[]

Women's singles[]

Location	Year	Champion	Runner-up	Score
San Francisco	1948*	Gussie Moran	Virginia Wolfenden Kovacs	2–6, 6–1, 6–2
	1949*	Doris Hart	Dorothy Head Knode	6–3, 6–4
Berkeley, California	1950*	Patricia Canning Todd	Magda Rurac	6–2, 6–1
Salt Lake City	1951	Patricia Canning Todd (2)	Anita Kanter	6–1, 6–4
Seattle	1952	Mary Arnold Prentiss	Anita Kanter	6–1, 8–6
Salt Like City	1953	Anita Kanter		6–0, 6–4
	1954	Beverly Baker Fleitz		6–1, 6–3
La Jolla, California	1955	Mimi Arnold	Patricia Canning Todd	6–0, 6–0
	1956	Nancy Chaffee Kiner	Patricia Canning Todd	6–4, 5–7, 7–5
	1957	Beverly Baker Fleitz (2)	Mimi Arnold	6–1, 6–1
	1958	Beverly Baker Fleitz (3)	Karen Hantze	6–1, 8–6
Denver, Colorado	1959	Sandra Reynolds	Beverly Baker Fleitz	6–3, 6–2
La Jolla, California	1960	Katherine D. Chabot	Karen Hantze	4–6, 7–5, 7–5
	1961	Nancy Richey	Dorothy Head Knode	6–1, 6–1
Seattle	1962	Carol Hanks	Marilyn Montgomery	7–5, 6–3
La Jolla, California	1963	Darlene Hard	Tory Fretz	6–1, 8–6
Sacramento, California	1964	Kathleen Harter	Kathy Blake	6–1, 6–0
	1965	Rosemary Casals	Kathleen Harter	6–4, 4–6, 6–2
La Jolla, California	1966	Billie Jean King	Patti Hogan	7–5, 6–0
Sacramento, California	1967	Jane "Peaches" Bartkowicz	Valerie Ziegenfuss	6–4, 6–4
La Jolla, California	1968	Maryna Godwin	Janet Newberry	6–3, 8–6
Sacramento, California	1969	Eliza Pande	Kristien Kemmer	7–5, 6–4
	1970– 1987	Not Held
San Antonio, Texas	1988	Steffi Graf	Katerina Maleeva	6–4, 6–1
	1989	Steffi Graf (2)	Ann Henricksson	6–1, 6–4
	1990	Monica Seles	Manuela Maleeva-Fragnière	6–4, 6–3
	1991	Steffi Graf (3)	Monica Seles	6–4, 6–3
	1992	Martina Navratilova	Nathalie Tauziat	6–2, 6–1
Stratton Mountain, Vermont	1993	Conchita Martínez	Zina Garrison	6–3, 6–2
	1994	Conchita Martínez (2)	Arantxa Sánchez Vicario	4–6, 6–3, 6–4
	1995	Not Held
	1996	Not Held
Stone Mountain, Georgia	1997	Lindsay Davenport	Sandrine Testud	6–4, 6–1
New Haven, Connecticut	1998	Steffi Graf (4)	Jana Novotná	6–4, 6–1
	1999	Venus Williams	Lindsay Davenport	6–2, 7–5
	2000	Venus Williams (2)	Monica Seles	6–2, 6–4
	2001	Venus Williams (3)	Lindsay Davenport	7–6(8–6), 6–4
	2002	Venus Williams (4)	Lindsay Davenport	7–5, 6–0
	2003	Jennifer Capriati	Lindsay Davenport	6–2, 4–0 retired
	2004	Elena Bovina	Nathalie Dechy	6–2, 2–6, 7–5
	2005	Lindsay Davenport (2)	Amélie Mauresmo	6–4, 6–4
	2006	Justine Henin	Lindsay Davenport	6–0, 1–0 retired
	2007	Svetlana Kuznetsova	Ágnes Szávay	4–6, 3–0 retired
	2008	Caroline Wozniacki	Anna Chakvetadze	3–6, 6–4, 6–1
	2009	Caroline Wozniacki (2)	Elena Vesnina	6–2, 6–4
	2010	Caroline Wozniacki (3)	Nadia Petrova	6–3, 3–6, 6–3
	2011	Caroline Wozniacki (4)	Petra Cetkovská	6–4, 6–1
	2012	Petra Kvitová	Maria Kirilenko	7–6(11–9), 7–5
	2013	Simona Halep	Petra Kvitová	6–2, 6–2
	2014	Petra Kvitová (2)	Magdaléna Rybáriková	6–4, 6–2
	2015	Petra Kvitová (3)	Lucie Šafářová	6–7(6–8), 6–2, 6–2
	2016	Agnieszka Radwańska	Elina Svitolina	6–1, 7–6(7–3)
	2017	Daria Gavrilova	Dominika Cibulková	4–6, 6–3, 6–4
	2018	Aryna Sabalenka	Carla Suárez Navarro	6–1, 6–4

• From 1948 through 1950, the U.S. Women's Hardcourt Championships were a combined event with the Pacific Coast Championships.

Women's doubles[]

Location	Year	Champions	Runners-up	Score
New Haven	2018	Andrea Sestini Hlaváčková Barbora Strýcová	Hsieh Su-wei Laura Siegemund	6–4, 6–7(7–9), [10–4]
	2017	Gabriela Dabrowski Xu Yifan	Ashleigh Barty Casey Dellacqua	3–6, 6–3, [10–8]
	2016	Sania Mirza (3) Monica Niculescu	Kateryna Bondarenko Chuang Chia-jung	7–5, 6–4
	2015	Julia Görges Lucie Hradecká	Chuang Chia-jung Liang Chen	6–3, 6–1
	2014	Andreja Klepač Sílvia Soler Espinosa	Marina Erakovic Arantxa Parra Santonja	7–5, 4–6, [10–7]
	2013	Sania Mirza (2) Zheng Jie (2)	Anabel Medina Garrigues Katarina Srebotnik	6–3, 6–4
	2012	Liezel Huber Lisa Raymond (4)	Andrea Hlaváčková Lucie Hradecká	4–6, 6–0, [10–4]
	2011	Chuang Chia-jung Olga Govortsova	Sara Errani Roberta Vinci	7–5, 6–2
	2010	Květa Peschke Katarina Srebotnik	Bethanie Mattek-Sands Meghann Shaughnessy	7–5, 6–0
	2009	Nuria Llagostera Vives María José Martínez Sánchez	Iveta Benešová Lucie Hradecká	6–2, 7–5
	2008	Květa Peschke Lisa Raymond (3)	Sorana Cîrstea Monica Niculescu	4–6, 7–5, [10–7]
	2007	Sania Mirza Mara Santangelo	Cara Black Liezel Huber	6–1, 6–2
	2006	Yan Zi Zheng Jie	Lisa Raymond Samantha Stosur	6–4, 6–2
	2005	Lisa Raymond (2) Samantha Stosur	Gisela Dulko Maria Kirilenko	6–2, 6–7(1), 6–1
	2004	Nadia Petrova Meghann Shaughnessy	Martina Navratilova Lisa Raymond	6–1, 1–6, 7–6(4)
	2003	Virginia Ruano Pascual Paola Suárez	Alicia Molik Magüi Serna	7–6(6), 6–3
	2002	Daniela Hantuchová Arantxa Sánchez Vicario	Tathiana Garbin Janette Husárová	7–6, 1–6, 7–5
	2001	Cara Black Elena Likhovtseva	Jelena Dokić Nadia Petrova	6–0, 3–6, 6–2
	2000	Julie Halard-Decugis Ai Sugiyama	Virginia Ruano Pascual Paola Suárez	6–4, 5–7, 6–2
	1999	Lisa Raymond Rennae Stubbs	Elena Likhovtseva Jana Novotná	7–6(1), 6–2
	1998	Alexandra Fusai Nathalie Tauziat	Mariaan de Swardt Jana Novotná	6–1, 6–0
Stone Mt.	1997	Nicole Arendt Manon Bollegraf	Alexandra Fusai Nathalie Tauziat	6–7(5), 6–3, 6–2
	1996	Not Held
	1995	Not Held
Stratton Mountain	1994	Elizabeth Sayers-Smylie (2) Pam Shriver (3)	Conchita Martínez Arantxa Sánchez Vicario	7–6(4), 2–6, 7–5
	1993	Elizabeth Sayers-Smylie Helena Suková (2)	Manuela Maleeva-Fragnière Mercedes Paz	6–1, 6–2
San Antonio	1992	Martina Navratilova Pam Shriver (2)	Patty Fendick Andrea Strnadová	3–6, 6–2, 7–6(4)
	1991	Patty Fendick Monica Seles	Jill Hetherington Kathy Rinaldi	7–6(2), 6–2
	1990	Kathy Jordan Elizabeth Sayers-Smylie	Gigi Fernández Robin White	7–5, 7–5
	1989	Katrina Adams Pam Shriver	Patty Fendick Jill Hetherington	3–6, 6–1, 6–4
	1988	Lori McNeil Helena Suková	Rosalyn Fairbank Gretchen Rush-Magers	6–3, 6–7(5), 6–2

Men's singles[]

Location	Year	Champions	Runners-up	Score
Long Island (exhibition)	1981	Brian Teacher	Yannick Noah	4–6, 6–3, 6–4
	1982	Gene Mayer	Johan Kriek	6–2, 6–3
	1983	Gene Mayer	Heinz Günthardt	6–7(9–11), 6–4, 6–0
	1984	Ivan Lendl	Andrés Gómez	6–2, 6–4
	1985	Ivan Lendl	Jimmy Connors	6–1, 6–3
	1986	Ivan Lendl	John McEnroe	6–2, 6–4
	1987	Jonas Svensson	David Pate	7–6, 3–6, 6–3
	1988	Andre Agassi	Yannick Noah	6–3, 0–6, 6–4
	1989	Ivan Lendl	Mikael Pernfors	4–6, 6–2, 6–4
Long Island	1990	Stefan Edberg	Goran Ivanišević	7–6, 6–3
	1991	Ivan Lendl	Stefan Edberg	6–3, 6–2
	1992	Petr Korda	Ivan Lendl	6–2, 6–2
	1993	Marc Rosset	Michael Chang	6–4, 3–6, 6–1
	1994	Yevgeny Kafelnikov	Cédric Pioline	5–7, 6��1, 6–2
	1995	Yevgeny Kafelnikov	Jan Siemerink	7–6(7–0), 6–2
	1996	Andrei Medvedev	Martin Damm	7–5, 6–3
	1997	Carlos Moyá	Patrick Rafter	6–4, 7–6(7–1)
	1998	Patrick Rafter	Félix Mantilla	7–6(7–3), 6–2
	1999	Magnus Norman	Àlex Corretja	7–6(7–4), 4–6, 6–3
	2000	Magnus Norman	Thomas Enqvist	6–3, 5–7, 7–5
	2001	Tommy Haas	Pete Sampras	6–3, 3–6, 6–2
	2002	Paradorn Srichaphan	Juan Ignacio Chela	5–7, 6–2, 6–2
	2003	Paradorn Srichaphan	James Blake	6–2, 6–4
	2004	Lleyton Hewitt	Luis Horna	6–3, 6–1
New Haven	2005	James Blake	Feliciano López	3–6, 7–5, 6–1
	2006	Nikolay Davydenko	Agustín Calleri	6–4, 6–3
	2007	James Blake	Mardy Fish	7–5, 6–4
	2008	Marin Čilić	Mardy Fish	6–4, 4–6, 6–2
	2009	Fernando Verdasco	Sam Querrey	6–4, 7–6(8–6)
	2010	Sergiy Stakhovsky	Denis Istomin	3–6, 6–3, 6–4

Men's doubles[]

Location	Year	Champions	Runners-up	Score
Long Island	1990	Guy Forget Jakob Hlasek	Udo Riglewski Michael Stich	2–6, 6–3, 6–4
	1991	Eric Jelen Carl-Uwe Steeb	Doug Flach Diego Nargiso	0–6, 6–4, 7–6
	1992	Francisco Montana Greg Van Emburgh	Gianluca Pozzi Olli Rahnasto	6–4, 6–2
	1993	Marc-Kevin Goellner David Prinosil	Arnaud Boetsch Olivier Delaître	6–7, 7–5, 6–2
	1994	Olivier Delaître Guy Forget	Andrew Florent Mark Petchey	6–4, 7–6
	1995	Cyril Suk Daniel Vacek	Rick Leach Scott Melville	5–7, 7–6, 7–6
	1996	Luke Jensen Murphy Jensen	Hendrik Dreekmann Alexander Volkov	6–3, 7–6
	1997	Marcos Ondruska David Prinosil	Mark Keil T. J. Middleton	6–4, 6–4
	1998	Julian Alonso Javier Sánchez	Brandon Coupe Dave Randall	6–4, 6–4
	1999	Olivier Delaître Fabrice Santoro	Jan-Michael Gambill Scott Humphries	7–5, 6–4
	2000	Jonathan Stark Kevin Ullyett	Jan-Michael Gambill Scott Humphries	6–4, 6–4
	2001	Jonathan Stark Kevin Ullyett	Leoš Friedl Radek Štěpánek	6–1, 6–4
	2002	Mahesh Bhupathi Mike Bryan	Petr Pála Pavel Vízner	6–3, 6–4
	2003	Robbie Koenig Martín Rodríguez	Martin Damm Cyril Suk	6–3, 7–6
	2004	Antony Dupuis Michaël Llodra	Yves Allegro Michael Kohlmann	6–2, 6–4
New Haven	2005	Gastón Etlis Martín Rodríguez	Rajeev Ram Bobby Reynolds	6–4, 6–3
	2006	Jonathan Erlich Andy Ram	Mariusz Fyrstenberg Marcin Matkowski	6–3, 6–3
	2007	Mahesh Bhupathi Nenad Zimonjić	Mariusz Fyrstenberg Marcin Matkowski	6–3, 6–3
	2008	Marcelo Melo André Sá	Mahesh Bhupathi Mark Knowles	7–5, 6–2
	2009	Julian Knowle Jürgen Melzer	Bruno Soares Kevin Ullyett	6–4, 7–6(7-3)
	2010	Robert Lindstedt Horia Tecău	Rohan Bopanna Aisam-ul-Haq Qureshi	6–4, 7–5

2011 Earthquake[]

On August 23, 2011, 1:51 PM local time^[9] a 5.8 magnitude earthquake in Virginia stopped play for two hours^[10] while the main stadium was checked for damage by the fire department.

See also[]

• Volvo International

References[]

External links[]

• Official website
• atptennis.com profile (New Haven years)
• atptennis.com profile (Long Island years)
• sonyericssonwtatour.com profile (New Haven years)