This week marks 40 years since the formation of the WTA, when nine women, led by Billie Jean King, in September 1970 signed $1 contracts and founded the Virginia Slims Circuit, later to become the WTA. The women’s players decided to do something against gender inequality in tennis and prize money offered to female players by the USTA (then called USLTA) and other tournament organizing bodies.

At the time, the new organization of women’s tennis players was labeled as a bunch of "crazies", they were suspended by the USTA and there was even a rival circuit against them.

You have to remember in 71, a lot of people weren't real happy with us when we started.  A lot of players were afraid to join us.  And we had two tours, two circuits, because the USTA started one against us which was very difficult at the time. I wanted everyone to be together.  That was the whole intention when we started. We lost $3000 the first year.  I guess that's where my prize money went.  So I made zero or minus money that year.  But we were very excited and very scared and we weren't sure what was going to happen to us.  But it was the first tournament of the Virginia Slims series in 71. – Billie Jean King

However, the women were willing to risk their careers for the cause of bringing professional tennis closer to people and fighting for the rights of women. It was even more important than winning Grand Slams for them at the time.

The media was being tough, they labeled us as "crazy" because we were women. I used to say "if I were Jimmy Connors doing this you'd just say he's just trying to create opportunities as a business guy." No one ever perceives me as a business person. It's very interesting.  – Billie Jean King

The Virginia Slims Circuit became the WTA in 1973, and its first stop was Stanford where Billie Jean King had a press conference on the topic this year (where the quotes in this article are from). The WTA now has over 2,200 players representing 96 nations competing for over $86 million in prize money at 53 tournaments and four Grand Slams in 33 countries. (source: Forty Deuce, photos: wchuang, Sony Ericsson WTA Tour)

Eighth seed Victoria Azarenka cruised past fifth seed Maria Sharapova in the final of the $700,000 Bank of the West Classic in Stanford to win her fourth career title and her first one this year.

Azarenka, who turned 21 on Saturday, survived a 6-3 3-1 deficit in the quarterfinal against defending champion Marion Bartoli, but the last two steps to the title were easier – the 6-2 6-3 victory over top seed Samantha Stosur in the semis and the 6-4 6-1 win over Maria Sharapova in the final in which Azarenka won the last 15 points.

The Belorussian’s previous three titles include Brisbane, Memphis and Miami, and they all came in 2009. (source: Sony Ericsson WTA Tour)

Maria Sharapova will play doubles only for the third time since 2005 and her new partner will be Yanina Wickmayer of Belgium. The two will team up at the Bank of the West Classic in Stanford which starts July 26.

Last two doubles matches Sharapova played were at the 2009 Indian Wells with Elena Vesnina and at the 2005 Birmingham with Maria Kirilenko.

Sharapova has won three doubles titles in her career: the 2004 Birmingham with Maria Kirilenko, and Tokyo and Luxembourgh in 2003 with Tamarine Tanasugarn. Wickmayer still has no Sony Ericsson WTA Tour doubles titles. As for their ranking, Sharapova is currently unranked in doubles, while Wickmayer is ranked 131st. (photos: Stephane Martinache, © Neal Trousdale)

As promised, Women's Tennis Blog is continuing its tradition of revising on-court outfits from the season behind us. This year's retrospections will start with the best-dressed WTA player – Nike-clad Maria Sharapova.

Sharapova started the season late, because of her career-threatening shoulder injury, playing her first match of 2009 at the BNP Paribas Open in March. She was introducing herself to competitive tennis slowly, playing doubles first, but her style had to be spot-on from the very beginning, and it was.

People argued that Sharapova’s Roland Garros dress had too much fabric, but I liked it, and I especially favored the blue color against the red clay. Read more »

The Williams sisters, seeded second, have won their third doubles title of the season, beating Chan Yung-Jan of China and Monica Niculescu of Romania 6-4 6-1 in the final of the Bank of the West Classic.

Serena's and Venus' two previous 2009 doubles titles came at the Australian Open and Wimbledon.

Shortly before winning in doubles, Venus had lost to Marion Bartoli 6-2 5-7 6-4 in the singles final. (photo via Sony Ericsson WTA Tour)

World No.14 Marion Bartoli of France beat seven-time Grand Slam champion and world No.3 Venus Williams 6-2 5-7 6-4, after 2 hours and 43 minutes of play in the final of the Bank of the West Classic in Stanford.

Bartoli took the first set and had a 5-3 lead in the second set, but didn't manage to end the match then, and Wililams won the set 7-5 to take the encounter to the decider.

Bartoli established a 2-0 lead in the third set, but Williams later leveled at 3-3. Bartoli then broke Williams once again, the break which turned out to be crucial, as all the following games went with serve and Bartoli capitalized on her first match point, in the 10th game of the third set.

The last year’s Stanford finalist won her fifth WTA singles title and second this year, while Williams has now lost her fifth out of seven finals at the tournament.

As for the prize money, the winner earned $107,000 and the runner-up $56,000.

Additional info: Venus Williams is scheduled to play doubles final later today, partnered with sister Serena Williams, and against the pairing of Yung-Jan Chan and Monica Niculescu. (photos courtesy of Colleen and Sony Ericsson WTA Tour)

World No.3 Venus Williams is now just one step away from her third Bank of the West Classic title, having reached her seventh final at the tournament. Her opponent in the title match will be last year's finalist, France's Marion Bartoli.

The second-seeded Williams crashed third seed Elena Dementieva 6-0 6-1 and scored her ninth win, and sixth straight, in 11 career encounters with the Russian.

In the other semifinal, eighth seed Marion Bartoli won a see-saw match against Samantha Stosur 6-3 1-6 6-1. Bartoli took control of the deciding set by winning four games in a row en route to the two-hour, four-minute victory.

Williams and Bartoli have met only once before, in nothing less than the final of Wimbledon, and the American won 6-4 6-1.

Additional info: Along sister Serena, Venus Williams is also competing in the doubles final at Stanford. (photo courtesy of our reader Colleen)

Top seed Serena Williams and fourth seed Jelena Jankovic fell in the quarterfinals of the Bank of the West Classic in Stanford.

Williams lost to Australian Samantha Stosur 6-2 3-6 6-2, while Marion Bartoli solidified her "I always beat her" statement by defeating Jankovic 3-6 7-6(3) 6-3.

Williams was holding double break point for a 3-2 lead in the third set, but Stosur fought them off to win that game and then barely looked back winning all the following games. Stosur has thus claimed her equal best career win, having beaten then-world No.2 Dinara Safina at Miami.

Stosur's opponent in the semifinals will be Bartoli, as Jankovic didn’t have her revenge for the comments and fell to the eighth seed despite holding double match point in the second set. Bartoli even came back from a break down in the deciding set to beat Jankovic for the fourth time in their last five matches.

Second and third seeds Venus Williams and Elena Dementieva are safely through to the semifinals. Williams crushed Maria Sharapova 6-2 6-2, and Dementieva defeated Daniela Hantuchova 6-2 6-4.

Stosur won her only previous meeting with Bartoli, but it was three years ago. As for the other semifinal pair, Williams has won eight of her 10 encounters with Dementieva. (photo by our reader Colleen)

World No.14 Marion Bartoli, Jelena Jankovic’s opponent in the upcoming quarterfinal of the Bank of the West Classic, said before Jankovic's second round match against Sabine Lisicki that she would rather face Jankovic than Lisicki.

Bartoli’s reason is the following: "I always beat her." The Frenchwoman is 4-3 against the sixth-ranked Jankovic and has won their last three matches.

Haha, JJ was, of course, stunned to hear the comment and here’s her reaction:

She talks like she’s just Serena Williams. Everybody had a right to say what she wants. I’m not really focused on Bartoli. She’s not like my biggest rival or someone I look up to or I’m scared of. She’s just one of the players on tour, not a big name, or someone who is making the big results or headlines in the game.

"Bartoli is going to get it tomorrow," Jankovic added with a smile. Hahaha, she will even have her revenge.

Additional info: Interestingly, even Jelena Jankovic, a slamless No.1 herself, doesn’t think that Dinara Safina is the world’s best player. JJ finds herself the best, and she would put Serena Williams second.

Haha, it's so bizarre. If anyone Jankovic should be the one defending Safina, but no, she’s even saying this: "To be number one, you should be complete and if you are number one you have to be beating the Williams sisters. I’m one of the rare players who has a positive record against the Williams sisters"

Note: Jankovic is 5-4 against Venus and 3-4 against Serena. (source: Tennis Reporters, photo: Forty Deuce)

Maria Sharapova is continuing her comeback by going past fifth seed and world No.10 Nadia Petrova 6-1 6-2 to advance to the quarterfinals of the Bank of the West Classic.

The 62nd-ranked Sharapova beat Petrova for the second time since returning from shoulder injury, having also won over the fellow Russian in the second round of Roland Garros.

Her 18th match since coming back from the injury Sharapova will play either against Venus Williams or Alla Kudryavtseva.

Also advancing to the quarterfinals were third seed Elena Dementieva who defeated Maria Kirilenko 6-1 6-2, Daniela Hantuchova who upset seventh seed Agnieszka Radwanska of Poland 4-6 7-6(6) 6-1, and Samantha Stosur who beat Monica Niculescu 6-1 7-5. (photo: Ralf Reinecke)