on October 15th 1972 17-year-old American tennis prodige Chris Evert wins the inaugural WTA championship in Florida beating Australian Carrie Melville Reed 7 to5 6 to4 Evert was not eligible for prize money she won 18 major singles titles including a record seven French Open titles and a joint record six US Open titles tied with Serena Williams ever contested 34 major singles finals a record for women's tennis she never lost in the first or second round of a major and lost in the third round only twice