The Avon Futures Circuit was a women's professional second tier tennis tour founded by Gladys Heldman and administered by the Women's Tennis Association and USLTA that was founded in 1976 as the Women's Futures Tennis Tour, and was mainly operated in Canada and the United States. It was initially a subsidiary tour of the Virginia Slims Circuit. In 1979 it became a subsidiary tour of the Avon Championships Circuit. The tour ran alongside the main circuit as a qualifying competition for those tours, and provided a bridge on a promotion or relegation basis. There were between nine and eleven events in any particular season that culminated in an end of season finale called the Avon Futures Championships. The circuit ended in 1982 and was replaced by a smaller Ginny Circuit in 1983.

History

Originally this circuit evolved out the Virginia Slims Mini-Circuit a forerunner to the Avon Futures Circuit. On 1 February 1974 it was announced that a five satellite tournament series would be held in Florida at Ocala, Ft. Myers, Winter Haven, Pensacola and Seebring.

The circuit offered prize money of $3,000 per tournament provided by Barnett Bank of Florida with the USLTA providing players that were ranked outside the world top 32. The winners of each event then qualify to enter an event on the main Virginia Slims Circuit.

Officially the circuit was founded in February 1976 by Gladys Heldman at a press conference held on Ocala, Florida. At this conferencce she announced that the circuit would consist of 9 events (eventually 10) offering $10,000 prize money each culminating in a circuit fiinale event, that would run in conjunction with the Virginia Slims Circuit.

Forty-five players were selected to play on the circuit with 1975 World Computer Rankings, and a further fifty-two with no ranking. Barnett Bank was the circuit sponsor for the first inugural season.

Towards the end of 1976 it was announced that Avon Products Inc would become the main sponsor of this tour from January 1977 offering $200,000 across the ten event circuit. In April 1978 it was announced that Avon would also take over the main tour the following season.

This circuit ran until 1982 with event prize money rising as high $30,000 nearly on par with the Colgate Series. In 1983 it was replaced by the Ginny Circuit for two seasons only when Virginia Slims resumed sponsorship of the women's tour from Avon, eventually leading to the 1985 integration with the ITF.

In early 1985 the ITF launched its women's challenger series of tournaments, as part of ITF Women's Challenger Circuit to fill the gap left by the previous Ginny circuit. These events eventually evolved into ITF 100K tournaments by 2012, the same year the WTA then launched a higher category 125K Series of just two events.​

By 2026 the current second tier tennis tour the WTA 125 Circuit consists of 50+ WTA 125 tournaments.

Seasons

1976

Circuit finals

The seasonal circuit finales were held in Hilton Head, South Carolina from 1976 to 1977, then Atlanta, Georgia from 1978 to 1979, then Oklahoma City, Oklahoma in 1980, then Boise, Idaho in 1981, then Austin, Texas in 1982.

Tournaments

Notes