Women’s Doubles to Open at La Costa

Martina Navratilova, Hana Mandlikova and six other top 20 women’s players are entered in the $500,000 Chrysler Women’s Team Championships, an eight-team doubles tournament that opens today at the La Costa Hotel and Spa.

First-round competition begins at 11 a.m. with the team of Manuela Maleeva and Anne Smith opposing Wendy Turnbull and Betsy Nagelsen, followed by Kathy Jordan and Alycia Moulton against Pam Shriver and JoAnne Russell.

The 3 p.m. afternoon session will begin with Navratilova and Candy Reynolds facing Zina Garrison and Kathy Rinaldi. The last match of the day will pit Mandlikova and Rosalyn Fairbank against Billie Jean King and Barbara Potter.

The teams were chosen through a draft, with the top eight seeded players selecting their partners in inverse order of their current computer ranking.

Prize money will be awarded under a winner-take-all format. First-round winners will split $25,000, semifinal winners $50,000 and the championship team $200,000. First-round losers will also compete for a $100,000 consolation championship prize.

The second round begins Saturday at noon with one consolation semifinal, followed by both championship semifinals and the second consolation semifinal. The consolation final will be held Sunday at 11:30 a.m., with the championship final, to be televised live by ESPN, scheduled for 1 p.m.