The Eckerd Open women's tournament was first played in 1977. Formerly Florida Federal Open, the 14th championship played in 1990 was also the last. In 1988, present and future tennis met at the Tampa Bay's tennis event when Chris Evert played Arantxa Sanchez Vicario. The tournament director explained, "Having (Chris) in the tournament makes the tournament. Certain players have that marquee name, and Chris Evert is one of them." In 1989, Conchita Martinez won the championship. On her 18th birthday in 1990, she remarked, "I'm in the top 10 now so everybody knows me. Before, it was very different. No one knew me. They said, 'Who is Conchita Martinez?'"
Chris made the comment after winning the 1987 final 6-3, 6-2, "Going up 4-3 was so important. I don’t know what it is about tennis, but whenever you're at 3-3 like that, the next game usually turns out to be the most important." Her opponent at the time conceded, "Instead of thinking about winning the match, I was just thinking about winning a game." In 1990, Monica Seles defeated Katerina Maleeva to win the championship. She made the observation, "Last year it was all Martina (Navratilova) and Steffi (Graf)...Chris and Martina brought the game to a big level. Jennifer (Capriati), Steffi and I, we can bring it to a bigger level." Playing Monica, Katerina noted, "I don't think she hits the ball very hard. She just hits it very early, so you don't have a lot of time to anticipate your returns."
In the 1982 championship, Chris defeated Andrea Jaeger to win her 124th singles title. The difference between playing Martina and playing Chris, Andrea observed, “If Martina is playing great, the match can be over in a real hurry. If you play well against Chris, you at least have a chance." Referring to the sixth sense, Ted Tinling expressed, "Andrea just has a feeling for where on the court she is when she's running, or which way her opponent is leaning, or which way to serve in a certain situation...There is no doubt in my mind that Andrea could be No. 1, the best in the world. I say could be. She's got everything. It's a matter of putting it together. It's that simple." Chris also pointed out, "A lot can happen to a young girl between the ages of 17 and 20, when she’s becoming a woman." Andrea acknowledged, "I like the rain – I think it's neat. I know it's bad for the tournament, for the fans and all that, but I've been having a great time. I sit at my window watching the rain drops. I look out the window and write letters."
