Virginia Wade
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| Country |  United Kingdom |
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| Residence | ||
| Date of birth | July 10, 1945 | |
| Place of birth | Bournemouth, Dorset, England | |
| Height | 5'7" (1.70 m) | |
| Weight | 135 lbs. (61.2 kg) | |
| Turned pro | 1968 | |
| Retired | 1986 | |
| Plays | Right-handed | |
| Career prize money | US$1,542,278 | |
| Singles | ||
| Career record: | 839-329 (WTA website) | |
| Career titles: | - | |
| Highest ranking: | - | |
| Grand Slam results | ||
| Australian Open | W (1972) | |
| French Open | QF (1970, 1972) | |
| Wimbledon | W (1977) | |
| US Open | W (1968) | |
| Doubles | ||
| Career record: | 42-48 (WTA website) | |
| Career titles: | - | |
| Highest ranking: | - | |
|
Infobox last updated on: January 27, 2007. |
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Sarah Virginia Wade (born July 10, 1945, in Bournemouth, Dorset, England) is a former professional tennis player from the United Kingdom. She won three Grand Slam singles titles and four Grand Slam doubles titles. She is particularly remembered for winning the women's singles title at Wimbledon in the tournament's centenary year on July 1, 1977, the last time a Briton has won a singles title there. Wade's victory is also memorable as it was during Queen Elizabeth II's Silver Jubilee year.
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[edit] Early life
Wade learned to play tennis in South Africa, where her parents moved when she was one year old. Her father was the Archdeacon of Durban. When Wade was 15, the family moved back to England and she went to Tunbridge Wells Girls' Grammar School and Talbot Heath School. She went on to study mathematics and physics at the University of Sussex, graduating in 1966.
[edit] Tennis career
Wade's tennis career spanned the end of the amateur era and the start of the open era. In 1968 she scored two notable firsts. As an amateur, she won the inaugural open tennis competition — the British Hard Court Open at Bournemouth. She turned down the U.S. $720 first prize. Five months later, she had become a professional and captured the women's singles title at the first U.S. Open (and prize-money of U.S. $6,000). She beat Billie Jean King in the final 6–4, 6–2.
Wade's second Grand Slam singles title came in 1972 at the Australian Open. She defeated Evonne Goolagong in the final 6–4, 6–4.
Wade's most notable victory came at Wimbledon in 1977. It was the 16th year in which Wade had played at Wimbledon, and she made her first appearance in the final by beating defending champion Chris Evert in a semifinal 6–2, 4–6, 6–1. In the final, she faced Betty Stöve. Not only was 1977 the 100-year anniversary of the founding of the Wimbledon Championships, but it was also the 25th year of the reign (Silver Jubilee) of Queen Elizabeth II, and the Queen attended the championships for the first time in a quarter-century to watch the women's final. In the final, Wade beat Stove 4–6, 6–3, 6–1 to claim the title, nine days short of her 32nd birthday. Wade received the trophy from her Queen, and the Centre Court crowd burst into a chorus of "For She's a Jolly Good Fellow!" to celebrate her triumph.
Wade also won four Grand Slam women's doubles titles partnering Margaret Court – two at the U.S. Open, one at the Australian Open, and one at the French Open.
Wade was coached by Jerry Teeguarden, father of the professional player Pam Teeguarden.
Over her career, Wade won 55 professional singles titles and amassed U.S. $1,542,278 in career prize money. She was ranked in the world's top-10 continuously from 1967 through 1979. Her career spanned a total of 26 years. She retired from singles at the end of 1985 and from doubles at the end of 1986.
In 1982, Wade became the first woman to be elected to the Wimbledon Committee.
In 1983, at the age of 37, she won the Italian Open women's doubles title partnered by Virginia Ruzici of Romania
The 24 times that Wade played in the women's singles tournament at Wimbledon is an all-time record.
Since retiring from tennis, Wade has commentated on tennis events for the BBC.
In 1989, Wade was inducted into the International Tennis Hall of Fame.
[edit] Grand Slam singles finals (3)
[edit] Wins (3)
| Year | Championship | Opponent in Final | Score in Final |
| 1968 | U.S. Open |  Billie Jean King |
6–4, 6–2 |
| 1972 | Australian Open |  Evonne Goolagong Cawley |
6–4, 6–4 |
| 1977 | Wimbledon |  Betty Stöve |
4–6, 6–3, 6–1 |
[edit] Grand Slam women's doubles finals (10)
[edit] Wins (4)
| Year | Championship | Partnering | Opponents in Final | Score in Final |
| 1973 | Australian Open | Margaret Court |
Kerry Harris Kerry Melville Reid |
6–4, 6–4 |
| 1973 | French Open | Margaret Court |
 Francoise Durr Betty Stöve |
6–2, 6–3 |
| 1973 | U.S. Open | Margaret Court |
Billie Jean King Rosemary Casals |
3–6, 6–3, 7–5 |
| 1975 | U.S. Open (2) | Margaret Court |
Billie Jean King Rosemary Casals |
7–5, 2–6, 7–6 |
[edit] Runner-ups (6)
| Year | Championship | Partnering | Opponents in Final | Score in Final |
| 1969 | U.S. Open | Margaret Court |
Francoise Durr Darlene Hard |
0–6, 6–3, 6–4 |
| 1970 | Wimbledon | Francoise Durr |
Billie Jean King Rosemary Casals |
6–2, 6–3 |
| 1970 | U.S. Open (2) | Rosemary Casals |
Margaret Court Judy Tegart Dalton |
6–3, 6–4 |
| 1972 | U.S. Open (3) | Margaret Court |
Francoise Durr Betty Stöve |
6–3, 1–6, 6–3 |
| 1976 | U.S. Open (4) |  Olga Morozova |
 Delina Boshoff Ilana Kloss |
6–1, 6–4 |
| 1979 | French Open | Francoise Durr |
Betty Stove Wendy Turnbull |
3–6, 7–5, 6–4 |
[edit] Singles titles (55)
- 1968 - US Open, Bloemfontein-RSA, Bournemouth, East London-RSA, Dewar Cup-Crystal Palace
- 1969 - Cape Town-RSA, Hoylake, Dewar-Perth, Dewar-Stalybridge, Dewar-Aberavon, Dewar-Crystal Palace, East London-RSA
- 1970 - German Indoors, West Berlin Open, Irish Open, Stalybridge, Aberavon
- 1971 - Cape Town, Catania Open, Rome, Newport-Wales, Cincinnati, Dewar-Billingham, Dewar-Aberavon, Dewar Cup Final-London, Clean Air Classic-NY
- 1972 - Australian Open, VS Indoors-Mass., Merion, Buenos Aires
- 1973 - Dallas, Bournemouth, Dewar-Aberavon, Dewar-Edinburgh, Dewar-Billingham, Dewar Cup Final-Albert Hall
- 1974 - VS Chicago, Bournemouth, VS Phoenix, Dewar-Edinburgh, Dewar Cup-London
- 1975 - VS Dallas, VS Philadelphia, Paris Indoors , Eastbourne, Dewar Cup, Stockholm
- 1976 - US Indoors, Dewar Cup
- 1977 - Wimbledon, World Invitational Hilton Head, Tokyo Sillook
- 1978 - Mahwah, Tokyo Sillook, Florida Open
[edit] Grand Slam singles tournament timeline
| Tournament | 1962 | 1963 | 1964 | 1965 | 1966 | 1967 | 1968 | 1969 | 1970 | 1971 | 1972 | 1973 | 1974 | 1975 | 1976 | 1977 | 1978 | 1979 | 1980 | 1981 | 1982 | 1983 | 1984 | 1985 | Career SR |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Australia | A | A | A | A | A | A | A | A | A | A | W | QF | A | A | A | A / A | A | A | A | A | A | 2R | 2R | 2R | 1 / 5 |
| France | A | A | A | A | A | 4R | A | 2R | QF | 1R | QF | 3R | 2R | A | A | A | A | 2R | 3R | 4R | 3R | 1R | 1R | 2R | 0 / 14 |
| Wimbledon | 2R | 2R | 2R | 4R | 2R | QF | 1R | 3R | 4R | 4R | QF | QF | SF | QF | SF | W | SF | QF | 4R | 2R | 2R | QF | 3R | 3R | 1 / 24 |
| United States | A | A | 4R | 2R | QF | 4R | W | SF | SF | A | QF | QF | 2R | SF | 2R | QF | 3R | QF | 3R | 3R | 1R | 2R | 2R | A | 1 / 20 |
| SR | 0 / 1 | 0 / 1 | 0 / 2 | 0 / 2 | 0 / 2 | 0 / 3 | 1 / 2 | 0 / 3 | 0 / 3 | 0 / 2 | 1 / 4 | 0 / 4 | 0 / 3 | 0 / 2 | 0 / 2 | 1 / 2 | 0 / 2 | 0 / 3 | 0 / 3 | 0 / 3 | 0 / 3 | 0 / 4 | 0 / 4 | 0 / 3 | 3 / 63 |
A = did not participate in the tournament.
SR = the ratio of the number of singles tournaments won to the number of those tournaments played.
Note: The Australian Open was held twice in 1977, in January and December.
[edit] See also
[edit] References
[edit] External links
- Virginia Wade profile on the WTA Tour's official website
- International Tennis Hall of Fame profile
| Preceded by John Curry |
BBC Sports Personality of the Year 1977 |
Succeeded by Steve Ovett |
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