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. Early life Virginia 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. 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. Virginia Wade 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 64, 62. Wade's second Grand Slam singles title came in 1972 at the Australian Open. She defeated Evonne Goolagong in the final 64, 64.
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.
Over her career, Virginia 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, Virginia Wade has commentated on tennis events for the BBC. In 1989, Wade was inducted into the International Tennis Hall of Fame. Grand Slam singles finals (3) Wins (3)
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