Virginia Wade facts for kids
| Full name | Sarah Virginia Wade |
|---|---|
| Country (sports) |  United Kingdom |
| Born | 10 July 1945 Bournemouth, England |
| Height | 5 ft 7 in (1.70 m) |
| Turned pro | 1968 (amateur from 1962) |
| Retired | 1986 |
| Plays | Right-handed (one-handed backhand) |
| Prize money | $1,542,278 |
| Int. Tennis HoF | 1989 (member page) |
| Singles | |
| Career record | 839–329 |
| Career titles | 55 |
| Highest ranking | No. 2 (3 November 1975) |
| Grand Slam singles results | |
| Australian Open | W (1972) |
| French Open | QF (1970, 1972) |
| Wimbledon | W (1977) |
| US Open | W (1968) |
| Doubles | |
| Career record | 42–48 |
| Highest ranking | No. 1 (1973) |
| Grand Slam doubles results | |
| Australian Open | W (1973) |
| French Open | W (1973) |
| Wimbledon | F (1970) |
| US Open | W (1973, 1975) |
| Other doubles tournaments | |
| Tour Finals | W (1975) |
| Mixed doubles | |
| Grand Slam mixed doubles results | |
| French Open | SF (1969, 1972) |
| Wimbledon | QF (1981) |
| US Open | QF (1969, 1985) |
Sarah Virginia Wade (born 10 July 1945) is a famous British former tennis player. She won three major tennis singles championships and four major doubles championships. She is the only British woman ever to win titles at all four major tournaments. Virginia Wade was ranked as high as No. 2 in the world for singles players and No. 1 for doubles players.
Wade was the last British tennis player to win a major singles tournament until Andy Murray won the US Open in 2012. She was also the last British woman to win a major singles title until Emma Raducanu won the US Open in 2021. After she stopped playing tennis professionally, she worked as a coach for four years. She has also been a tennis commentator and game analyst for the BBC and Eurosport. In the United States, she worked for CBS.
Contents
Early Life and Education
Virginia Wade was born in Bournemouth, England, UK, on 10 July 1945. Her father was a church leader in Durban, South Africa.
Moving to South Africa
When she was one year old, Virginia moved to South Africa with her parents. This is where she first learned how to play tennis.
Returning to England
When Virginia was 15, her family moved back to England. She attended Tunbridge Wells Girls' Grammar School and Talbot Heath School in Bournemouth. In 1961, she was part of the tennis team at Wimbledon County Girls' Grammar School. She later studied mathematics and physics at the University of Sussex, finishing her studies in 1966.
Virginia Wade's Tennis Career
Virginia Wade's tennis career happened during a big change in tennis. This was when the sport moved from being only for amateurs (people who didn't get paid) to the "Open Era" where professional players could earn money.
First Big Wins
In 1968, while still an amateur, she won the first open tennis competition, the British Hard Court Open in Bournemouth. She chose not to take the prize money, only her travel costs. Five months later, after becoming a professional player, she won the women's singles championship at the first ever US Open. She won $6,000, which was a lot of money back then. She beat Billie Jean King in the final match.
Her second major singles championship was in 1972 at the Australian Open. She won against Australian player Evonne Goolagong with a score of 6–4, 6–4. For her great service to tennis, she was given an award called the Order of the British Empire (MBE) in 1973.
Winning Wimbledon
Virginia Wade won Wimbledon in 1977. This was her 16th year playing at Wimbledon. She reached the final by beating the champion at the time, Chris Evert, in the semifinal. The score was 6–2, 4–6, 6–1. In the final, she played against Betty Stöve and won in three sets. This victory happened just nine days before her 32nd birthday. The year 1977 was special because it was the 100th anniversary of the Wimbledon Championships. It was also the Silver Jubilee year for Elizabeth II, the Queen, who watched the final for the first time since 1962.
Doubles Success
Virginia Wade also won four major women's doubles championships with her partner Margaret Smith Court. They won two of these at the US Open, one at the Australian Open, and one at the French Open. In 1983, when she was 37 years old, she won the Italian Open women's doubles championship with Virginia Ruzici from Romania.
Career Highlights
Throughout her career, Virginia Wade won 55 professional singles championships. She earned over $1.5 million in prize money. She was ranked among the world's top 10 players every year from 1967 to 1979. Her tennis career lasted for 26 years. She stopped playing singles matches at the end of 1985 and doubles matches at the end of 1986. She played at Wimbledon 26 times, which is a record. 24 of those times were in the women's singles competition.
Life After Tennis
Since 1981, even while she was still playing, Virginia Wade has worked as a reporter for tennis events for the BBC. In 1982, she became the first woman to be chosen for the Wimbledon Committee, which helps run the famous tournament.
Awards and Recognition
Virginia Wade was honored again for her contributions to tennis. She was appointed Officer of the Order of the British Empire (OBE) in 1986. In 2025, she was appointed Commander of the Order of the British Empire (CBE) for her services to tennis and charity.
In 1989, Virginia Wade was welcomed into the International Tennis Hall of Fame in Newport, Rhode Island. This is a special place that honors the greatest tennis players of all time.
Personal Life
Virginia Wade has no children and has never married. She once said that if her career had peaked earlier, her life might have been very different. She spends most of her time living in New York and in Chelsea, London.
She was a model for the sculptor David Wynne. He created a 17-foot-high fountain called Girl with a Dolphin, which was put up near Tower Bridge in London in 1973.
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See also
In Spanish: Virginia Wade para niños
- Performance timelines for all female tennis players who reached at least one Grand Slam final
