Virginia Wade

Virginia Wade is a retired professional tennis player and former World No.1 in women’s doubles tennis. She also peaked at No.2 in the WTA world rankings as a singles player. Both as a singles and doubles player, she has won three of the four Grand Slams. She also won the 1975 ATP Finals women’s doubles.

In 1989, she was inducted into the International Tennis Hall of Fame in Newport, Rhode Island. In 1986, she was appointed an OBE (Officer of the Order of the British Empire). After her professional career, Wade reported for the BBC, commenting on women’s tennis. In 1982, she became a member of the Wimbledon Committee.

Player Profile

Sarah Virginia Wade was born on July 10, 1945, in Bournemouth, England. She moved with her parents to South Africa as a kid and that’s where she learned to play tennis. The family moved back to the United Kingdom when Wade was a teen.

Wade stands 170 cm tall and she played right-handed, making use of a two-handed backhand. She turned pro in 1968 and retired in 1986.

Career

She won the first US Open held in 1968, beating Billie Jean King in the final. A couple of years later, she made it to the quarterfinals of the 1970 French Open. She also made it to the finals of that year’s Wimbledon in the women’s doubles category.

A couple of years later in 19872, she won her second singles Grand Slam, taking home the Australian Open title. The following year, she won two Grand Slam titles as a doubles player – the 1973 Australian Open and the US Open women’s doubles titles. For most of her wins as a doubles player, she was paired with fellow UK player, Margaret Court.

In 1975, she won the fourth doubles Grand Slam and the second US Open doubles title. In the same year, she played and won the ATP Tour Finals women’s doubles. In 1977, she won her third singles Grand Slam title and first Wimbledon singles title.

She continued playing well through to her retirement. One of her best finishes late in her career was the quarter-finals of Wimbledon women’s singles in 1983.

Career Record

Singles

• Career Record: 839–329
• Career Titles: 55

• Highest Singles Ranking: 2 (November 3, 1975)

Best Grand Slam Singles Performances

• Australian Open - W (1972)
• French Open - QF (1970, 1972)
• Wimbledon - W (1977)
• US Open - W (1968)

Doubles

• Career Record: 42–48

• Highest Ranking: 1 (1973)

Grand Slam Doubles Performances

• 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 Performances

• French Open - SF (1969, 1972)
• Wimbledon - QF (1981)
• US Open - QF (1969, 1985)

People Ask

How many Grand Slam titles does Virginia Wade have?

>She has a total of 7 Grand Slam titles which includes 3 women's singles and 4 women's doubles titles.

When was Virginia Wade inducted into the International Tennis Hall of Fame?

>She was a part of the 1989 class to join the International Tennis Hall of Fame.

When did Virginia Wade become World Number 1?

>She became World Number 1 in women's doubles in 1973. As a singles player, she reached World Number 2 in the world rankings.