1971 Women's Tennis Circuit
The 1971 Women's Tennis Circuit consisted of a number of tennis tournaments for female tennis players. It was composed of two series of events (circuits or tours); the Virginia Slims Circuit and the ILTF Pepsi Grand Prix as well as non-tour events.[1][2]
 Billie Jean King pictured in 2011 won 17 tour titles | |
| Details | |
|---|---|
| Duration | 22 December 1970 – 20 December 1971 |
| Edition | 1st |
| Tournaments | 69 |
| Categories | Grand Slam (4) Virginia Slims Circuit (19) ILTF Pepsi Grand Prix (17)[lower-alpha 1] Non-Tour Events (30) |
| Achievements (singles) | |
| Most tournament titles |  Billie Jean King (17) |
| Most tournament finals | Billie Jean King (25) |
1972 → | |
Virginia Slims Circuit
Prior to the establishment of this circuit there was an inequality between the prize money purses for male and female tennis players which gave rise to complaints from a number of the leading female tennis players of the time. Nine of them, including Billie Jean King, became later known as the "Original 9" after being banned from the then existing multi-gender invitational professional events run by the influential United States Lawn Tennis Association (USLTA) due to their boycotting of the Pacific Southwest Championships. This resulted in the first Virginia Slims-sponsored event being held in September 1970 in Houston, an event which laid the groundwork for the establishment of the annual Virginia Slims Circuit the following year. In 1971 the total prize money available from the Virginia Slims events was $309,100 and Billie Jean King became the first female athlete in history to earn more than $100,000 in one season.[3][4]
Schedule
This is a calendar of all events sponsored by Virginia Slims in the year 1971, with player progression documented from the quarterfinals stage. The table also includes the Grand Slam tournaments and the 1971 Federation Cup.[3]
- Key
| Grand Slam tournaments |
| Virginia Slims Circuit |
| ILTF Pepsi Grand Prix |
| Non-tour events |
| Team events |
December (1970)
| Week | Tournament | Champions | Runners-up | Semifinalists | Quarterfinalists |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 29 Dec | Federation Cup Perth, Australia Federation Cup Grass – 14 teams knockout | .svg.png.webp){kind=small} Australia3–0 |  Great Britain |  France United States | .svg.png.webp){kind=small} Yugoslavia Netherlands.svg.png.webp){kind=small} South Africa New Zealand |
| Western Australia Championships Perth, Australia Non-Tour Event Singles – Doubles | Margaret Court 6–1, 6–2 | Virginia Wade | Gail Chanfreau Betty Stove | Winnie Shaw Patti Hogan Laura Rossouw Lesley Hunt | |
| Margaret Court Evonne Goolagong 6–4, 7–5 | Winnie Shaw Virginia Wade |
January
February
March
April
May
June
July
August
September
October
| Week | Tournament | Champions | Runners-up | Semifinalists | Quarterfinalists |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 11 Oct | Dewar Cup Edinburgh Edinburgh, United Kingdom Non-Tour Event Singles – Doubles | Evonne Goolagong 6–0, 6–3 | Françoise Dürr | Jackie Fayter Virginia Wade | Corinne Molesworth Winnie Shaw Patti Hogan Julie Heldman |
| Evonne Goolagong Julie Heldman 6–3, 6–0 | Patti Hogan Nell Truman | ||||
| 18 Oct | Dewar Cup Billingham Billingham, United Kingdom Non-Tour Event 15S/4D Singles – Doubles | Virginia Wade 4–6, 7–5, 6–3 | Julie Heldman | Evonne Goolagong Françoise Dürr | Betty Stöve Cathie Lorains Winnie Shaw Patti Hogan |
| Françoise Dürr Virginia Wade 6–3, 4–6, 6–2 | Evonne Goolagong Julie Heldman | ||||
| 25 Oct | Embassy British Indoor Championships London, England Grand Prix Circuit (B) Carpet– 32S/16D | Billie Jean King 6–1, 5–7, 7–5 | Françoise Dürr | Rosemary Casals Evonne Goolagong | Patti Hogan Betty Stöve Virginia Wade Winnie Shaw |
| Françoise Dürr Virginia Wade 3–6, 7–5, 6–3 | Evonne Goolagong Julie Heldman |
November
| Week | Tournament | Champions | Runners-up | Semifinalists | Quarterfinalists |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 Nov | Dewar Cup Aberavon Aberavon, United Kingdom Non-Tour Event Singles – Doubles | Virginia Wade 7–6, 6–3 | Evonne Goolagong | Julie Heldman Françoise Dürr | Wendy Gilchrist Winnie Shaw Patti Hogan Betty Stöve |
| Françoise Dürr Virginia Wade 7–5, 6–4 | Evonne Goolagong Julie Heldman | ||||
| 8 Nov | Dewar Cup Torquay Torquay, United Kingdom Non-Tour Event 16S/4D Singles – Doubles | Evonne Goolagong 6–1, 6–0 | Françoise Dürr | Julie Heldman Virginia Wade | Jackie Fayter Winnie Shaw Penny Moor Betty Stöve |
| Evonne Goolagong Julie Heldman 7–6, 6–4 | Françoise Dürr Virginia Wade | ||||
| 15 Nov | Dewar Cup Championships London, United Kingdom Non-Tour Event Singles – Doubles | Virginia Wade 6–1, 6–3 | Julie Heldman | Françoise Dürr Evonne Goolagong | Betty Stöve Winnie Shaw Jackie Fayter Patti Hogan |
| Evonne Goolagong Julie Heldman 7–5, 6–4 | Françoise Dürr Virginia Wade | ||||
| 29 Nov | Clean Air Classic New York City, United States Non-Tour Event Singles – Doubles | Virginia Wade 6–3, 6–3 | Rosie Casals |
December
| Week | Tournament | Champions | Runners-up | Semifinalists | Quarterfinalists |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 Dec | Benson & Hedges International Christchurch, New Zealand Non-Tour Event Singles – Doubles | Françoise Dürr 6–3, 6–0 | Billie Jean King | Rosemary Casals Kerry Melville | Lesley Hunt Kristien Kemmer Valerie Ziegenfuss Judy Tegart Dalton |
| Rosie Casals Billie Jean King 6–3, 9–8(8–6) | Judy Tegart Dalton Françoise Dürr |
Grand Prix Circuit
Points system
The Grand Prix tournaments were divided into four groups. Group A consisted of the three Grand Slam events – French Open, Wimbledon Championships and US Open – while the other tournaments were divided into Groups B, C and D by prize money and draw size. Points were allocated based on these groups and the finishing position of a player in a tournament. The points allocation is listed below:
|
|
|
|
Standings and bonus pool earnings
A bonus pool of $50,000 was available for the top 13 points ranked players. To qualify for a share of the bonus pool the players had to participate in a minimum of nine tournaments.[6]
| Rk | Name | Tour. | Points | Bonus |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Billie Jean King | 9 | 181 | $10,000 |
| 2 | Françoise Dürr | 9 | 119 | $7,500 |
| 3 | Evonne Goolagong [lower-alpha 2] | 6 | 116 | – |
| 4 | Margaret Court [lower-alpha 2] | 6 | 106 | – |
| 5 | Helen Gourlay | 12 | 83 | $6,500 |
| 6 | Rosemary Casals [lower-alpha 2] | 8 | 71 | – |
| 7 | Judy Dalton | 9 | 70 | $5,250 |
| 8 | Virginia Wade | 10 | 69 | $4,000 |
| 9 | Linda Tuero [lower-alpha 2] | 7 | 60 | – |
| 10 | Kerry Melville [lower-alpha 2] | 7 | 55 | – |
Rankings
The 1971 singles rankings as per Lance Tingay.
|
| ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Prize money leaders
| No. | Player Name | Prize money |
| 1 | Billie Jean King (USA) |
$117,000 |
| 2 | Françoise Dürr (FRA) |
$65,000 |
| 3 | Rosemary Casals (USA) |
$62,000 |
| 4 | Judy Dalton (AUS) |
$33,876 |
| 5 | Kerry Melville (AUS) |
$29,767 |
| 6 | Ann Jones (GBR) |
$26,148 |
| 7 | Margaret Court (AUS) |
$26,000 |
| 8 | Evonne Goolagong (AUS) |
$25,000 |
| 9 | Virginia Wade (GBR) |
$24,000 |
| 10 | Nancy Gunter (USA) |
$15,300 |
Statistical information
These tables present the number of singles (S), doubles (D), and mixed doubles (X) titles won by each player and each nation during the 1971 Virginia Slims Circuit. They also include data for the Grand Slam tournaments.
1) total number of titles (a doubles title won by two players representing the same nation counts as only one win for the nation);
2) highest amount of highest category tournaments (for example, having a single Grand Slam gives preference over any kind of combination without a Grand Slam title);
3) a singles > doubles > mixed doubles hierarchy;
4) alphabetical order (by family names for players).
Key
| Grand Slam tournaments |
| Virginia Slims events |
Titles won by player
| Total | Player | S | D | X | S | D | S | D | X |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 25 | Billie Jean King (USA) | ● | ● | ● ● | ● ● ● ● ● ● ● ● ● ● ● | ● ● ● ● ● ● ● ● ● ● | 12 | 11 | 2 |
| 14 | Rosie Casals (USA) | ● ● | ● ● | ● ● ● ● ● ● ● ● ● ● | 2 | 12 | 0 | ||
| 10 | Françoise Durr (FRA) | ● | ● | ● ● | ● ● ● ● ● ● | 2 | 7 | 1 | |
| 5 | Ann Haydon-Jones (GBR) | ● ● | ● ● ● | 2 | 3 | 0 | |||
| 4 | Judy Tegart Dalton (AUS) | ● | ● ● ● | 0 | 4 | 0 | |||
| 3 | Evonne Goolagong (AUS) | ● ● | ● | 2 | 1 | 0 | |||
| 2 | Margaret Court (AUS) | ● | ● | 1 | 1 | 0 | |||
| 1 | Gail Chanfreau (FRA) | ● | 0 | 6 | 0 | ||||
| 1 | Chris Evert (USA) | ● | 1 | 0 | 0 | ||||
| 1 | Kerry Melville (AUS) | ● | 1 | 0 | 0 | ||||
| 1 | Mary-Ann Eisel (USA) | ● | 0 | 1 | 0 | ||||
| 1 | Valerie Ziegenfuss (USA) | ● | 0 | 1 | 0 |
Titles won by nation
| Total | Nation | S | D | X | S | D | S | D | X |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 30 | United States (USA) | 1 | 2 | 2 | 14 | 11 | 15 | 13 | 2 |
| 10 | France (FRA) | 0 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 6 | 2 | 7 | 1 |
| 9 | Australia (AUS) | 3 | 2 | 0 | 1 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 0 |
| 7 | Great Britain (GBR) | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 5 | 2 | 5 | 0 |
Notes
- Including three Grand Slam events.
- Player did not participate in the required minimum of nine tournaments and therefore did not share in the bonus pool.
References
- "Distaff Netters In Grand Prix For First Time". Bangor Daily News. AP. 7 April 1971. p. 28 – via Google News Archive.
- "WTA Tour history" (PDF). Women's Tennis Association (WTA). Archived from the original (PDF) on 29 May 2008. Retrieved 12 September 2008.
- "WTA Tour Finals" (PDF). www.wtatennis.com. Archived from the original (PDF) on 1 February 2017. Retrieved 27 April 2012.
- "About The WTA". www.wtatennis.com. Archived from the original on 20 September 2012. Retrieved 21 May 2012.
- "Tennisbegroting voor Hilversum iets lager". NRC Handelsblad (in Dutch). 21 July 1971. p. 4 – via Delpher.
- John Dolan (2011). Women's Tennis 1968–84: the Ultimate Guide. Remous. p. 507.
External links
- Women's Tennis Association (WTA) official website
- International Tennis Federation (ITF) official website