Virginia Wade (OBE)

About Virginia Wade

Former Wimbledon Tennis Champion & TV Presenter and Commentator

Won 3 Grand Slam singles titles:

Wimbledon in 1977, (the Centenary Championships and Queen’s jubilee.)

The Australian Open in 1972

The US Open in 1968, (the first year of Open tennis.

• Won a total of 55 singles titles on the WTA tour

• Won 4 Grand Slam doubles titles, the Australian, the French and the US open in 1973 and ‘75

• No 4 on the Open era match wins list with 839 matches

• Represented Great Britain in the Fed Cup from 1967-1983, making a record number of appearances. Also competed in the Wightman Cup from 1965-1985

• Career prize money $1.6 million

• Highest world singles ranking No 2 in 1975 and 1978

• Ranked continuously in the Top 10 in the World from 1967-1979 and was British No 1 from 1972-1981

• Inducted into the International Hall of Fame in 1989 • Published an autobiography entitled Courting Triumph in 1978 and a historical bookmarking the 1984 Women’s Centenary at Wimbledon

• Was the first woman elected to the Wimbledon Committee in 1982

• Also represented the LTA and the ITF and served on the board of the LTA’s International and Professional Division board

• Graduated from the University of Sussex in 1966 with a Bachelor of Science in Mathematics and Physics. Awarded an honorary Ph.D. at Sussex in 1985

• Commentator for the BBC and has worked for CBS, ESPN and USA networks