Wade, Virginia (1945–)

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Wade, Virginia (1945–)

English tennis player. Born Sarah Virginia Wade, July 10, 1945, in Bournemouth, England; daughter of an Anglican cleric.

Known for aggressive play and ability to recover from mistakes, brought a sense of drama to the court and was tremen dously popular with fans; learned to play tennis in South Africa, where her family moved when she was a child; 1st qualified for Wimbledon (1962); won US Open (1968), the 1st British woman to do so since 1930; finally won Wimbledon singles championship (1977); by the time she retired from professional play (1987), was 3rd in world rankings for number of titles won, including singles titles at Wimbledon and the US and Australian opens. Inducted into International Tennis Hall of Fame (1989).

See also autobiography (with Mary Lou Mellace) Courting Triumph (Hodder & Stoughton, 1978); and Women in World History.