The 1976 WTA Tour consisted of a number of tennis tournaments for female tennis players. It was composed of the newly streamlined version of the Virginia Slims Circuit, was now an 11-week tour of the United States, and the Woman's International Grand Prix. The 1976 tour was the first full season using the official ranking system and these rankings were used to determine acceptance into the tournaments.[1][2]
 Chris Evert finished the year as world No. 1 for the second time in her career. She won twelve singles tournaments during the season, including two majors at the Wimbledon Championships and the US Open. | |
| Details | |
|---|---|
| Duration | 26 December 1975–2 December 1976 |
| Edition | 4th |
| Tournaments | 38 |
| Categories | Grand Slam (4) Virginia Slims championships Virginia Slims Circuit (10) Women's International Grand Prix (10) Non-tour events (12) |
| Achievements (singles) | |
| Most tournament titles |  Chris Evert (12) |
| Most tournament finals | Chris Evert (16) |
| Prize money leader | Chris Evert ($343,165) |
| Points leader | Chris Evert (16.990) |
← 1975 1977 → | |
Schedule
editThis is a calendar of all events which were part of either the Virginia Slims circuit or the Women's International Grand Prix in the year 1976, with player progression documented from the quarterfinals stage. Also included are the Grand Slam tournaments, the 1976 Virginia Slims Championships, the 1976 Federation Cup and a number of events not affiliated with either tour.[1]
- Key
| Grand Slam tournaments |
| Virginia Slims Championships |
| Virginia Slims Circuit |
| Women's International Grand Prix |
| Non-tour events |
| Team events |
January
editFebruary
edit| Week | Tournament | Champions | Runners-up | Semifinalists | Quarterfinalists |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 3 Feb | Virginia Slims of Akron Akron, United States Virginia Slims Carpet (i) – $75,000 – 32S Singles – Doubles |
 Evonne Goolagong Cawley6–2, 3–6, 6–2 |
 Virginia Wade |
Rosie Casals Olga Morozova |
 Iris Riedel Nancy Gunter Mima Jaušovec Sue Barker
|
 Brigitte Cuypers Mona Guerrant6–4, 7–6(5–4) |
Glynis Coles  Florența Mihai
| ||||
| 17 Feb | Virginia Slims of Detroit Detroit, United States Virginia Slims Carpet (i) – $75,000 – 32S Singles – Doubles |
Chris Evert 6–4, 6–2 |
Rosie Casals |
Terry Holladay Marita Redondo |
 Elly Appel-Vessies Marcie Louie Betty Stöve Ann Kiyomura
|
| Mona Guerrant Ann Kiyomura 6–3, 6–4 |
Chris Evert Betty Stöve
| ||||
| 24 Feb | Virginia Slims of Sarasota Sarasota, United States Virginia Slims Carpet (i) – $75,000 – 32S Singles – Doubles |
Chris Evert 6–3, 6–0 |
Evonne Goolagong Cawley |
Martina Navratilova Rosie Casals |
Carrie Meyer Mona Guerrant Mima Jaušovec Lesley Hunt
|
| Martina Navratilova Betty Stöve 6–1, 6–0 |
Mona Guerrant Ann Kiyomura
|
March
editApril
edit
May
edit
June
edit| Week | Tournament | Champions | Runners-up | Semifinalists | Quarterfinalists |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 14 Jun | Colgate International Eastbourne, Great Britain Women's International Grand Prix $25,000 – grass Singles – Doubles |
Chris Evert 8–6, 6–3 |
Virginia Wade |
Olga Morozova Martina Navratilova |
Betty Stöve Rosie Casals Betsy Nagelsen Mona Guerrant
|
| Chris Evert / Martina Navratilova vs Olga Morozova / Virginia Wade6–1, 1–1 not finished due to rain | |||||
| 21 Jun 28 Jun |
Wimbledon Championships London, Great Britain Grand Slam Grass – 96S/48D/64X Singles – Doubles – Mixed doubles |
Chris Evert 6–3, 4–6, 8–6 |
Evonne Goolagong Cawley |
Martina Navratilova Virginia Wade |
Olga Morozova Sue Barker Kerry Reid Rosie Casals
|
| Chris Evert Martina Navratilova 6–1, 3–6, 7–5 |
Billie Jean King Betty Stöve
| ||||
 Françoise Dürr Tony Roche6–3, 2–6, 7–5 |
Rosie Casals Dick Stockton
| ||||
July
edit| Week | Tournament | Champions | Runners-up | Semifinalists | Quarterfinalists |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 5 Jul | Swiss Open Gstaad, Switzerland Non-tour event Clay Singles – Doubles |
 Michele Gurdal4-6, 6–2, 6–3 |
Gail Chanfreau |
||
| Betsy Nagelsen Wendy Turnbull 6–4, 6–4 |
Brigitte Cuypers Annette DuPlooy
| ||||
| Swedish Open Båstad, Sweden Non-tour event Clay Singles – Doubles |
 Renáta Tomanová6–3, 6–2 |
 Helena Anliot |
|||
 Isabel Fernández de Soto Mimmi Wikstedt6–1, 7–6 |
Lesley Hunt Renáta Tomanová
| ||||
| 12 Jul | Head Open Kitzbühel, Austria Non-tour event Clay Singles – Doubles |
Wendy Turnbull 6–4, 5–7, 6–2 |
Virginia Ruzici |
||
| Helena Anliot Mimmi Wikstedt 6–4, 2–6, 7–5 |
Katja Ebbinghaus Heidi Eisterlehner
|
August
edit
September
edit| Week | Tournament | Champions | Runners-up | Semifinalists | Quarterfinalists |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 13 Sep | US Indoor Championships Atlanta, United States Women's International Grand Prix $75,000 – carpet (i) Singles – Doubles |
Virginia Wade 5–7, 7–5, 7–5 |
Betty Stöve |
Dianne Fromholtz Wendy Turnbull |
Winnie Shaw Marise Kruger Brigitte Cuypers JoAnne Russell
|
| Rosie Casals Françoise Dürr 6–0, 6–4 |
Betty Stöve Virginia Wade
| ||||
| 27 Sep | Toray Sillook Open Tokyo, Japan Non-tour event $50,000 – carpet (i) |
Betty Stöve 1–6, 6–4, 6–3 |
Margaret Court |
Valerie Ziegenfuss (3rd) Lesley Hunt (4th) |
Betsy Nagelsen Rayni Fox Virginia Wade Marita Redondo
|
October
edit| Week | Tournament | Champions | Runners-up | Semifinalists | Quarterfinalists |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 4 Oct | Thunderbird Classic Phoenix, United States Women's International Grand Prix $60,000 – hard Singles – Doubles |
Chris Evert 6–1, 7–5 |
Dianne Fromholtz |
Betty Stöve Martina Navratilova |
Terry Holladay JoAnne Russell Billie Jean King Mona Guerrant
|
| Billie Jean King Betty Stöve 6–2, 6–1 |
Linky Boshoff Ilana Kloss
| ||||
| 11 Oct | World Invitational Tennis Classic Hilton Head Island, United States Non-tour event Clay Draw |
Evonne Goolagong Cawley 6–3, 6–4 |
Virginia Wade |
||
| Sue Barker Evonne Goolagong Cawley 6–4, 4–6, 6–3 |
Martina Navratilova Virginia Wade
|
November
edit| Week | Tournament | Champions | Runners-up | Semifinalists | Quarterfinalists |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 Nov | Japan Open Tokyo, Japan Non-tour event Clay |
Wendy Turnbull 6–1, 6–1 |
Michele Gurdal |
||
| Wightman Cup Crystal Palace, London, Great Britain Hard (i) Team event |
United States 5–2 |
Great Britain |
|||
| 25 Nov | Gunze World Tennis Tokyo & Kobe, Japan Non-tour event $100,000 – hard (i) |
Chris Evert 6–2, 7–6(7–4) |
Sue Barker |
Rosie Casals Martina Navratilova |
Renáta Tomanová Françoise Dürr Ann Kiyomura Jeanne Evert
|
| Sue Barker Ann Kiyomura 4–6, 6–3, 6–1 |
Rosie Casals Françoise Dürr
|
Rankings
editBelow are the 1976 WTA year-end rankings (December 31, 1976) Singles competition:
| Singles Year-end Ranking[3] | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| No | Player Name | Points | 1975 | Change |
| 1 | Chris Evert (USA)
|
16.990 | 1 | = |
| 2 | Evonne Goolagong Cawley (AUS)
|
16.326 | 5 | +3 |
| 3 | Virginia Wade (GBR)
|
10.933 | 2 | -1 |
| 4 | Martina Navratilova (USA)
|
10.272 | 3 | -1 |
| 5 | Dianne Fromholtz (AUS)
|
8.012 | 20 | +15 |
| 6 | Rosie Casals (USA)
|
7.644 | 12 | +6 |
| 7 | Betty Stöve (NED)
|
7.158 | 22 | +15 |
| 8 | Kerry Melville (AUS)
|
7.064 | 10 | +2 |
| 9 | Olga Morozova (USSR)
|
6.523 | 7 | -2 |
| 10 | Sue Barker (GBR)
|
6.480 | 19 | +9 |
| 11 | Mima Jaušovec (YUG)
|
5.702 | 40 | +29 |
| 12 | Nancy Gunter (USA)
|
5.525 | 8 | -4 |
| 13 | Terry Holladay (USA)
|
4.132 | 26 | +13 |
| 14 | Natasha Chmyreva (USSR)
|
5.066 | 21 | +7 |
| 15 | Françoise Dürr (FRA)
|
4.639 | 9 | -6 |
| 16 | Marita Redondo (USA)
|
4.603 | 60 | +44 |
| 17 | Greer Stevens (RSA)
|
4.522 | 48 | +31 |
| 18 | JoAnne Russell (USA)
|
4.493 | 35 | +17 |
| 19 | Kathy May (USA)
|
4.277 | 57 | +38 |
| 20 | Mona Guerrant (USA)
|
4.236 | NR | NR |
See also
editReferences
edit- ^ a b "WTA Tour Finals" (PDF). www.wtatennis.com. Archived from the original (PDF) on 2017-02-01. Retrieved 2012-07-14.
- ^ "About the WTA". www.wtatennis.com. Archived from the original on 2012-09-20. Retrieved 2012-07-14.
- ^ "Women's International Computerized Rankings" (PDF). Women's Tennis Association (WTA). 5 December 1976.
External links
edit- Women's Tennis Association (WTA) official website
- International Tennis Federation (ITF) official website