1977 Wimbledon Championships

Centenary celebrations

On the opening day of the tournament, Monday 20 June, to celebrate the centenary of the first Gentlemen's Singles event, former singles champions were presented with a medal by Prince Edward, Duke of Kent and Katharine, Duchess of Kent on Centre Court. Those attending were: Kitty Godfree, Jean Borotra, René Lacoste, Henri Cochet, Jack Crawford, Sidney Wood, Fred Perry, Dorothy Round, Don Budge, Alice Marble, Yvon Petra, Jack Kramer, Bob Falkenburg, Ted Schroeder, Budge Patty, Dick Savitt, Margaret duPont, Frank Sedgman, Louise Brough, Vic Seixas, Doris Hart, Jaroslav Drobný, Tony Trabert, Shirley Irvin, Lew Hoad, Chuck McKinley, Ashley Cooper, Maria Bueno, Alex Olmedo, Neale Fraser, Angela Barrett, Rod Laver, Karen Susman, Roy Emerson, Billie Jean King, Manuel Santana, John Newcombe, Ann Jones, Evonne Goolagong Cawley, Stan Smith, Jan Kodeš, Arthur Ashe, Chris Evert and Björn Borg. Jacques Brugnon and Elizabeth Ryan were invited to represent all of the doubles champions. Ryan won a total of 19 doubles titles, a record that remains to date. Jimmy Connors (who was the number one seed for the tournament) did not attend the event, choosing instead to practise with Ilie Năstase at the time of the ceremony. This apparent snub by the American earned him harsh booing from the Centre Court crowd when he appeared to play his first round match the following day. The All England Club responded to media enquiries when Major David Mills, the secretary, issued this terse statement: "Medals will be sent only to former champions who indicated they could not be here, and not to those who were here and had the extreme discourtesy not to collect it.".

To commemorate the centenary of the event, all former singles champions were offered a place in the main draw by the All England Club. Several former singles champions (some of whom had been retired) competed in the championships as a result. Björn Borg, Jimmy Connors, Stan Smith, Rod Laver and Jan Kodeš competed in the gentlemen's singles, with John Newcombe and Neale Fraser playing in the doubles. Chris Evert, Maria Bueno, Karen Susman and Billie Jean King played in the ladies singles, with Ann Jones competing in the ladies doubles.

Prize money

The total prize money for 1977 championships was £222,540. The winner of the men's title earned £15,000 while the women's singles champion earned £13,500.

• per team

Champions

Seniors

Men's singles

Main article: 1977 Wimbledon Championships – Men's singles

SWE Björn Borg defeated USA Jimmy Connors, 3–6, 6–2, 6–1, 5–7, 6–4

• It was Borg's second consecutive Wimbledon title and 4th Grand Slam title overall.

Women's singles

Main article: 1977 Wimbledon Championships – Women's singles

GBR Virginia Wade defeated NED Betty Stöve, 4–6, 6–3, 6–1

• It was Wade's first and only Wimbledon title, third and final Grand Slam title overall. Wade remains the last British woman to win the singles title at Wimbledon.

Men's doubles

Main article: 1977 Wimbledon Championships – Men's doubles

AUS Ross Case / AUS Geoff Masters defeated AUS John Alexander / AUS Phil Dent, 6–3, 6–4, 3–6, 8–9(4–7), 6–4

Women's doubles

Main article: 1977 Wimbledon Championships – Women's doubles

AUS Helen Cawley / USA JoAnne Russell defeated USA Martina Navratilova / NED Betty Stöve, 6–3, 6–3

Mixed doubles

Main article: 1977 Wimbledon Championships – Mixed doubles

RSA Bob Hewitt / RSA Greer Stevens defeated RSA Frew McMillan / NED Betty Stöve, 3–6, 7–5, 6–4

Juniors

Boys' singles

Main article: 1977 Wimbledon Championships – Boys' singles

USA Van Winitsky defeated USA Eliot Teltscher, 6–1, 1–6, 8–6

Girls' singles

Main article: 1977 Wimbledon Championships – Girls' singles

USA Lea Antonoplis defeated USA Mareen Louie, 7–5, 6–1

Singles seeds

Men's singles

1. USA Jimmy Connors (final, lost to Björn Borg)
2. SWE Björn Borg (champion)
3. ARG Guillermo Vilas (third round, lost to Billy Martin)
4. USA Roscoe Tanner (first round, lost to John Lloyd)
5. USA Brian Gottfried (second round, lost to Byron Bertram)
6. ROM Ilie Năstase (quarterfinals, lost to Björn Borg)
7. MEX Raúl Ramírez (second round, lost to Tim Gullikson)
8. USA Vitas Gerulaitis (semifinals, lost to Björn Borg)
9. USA Dick Stockton (fourth round, lost to Vitas Gerulaitis)
10. ITA Adriano Panatta (second round, lost to Sandy Mayer)
11. USA Stan Smith (fourth round, lost to Jimmy Connors)
12. POL Wojciech Fibak (fourth round, lost to Björn Borg)
13. AUS Phil Dent (quarterfinals, lost to John McEnroe)
14. GBR Mark Cox (fourth round, lost to Billy Martin)
15. USA Bob Lutz (third round, lost to Kim Warwick)
16. USA Harold Solomon (first round, lost to Steve Docherty)

Women's singles

1. USA Chris Evert (semifinals, lost to Virginia Wade)
2. USA Martina Navratilova (quarterfinals, lost to Betty Stöve)
3. GBR Virginia Wade (champion)
4. GBR Sue Barker (semifinals, lost to Betty Stöve)
5. USA Billie Jean King (quarterfinals, lost to Chris Evert)
6. USA Rosie Casals (quarterfinals, lost to Virginia Wade)
7. NED Betty Stöve (final, lost to Virginia Wade)
8. AUS Kerry Reid (quarterfinals, lost to Sue Barker)
9. AUS Dianne Fromholtz (withdrew before the tournament began)
10. YUG Mima Jaušovec (third round, lost to Marise Kruger)
11. FRA Françoise Dürr (third round, lost to Linky Boshoff)
12. USA Kathy May (fourth round, lost to Kerry Reid)

References

References

1. Collins, Bud. (2010). "The Bud Collins History of Tennis". New Chapter Press.
2. Barrett, John. (2001). "Wimbledon : The Official History of the Championships". CollinsWillow.
3. (21 June 1977). "Wimbledon Postcard from Barry Lorge".
4. (22 June 1977). "Jimmy Connors: the rude American".
5. Little, Alan. (2013). "Wimbledon Compendium 2013". [[AELTC.
6. "About Wimbledon – Prize Money and Finance". [[The Championships, Wimbledon.
7. "Gentlemen's Singles Finals 1877-2017". [[The Championships, Wimbledon.
8. "Ladies' Singles Finals 1884-2017". [[The Championships, Wimbledon.
9. "Gentlemen's Doubles Finals 1884-2017". [[The Championships, Wimbledon.
10. "Ladies' Doubles Finals 1913-2017". [[The Championships, Wimbledon.
11. "Mixed Doubles Finals 1913-2017". [[The Championships, Wimbledon.
12. "Boys' Singles Finals 1947-2017". [[The Championships, Wimbledon.
13. "Girls' Singles Finals 1947-2017". [[The Championships, Wimbledon.