Before the 1977 Championships began, many commentators gave
Virginia Wade little more than an outside chance at the
Ladies' Singles Championship. Although she had won the US
Open in 1968, the Australian Open in 1972 and was twice
a Wimbledon semi-finalist in 1974 and 1976, the consensus
was that she was past her peak and at thirty-one, she was
far older than exciting new talents such as America's Chris
Evert, Martina Navratilova (then of Czechoslavakia, later
USA) and Britain's Sue Barker.
However, Wade's victory couldn't have been scripted any
better. Wade was a British player winning the Ladies' Championship
in Wimbledon's centenary year, in front of the Queen during
her Silver Jubilee year in 1977 (the last time the Queen
has attended The Championships). As Wade stood alongside
the Queen, clutching the Venus Rosewater Dish she was at
the epicentre of one of Britain's greatest sporting moments.
Wade later said: "The atmosphere was phenomenal. I've
never experienced anything like that in England other than
football's 1966 World Cup. The place went absolutely crazy.
It was a cauldron of excitement and celebration. It was
humbling in a way. You immersed yourself in it and then
you realised the reason for it was because you'd won. I
had become a part of a major celebration.
"The Queen was chatting and I was trying to lip-read
what she was saying but I never really heard what she said
because there was so much commotion which included the crowd
singing 'for she's a jolly good fellow'. The hundred-year
anniversary made it special. It was a pretty big, romantic
milestone. The Silver Jubilee celebrations made it extra
special. It certainly helped me be more motivated than I
had been."
Wade, only too aware of Britain's expectations, was helped
by the run of compatriot Sue Barker to the Semi-Finals.
"I didn't feel pressured. Sue was quite a star. I
was indebted to her for taking the pressure off me and sharing
it. I had always been the one Briton who would possibly
win Wimbledon but she came along playing really great tennis
to get as far as she did, which was tough to do."
Although her final victory against Betty Stove (Netherlands)
4-6 6-3 6-1 ensured Wade the coveted crown, she picked out
her semi-final win over defending champion Chris Evert as
the high point of that Championships.
"I played my best tennis of the tournament - and possibly
my career - in that match."
Wade will never forget what it felt like to secure the
most coveted women's title in tennis.
"Everybody said to me afterwards ' have you come down
from Cloud Nine?' and I said 'no I haven't'. I never will.
It was definitely one of the high points of my life. I can't
tell you how satisfying it was. I'd struggled for so many
years. I'd come far without excelling myself. Suddenly I
put the final touches on a career."
Wade confessed she had almost given up hope of winning
Wimbledon.
"It was my 16th attempt. I'd been trying since 1962.
I'd virtually given up. On the big occasion you played either
above or below yourself: never a normal game. You get little
bits of inspiration but then other times you don't. But
then, suddenly, it happened."
Her victory came at a boom time for tennis.
Wade said: "Tennis was on a real high, Chrissie, Connors,
Borg. It was just like everyone wanted to be part of tennis.
It was the same in the States. It was making such a big
impact. There was tremendous international interest."
In a a memorable year for Wimbledon, 1977, 41 former singles
champions were paraded on Centre Court to celebrate the
centenary of The Championships, while in the men's final
Sweden's Bjorn Borg defeated top seeded American Jimmy Connors
in an epic five-set match to claim his second of five successive
titles.
Written by Mike Donovan
