Editing Virginia Wade

{{short description|British tennis player}}
{{Use British English|date=December 2011}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=September 2020}}
{{Infobox tennis biography
| name                          = Virginia Wade <br /> <small>[[Order of the British Empire|OBE]]</small>
| fullname                      = Sarah Virginia Wade
| image                         =
| country                       = {{flagicon|GBR}} [[Great Britain Fed Cup team|United Kingdom]]
| residence                     =
| birth_date                    = {{birth date and age|df=yes|1945|7|10}}
| birth_place                   = [[Bournemouth]], England
| height                        = {{height|ft=5|in=7}}
| turnedpro                     = 1968 (amateur from 1962)
| retired                       = 1986
| plays                         = Right-handed (one-handed backhand)
| careerprizemoney              = $1,542,278
| tennishofyear                 = 1989
| tennishofid                   = virginia-wade
| singlesrecord                 = 839–329<ref name="WTA website">{{cite web|url=http://www.sonyericssonwtatour.com/page/Player/Stats/0,,12781~8881,00.html|title=sonyericssonwtatour.com|access-date=12 September 2009|archive-date=29 July 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200729093421/http://www.sonyericssonwtatour.com/page/Player/Stats/0,,12781~8881,00.html|url-status=dead}}</ref>
| singlestitles                 = 55<ref name="WTA website"/>
| highestsinglesranking         = No. 2 (3 November 1975)<ref name="ITF website">{{ITF profile}}</ref>
| AustralianOpenresult          = '''W''' ([[1972 Australian Open – Women's singles|1972]])
| FrenchOpenresult              = QF ([[1970 French Open – Women's singles|1970]], [[1972 French Open – Women's singles|1972]])
| Wimbledonresult               = '''W''' ([[1977 Wimbledon Championships – Women's singles|1977]])
| USOpenresult                  = '''W''' ([[1968 US Open – Women's singles|1968]])
| doublesrecord                 = 42–48<ref name="WTA website"/>
| doublestitles                 =
| highestdoublesranking         = No. '''1''' (1973)
| AustralianOpenDoublesresult   = '''W''' (1973)
| FrenchOpenDoublesresult       = '''W''' (1973)
| WimbledonDoublesresult        = F (1970)
| USOpenDoublesresult           = '''W''' (1973, 1975)
| OthertournamentsDoubles       = yes
| WTAChampionshipsDoublesresult = '''W''' ([[1975 Virginia Slims Championships|1975]])
| Mixed                         = yes
| mixedtitles                   =
| AustralianOpenMixedresult     =
| FrenchOpenMixedresult         = SF (1969, 1972)
| WimbledonMixedresult          = QF (1981)
| USOpenMixedresult             = QF (1969, 1985)
}}

'''Sarah Virginia Wade''' {{post-nominals|country=GBR|size=100%|OBE}} (born 10 July 1945) is a British former professional [[tennis]] player. She won three [[Grand Slam (tennis)|major]] tennis singles championships and four major doubles championships, and is the only British woman in history to have won titles at all four majors. She was ranked as high as No. 2 in the world in singles, and No. 1 in the world in doubles.

Wade was the most recent British tennis player to win a major singles tournament until [[Andy Murray]] won the [[2012 US Open – Men's singles|2012 US Open]], and was the most recent British woman to have won a major singles title until [[Emma Raducanu]] won the [[2021 US Open – Women's singles|2021 US Open]]. After retiring from competitive tennis, she coached for four years,<ref>{{cite news |last=Lee |first=Veronica |title=Nice girls finish last |url=https://www.theguardian.com/sport/2004/jun/27/wimbledon2004.wimbledon1 |work=The Guardian |location=London |date=27 June 2004}}</ref> and has also worked as a tennis commentator and game analyst for the [[BBC]] and [[Eurosport]], and (in the US) for [[CBS]].

==Early life==
Wade was born in [[Bournemouth]], England, UK, on 10 July 1945. Her father was the archdeacon of [[Durban]].<ref>{{cite news |last=Viner |first=Brian |title=Virginia Wade: 'We used to think there was a British winner every eight years' |url=https://www.independent.co.uk/sport/tennis/virginia-wade-we-used-to-think-there-was-a-british-winner-every-eight-years-455119.html |url-status=dead |work=[[The Independent]] |location=London |date=29 June 2007 |access-date=10 January 2009 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090703115635/http://www.independent.co.uk/sport/tennis/virginia-wade-we-used-to-think-there-was-a-british-winner-every-eight-years-455119.html |archive-date=3 July 2009}}</ref>

At one year old, Wade moved to [[Union of South Africa|South Africa]] with her parents. There, she learned how to play tennis. When she was aged 15, the family moved back to England, and she went to [[Tunbridge Wells Girls' Grammar School]] and [[Talbot Heath School]], Bournemouth.<ref>{{cite book |first=John |last=Grasso |title=Historical Dictionary of Tennis |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=W39oSS7c2xAC&dq=Tunbridge+Wells+Girls%2527+Grammar+School+virginia+wade&pg=PA301 |publisher=Scarecrow Press |date=2011 |page=301 |isbn=978-0-8108-7237-0}}</ref> In 1961, she was on the tennis team of Wimbledon County Girls' Grammar School. She studied mathematics and physics at the [[University of Sussex]], graduating in 1966.<ref>{{cite news |last=Cheese |first=Caroline |title=Q&A: Virginia Wade |url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport1/hi/tv_and_radio/sports_personality_of_the_year/7689413.stm |publisher=[[BBC Sport]] |date=24 October 2008 |access-date=10 January 2008}}</ref>

==Tennis career==
{{BLP sources section|date=November 2008}}
Wade's tennis career spanned the end of the amateur era and the start of the [[History of tennis#Open Era|Open Era]]. In 1968, as an amateur, she won the inaugural open tennis competition – the British Hard Court Open at Bournemouth. She turned down the £300 first prize, choosing to play for expenses only.<ref>{{cite news |title=Rosewall hustles to £1,000 win |url=https://www.britishnewspaperarchive.co.uk/viewer/bl/0000560/19680429/202/0023 |url-access=subscription |work=[[Daily Mirror]] |date=29 April 1968 |issue=20012 |page=23 |access-date=2 October 2021 |via=[[British Newspaper Archive]]}}</ref> Five months later, after turning professional, she won the women's singles championship at the first [[US Open (tennis)|US Open]] (and prize-money of $6,000 - ${{formatnum:{{Inflation|US|6000|1968|r=0}}}} today), defeating [[Billie Jean King]] in the final. Her second Major tennis singles championship came in 1972 at the [[Australian Open]] when she defeated Australian [[Evonne Goolagong]] in the final 6–4, 6–4. She was appointed a member of the [[Order of the British Empire]] (MBE) in the [[1973 Birthday Honours]] for services to lawn tennis.<ref>{{London Gazette |issue=45984 |date=2 June 1973 |page=6489 |supp=y}}</ref>

Wade won [[The Championships, Wimbledon|Wimbledon]] in 1977. It was the 16th year in which she had played at Wimbledon, and she secured her first appearance in the final by beating the defending champion [[Chris Evert]] in the semifinal 6–2, 4–6, 6–1. In the final, she beat [[Betty Stöve]] in three sets to claim the championship, nine days before her 32nd birthday. 1977 was the 100th anniversary of the founding of the Wimbledon Championships as well as the [[Silver Jubilee]] year of [[Elizabeth II]], who attended the final for the first time since 1962.<ref>{{cite news |title=Wade hopes for Jubilee repeat |url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport1/hi/tennis/wimbledon/2036120.stm |publisher=BBC Sport |date=9 April 2017 |access-date=17 February 2024}}</ref><ref>[https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/10399688 "Queen returns to Wimbledon after 33 years"]. [[BBC News]]. 24 June 2010. Retrieved 9 April 2017</ref>

Wade also won four Major women's doubles championships with [[Margaret Smith Court]] – two of them at the US Open tennis tournament, one at the [[Australian Open]], and one at the [[French Open]]. In 1983, at the age of 37, she won the [[Rome Masters|Italian Open]] women's doubles championship with [[Virginia Ruzici]] of Romania.

Over her career, Wade won 55 professional singles championships and amassed $1,542,278 in career prize money. She was ranked in the world's top 10 continuously from 1967 to 1979. Her career spanned a total of 26 years. She retired from singles competition at the end of the 1985 tennis season, and then from doubles at the end of 1986. She played at Wimbledon on 26 occasions, an all-time record;<ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.telegraph.co.uk/sport/tennis/rogerfederer/10926645/Wimbledon-2014-Britains-Jamie-Delgado-smashes-record-with-23rd-consecutive-All-England-Club-appearance.html |archive-url=https://ghostarchive.org/archive/20220112/https://www.telegraph.co.uk/sport/tennis/rogerfederer/10926645/Wimbledon-2014-Britains-Jamie-Delgado-smashes-record-with-23rd-consecutive-All-England-Club-appearance.html |archive-date=12 January 2022 |url-access=subscription |url-status=live|title=Wimbledon 2014: Britain's Jamie Delgado smashes record with 23rd consecutive All England Club appearance|work=The Telegraph|date=25 June 2014}}{{cbignore}}</ref> 24 of those times were in the women's singles.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://2017.wimbledon.com/en_GB/draws_archive/player_profile.html?id=238dbbd8-dc38-49fc-96d0-d73d198ec35a|title=Player Profile - The Championships, Wimbledon 2017 - Official Site by IBM|last=Wade|first=Virginia|year=2017|website=Official Wimbledon website|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20181016085029/http://2017.wimbledon.com/en_GB/draws_archive/player_profile.html?id=238dbbd8-dc38-49fc-96d0-d73d198ec35a|archive-date=16 October 2018|access-date=16 October 2018}}</ref>

==After tennis==
Since 1981, while she was still playing, Wade has been a reporter on tennis events for the [[BBC]].<ref name="BBC bio">{{cite web|url=http://www.bbc.co.uk/pressoffice/biographies/biogs/sport/virginiawade.shtml|title=Biographies – Virginia Wade|publisher=[[BBC]]|access-date=19 June 2009|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090106044803/http://www.bbc.co.uk/pressoffice/biographies/biogs/sport/virginiawade.shtml|archive-date=6 January 2009}}</ref> In 1982, she became the first woman to be elected to the Wimbledon Committee.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://virginia-wade.com/|title=Official Website of Virginia Wade O.B.E - Last British Women's Wimbledon Tennis Singles Champion, 1977|access-date=5 July 2013|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180808081753/http://virginia-wade.com/|archive-date=8 August 2018|url-status=dead}}</ref>

Wade was appointed an Officer of the Order of the British Empire (OBE) in the [[1986 Birthday Honours]] for services to lawn tennis.<ref name="BBC bio" /><ref>{{London Gazette |issue=50551 |date=14 June 1986 |page=11 |supp=y}}</ref>

In 1989, Wade was inducted into the [[International Tennis Hall of Fame]] in [[Newport, Rhode Island]].<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.tennisfame.com/famer.aspx?pgID=867&hof_id=113|title=International Tennis Hall of Fame|access-date=17 September 2006|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070304104809/http://www.tennisfame.com/famer.aspx?pgID=867&hof_id=113|archive-date=4 March 2007|url-status=dead}}</ref>

==Significant finals==

===Grand Slam finals===

====Singles: 3 (3 titles)====
{|class='sortable wikitable'
|-
!style="width:40px"|Result
!style="width:40px"|Year
!style="width:150px"|Championship
!style="width:50px"|Surface
!style="width:160px"|Opponent
!style="width:140px" class="unsortable"|Score
|- bgcolor="#ccccff"
| style="background:#98fb98;"|Win || [[1968 US Open – Women's singles|1968]] || [[US Open (tennis)|US Open]] || Grass || {{flagicon|USA}} [[Billie Jean King]] || 6–4, 6–2
|- bgcolor="#ffffcc"
| style="background:#98fb98;"|Win || [[1972 Australian Open – Women's singles|1972]] || [[Australian Open]] || Grass || {{flagicon|AUS}} [[Evonne Goolagong Cawley|Evonne Goolagong]] || 6–4, 6–4
|- bgcolor="#ccffcc"
| style="background:#98fb98;"|Win || [[1977 Wimbledon Championships – Women's singles|1977]] || [[The Championships, Wimbledon|Wimbledon]] || Grass || {{flagicon|NED}} [[Betty Stöve]] || 4–6, 6–3, 6–1
|}

====Women's doubles: 10 (4 titles, 6 runner-ups)====
{|class='sortable wikitable'
|-
!style="width:40px"|Result
!style="width:40px"|Year
!style="width:150px"|Championship
!style="width:50px"|Surface
!style="width:160px"|Partner
!style="width:160px"|Opponents
!style="width:140px" class="unsortable"|Score
|- bgcolor="#ccccff"
| style="background:#ffa07a;"|Loss || 1969 || [[US Open (tennis)|US Open]] || Grass || {{flagicon|AUS}} [[Margaret Court]] || {{flagicon|FRA}} [[Françoise Dürr]]<br />{{flagicon|USA}} [[Darlene Hard]] || 6–0, 3–6, 4–6
|- bgcolor="#ccffcc"
| style="background:#ffa07a;"|Loss || 1970 || [[The Championships, Wimbledon|Wimbledon]] || Grass || {{flagicon|FRA}} [[Françoise Dürr]] || {{flagicon|USA}} [[Rosie Casals]]<br />{{flagicon|USA}} [[Billie Jean King]] || 2–6, 3–6
|- bgcolor="#ccccff"
| style="background:#ffa07a;"|Loss || 1970 || [[US Open (tennis)|US Open]] || Grass || {{flagicon|USA}} [[Rosie Casals]] || {{flagicon|AUS}} [[Margaret Court]]<br />{{flagicon|AUS}} [[Judy Tegart Dalton]] || 3–6, 4–6
|- bgcolor="#ccccff"
| style="background:#ffa07a;"|Loss || 1972 || [[US Open (tennis)|US Open]] || Grass || {{flagicon|AUS}} Margaret Court || {{flagicon|FRA}} Françoise Dürr<br />{{flagicon|NED}} [[Betty Stöve]] || 3–6, 6–1, 3–6
|- bgcolor="#ffffcc"
| style="background:#98fb98;"|Win || 1973 || [[Australian Open]] || Grass || {{flagicon|AUS}} Margaret Court || {{flagicon|AUS}} [[Kerry Harris]]<br />{{flagicon|AUS}} [[Kerry Melville]] || 6–4, 6–4
|- bgcolor="#ebc2af"
| style="background:#98fb98;"|Win || 1973 || [[French Open]] || Clay || {{flagicon|AUS}} Margaret Court || {{flagicon|FRA}} Françoise Dürr<br />{{flagicon|NED}} Betty Stöve || 6–2, 6–3
|- bgcolor="#ccccff"
| style="background:#98fb98;"|Win || 1973 || [[US Open (tennis)|US Open]] || Grass || {{flagicon|AUS}} Margaret Court || {{flagicon|USA}} Rosie Casals<br />{{flagicon|USA}} Billie Jean King || 2–6, 6–3, 7–5
|- bgcolor="#ccccff"
| style="background:#98fb98;"|Win || 1975 || [[US Open (tennis)|US Open]] || Clay || {{flagicon|AUS}} Margaret Court || {{flagicon|USA}} Rosie Casals<br />{{flagicon|USA}} Billie Jean King || 7–5, 2–6, 7–6<sup>(7–5)</sup>
|- bgcolor="#ccccff"
| style="background:#ffa07a;"|Loss  || 1976 || [[US Open (tennis)|US Open]] || Clay || {{flagicon|URS}} [[Olga Morozova]] || {{flagicon|RSA|1928}} [[Linky Boshoff]]<br />{{flagicon|RSA|1928}} [[Ilana Kloss]] || 1–6, 4–6
|- bgcolor="#ebc2af"
| style="background:#ffa07a;"|Loss  || 1979 || [[French Open]] || Clay || {{flagicon|FRA}} Françoise Dürr || {{flagicon|NED}} Betty Stöve<br />{{flagicon|AUS}} [[Wendy Turnbull]] || 6–3, 5–7, 4–6
|}

===Year-end championships finals===

====Doubles: 2 (1 title, 1 runner–up)====
{|class='sortable wikitable'
|-
!style="width:40px"|Result
!style="width:40px"|Year
!style="width:150px"|Location
!style="width:50px"|Surface
!style="width:160px"|Partner
!style="width:160px"|Opponents
!style="width:140px" class="unsortable"|Score
|-
| style="background:#98fb98;"|Win||[[1975 Virginia Slims Championships|1975]]||Los Angeles||Carpet (i) ||{{flagicon|AUS}} [[Margaret Court]]||{{flagicon|USA}} [[Rosie Casals]]<br />{{flagicon|USA}} [[Billie Jean King]]||6–7<sup>(2–7)</sup>, 7–6<sup>(7–2)</sup>, 6–2
|-
| style="background:#ffa07a;"|Loss ||1977||New York||Carpet (i) ||{{flagicon|FRA}} [[Françoise Dürr]]||{{flagicon|TCH}} [[Martina Navratilova]]<br />{{flagicon|NED}} [[Betty Stöve]]|| 5–7, 3–6
|}

==Singles titles (78)==
:''Bold type indicates a Major championship''
*1967 – [[Connaught Hard Courts]]
*1968 – '''[[US Open (tennis)|US Open]]''', Bloemfontein, Bournemouth, East London, [[Dewar Cup London]]
*1969 – Cape Town, Hoylake, [[Dewar Cup Perth]], [[Dewar Cup Stalybridge]], [[Dewar Cup Aberavon]], Dewar-Crystal Palace, East London
*1970 – German Indoors, West Berlin Open, Irish Open, Stalybridge, Aberavon
*1971 – Cape Town, [[Catania International Open]], Rome, Newport-Wales, [[Cincinnati Masters|Cincinnati]], [[Dewar Cup Billingham]], Dewar-Aberavon, Dewar Cup Final-London, Clean Air Classic
*1972 – '''[[Australian Open]]''', VS Indoors-Mass., Merion, Buenos Aires
*1973 – Dallas, Bournemouth, Dewar-Aberavon, [[Dewar Cup Edinburgh]], Dewar-Billingham, Dewar Cup Final-Albert Hall
*1974 – [[Ameritech Cup Chicago|VS Chicago]], [[1974 British Hard Court Championships|Bournemouth]], VS Phoenix, Dewar-Edinburgh, Dewar Cup-London
*1975 – VS Dallas, [[Advanta Championships Philadelphia|VS Philadelphia]], Paris Indoors, [[Eastbourne International|Eastbourne]], Dewar Cup, Stockholm
*1976 – [[1976 US Indoor Championships|US Indoor Championships]], Dewar Cup
*1977 – '''[[The Championships|Wimbledon]]''', World Invitational Hilton Head, Tokyo Sillook
*1978 – [[WTA New Jersey|Mahwah]], Tokyo Sillook, Florida Open
(Source: WTA<ref>{{cite web|title=Player profile – Virginia Wade|url=http://www.wtatennis.com/players/player/230044/title/virginia-wade|website=[[Women's Tennis Association]] (WTA)}}</ref>)

==Grand Slam singles performance timeline==
{{Performance key|short=yes|active=no}}
{|class="wikitable" style=font-size:97%
|- bgcolor="#efefef"
! Tournament !! 1962 !! 1963 !! 1964 !! 1965 !! 1966 !! 1967 !! 1968 !! 1969 !! 1970 !! [[1971 Women's Tennis Circuit|1971]] !! [[1972 Women's Tennis Circuit|1972]] !! [[1973 WTA Tour|1973]] !! [[1974 WTA Tour|1974]] !! [[1975 WTA Tour|1975]] !! [[1976 WTA Tour|1976]] !! colspan="2"| [[1977 WTA Tour|1977]] !![[1978 WTA Tour|1978]] !![[1979 WTA Tour|1979]] !![[1980 WTA Tour|1980]] !![[1981 WTA Tour|1981]] !![[1982 WTA Tour|1982]] !! [[1983 Virginia Slims World Championship Series|1983]] !! [[1984 Virginia Slims World Championship Series|1984]]!! [[1985 Virginia Slims World Championship Series|1985]] !! Career SR
|-
| style="background:#EFEFEF;" | [[Australian Open|Australia]]
| align="center" |A
| align="center" |A
| align="center" |A
| align="center" |A
| align="center" |A
| align="center" |A
| align="center" |A
| align="center" |A
| align="center" |A
| align="center" |A
| align="center" style="background:#00ff00;" | '''[[1972 Australian Open – Women's singles|W]]'''
| align="center" style="background:#ffebcd;"|[[1973 Australian Open – Women's singles|QF]]
| align="center" |A
| align="center" |A
| align="center" |A
| align="center" |A
| align="center" |A
| align="center" |A
| align="center" |A
| align="center" |A
| align="center" |A
| align="center" |A
| align="center" style="background:#afeeee;"|[[1983 Australian Open – Women's singles|2R]]
| align="center" style="background:#afeeee;"|[[1984 Australian Open – Women's singles|2R]]
| align="center" style="background:#afeeee;"|[[1985 Australian Open – Women's singles|2R]]
| align="center" style="background:#EFEFEF;" | '''1 / 5'''
|-
| style="background:#EFEFEF;" | [[French Open|France]]
| align="center" |A
| align="center" |A
| align="center" |A
| align="center" |A
| align="center" |A
| align="center" style="background:#afeeee;"|[[1967 French Championships – Women's singles|4R]]
| align="center" |A
| align="center" style="background:#afeeee;"|[[1969 French Open – Women's singles|2R]]
| align="center" style="background:#ffebcd;"|[[1970 French Open – Women's singles|QF]]
| align="center" style="background:#afeeee;"|[[1971 French Open – Women's singles|1R]]
| align="center" style="background:#ffebcd;"|[[1972 French Open – Women's singles|QF]]
| align="center" style="background:#afeeee;"|[[1973 French Open – Women's singles|3R]]
| align="center" style="background:#afeeee;"|[[1974 French Open – Women's singles|2R]]
| align="center" |A
| align="center" |A
| colspan="2" align="center" |A
| align="center" |A
| align="center" style="background:#afeeee;"|[[1979 French Open – Women's singles|2R]]
| align="center" style="background:#afeeee;"|[[1980 French Open – Women's singles|3R]]
| align="center" style="background:#afeeee;"|[[1981 French Open – Women's singles|4R]]
| align="center" style="background:#afeeee;"|[[1982 French Open – Women's singles|3R]]
| align="center" style="background:#afeeee;"|[[1983 French Open – Women's singles|1R]]
| align="center" style="background:#afeeee;"|[[1984 French Open – Women's singles|1R]]
| align="center" style="background:#afeeee;"|[[1985 French Open – Women's singles|2R]]
| align="center" style="background:#EFEFEF;" | '''0 / 14'''
|-
| style="background:#EFEFEF;" | [[The Championships, Wimbledon|Wimbledon]]
| align="center" style="background:#afeeee;"|[[1962 Wimbledon Championships – Women's singles|2R]]
| align="center" style="background:#afeeee;"|[[1963 Wimbledon Championships – Women's singles|2R]]
| align="center" style="background:#afeeee;"|[[1964 Wimbledon Championships – Women's singles|2R]]
| align="center" style="background:#afeeee;"|[[1965 Wimbledon Championships – Women's singles|4R]]
| align="center" style="background:#afeeee;"|[[1966 Wimbledon Championships – Women's singles|2R]]
| align="center" style="background:#ffebcd;"|[[1967 Wimbledon Championships – Women's singles|QF]]
| align="center" style="background:#afeeee;"|[[1968 Wimbledon Championships – Women's singles|1R]]
| align="center" style="background:#afeeee;"|[[1969 Wimbledon Championships – Women's singles|3R]]
| align="center" style="background:#afeeee;"|[[1970 Wimbledon Championships – Women's singles|4R]]
| align="center" style="background:#afeeee;"|[[1971 Wimbledon Championships – Women's singles|4R]]
| align="center" style="background:#ffebcd;"|[[1972 Wimbledon Championships – Women's singles|QF]]
| align="center" style="background:#ffebcd;"|[[1973 Wimbledon Championships – Women's singles|QF]]
| align="center" style="background:yellow;" | [[1974 Wimbledon Championships – Women's singles|SF]]
| align="center" style="background:#ffebcd;"|[[1975 Wimbledon Championships – Women's singles|QF]]
| align="center" style="background:yellow;" | [[1976 Wimbledon Championships – Women's singles|SF]]
| colspan="2" align="center" style="background:#00ff00;" | '''[[1977 Wimbledon Championships – Women's singles|W]]'''
| align="center" style="background:yellow;" | [[1978 Wimbledon Championships – Women's singles|SF]]
| align="center" style="background:#ffebcd;"|[[1979 Wimbledon Championships – Women's singles|QF]]
| align="center" style="background:#afeeee;"|[[1980 Wimbledon Championships – Women's singles|4R]]
| align="center" style="background:#afeeee;"|[[1981 Wimbledon Championships – Women's singles|2R]]
| align="center" style="background:#afeeee;"|[[1982 Wimbledon Championships – Women's singles|2R]]
| align="center" style="background:#ffebcd;"|[[1983 Wimbledon Championships – Women's singles|QF]]
| align="center" style="background:#afeeee;"|[[1984 Wimbledon Championships – Women's singles|3R]]
| align="center" style="background:#afeeee;"|[[1985 Wimbledon Championships – Women's singles|3R]]
| align="center" style="background:#EFEFEF;" | '''1 / 24'''
|-
| style="background:#EFEFEF;" | [[US Open (tennis)|United States]]
| align="center" |A
| align="center" |A
| align="center"  style="background:#afeeee;"|[[1964 U.S. National Championships – Women's singles|4R]]
| align="center"  style="background:#afeeee;"|[[1965 U.S. National Championships – Women's singles|2R]]
| align="center"  style="background:#ffebcd;"|[[1966 U.S. National Championships – Women's singles|QF]]
| align="center"  style="background:#afeeee;"|[[1967 U.S. National Championships – Women's singles|4R]]
| align="center"  style="background:#00ff00;" | '''[[1968 US Open – Women's singles|W]]'''
| align="center"  style="background:yellow;" | [[1969 US Open – Women's singles|SF]]
| align="center"  style="background:yellow;" | [[1970 US Open – Women's singles|SF]]
| align="center" |A
| align="center" style="background:#ffebcd;"|[[1972 US Open – Women's singles|QF]]
| align="center" style="background:#ffebcd;"|[[1973 US Open – Women's singles|QF]]
| align="center" style="background:#afeeee;"|[[1974 US Open – Women's singles|2R]]
| align="center" style="background:yellow;" | [[1975 US Open – Women's singles|SF]]
| align="center" style="background:#afeeee;"|[[1976 US Open – Women's singles|2R]]
| colspan="2" align="center" style="background:#ffebcd;"|[[1977 US Open – Women's singles|QF]]
| align="center" style="background:#afeeee;"|[[1978 US Open – Women's singles|3R]]
| align="center" style="background:#ffebcd;"|[[1979 US Open – Women's singles|QF]]
| align="center" style="background:#afeeee;"|[[1980 US Open – Women's singles|3R]]
| align="center" style="background:#afeeee;"|[[1981 US Open – Women's singles|3R]]
| align="center" style="background:#afeeee;"|[[1982 US Open – Women's singles|1R]]
| align="center" style="background:#afeeee;"|[[1983 US Open – Women's singles|2R]]
| align="center" style="background:#afeeee;"|[[1984 US Open – Women's singles|2R]]
| align="center" |A
| align="center" style="background:#EFEFEF;" | '''1 / 20'''
|-
| style="background:#EFEFEF;" | SR
| align="center" style="background:#EFEFEF;" |0 / 1
| align="center" style="background:#EFEFEF;" |0 / 1
| align="center" style="background:#EFEFEF;" |0 / 2
| align="center" style="background:#EFEFEF;" |0 / 2
| align="center" style="background:#EFEFEF;" |0 / 2
| align="center" style="background:#EFEFEF;" |0 / 3
| align="center" style="background:#EFEFEF;" |1 / 2
| align="center" style="background:#EFEFEF;" |0 / 3
| align="center" style="background:#EFEFEF;" |0 / 3
| align="center" style="background:#EFEFEF;" |0 / 2
| align="center" style="background:#EFEFEF;" |1 / 4
| align="center" style="background:#EFEFEF;" |0 / 4
| align="center" style="background:#EFEFEF;" |0 / 3
| align="center" style="background:#EFEFEF;" |0 / 2
| align="center" style="background:#EFEFEF;" |0 / 2
| colspan="2" align="center" style="background:#EFEFEF;" |1 / 2
| align="center" style="background:#EFEFEF;" |0 / 2
| align="center" style="background:#EFEFEF;" |0 / 3
| align="center" style="background:#EFEFEF;" |0 / 3
| align="center" style="background:#EFEFEF;" |0 / 3
| align="center" style="background:#EFEFEF;" |0 / 3
| align="center" style="background:#EFEFEF;" |0 / 4
| align="center" style="background:#EFEFEF;" |0 / 4
| align="center" style="background:#EFEFEF;" |0 / 3
| align="center" style="background:#EFEFEF;" | '''3 / 63'''
|-
|colspan=27 align=left|Career statistics
|-
|align=left|Year-end ranking
|align="center" |
|align="center" |
|align="center" |
|align="center" |
|align="center" |
|align="center" |
|align="center" |
|align="center" |
|align="center" |
|align="center" |
|align="center" |
|align="center" |
|align="center" |
| align="center" bgcolor="#d8bfd8" |'''2'''
| align="center" bgcolor="#99ccff" |'''3'''
| align="center" bgcolor="#eee8aa" colspan="2" |4
| align="center" bgcolor="#eee8aa" |4
| align="center" bgcolor="#eee8aa" |8
|align="center" |15
|align="center" |30
|align="center" |59
|align="center" |42
|align="center" |61
|align="center" |89
|
|}

Note: The Australian Open was held twice in 1977, in January and December.

==Personal life==
{{multiple image
| footer = Girl with a Dolphin (1973)
| image1 = Girl with a dolphin in London, spring 2013 (2).JPG
| alt1 = Front view of Girl with a dolphin (1973)
| width1 = 217
| image2 = Dolphin And Aquarius (147644385).jpeg
| alt2 = Back view of Girl with a dolphin (1973)
| width2 = 150
}}
Wade has no children and has never married. She has said "If I'd done better earlier, and my career had been at its peak earlier and I'd faded, I would probably have had a totally different life." She lives mostly in New York and in Chelsea, London.<ref>{{cite news|url=http://www.theguardian.com/sport/2007/jun/18/tennis.stephenmoss|title=Virginia Wade interview: 'I prefer to live in the present'|date=18 June 2007|work=The Guardian}}</ref>

She posed for sculptor [[David Wynne (sculptor)|David Wynne]] for the 17-foot-high fountain ''Girl with a Dolphin'', installed at [[Tower Bridge]] in 1973.<ref>{{cite news |last=Hodgkinson |first=Thomas W. |title=The naked girl with a dolphin at Tower Bridge? That's me, says Virginia Wade |url=https://www.thetimes.com/culture/art/article/the-naked-girl-with-a-dolphin-at-tower-bridge-thats-me-says-virginia-wade-0nsfbb2vs |work=[[The Sunday Times]] |date=5 November 2023 |access-date=6 November 2023 |issn=0140-0460}}</ref>

==See also==
* [[Tennis performance timeline comparison (women)|Performance timelines for all female tennis players who reached at least one Grand Slam final]]

==References==
{{reflist|30em}}

==External links==
* {{Tennis Hall of Fame}}
* {{WTA}}
* {{ITF profile}}
* {{Billie Jean King Cup player}}

{{S-start}}
{{s-bef|before=[[John Curry]]}} 
{{s-ttl|title=[[BBC Sports Personality of the Year]]|years=1977}} 
{{s-aft|after=[[Steve Ovett]]}}
{{S-end}}

{{navboxes|title=Virginia Wade in the [[Grand Slam (tennis)|Grand Slam tournaments]]
|list1=
{{Australian Open women's singles champions}}
{{US Open women's singles champions}}
{{Wimbledon women's singles champions}}
{{Australian Open women's doubles champions}}
{{French Open women's doubles champions}}
{{US Open women's doubles champions}}
}}
{{navboxes|title=Virginia Wade achievements
|list1=
{{WTA Year-end championships winners doubles}}
{{BBC Sports Personality of the Year winners}}
{{International Tennis Hall of Fame members}}
}}
{{Authority control}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Wade, Virginia}}
[[Category:1945 births]]
[[Category:Alumni of the University of Sussex]]
[[Category:Australian Open (tennis) champions]]
[[Category:BBC Sports Personality of the Year winners]]
[[Category:British expatriate sportspeople in South Africa]]
[[Category:English female tennis players]]
[[Category:British female tennis players]]
[[Category:English sports broadcasters]]
[[Category:English sports coaches]]
[[Category:English tennis coaches]]
[[Category:French Open champions]]
[[Category:Grand Slam (tennis) champions in women's doubles]]
[[Category:Grand Slam (tennis) champions in women's singles]]
[[Category:International Tennis Hall of Fame inductees]]
[[Category:Living people]]
[[Category:Officers of the Order of the British Empire]]
[[Category:People educated at Talbot Heath School]]
[[Category:People educated at Tunbridge Wells Girls' Grammar School]]
[[Category:Sportspeople from Bournemouth]]
[[Category:Tennis players from Durban]]
[[Category:Tennis commentators]]
[[Category:US Open (tennis) champions]]
[[Category:Wimbledon champions]]
[[Category:World number 1 ranked female tennis players]]
[[Category:20th-century English sportswomen]]