1977 WTA Tour

The 1977 WTA Tour consisted of a number of tennis tournaments for female tennis players. It was composed of two circuits the newly streamlined version of the Virginia Slims Circuit (which was now an 11-week tour of the US) and the world wide Colgate International Series. The year 1977 also saw the creation of the first official ranking system and these rankings were used to determine acceptance into the tournaments.^[1][2]

1977 WTA Tour

Chris Evert finished the year as world No. 1 for the third time in her career. She won twelve singles tournaments during the season, including a major at the US Open, as well as the Virginia Slims Championships.
Details
Duration	17 October 1976 – 28 November 1977
Edition	5th
Tournaments	49
Categories	Grand Slam (4) WTA championships (3) Virginia Slims Circuit (11) Colgate International Series (18)
Achievements (singles)
Most titles	Chris Evert (12)
Most finals	Chris Evert (14)
Prize money leader	Chris Evert ($503,134)
Points leader	Chris Evert (17.612)
Awards
Player of the year	Virginia Wade
Doubles team of the year	Martina Navratilova Betty Stöve
Most improved player of the year	Wendy Turnbull
Newcomer of the year	Tracy Austin
← 1976 1978 →

Schedule

This is a calendar of all events which were part of either the Virginia Slims circuit or the Colgate International Series in the year 1977, with player progression documented from the quarterfinals stage. Also included are the Grand Slam tournaments, the 1977 Virginia Slims Championships, the 1977 Federation Cup and a number of events not affiliated with either tour.^[1]

Key

Grand Slam tournaments

Virginia Slims/Colgate Series championships

Virginia Slims Circuit

Colgate International Series

Non-tour events

Team events

October (1976)

Week	Tournament	Champions	Runners-up	Semifinalists	Quarterfinalists
17 Oct	Colgate Inaugural Palm Springs, United States Colgate International Series Hard – $175,000 – 16S	Chris Evert 6–1, 6–2	Françoise Dürr	Virginia Wade (3rd) Terry Holladay (4th)	Nancy Richey Martina Navratilova Betty Stöve Dianne Fromholtz
		Chris Evert Martina Navratilova 6–2, 6–4	Billie Jean King Betty Stöve

November (1976)

Week	Tournament	Champions	Runners-up	Semifinalists	Quarterfinalists
1 Nov	Dewar Cup London, Great Britain Colgate International Series Hard – $35,000	Virginia Wade 6–2, 6–2	Chris Evert	Rosie Casals Sue Barker	Betty Stöve Florența Mihai Betsy Nagelsen Glynis Coles
		Betty Stöve Virginia Wade 6–3, 2–6, 6–3	Rosie Casals Chris Evert
22 Nov	South African Open Johannesburg, South Africa Colgate International Series Hard – $35,000	Brigitte Cuypers 6–7, 6–4, 6–1	Laura duPont	Annette du Plooy Heidi Eisterlehner	Lesley Charles Tanya Harford Glynis Coles Stephanie Tolleson
		Laura duPont Valerie Ziegenfuss 6–1, 6–4	Yvonne Vermaak Elizabeth Vlotman
29 Nov	Colgate International Championships Sydney, Australia Colgate International Series Grass – $100,000	Martina Navratilova 7–5, 6–2	Betty Stöve	Kerry Reid Dianne Fromholtz	Evonne Goolagong Cawley Marise Kruger Sue Barker Margaret Court
		Martina Navratilova Betty Stöve 6–3, 7–5	Françoise Dürr Ann Kiyomura

December (1976)

Week	Tournament	Champions	Runners-up	Semifinalists	Quarterfinalists
6 Dec	Toyota Women's Classic Melbourne, Australia Colgate International Series Grass – $75,000	Margaret Court 6–2, 6–2	Sue Barker	Betty Stöve Dianne Fromholtz	JoAnne Russell Françoise Dürr Janet Newberry Ilana Kloss
		Margaret Court Betty Stöve 6–2, 6–4	Linky Boshoff Ilana Kloss
26 Dec	Marlboro NSW Open Sydney, Australia Colgate Series Grass – $35,000	Kerry Reid 3–6, 6–2, 6–3	Dianne Fromholtz	Karen Krantzcke Renáta Tomanová	Wendy Turnbull Lesley Bowrey Virginia Ruzici Amanda Tobin
		Helen Gourlay Betsy Nagelsen 6–4, 6–1	Dianne Fromholtz Renáta Tomanová

January

Week	Tournament	Champions	Runners-up	Semifinalists	Quarterfinalists
3 Jan	Australian Open Melbourne, Australia Grand Slam Grass – 32S/16D Singles – Doubles	Kerry Reid 7–5, 6–2	Dianne Fromholtz	Karen Krantzcke Helen Gourlay	Jan Wilton Naoko Sato Mary Sawyer Katja Ebbinghaus
		Dianne Fromholtz Helen Gourlay 5–7, 6–1, 7–5	Betsy Nagelsen Kerry Reid
	Virginia Slims of Washington Washington, United States Virginia Slims Carpet (i) – $100,000 – 32S/16D	Martina Navratilova 6–2, 6–3	Chris Evert	Wendy Turnbull Virginia Wade	Sue Barker Beth Norton Françoise Dürr Janet Newberry
		Martina Navratilova Betty Stöve 7–5, 6–2	Kristien Shaw Valerie Ziegenfuss
10 Jan	Virginia Slims of Florida Hollywood, United States Virginia Slims Carpet (i) – $100,000 – 34S/16D	Chris Evert 6–3, 6–4	Margaret Court	Sue Barker Virginia Wade	Betty Stöve Martina Navratilova JoAnne Russell Mima Jaušovec
		Martina Navratilova Betty Stöve 6–4, 3–6, 6–4	Rosie Casals Chris Evert
17 Jan	Virginia Slims of Houston Houston, United States Virginia Slims Carpet (i) – $100,000 – 32S/13D	Martina Navratilova 7–6(5–3), 7–5	Sue Barker	Mima Jaušovec Dianne Fromholtz	Wendy Turnbull Kristien Shaw Greer Stevens Carrie Meyer
		Martina Navratilova Betty Stöve 4–6, 6–2, 6–1	Sue Barker Ann Kiyomura
24 Jan	Virginia Slims of Minneapolis Minneapolis, United States Virginia Slims Carpet (i) – $100,000 – 33S/14D	Martina Navratilova 6–0, 6–1	Sue Barker	Rosie Casals Olga Morozova	Virginia Wade Margaret Court Mima Jaušovec Natasha Chmyreva
		Rosie Casals Martina Navratilova 6–2, 6–1	Mima Jaušovec Virginia Ruzici
31 Jan	Virginia Slims of Seattle Seattle, United States Virginia Slims Carpet (i) – $100,000 – 33S/16D	Chris Evert 6–2, 6–4	Martina Navratilova	Olga Morozova Rosie Casals	Kristien Shaw Dianne Fromholtz Natasha Chmyreva Sharon Walsh
		Rosie Casals Chris Evert 6–4, 3–6, 6–3	Françoise Dürr Martina Navratilova

February

Week	Tournament	Champions	Runners-up	Semifinalists	Quarterfinalists
7 Feb	Virginia Slims of Chicago Chicago, United States Virginia Slims Carpet (i) – $100,000 – 33S/16D	Chris Evert 6–1, 6–3	Margaret Court	Betty Stöve Natasha Chmyreva	Kristien Shaw Brigitte Cuypers Julie Anthony Rosie Casals
		Rosie Casals Chris Evert 6–3, 6–4	Margaret Court Betty Stöve
14 Feb	Virginia Slims of Los Angeles Los Angeles, United States Virginia Slims Carpet (i) – $100,000 – 34S/15D	Chris Evert 6–2, 2–6, 6–2	Martina Navratilova	Rosie Casals Margaret Court	Kerry Reid Virginia Wade Terry Holladay JoAnne Russell
		Rosie Casals Chris Evert 6–2, 6–4	Martina Navratilova Betty Stöve
21 Feb	Virginia Slims of Detroit Detroit, United States Virginia Slims Carpet (i) – $100,000 – 32S	Martina Navratilova 6–4, 6–4	Sue Barker	Virginia Wade Françoise Dürr	Yvonne Vermaak Virginia Ruzici Margaret Court Sharon Walsh
		Martina Navratilova Betty Stöve 6–3, 6–4	Janet Newberry JoAnne Russell
28 Feb	Virginia Slims of San Francisco San Francisco, United States Virginia Slims Carpet (i) – $100,000 – 34S/16D	Sue Barker 6–3, 6–4	Virginia Wade	Chris Evert Rosie Casals	Betty Stöve Mima Jaušovec Kerry Reid Françoise Dürr
		Kerry Reid Greer Stevens 6–3, 6–1	Sue Barker Ann Kiyomura

March

Week	Tournament	Champions	Runners-up	Semifinalists	Quarterfinalists
7 Mar	Virginia Slims of Dallas Dallas, United States Virginia Slims Carpet (i) – $100,000 – 34S/17D	Sue Barker 6–1, 7–6(5–4)	Terry Holladay	Greer Stevens Virginia Wade	Kathleen Harter Renáta Tomanová Kristien Shaw Betty Stöve
		Martina Navratilova Betty Stöve 6–2, 6–4	Kerry Reid Greer Stevens
14 Mar	Virginia Slims of Philadelphia Philadelphia, United States Virginia Slims Carpet (i) – $100,000 – 32S/15D	Chris Evert 6–4, 4–6, 6–3	Martina Navratilova	Sue Barker Rosie Casals	Dianne Fromholtz Kerry Reid Virginia Wade Betty Stöve
		Françoise Dürr Virginia Wade 6–4, 4–6, 6–4	Martina Navratilova Betty Stöve
24 Mar	Virginia Slims Championships New York City, United States Year-end championships Carpet (i) – $150,000 – 16S (8RR)	Chris Evert 2–6, 6–1, 6–1	Sue Barker	3rd: Martina Navratilova 4th: Rosie Casals	5th: Virginia Wade 6th: Betty Stöve 7th: Mima Jaušovec 8th: Kristien Shaw
28 Mar	Family Circle Cup Hilton Head Island, United States Colgate Series Clay – $110,000 – 30S/16D Singles	Chris Evert 6–1, 6–0	Billie Jean King	Mima Jaušovec Kerry Reid	Kathy May Rosie Casals Tracy Austin Renáta Tomanová
		Rosie Casals Chris Evert 6–4, 6–2	Françoise Dürr Virginia Wade

April

Week	Tournament	Champions	Runners-up	Semifinalists	Quarterfinalists
4 Apr	Bridgestone Doubles Championships Tokyo, Japan Carpet (i) – $100,000 – 8D	Martina Navratilova Betty Stöve 7–5, 6–3	Françoise Dürr Virginia Wade	Casals / King Jaušovec / Ruzici	Newberry / Russell Kemmer / Ziegenfuss Barker / Kiyomura Holladay / May

May

Week	Tournament	Champions	Runners-up	Semifinalists	Quarterfinalists
9 May	German Open Hamburg, West Germany Colgate Series Clay – $35,000	Laura duPont 6–1, 6–4	Heidi Eisterlehner	Katja Ebbinghaus Regina Maršíková	Renáta Tomanová Iris Riedel Florența Mihai Lea Plchová
		Linky Boshoff Ilana Kloss 2–6, 6–4, 7–5	Regina Maršíková Renáta Tomanová
16 May	Italian Open Rome, Italy Colgate Series Clay – $35,000	Janet Newberry 6–3, 7–6(7–5)	Renáta Tomanová	Marie Pinterová Laura duPont	Mima Jaušovec Iris Riedel Pam Teeguarden Mary Struthers
		Brigitte Cuypers Marise Kruger 6–3, 5–7, 2–6	Bunny Bruning Sharon Walsh
23 May 30 May	French Open Paris, France Grand Slam Clay (red) – 64S/64Q/22D/24X Singles – Doubles – Mixed doubles	Mima Jaušovec 6–2, 6–7(5–7), 6–1	Florența Mihai	Regina Maršíková Janet Newberry	Pam Teeguarden Renáta Tomanová Linky Boshoff Kathy May
		Regina Maršíková Pam Teeguarden 5–7, 6–4, 6–2	Rayni Fox Helen Gourlay Cawley
		Mary Carillo John McEnroe 7–6, 6–3	Florența Mihai Iván Molina

June

Week	Tournament	Champions	Runners-up	Semifinalists	Quarterfinalists
13 Jun	Federation Cup Eastbourne, Great Britain Federation Cup Grass – 32 teams knockout	United States 2–1	Australia	South Africa  Great Britain	France  Netherlands  Sweden  West Germany
20 Jun 27 Jun	Wimbledon Championships London, Great Britain Grand Slam Grass – 96S/48D/64X Singles – Doubles – Mixed doubles	Virginia Wade 4–6, 6–3, 6–1	Betty Stöve	Chris Evert Sue Barker	Billie Jean King Rosie Casals Kerry Reid Martina Navratilova
		Helen Gourlay Cawley JoAnne Russell 6–3, 6–3	Martina Navratilova Betty Stöve
		Greer Stevens Bob Hewitt 3–6, 7–5, 6–4	Betty Stöve Frew McMillan

August

Week	Tournament	Champions	Runners-up	Semifinalists	Quarterfinalists
8 Aug	US Clay Court Championships Indianapolis, United States Colgate Series Clay – $35,000 Singles – Doubles	Laura duPont 6–4, 6–3	Nancy Richey	Cynthia Doerner Iris Riedel	Maria Bueno Katja Ebbinghaus Lesley Charles Marcie Louie
		Linky Boshoff Ilana Kloss 5–7, 7–5, 6–3	Mary Carillo Wendy Overton
15 Aug	Rothmans Canadian Open Toronto, Canada Colgate Series Clay – $35,000	Regina Maršíková 6–4, 4–6, 6–2	Marise Kruger	Cynthia Doerner Jeanne Evert	Katja Ebbinghaus Rosie Casals Yvonne Vermaak Fiorella Bonicelli
		Linky Boshoff Ilana Kloss 6–2, 6–3	Rosie Casals Evonne Goolagong Cawley
22 Aug	Ivey's Pepsi Tennis Classic Charlotte, United States Colgate Series Clay – $50,000	Martina Navratilova 3–6, 6–2, 6–2	Mima Jaušovec	JoAnne Russell Regina Maršíková	Tracy Austin Brigitte Cuypers Katja Ebbinghaus Kate Latham
		Martina Navratilova Betty Stöve 6–3, 6–4	Regina Maršíková Pam Teeguarden
29 Aug 5 Sep	US Open New York City, United States Grand Slam $250,000 – Clay – 64S/32D/32X Singles – Doubles – Mixed doubles	Chris Evert 7–6(7–3), 6–2	Wendy Turnbull	Betty Stöve Martina Navratilova	Billie Jean King Tracy Austin Virginia Wade Mima Jaušovec
		Martina Navratilova Betty Stöve 6–1, 7–6(7–4)	Renée Richards Betty-Ann Stuart
		Betty Stöve Frew McMillan 6–2, 3–6, 6–3	Billie Jean King Vitas Gerulaitis

September

Week	Tournament	Champions	Runners-up	Semifinalists	Quarterfinalists
12 Sep	Toray Sillook Open Osaka & Tokyo, Japan Colgate Series Carpet (i) – $100,000 Singles	Virginia Wade 7–5, 5–7, 6–4	Martina Navratilova	Wendy Turnbull Sue Barker	Mima Jaušovec Terry Holladay Julie Anthony Michelle Tyler
26 Sep	Florida Federal Open Palm Harbor, United States Colgate Series Hard – $35,000	Virginia Ruzici 6–4, 4–6, 6–2	Laura duPont	Marise Kruger Mona Guerrant	Michelle Tyler Renée Richards Mary Hamm JoAnne Russell
		Linky Boshoff Ilana Kloss 6–7, 6–2, 6–2	Brigitte Cuypers Marise Kruger

October

Week	Tournament	Champions	Runners-up	Semifinalists	Quarterfinalists
3 Oct	Wyler's Classic Atlanta, United States Colgate Series Carpet (i) – $75,000 – 32S/16D	Chris Evert 6–3, 6–2	Dianne Fromholtz	Virginia Wade Billie Jean King	Ann Kiyomura Kerry Reid Betty Stöve Martina Navratilova
		Martina Navratilova Betty Stöve 6–4, 6–2	Brigitte Cuypers Marise Kruger
10 Oct	Thunderbird Classic Phoenix, United States Colgate Series Hard – $75,000	Billie Jean King 1–6, 6–1, 6–0	Wendy Turnbull	Betty Stöve Martina Navratilova	Renée Richards Dianne Fromholtz Rosie Casals Tracy Austin
		Billie Jean King Martina Navratilova 6–0, 7–5	Helen Gourlay Cawley JoAnne Russell
17 Oct	Colgate Brazil Open São Paulo, Brazil Colgate Series Hard – $75,000	Billie Jean King 6–1, 6–4	Betty Stöve	Dianne Fromholtz Kerry Reid	Martina Navratilova Betsy Nagelsen Rosie Casals Sharon Walsh
		Kerry Reid Wendy Turnbull 6–3, 5–7, 6–2	Martina Navratilova Betty Stöve
24 Oct	Borniquen Classic San Juan, Puerto Rico Colgate Series Hard – $75,000	Billie Jean King 6–1, 6–3	Janet Newberry	JoAnne Russell Betty Stöve	Wendy Turnbull Rosie Casals Virginia Ruzici Terry Holladay
		Rosie Casals Billie Jean King 4–6, 6–2, 6–3	Linky Boshoff Ilana Kloss
31 Oct	Colgate Series Championships Palm Springs, United States Colgate Series championships Hard – $250,000 – 8S/4D	Chris Evert 6–2, 6–2	Billie Jean King	Virginia Wade (3rd) Kerry Reid (4th)	Round robin Dianne Fromholtz Martina Navratilova Wendy Turnbull Betty Stöve
		Françoise Dürr Virginia Wade 6–1, 4–6, 6–4	Helen Gourlay Cawley JoAnne Russell

November

Week	Tournament	Champions	Runners-up	Semifinalists	Quarterfinalists
7 Nov	Wightman Cup Williamsburg, United States Hard (i) Team event	United States 7–0	Great Britain	N/A	N/A

Rankings

Below are the 1977 WTA year-end rankings (December 31, 1977) in both singles and doubles competition:

Singles Year-end Ranking[3]
No	Player Name	Points	1976	Change
1	Chris Evert (USA)	17.612	1	=
2	Billie Jean King (USA)	12.244	NR	NR
3	Martina Navratilova (USA)	11.881	4	+1
4	Virginia Wade (GBR)	10.185	3	-1
5	Sue Barker (GBR)	9.515	10	+5
6	Rosie Casals (USA)	7.693	6	=
7	Betty Stöve (NED)	6.617	7	=
8	Dianne Fromholtz (AUS)	6.462	5	-3
9	Wendy Turnbull (AUS)	6.326	30	+21
10	Kerry Melville (AUS)	6.061	8	-2
11	Mima Jaušovec (YUG)	5.738	11	=
12	Tracy Austin (USA)	5.065	NR	NR
13	Greer Stevens (RSA)	4.989	17	+4
14	Terry Holladay (USA)	4.313	13	-1
15	JoAnne Russell (USA)	4.244	18	+3
16	Virginia Ruzici (ROU)	3.951	26	+10
17	Kristien Shaw (USA)	3.875	32	+15
18	Janet Newberry (USA)	3.813	28	+10
19	Katja Ebbinghaus (FRG)	3.759	NR	NR
20	Regina Maršíková (TCH)	3.700	+3	23

See also

• 1977 Men's Grand Prix circuit