Virginia Ruzici

Virginia Ruzici (born 31 January 1955) is a Romanian former professional tennis player. She won the 1978 French Open singles championship.

Virginia Ruzici

Virginia Ruzici at the 1981 Summer Universiade
Country (sports)	Romania
Born	(1955-01-31) 31 January 1955 (age 70) Câmpia Turzii, Socialist Republic of Romania
Height	1.73 m (5 ft 8 in)
Turned pro	1975
Retired	1987
Plays	Right-handed (one-handed backhand)
Prize money	$1,183,728
Singles
Career record	377–221
Career titles	12
Highest ranking	No. 8 (21 May 1979)
Grand Slam singles results
Australian Open	QF (1980)
French Open	W (1978)
Wimbledon	QF (1978, 1981)
US Open	QF (1976, 1978)
Doubles
Career record	285–181
Career titles	16
Highest ranking	No. 70 (12 October 1987)
Grand Slam doubles results
Australian Open	2R (1980)
French Open	W (1978)
Wimbledon	F (1978)
US Open	SF (1976)
Grand Slam mixed doubles results
French Open	F (1978, 1979)
Wimbledon	3R (1979)
US Open	QF (1981)
Team competitions
Fed Cup	25–13
Medal record Representing  Romania Summer Universiade 1977 Sofia Doubles 1979 Mexico City Doubles 1979 Mexico City Mixed doubles 1981 Bucharest Singles 1981 Bucharest Doubles 1981 Bucharest Mixed doubles 1977 Sofia Mixed doubles 1979 Mexico City Singles

Career

Ruzici became a professional tennis player in 1975. One of her main assets on court was her powerful forehand. In a career spanning 12 years, Ruzici won 12 career singles titles, including one Grand Slam title, the 1978 French Open. In the final, she beat 1977 French Open champion Mima Jaušovec 6–2, 6–2. Ruzici also won the French Open doubles event with Jaušovec in 1978 and reached the mixed doubles final in 1978. She appeared in the French Open singles final in 1980, but lost in straight sets to Chris Evert.^[1]

Ruzici remained in the world's top 20 from 1977 to 1983.^[2] She regularly featured in the Romania Fed Cup team throughout her career, and began playing for them in 1973, two years before turning professional.

At Wimbledon 1978, Ruzici lost a notable match in the quarterfinal to the Australian Evonne Goolagong who was playing with an injured ankle. Goolagong's injury led to her collapsing on court and her husband, Roger Cawley, came on to the court to aid his wife, technically defaulting the Australian from the match. When Goolagong recovered, Ruzici agreed to continue the match, but lost 7–5, 6–3 and was praised for her sportsmanship.^[3] It has been stated during TV commentaries that Ruzici's victory in 1980 at a tournament in Salt Lake City was watched by Richard Williams who was inspired by her triumph and prize money to teach his daughters Venus and Serena Williams to play tennis.^[4][5][6]

Ruzici was the manager of Romanian tennis player Simona Halep until 2022.^[7]

Grand Slam tournament finals

Singles: 2 (1 title, 1 runner–up)

Result	Year	Championship	Surface	Opponent	Score
Win	1978	French Open	Clay	Mima Jaušovec	6–2, 6–2
Loss	1980	French Open	Clay	Chris Evert	0–6, 3–6

Doubles: 2 (1 title, 1 runner–up)

Result	Year	Championship	Surface	Partner	Opponents	Score
Win	1978	French Open	Clay	Mima Jaušovec	Gail Sherriff Lovera Lesley Turner Bowrey	6–4, 6–3
Loss	1978	Wimbledon	Grass	Mima Jaušovec	Kerry Melville Reid Wendy Turnbull	6–4, 8–9(8), 3–6

Mixed doubles: 2 (2 runner-ups)

Result	Year	Championship	Surface	Partner	Opponents	Score
Loss	1978	French Open	Clay	Patrice Dominguez	Renáta Tomanová Pavel Složil	6–4, 6–7, ret.
Loss	1979	French Open	Clay	Ion Țiriac	Wendy Turnbull Bob Hewitt	3–6, 6–2, 3–6

WTA career finals

Singles: 27 (12–15)

Legend Grand Slam tournaments (1–1) WTA Championships (0–0) Virginia Slims, Avon, other (11–14)

Finals by surface Hard (1–2) Grass (0–1) Clay (9–10) Carpet (2–2)

Result	W/L	Date	Tournament	Surface	Opponent	Score
Win	1–0	Aug 1975	South Orange, Canada	Clay	Mariana Simionescu	6–1, 6–1
Loss	1–1	Jul 1976	Austrian Open	Clay	Wendy Turnbull	4–6, 7–5, 3–6
Loss	1–2	Oct 1976	Spanish Open	Clay	Renáta Tomanová	6–3, 4–6, 2–6
Win	2–2	Sep 1977	Eckerd Open, U.S.	Clay	Laura duPont	6–4, 4–6, 6–2
Loss	2–3	May 1978	German Open	Clay	Mima Jaušovec	2–6, 3–6
Loss	2–4	May 1978	Italian Open	Clay	Regina Maršíková	5–7, 5–7
Win	3–4	May 1978	French Open	Clay	Mima Jaušovec	6–2, 6–2
Win	4–4	Jul 1978	Austrian Open	Clay	Sylvia Hanika	6–4, 6–3
Loss	4–5	Aug 1978	Canadian Open	Hard	Regina Maršíková	5–7, 7–6, 2–6
Win	5–5	Oct 1978	Brighton Challenge, UK	Carpet (i)	Betty Stöve	5–7, 6–2, 7–5
Loss	5–6	Feb 1979	VS Detroit	Carpet (i)	Wendy Turnbull	5–7, 6–1, 6–7(4)
Loss	5–7	Dec 1979	Adelaide, Australia	Grass	Hana Mandlíková	5–7, 2–2 ret.
Loss	5–8	May 1980	Italian Open	Clay	Chris Evert	7–5, 2–6, 2–6
Loss	5–9	May 1980	French Open	Clay	Chris Evert	0–6, 3–6
Win	6–9	Jul 1980	Austrian Open	Clay	Hana Mandlíková	3–6, 6–1, ret.
Loss	6–10	Aug 1980	Canadian Open	Hard	Chris Evert	3–6, 1–6
Win	7–10	Sep 1980	VS Salt Lake City, U.S.	Hard	Ivanna Madruga	6–1, 6–3
Loss	7–11	Nov 1980	Amsterdam, Netherlands	Carpet (i)	Hana Mandlíková	7–5, 2–6, 5–7
Loss	7–12	May 1981	Italian Open	Clay	Chris Evert	1–6, 2–6
Loss	7–13	May 1981	European Open	Clay	Chris Evert	1–6, 1–6
Loss	7–14	Aug 1981	U.S. Clay Courts	Clay	Andrea Jaeger	1–6, 0–6
Win	8–14	Jul 1982	Monte Carlo, Monaco	Clay	Bonnie Gadusek	6–2, 7–6
Win	9–14	Jul 1982	Austrian Open	Clay	Lea Plchová	6–2, 6–2
Win	10–14	Aug 1982	U.S. Clay Courts	Clay	Helena Suková	6–2, 6–0
Win	11–14	Oct 1983	VS Detroit, U.S.	Carpet (i)	Kathy Jordan	4–6, 6–4, 6–2
Loss	11–15	Apr 1985	Seabrook Island, U.S.	Clay	Katerina Maleeva	3–6, 3–6
Win	12–15	Jul 1985	Austrian Open	Clay	Mima Jaušovec	6–2, 6–3

Doubles: 35 (16–19)

Legend Grand Slam tournaments (1–1) WTA Championships (0–0) Virginia Slims, Avon, other (15–18)

Finals by surface Hard (2–1) Grass (1–1) Clay (10–11) Carpet (3–6)

Result	No.	Date	Tournament	Surface	Partner	Opponents	Score
Loss	1.	Nov 1973	London, UK	Carpet (i)	Mariana Simionescu	Lesley Charles Glynis Coles	3–6, 5–7
Win	1.	Nov 1974	Edinburgh Cup, UK	Carpet (i)	Mima Jaušovec	María-Isabel Fernández Raquel Giscafré	6–4, 4–6, 6–4
Loss	2.	Mar 1976	Tallahassee, U.S.	Clay	Mariana Simionescu	Julie Anthony Dianne Fromholtz	2–6, 5–7
Loss	3.	May 1976	Italian Open	Clay	Mariana Simionescu	Linky Boshoff Ilana Kloss	1–6, 2–6
Win	2.	Oct 1976	Spanish Open	Clay	Florența Mihai	Nathalie Fuchs Michele Gurdal	6–2, 6–4
Loss	4.	Jan 1977	Minneapolis Indoors, U.S.	Carpet (i)	Mima Jaušovec	Rosie Casals Martina Navratilova	2–6, 1–6
Win	3.	May 1978	German Open	Clay	Mima Jaušovec	Katja Ebbinghaus Helga Niessen Masthoff	6–4, 5–7, 6–0
Win	4.	May 1978	Italian Open	Clay	Mima Jaušovec	Florența Mihai Betsy Nagelsen	6–2, 2–6, 7–6
Win	5.	May 1978	French Open	Clay	Mima Jaušovec	Gail Sherriff Lovera Lesley Turner Bowrey	5–7, 6–4, 8–6
Loss	5.	Jun 1978	Wimbledon, UK	Grass	Mima Jaušovec	Kerry Melville Reid Wendy Turnbull	6–4, 8–9(8), 3–6
Win	6.	Jul 1978	Austrian Open	Clay	Renáta Tomanová	Regina Maršíková Florența Mihai	7–5, 6–2
Loss	6.	Oct 1978	Porsche Tennis Grand Prix, Germany	Carpet (i)	Mima Jaušovec	Tracy Austin Betty Stöve	3–6, 3–6
Win	7.	Jan 1979	VS Washington, U.S.	Carpet (i)	Mima Jaušovec	Renée Richards Sharon Walsh	4–6, 6–2, 6–4
Loss	7.	Jul 1979	Austrian Open	Clay	Elly Appel-Vessies	Helena Anliot Dianne Evers	0–6, 4–6
Win	8.	Oct 1979	Tampa Open, U.S.	Hard	Anne Smith	Ilana Kloss Betty Ann Stuart	7–5, 4–6, 7–5
Win	9.	Dec 1979	Adelaide, Australia	Grass	Hana Mandlíková	Sue Barker Pam Shriver	6–1, 3–6, 6–2
Loss	8.	Aug 1980	U.S. Clay Courts	Clay	Renáta Tomanová	Anne Smith Paula Smith	4–6, 6–3, 4–6
Win	10.	Sep 1980	VS Salt Lake City, U.S.	Hard	Pam Teeguarden	Barbara Jordan JoAnne Russell	6–4, 7–5
Win	11.	Oct 1980	Stockholm Open, Sweden	Carpet (i)	Mima Jaušovec	Hana Mandlíková Betty Stöve	6–2, 6–1
Loss	9.	Mar 1981	VS Boston, U.S.	Carpet (i)	JoAnne Russell	Barbara Potter Sharon Walsh	7–6, 4–6, 3–6
Loss	10.	May 1981	Italian Open	Clay	Chris Evert	Candy Reynolds Paula Smith	5–7, 1–6
Win	12.	Aug 1981	U.S. Clay Courts	Clay	JoAnne Russell	Sue Barker Paula Smith	6–2, 6–2
Loss	11.	Apr 1982	Hilton Head Island, U.S.	Clay	JoAnne Russell	Martina Navratilova Pam Shriver	1–6, 2–6
Loss	12.	May 1982	European Open	Clay	JoAnne Russell	Candy Reynolds Paula Smith	2–6, 4–6
Win	13.	Jul 1982	Monte Carlo, Monaco	Clay	Catherine Tanvier	Patricia Medrado Cláudia Monteiro	7–6, 6–2
Loss	13.	Aug 1982	U.S. Clay Courts	Clay	JoAnne Russell	Ivanna Madruga Catherine Tanvier	5–7, 6–7(3)
Loss	14.	Dec 1982	European Open	Carpet (i)	JoAnne Russell	Rosie Casals Candy Reynolds	3–6, 3–6
Loss	15.	Apr 1983	Amelia Island Championships, U.S.	Clay	Hana Mandlíková	Rosalyn Fairbank Candy Reynolds	4–6, 2–6
Win	14.	May 1983	Italian Open	Clay	Virginia Wade	Ivanna Madruga Catherine Tanvier	6–3, 2–6, 6–1
Win	15.	Aug 1983	U.S. Clay Courts	Clay	Kathy Horvath	Gigi Fernández Beth Herr	4–6, 7–6(6), 6–2
Loss	16.	Aug 1983	LA Championships, U.S.	Hard	Betsy Nagelsen	Martina Navratilova Pam Shriver	1–6, 0–6
Loss	17.	Oct 1983	Porsche Grand Prix, Germany	Carpet (i)	Catherine Tanvier	Martina Navratilova Candy Reynolds	2–6, 1–6
Loss	18.	May 1984	German Open	Clay	Kathy Horvath	Anne Hobbs Candy Reynolds	3–6, 6–4, 6–7(11)
Loss	19.	May 1984	Italian Open	Clay	Kathy Horvath	Iva Budařová Helena Suková	6–7(5), 6–1, 4–6
Win	16.	Jul 1985	Austrian Open	Clay	Mima Jaušovec	Andrea Holíková Kateřina Skronská	6–2, 6–3

Other finals

Singles (8–4)

Result	No.	Date	Tournament	Surface	Opponent	Score
Loss	1.	1 October 1972	Cluj, Romania	Clay	Judith Gohn	2–6, 4–6
Win	2.	12 May 1974	Stuttgart, West Germany	Clay	Alena Palmeová-West	3–6, 6–4, 7–5
Win	3.	23 September 1974	Bucharest, Romania	Clay	Mariana Simionescu	6–3, 6–2
Win	4.	16 July 1978	Gstaad, Switzerland	Clay	Petra Jauch-Delhees	6–2, 6–2
Win	5.	6 August 1978	Brașov, Romania	Clay	Renáta Tomanová	6–4, 6–2
Win	6.	13 July 1980	Gstaad, Switzerland	Clay	Sylvia Hanika	6–4, 6–3
Win	7.	20 July 1980	Båstad, Sweden	Clay	Nina Bohm	6–2, 7–5
Loss	8.	2 August 1981	Orange, New Jersey, U.S.	Clay	Kathleen Horvath	0–6, 4–6
Loss	9.	18 April 1982	Nassau, Bahamas	Hard	Bettina Bunge	0–6, 6–7
Loss	10.	11 July 1982	Gstaad, Switzerland	Clay	Claudia Kohde-Kilsch	5–7, 6–1, 6–7
Win	11.	1 August 1982	Orange, New Jersey, U.S.	Clay	Leigh-Anne Thompson	5–7, 6–2, 6–2
Win	12.	17 July 1983	Båstad, Sweden	Hard	Carin Anderholm	6–2, 6–3

Doubles (5–0)

Result	No.	Date	Tournament	Surface	Partner	Opponents	Score
Win	1.	1 October 1972	Cluj, Romania	Clay	Mariana Simionescu	Felicia Bucur Judith Gohn	4–6, 7–5, 6–4
Win	2.	23 September 1974	Bucharest, Romania	Clay	Mariana Simionescu	Florența Mihai Simona Nunweiler	6–2, 6–2
Win	3.	17 October 1976	Madrid, Spain	Clay	Florența Mihai	Regina Maršíková Renáta Tomanová	6–4, 5–7, 6–2
Win	4.	11 July 1982	Gstaad, Switzerland	Clay	Catherine Tanvier	Claudia Kohde-Kilsch Heidi Eisterlehner	3–6, 6–3, 6–4
Win	5.	19 January 1987	Bayonne, France	Hard	Catherine Tanvier	Iwona Kuczyńska Corinne Vanier	6–3, 6–2

Grand Slam singles performance

Key

W

F

SF

QF

#R

RR

Q#

DNQ

A

NH

(W) winner; (F) finalist; (SF) semifinalist; (QF) quarterfinalist; (#R) rounds 4, 3, 2, 1; (RR) round-robin stage; (Q#) qualification round; (DNQ) did not qualify; (A) absent; (NH) not held; (SR) strike rate (events won / competed); (W–L) win–loss record.

Tournament	1973	1974	1975	1976	1977		1978	1979	1980	1981	1982	1983	1984	1985	1986	1987	Career SR
Australian Open	A	A	A	A	A	A	A	1R	QF	1R	A	A	A	A	NH	A	0 / 3
French Open	1R	2R	2R	SF	A		W	QF	F	QF	QF	3R	4R	1R	A	2R	1 / 13
Wimbledon	2R	2R	1R	1R	2R		QF	4R	2R	QF	4R	4R	2R	2R	A	A	0 / 13
US Open	A	1R	1R	QF	4R		QF	A	4R	3R	4R	1R	3R	1R	A	A	0 / 11
SR	0 / 2	0 / 3	0 / 3	0 / 3	0 / 2		1 / 3	0 / 3	0 / 4	0 / 4	0 / 3	0 / 3	0 / 3	0 / 3	0 / 0	0 / 1	1 / 40
Year-end ranking			112	26	16		12	13	11	12	11	19	44	41	NR	143

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

See also

• Performance timelines for all female tennis players who reached at least one Grand Slam tournament final