Date 20 June – 2 July Prize money £222,540 | Edition 91st Draw 128S / 64D / 64XD | |
The 1977 Wimbledon Championships was a tennis tournament that took place on the outdoor grass courts at the All England Lawn Tennis and Croquet Club in Wimbledon, London, United Kingdom. The tournament ran from 20 June until 2 July. It was the 91st staging of the Wimbledon Championships, and the third Grand Slam tennis event of 1977.
Contents
- Prize money
- Mens singles
- Womens singles
- Mens doubles
- Womens doubles
- Mixed doubles
- Boys Singles
- Girls Singles
- References
On the opening day of the tournament, Monday June 20, to celebrate the centenary of the first Gentlemen's Singles event, former singles champions were presented with a medal by their Royal Highnesses The Duke and Duchess of Kent on Centre Court. Those attending were: Kathleen "Kitty" McKane Godfree, Jean Borotra, René Lacoste, Henri Cochet, Jack Crawford, Sidney Wood, Fred Perry, Dorothy Round, John "Don" Budge, Alice Marble, Yvon Petra, Jack Kramer, Bob Falkenburg, Ted Schroeder, John "Budge" Patty, Richard "Dick" Savitt, Margaret Osborne duPont, Frank Sedgman, Louise Brough, Elias "Vic" Seixas, Doris Hart, Jaroslav Drobný, Marion "Tony" Trabert, Shirley Fry Irvin, Lew Hoad, Charles "Chuck" McKinley, Ashley Cooper, Maria Bueno, Alejandro "Alex" Olmedo, Neale Fraser, Angela Mortimer, Rod Laver, Karen Hantze 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 held a record 19 doubles titles, a record that remains as of 2016. 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." Several former singles champions (some of whom had been retired) competed in the championships to commemorate the centenary of the event. Bjorn Borg, Jimmy Connors, Stan Smith, Rod Laver and Jan Kodes competed in the gentlemen's singles, with John Newcombe and Neale Fraser playing in the doubles. Chris Evert, Maria Bueno and Billie-Jean King played in the ladies singles, with Ann Jones and Karen Susman 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
Men's singles
Björn Borg defeated Jimmy Connors, 3–6, 6–2, 6–1, 5–7, 6–4.
Women's singles
Virginia Wade defeated Betty Stöve, 4–6, 6–3, 6–1.
Men's doubles
Ross Case / Geoff Masters defeated John Alexander / Phil Dent, 6–3, 6–4, 3–6, 8–9(4–7), 6–4.
Women's doubles
Helen Gourlay Cawley / JoAnne Russell defeated Martina Navratilova / Betty Stöve, 6–3, 6–3.
Mixed doubles
Bob Hewitt / Greer Stevens defeated Frew McMillan / Betty Stöve, 3–6, 7–5, 6–4.
Boys' Singles
Van Winitsky defeated Eliot Teltscher, 6–1, 1–6, 8–6.
Girls' Singles
Lea Antonoplis defeated Mareen Louie-Harper, 7–5, 6–1.