1973 Women's Grand Prix (tennis)

The 1973 Commercial Union Assurance Grand Prix was a tennis circuit administered by the International Lawn Tennis Federation (ILTF) which served as a forerunner to the current Association of Tennis Professionals (ATP) World Tour and the Women's Tennis Association (WTA) Tour.^[1] The circuit consisted of the four Grand Slam tournaments and open tournaments recognised by the ILTF. This article covers all tournaments that were part of that year's Women's Grand Prix. The Federation Cup is included in this calendar but did not count towards the Grand Prix.

Schedule

Key

AA events

A events

B events

C events

Team events

December 1972

Week of	Tournament	Champion	Runner-up	Semifinalists	Quarterfinalists
26 December	Australian Open Melbourne, Australia Grand Slam Grass –48S/22D Singles Draw – Doubles Draw	Margaret Court 6–4, 7–5	Evonne Goolagong	Kerry Melville Kazuko Sawamatsu	Karen Krantzcke Dianne Fromholtz Virginia Wade Kerry Harris
		Margaret Court Virginia Wade 6–4, 6–4	Kerry Harris Kerry Melville

February

Week of	Tournament	Champion	Runner-up	Semifinalists	Quarterfinalists
26 February	Fort Lauderdale Open Fort Lauderdale, USA (i) – 16S/8D	Chris Evert 6–1, 6–2	Virginia Wade	Linda Tuero Evonne Goolagong	Marie Neumannová Martina Navratilova Jeanne Evert Patti Hogan
		Gail Chanfreau Virginia Wade 4–6, 6–3, 6–3	Evonne Goolagong Janet Young

March

Week of	Tournament	Champion	Runner-up	Semifinalists	Quarterfinalists
5 March	Maureen Connolly Brinker Memorial Dallas, USA (i) – 32S/16D	Virginia Wade 6–4, 6–1	Evonne Goolagong	Chris Evert Kazuko Sawamatsu	Marita Redondo Linda Tuero Katja Ebbinghaus Sharon Walsh
		Evonne Goolagong Janet Young 6–3, 6–2	Gail Chanfreau Virginia Wade
12 March	U.S. National Women's Indoor Hingham, USA (i) – ?S/?D	Evonne Goolagong 6–4, 6–4	Virginia Wade	Olga Morozova Linda Tuero	Jackie Fayter Marie Neumannová Isabel Fernández de Soto Gail Chanfreau
		Marina Kroschina Olga Morozova 6–2, 6–4	Evonne Goolagong Janet Young
19 March	Akron Open Akron, USA (i) – 16S/8D	Chris Evert 6–3, 6–4	Olga Morozova	Marina Kroschina Marita Redondo	Virginia Wade Linda Tuero Isabel Fernández de Soto Sue Stap
		Patti Hogan Sharon Walsh 7–5, 6–4	Michele Gurdal Patricia Bostrom
26 March	Lady Gotham Open New York City, USA (i) – 16S	Chris Evert 6–0, 6–4	Katja Ebbinghaus	Marina Kroschina Helga Niessen Masthoff	Isabel Fernández de Soto Kazuko Sawamatsu Linda Tuero Heide Orth

April

Week of	Tournament	Champion	Runner-up	Semifinalists	Quarterfinalists
2 April	Sarasota Open Sarasota, USA (i) – ?S/?D	Chris Evert 6–3, 6–2	Evonne Goolagong	Patti Hogan Helga Niessen Masthoff	Gail Chanfreau Marie Neumannová Sue Stap Marijke Schaar
		Patti Hogan Sharon Walsh 4–6, 6–0, 6–3	Martina Navratilova Marie Neumannová
9 April	Miami Beach Open Miami Beach, USA (i) – ?S	Chris Evert 3–6, 6–3, 6–2	Evonne Goolagong	Marijke Schaar Helga Niessen Masthoff	Isabel Fernández de Soto Patti Hogan Linda Tuero Marie Neumannová
16 April	St. Petersburg Masters St. Petersburg, USA (i) – ?S/?D	Chris Evert 6–2, 0–6, 6–4	Evonne Goolagong	Marita Redondo Martina Navratilova	Patti Hogan Isabel Fernández de Soto Helga Niessen Masthoff Marijke Schaar
		Chris Evert Jeanne Evert 6–2, 7–6	Evonne Goolagong Janet Young

May

Week of	Tournament	Champion	Runner-up	Semifinalists	Quarterfinalists
7 May	Rothmans British Hard Court Championships Bournemouth, Great Britain Clay – ?S/?D/32XD	Virginia Wade 6–4, 6–4	Evonne Goolagong	Dianne Fromholtz Lindsey Beaven	Veronica Burton Glynis Coles Wendy Turnbull Christine Matison
		Patricia Coleman Wendy Turnbull 7–5, 7–5	Evonne Goolagong Janet Young
		Virginia Wade Frew McMillan 6–2, 6–3	Ilana Kloss Bernard Mitton
	Federation Cup Bad Homburg, West Germany Clay	Australia 3–0	South Africa	Romania  West Germany	Netherlands  Great Britain  United States  Indonesia
21 May	French Open Paris, France Grand Slam Clay – 64S/45Q/32D/32XD Singles Draw – Doubles Draw – Mixed Doubles Draw	Margaret Court 6–7, 7–6, 6–4	Chris Evert	Evonne Goolagong Françoise Dürr	Katja Ebbinghaus Martina Navratilova Odile de Roubin Helga Niessen Masthoff
		Margaret Court Virginia Wade 6–2, 6–3	Françoise Dürr Betty Stöve
		Françoise Dürr Jean-Claude Barclay 6–1, 6–4	Betty Stöve Patrice Dominguez

June

Week of	Tournament	Champion	Runner-up	Semifinalists	Quarterfinalists
4 June	Italian Open Rome, Italy Clay – 48S/24D	Evonne Goolagong 7–6, 6–0	Chris Evert	Vlasta Vopickova Helga Niessen Masthoff	Renáta Tomanová Kristin Kemmer Linda Tuero Katja Ebbinghaus
		Olga Morozova Virginia Wade 3–6, 6–2, 7–5	Martina Navratilova Renáta Tomanová
11 June	German Open Hamburg, West Germany Clay – 32S/16D	Helga Niessen Masthoff 6–4, 6–1	Pat Pretorius	Kazuko Sawamatsu Marijke Schaar	Mima Jaušovec Fiorella Bonicelli Kristin Kemmer Renáta Tomanová
		Helga Niessen Masthoff Heide Orth 6–1, 6–2	Kristin Kemmer Laura Rossouw
	John Player Open Nottingham, Great Britain Grass – 32S/16D	Billie Jean King 8–6, 6–4	Virginia Wade	Rosemary Casals Chris Evert	Lany Keligis Patti Hogan Pam Teeguarden Glynis Coles
		Rosemary Casals Billie Jean King 6–2, 9–7	Chris Evert Betty Stöve
18 June	Rothmans Championships London, Great Britain Grass – ?S/?D	Olga Morozova 6–2, 6–3	Evonne Goolagong	Valerie Ziegenfuss Julie Heldman	Kristin Kemmer Marita Redondo Kerry Melville Chris Evert
		Billie Jean King Olga Morozova 4–6, 6–3, 7–5	Françoise Dürr Betty Stöve
25 June	Wimbledon Championships London, Great Britain Grand Slam Grass– 96S/64Q/50D/12Q/80XD Singles Draw – Doubles Draw – Mixed Doubles Draw	Billie Jean King 6–0, 7–5	Chris Evert	Margaret Court Evonne Goolagong	Olga Morozova Rosemary Casals Virginia Wade Kerry Melville
		Rosemary Casals Billie Jean King 6–1, 4–6, 7–5	Françoise Dürr Betty Stöve
		Billie Jean King Owen Davidson 6–3, 6–2	Janet Newberry Raúl Ramírez

July

Week of	Tournament	Champion	Runner-up	Semifinalists	Quarterfinalists
9 July	Düsseldorf Open Düsseldorf, West Germany Clay – 26S/13D	Helga Niessen Masthoff 6–4, 6–4	Evonne Goolagong	Katja Ebbinghaus Kazuko Sawamatsu	Isabel Fernández de Soto Betty Stöve Pat Pretorius Pam Teeguarden
		Title shared.	Goolagong / Young Masthoff / Orth
	Carrolls Irish Open Dublin, Ireland Grass – 32S/16D	Margaret Court 6–2, 6–4	Virginia Wade	Helen Gourlay Patricia Coleman	Geraldine Barniville Veronica Burton Karen Krantzcke Wendy Turnbull
		Margaret Court Virginia Wade 8–6, 3–6, 6–4	Helen Gourlay Karen Krantzcke
16 July	Rothmans North of England Championships Hoylake, Great Britain ?S/?D	Patti Hogan 11–9, 4–6, 6–4	Sharon Walsh	Virginia Wade Karen Krantzcke	Wendy Turnbull Veronica Burton Dianne Fromholtz Lindsay Blachford
		Karen Krantzcke Virginia Wade 5–7, 6–4, 6–1	Patti Hogan Sharon Walsh
23 July	Marie O. Clarke Memorial Cleveland, United States 8S/4D	Chris Evert 6–0, 6–0	Linda Tuero	Janice Metcalf Nathalie Fuchs	Patricia Bostrom Pat Pretorius Marilyn Tesch Susan Minford
		Ilana Kloss Pat Pretorius 1–6, 7–6, 6–1	Janice Metcalf Laurie Tenney
30 July	Atlantic City Open Atlantic City, United States 32S/16D	Chris Evert 6–2, 7–5	Marita Redondo	Laurie Tenney Pat Pretorius	Michele Gurdal Sharon Walsh Nathalie Fuchs Kate Latham
		Chris Evert Marita Redondo 6–4, 6–4	Ilana Kloss Pat Pretorius

August

Week of	Tournament	Champion	Runner-up	Semifinalists	Quarterfinalists
6 August	Western Championships Cincinnati, United States Clay – 32S/16D	Evonne Goolagong 6–2, 7–5	Chris Evert	Jeanne Evert Ilana Kloss	Pat Pretorius Sharon Walsh Ann Kiyomura Isabel Fernández de Soto
		Ilana Kloss Pat Pretorius 7–6, 3–6, 6–2	Evonne Goolagong Janet Young
13 August	U.S. Clay Court Championships Indianapolis, United States Clay – 32S/16D	Chris Evert 6–4, 6–3	Veronica Burton	Linda Tuero Lindsey Beaven	Pat Pretorius Ilana Kloss Jeanne Evert Janet Haas
		Patti Hogan Sharon Walsh 6–4, 6–4	Fiorella Bonicelli Isabel Fernández de Soto
20 August	Canadian Open Toronto, Canada Hard – ?S/?D	Evonne Goolagong 7–6, 6–4	Helga Niessen Masthoff	Peggy Michel Martina Navratilova	Marilyn Tesch Nathalie Fuchs Susan Stone Janice Tindle
		Evonne Goolagong Peggy Michel 6–3, 6–2	Helga Niessen Masthoff Martina Navratilova
27 August	US Open New York, United States Grand Slam Grass –64S/32D/32XD Singles Draw – Doubles Draw – Mixed Doubles Draw	Margaret Court 7–6, 5–7, 6–2	Evonne Goolagong	Helga Niessen Masthoff Chris Evert	Julie Heldman Kerry Melville Rosemary Casals Virginia Wade
		Margaret Court Virginia Wade 3–6, 6–3, 7–5	Rosemary Casals Billie Jean King
		Billie Jean King Owen Davidson 6–3, 3–6, 7–6	Margaret Court Marty Riessen

September

Week of	Tournament	Champion	Runner-up	Semifinalists	Quarterfinalists
10 September	Four Roses Classic Charlotte, United States 30S/16D	Evonne Goolagong 6–2, 6–0	Eugenia Biriukova	Kazuko Sawamatsu Martina Navratilova	Veronica Burton Jackie Fayter Olga Morozova Marina Kroschina
		Evonne Goolagong Janet Young 6–2, 6–0	Ilana Kloss Martina Navratilova

November

Week of	Tournament	Champion	Runner-up	Semifinalists	Quarterfinalists
19 November	South African Championships[note 1] Johannesburg, South Africa Hard – 60S/30D/16XD	Chris Evert 6–3, 6–3	Evonne Goolagong	Kristin Kemmer Virginia Wade	Linky Boshoff Pat Pretorius Julie Anthony Ilana Kloss
		Linky Boshoff Ilana Kloss 7–6, 2–6, 6–1	Chris Evert Virginia Wade
		Evonne Goolagong Jürgen Fassbender 6–3, 6–2	Ilana Kloss Bernard Mitton

Grand Prix Points System

The tournaments listed above were divided into four groups. Group AA consisted of the Triple Crown – the French Open, the Wimbledon Championships and the US Open – while the other tournaments were divided into Groups A, B and C by prize money and draw size. Points were allocated based on these groups and the finishing position of a player in a tournament. No points were awarded to first round losers and ties were settled by the number of tournaments played. The points allocation is listed below:

Group AA Champion: 100 Runner-up: 75 Semifinalist: 50 Quarterfinalist: 25 Fourth Round: 12 Third Round: 6 Second Round: 3

Group A Champion: 60 Runner-up: 40 Semifinalist: 30 Quarterfinalist: 15 9th – 16th: 7 17th – 32nd: 3 33rd – 64th: 1

Group B Champion: 40 Runner-up: 30 Semifinalist: 20 5th – 8th: 10 9th – 16th: 5 17th – 32nd: 2

Group C: Champion: 20 Runner-up: 15 Semifinalist: 10 5th – 8th: 5 9th – 16th: 3 17th – 32nd: 1

Grand Prix Entry Rankings

As of 23 August 1973[2] Rk Name Nation

Year-end rankings (14 December 1973)[3] Rk Name Nation High Low Change

Statistical Information

The list of winners and amount of titles won, last name alphabetically:

The following players won their first title in 1973:

Notes

1. The tournament started on 14 November.

References

• World of Tennis '74. GBR: Queen Anne Press. 1975. ISBN 0-362-00167-7.

1. "How it All Began". ATPWorldTour.com. Retrieved 2011-03-03.
2. http://www.atpworldtour.com/Rankings/Singles.aspx?d=23.08.1973&c=&r=1
3. http://www.atpworldtour.com/Rankings/Singles.aspx?d=14.12.1973&c=&r=1

Further reading

• Collins Bud History of Tennis: An Authoritative Encyclopedia and Record Book (2nd ed.). USA: New Chapter Press. 2010. ISBN 0-942257-70-7.

See also

• 1973 World Championship Tennis circuit
• 1973 Men's Grand Prix (tennis)