1971 ILTF Women's Tennis Circuit

1971 ILTF Women's Tennis Circuit

Billie Jean King (pictured in 1973) won 17 tour titles.
Details
Duration	22 December 1970 – 20 December 1971
Edition	58th
Tournaments	165
Categories	Grand Slam (4) Virginia Slims Circuit (19) ILTF Pepsi Grand Prix (17)[a] ILTF World Circuit (125)
Achievements (singles)
Most titles	Billie Jean King (17)
Most finals	Billie Jean King (25)
← 1970 1972 →

The 1971 ILTF Women's Tennis Circuit was the 58th season since the formation of the International Lawn Tennis Federation in 1913,^[1] it consisted of a number of tennis tournaments for female tennis players.

It was composed of three circuits the first Virginia Slims Circuit with 19 events approved by the ILTF,^[2] and the first Grand Prix Circuit with 17 events under the auspices of the ILTF and the regular ILTF World Circuit,^[3][4] with 125 events makes up the majority of the 165 tournaments staged this year.

Circuits

Grand Prix Circuit

The 1971 ILTF Pepsi-Cola Grand Prix was a tennis circuit administered by the International Lawn Tennis Federation which served as a forerunner to the current Association of Tennis Professionals (ATP) World Tour and the Women's Tennis Association (WTA) Tour. The circuit consisted of the four modern 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.^[5]

Virginia Slims Circuit

Prior to the establishment of this circuit there was an inequality between the prize money purses for male and female tennis players which gave rise to complaints from a number of the leading female tennis players of the time. Nine of them, including Billie Jean King, became later known as the "Original 9" after being banned from the then existing multi-gender invitational professional events run by the influential United States Lawn Tennis Association (USLTA) due to their boycotting of the Pacific Southwest Championships. This resulted in the first Virginia Slims-sponsored event being held in September 1970 in Houston, an event which laid the groundwork for the establishment of the annual Virginia Slims Circuit the following year.^[6] In 1971 the total prize money available from the Virginia Slims events was $309,100 and Billie Jean King became the first female athlete in history to earn more than $100,000 in one season.^[7][8]

ILTF World Circuit

This worldwide circuit consisted of 125 events that were not part of the sponsored Virginia Slims and Grand Prix circuits they made up the majority of the 165 tournaments staged this year. This years singles title leader Billie Jean King won her 17 tournaments across all three circuits.^{[citation needed]}

This circuit began on 30 December 1970 with the Western Australian Open in Perth, Australia and ended on 25 December with the Border Championships, East London, South Africa.^{[citation needed]}

Schedule

This is a calendar of all events sponsored by Virginia Slims in the year 1971, with player progression documented from the quarterfinals stage. The table also includes the Grand Slam tournaments and the 1971 Federation Cup.^[7]

Key

Grand Slam tournaments

Virginia Slims Circuit

ILTF Pepsi Grand Prix Circuit

ILTF World Circuit

Team events

December (1970)

Week	Tournament	Champions	Runners-up	Semifinalists	Quarterfinalists
29 Dec	Federation Cup Perth, Australia Federation Cup Grass – 14 teams knockout	Australia 3–0	Great Britain	France  United States	Yugoslavia  Netherlands  South Africa  New Zealand
	Western Australian Open Perth, Australia Non-tour event Singles – Doubles	Margaret Court 6–1, 6–2	Virginia Wade	Gail Chanfreau Betty Stöve	Winnie Shaw Patti Hogan Laura Rossouw Lesley Hunt
		Margaret Court Evonne Goolagong 6–4, 7–5	Winnie Shaw Virginia Wade

January

Week	Tournament	Champions	Runners-up	Semifinalists	Quarterfinalists
4 Jan	British Motor Cars Invitational San Francisco, United States Virginia Slims Hard – $15,200 – 16S/8D Singles – Doubles	Billie Jean King 6–3, 6–4	Rosie Casals	Ann Jones (3rd) Nancy Richey (4th)	Françoise Dürr Kerry Melville Jane Bartkowicz Mary-Ann Eisel
		Rosie Casals Billie Jean King 6–4, 6–7, 6–1	Françoise Dürr Ann Jones
	New South Wales Open Sydney Non-tour event Singles – Doubles	Margaret Court 6–2, 6–2	Olga Morozova	Gail Chanfreau Kazuko Sawamatsu	Brenda Kirk Kristien Kemmer Betty Stöve Patti Hogan
		Margaret Court Olga Morozova 6–2, 6–0	Helen Gourlay Kerry Harris
11 Jan	Billie Jean King Invitational Long Beach, United States Virginia Slims Hard – $14,000 – 16S/8D Singles – Doubles	Billie Jean King 6–1, 6–2	Rosie Casals	Ann Jones Nancy Richey	Stephanie Johnson Valerie Ziegenfuss Denise Carter Mary-Ann Eisel
		Rosie Casals Billie Jean King 7–5, 6–3	Françoise Dürr Ann Jones
18 Jan	Virginia Slims of Milwaukee Milwaukee, United States Virginia Slims Hard (i) – $12,500 – 16S/8D Singles – Doubles	Billie Jean King 6–1, 6–2	Rosie Casals	Ann Jones Françoise Dürr	Mary-Ann Eisel Karen Krantzcke Valerie Ziegenfuss Denise Carter
		Rosie Casals Billie Jean King 6–3, 1–6, 6–2	Françoise Dürr Ann Jones
25 Jan	Virginia Slims of Oklahoma City Oklahoma City, United States Virginia Slims Hard – $12,500 – 16S/4D Singles – Doubles	Billie Jean King 1–6, 7–6, 6–4	Rosie Casals	Ann Jones Françoise Dürr	Kerry Melville Denise Carter Tory Fretz Mary-Ann Eisel
		Rosie Casals Billie Jean King 6–7, 6–0, 7–5	Mary-Ann Eisel Valerie Ziegenfuss
	Victoria Championships Melbourne, Australia Non-tour event Singles	Evonne Goolagong 7–6, 7–6	Margaret Court	Kazuko Sawamatsu Winnie Shaw	Patti Hogan Olga Morozova Trudy Walhof Gail Chanfreau

February

Week	Tournament	Champions	Runners-up	Semifinalists	Quarterfinalists
1 Feb	Virginia Slims of Chattanooga Chattanooga, United States Virginia Slims Hard (i) – $12,700 – 16S/8D Singles – Doubles	Billie Jean King 6–4, 6–1	Ann Jones	Françoise Dürr Kerry Melville	Jane Bartkowicz Karen Krantzcke Kristy Pigeon Rosie Casals
		Rosie Casals Billie Jean King 6–4, 7–5	Françoise Dürr Ann Jones
	BP New Zealand Championships Christchurch, New Zealand Non-tour event Singles – Doubles	Evonne Goolagong 6–1, 6–4	Betty Stöve	Kathleen Harter Gail Chanfreau	Laura Rossouw Trudy Walhof Patty Ann Reese Winnie Shaw
		Kathleen Harter Winnie Shaw 6–4, 4–6, 7–5	Gail Chanfreau Evonne Goolagong
8 Feb	Philadelphia Indoor Championships Philadelphia, United States Virginia Slims Hard (i) – $12,500 – 16S Singles – Doubles	Rosie Casals 6–2, 3–6, 6–2	Françoise Dürr	Billie Jean King Ann Jones	Tory Fretz Denise Carter Kerry Melville Judy Tegart-Dalton
		Rosie Casals Billie Jean King
15 Feb	Station WLOD Fort Lauderdale, United States Virginia Slims Clay – $10,000 – 16S Singles – Doubles	Françoise Dürr 6–3, 3–6, 6–3	Billie Jean King	Kerry Melville Rosie Casals	Judy Dalton Ann Jones Denise Carter Valerie Ziegenfuss
	USSR Championships Moscow, Soviet Union Non-tour event Singles – Doubles	Olga Morozova 6–1, 7–5	Maria Kull	Yelena Granaturova Anna Yeremeyeva	Yekaterina Kryuchkova Marina Kroschina Eugenia Birioukova Rausa Islanova
		Eugenia Birioukova Marina Kroschina 7–6, 5–7, 7–5	Yelena Granaturova Olga Morozova
22 Feb	Virginia Slims National Indoors Winchester, United States Virginia Slims Hard (i) – $12,500 – 16S/2D Singles – Doubles	Billie Jean King 4–6, 6–2, 6–3	Rosie Casals	Ann Jones Françoise Dürr	Judy Tegart-Dalton Jane Bartkowicz Kristy Pigeon Kerry Melville
		Rosie Casals Billie Jean King 6–4, 7–5	Françoise Dürr Ann Jones

March

Week	Tournament	Champions	Runners-up	Semifinalists	Quarterfinalists
1 Mar	Benson & Hedges Centennial Open Auckland, New Zealand Non-tour event Singles – Doubles	Margaret Court 3–6, 7–6^(5–1), 6–2	Evonne Goolagong	Winnie Shaw Patti Hogan	Sharon Walsh Lesley Bowrey Lesley Hunt Marilyn Pryde
		Margaret Court Evonne Goolagong 7–6, 6–0	Lesley Bowrey Winnie Shaw
8 Mar	Dunlop Australian Open Sydney, Australia Grand Slam Grass – 30S/14D Singles – Doubles	Margaret Court 2–6, 7–6, 7–5	Evonne Goolagong	Lesley Hunt Winnie Shaw	Helen Gourlay Jan O'Neill Norma Marsh Sharon Walsh
		Margaret Court Evonne Goolagong 6–0, 6–0	Jill Emmerson Lesley Hunt
15 Mar	Virginia Slims US Indoors Detroit, United States Virginia Slims Hard (i) – $10,000 – 8S/2D Singles – Doubles	Billie Jean King 3–6, 6–1, 6–2	Rosie Casals	Ann Jones Mary-Ann Eisel	Valerie Ziegenfuss Tory Fretz Wendy Gilchrist Judy Tegart-Dalton
		Mary-Ann Eisel Valerie Ziegenfuss 2–6, 6–2, 6–3	Judy Tegart-Dalton Jane Bartkowicz
22 Mar	Virginia Slims of New York New York, United States Virginia Slims Hard (i) – $15,600 – 20S Singles – Doubles	Rosie Casals 6–4, 6–4	Billie Jean King	3rd: Ann Jones 4th: Françoise Dürr	Julie Heldman Kerry Melville Cecilia Martinez Jane Bartkowicz
29 Mar	Caribe Hilton Invitational San Juan, Puerto Rico Virginia Slims $10,000 – 24S/11D Singles – Doubles	Ann Jones 6–4, 6–4	Nancy Richey	Mary-Ann Eisel Jane Bartkowicz	Denise Carter Tory Fretz Judy Tegart-Dalton Rosie Casals
		Françoise Dürr Ann Jones 7–6, 6–3	Karen Krantzcke Kerry Melville
	Natal Open Championships Durban, South Africa Non-tour event Singles – Doubles	Margaret Court 6–2, 6–1	Patti Hogan	Virginia Wade Heide Schildeknecht	Lesley Hunt Winnie Shaw Evonne Goolagong Helga Niessen Masthoff
		Margaret Court Evonne Goolagong 3–6, 6–3, 6–3	Kerry Harris Winnie Shaw

April

Week	Tournament	Champions	Runners-up	Semifinalists	Quarterfinalists
5 Apr	Virginia Slims Masters St. Petersburg, United States Virginia Slims Clay – $10,000 – 16S/15Q/11D Singles – Doubles	Chris Evert 6–1, 6–2	Julie Heldman	Billie Jean King Rosie Casals	Karen Krantzcke Judy Alvarez Kerry Melville Judy Tegart-Dalton
		Françoise Dürr Ann Jones 7–6, 3–6, 6–3	Judy Tegart-Dalton Julie Heldman
	Monte Carlo Open Championships Monte Carlo, Monaco Non-tour event 16S/4D Singles – Doubles	Gail Chanfreau 6–4, 4–6, 6–4	Betty Stöve	Christina Sandberg Odile de Roubin	Lucia Bassi Marie Neumannová Katalin Borka Lea Pericoli
		Katja Ebbinghaus Betty Stöve 6–4, 6–3	Lucia Bassi Lea Pericoli
	South Africa Open Johannesburg, South Africa Non-tour event 26S/8D Singles – Doubles	Margaret Court 6–3, 6–1	Evonne Goolagong	Winnie Shaw Virginia Wade	Kerry Harris Helga Niessen Masthoff Pat Walkden Patti Hogan
		Margaret Court Evonne Goolagong 6–3, 6–2	Brenda Kirk Laura Rossouw
12 Apr	Caesar's Palace World Pro Championships Las Vegas, United States Virginia Slims Hard – $29,200 – 16S/13Q/10D Singles – Doubles	Ann Jones 7–5, 6–4	Billie Jean King	Julie Heldman Judy Dalton	Nancy Richey Françoise Dürr Mary-Ann Eisel Rosie Casals
		Françoise Dürr Ann Jones 0–6, 6–2, 6–4	Rosie Casals Billie Jean King
	USA National Bank Open Charlotte, North Carolina, US Non-tour event 6S/2D Singles – Doubles	Chris Evert 6–2, 6–0	Laura duPont	Janet Newberry Eliza Pande	Sue Stap Beverly Cansler
		Chris Evert Sue Stap 6–3, 1–6, 6–3	Janet Newberry Eliza Pande
19 Apr	Virginia Slims of San Diego San Diego, United States Virginia Slims Hard – $12,500 – 16S/4D Singles – Doubles	Billie Jean King 4–6, 7–5, 6–1	Rosie Casals	Julie Heldman Valerie Ziegenfuss	Esmé Emmanuel Kerry Melville Tory Fretz Kristy Pigeon
		Rosie Casals Billie Jean King 6–7, 6–2, 6–3	Françoise Dürr Judy Tegart-Dalton
	Catania Open Grand Prix Catania, Italy Non-tour event 15S/8D Singles – Doubles	Virginia Wade 6–0, 6–3	Gail Chanfreau	Helga Schultze Laura Rossouw	Marie Neumannová Brenda Kirk Miloslava Holubová Pam Teeguarden
		Pam Teeguarden Virginia Wade 6–4, 6–4	Gail Chanfreau Helga Schultze
26 Apr	Rothmans Sutton Hard Courts Sutton, United Kingdom Non-tour event Singles – Doubles	Evonne Goolagong 7–5, 2–6, 6–3	Joyce Williams	Jill Cooper Shirley Brasher	Barbara Hawcroft Nell Truman Susan Minford Sally Holdsworth
		Evonne Goolagong Joyce Williams 6–4, 6–3	Shirley Brasher Margaret Cooper
	River Plate Championships Buenos Aires, Argentina Non-tour event Singles – Doubles	Olga Morozova 6–0, 6–3	Anna-Maria Nasuelli	Betty Stöve Beatriz Araujo	Marta Fernández Ruiz Raquel Giscafré Inés Roget Graciela Morán
		Olga Morozova Betty Stöve 7–5, 6–1	Beatriz Araujo Ines Roget

May

Week	Tournament	Champions	Runners-up	Semifinalists	Quarterfinalists
3 May	Italian Open Rome, Italy Non-tour event Singles – Doubles	Virginia Wade 6–4, 6–4	Helga Niessen Masthoff	Helga Schultze Gail Chanfreau	Marie Neumannová Lesley Bowrey Lea Pericoli Laura Rossouw
		Helga Niessen Masthoff Virginia Wade 5–7, 6–2, 6–2	Lesley Bowrey Helen Gourlay
	Tulsa Claycourts Tulsa, Oklahoma, United States Non-tour event 10S/4D Singles – Doubles	Chris Evert 6–0, 6–3	Mary-Ann Eisel	Laura duPont Marcie Louie	Jeanne Evert Karin Benson Kathy Kraft Sue Stap
		Mary-Ann Eisel Karin Benson 2–6, 7–5, 7–5	Chris Evert Jeanne Evert
10 May	London Hard Court Championships London, England Grand Prix Circuit (C)	Margaret Court 6–0, 6–3	Françoise Dürr	Gail Chanfreau Virginia Wade	Julie Heldman Nell Truman Judy Dalton Rosie Casals
		Rosie Casals Billie Jean King 6–1, 6–4	Margaret Court Evonne Goolagong
17 May	British Hard Court Championships Bournemouth, England Grand Prix Circuit (B)	Margaret Court 7–5, 6–1	Evonne Goolagong	Françoise Dürr Mary–Ann Curtis	Winnie Shaw Tory Fretz Betty Stöve Patti Hogan
		Mary–Ann Curtis Françoise Dürr 6–3, 5–7, 6–4	Margaret Court Evonne Goolagong
	Grand Prix German Open Hamburg, West Germany Grand Prix Circuit (B)	Billie Jean King 6–3, 6–2	Helga Masthoff	Helga Hösl Rosie Casals	Heide Orth Valerie Ziegenfuss Kazuko Sawamatsu Kerry Melville
		Rosie Casals Billie Jean King 6–2, 6–1	Helga Masthoff Heide Orth
24 May 31 May	French Open Paris, France Grand Slam (A) Clay – 64S/44Q/32D/38X Singles – Doubles – Mixed doubles	Evonne Goolagong 6–3, 7–5	Helen Gourlay	Marijke Schaar Nancy Richey	Linda Tuero Françoise Dürr Lesley Bowrey Gail Chanfreau
		Gail Chanfreau Françoise Dürr 6–4, 6–1	Helen Gourlay Kerry Harris
		Jean-Claude Barclay Françoise Dürr 6–3, 6–4	Toomas Leius Winnie Shaw

June

Week	Tournament	Champions	Runners-up	Semifinalists	Quarterfinalists
7 Jun	Players Nottingham Nottingham, United Kingdom Non-tour event Singles – Doubles	Julie Heldman 6–4, 7–9, 6–3	Barbara Hawcroft	Helen Amos Laura Rossouw	Brenda Kirk Michelle Rodríguez Patricia Faulkner Madeleine Pegel
		Françoise Dürr Julie Heldman 6–0, 6–3	Ana María Pinto Bravo Raquel Giscafré
	Kent Championships Beckenham, United Kingdom Non-tour event Singles – Doubles	Kerry Melville 6–0, 3–6, 9–7	Kristy Pigeon	Patti Hogan Wendy Gilchrist	Tam O'Shaughnessy Janet Newberry Betty Stöve Christine Janes
		Christine Truman Nell Truman 6–3, 9–7	Olga Morozova Zaiga Yanzone
14 Jun	Queen's Club Championships London, England Grand Prix Circuit (D) Grass – 64S/32D	Margaret Court 6–3, 3–6, 6–3	Billie Jean King	Rosie Casals Virginia Wade	Kristy Pigeon Jill Cooper Christine Janes Helen Gourlay
		Rosie Casals Billie Jean King 6–2, 8–6	Mary–Ann Curtis Valerie Ziegenfuss
21 Jun 28 June	Wimbledon Championships London, England Grand Slam (A) Grass – 96S/24D/80X Singles – Doubles – Mixed doubles	Evonne Goolagong 6–4, 6–1	Margaret Court	Judy Tegart-Dalton Billie Jean King	Winnie Shaw Kerry Melville Nancy Richey Françoise Dürr
		Rosie Casals Billie Jean King 6–3, 6–2	Margaret Court Evonne Goolagong
		Owen Davidson Billie Jean King 3–6, 6–2, 15–13	Marty Riessen Margaret Court

July

Week	Tournament	Champions	Runners-up	Semifinalists	Quarterfinalists
5 Jul	Swedish Open Båstad, Sweden Grand Prix Circuit (B) Clay – 32S/32D	Helga Masthoff 4–6, 6–1, 6–3	Ingrid Bentzer	Christina Sandberg Linda Tuero	Ana María Pinto Bravo Heide Orth Ann-Charlotte Dahlberg Odile de Roubin
		Helga Masthoff Heide Orth 6–2, 6–1	Ana María Pinto Bravo Linda Tuero
	Open Welsh Championships Newport, Wales Grand Prix Circuit (C) Grass – S32/D16	Virginia Wade 6–3, 6–4	Judy Tegart-Dalton	Winnie Shaw Helen Gourlay	Kerry Harris Elizabeth James Gail Chanfreau Joyce Williams
		Helen Gourlay Kerry Harris 6–3, 8–6	Gail Chanfreau Winnie Shaw
	Swiss Open Gstaad, Switzerland Grand Prix Circuit (B) Clay – S32/D16	Françoise Dürr 6–3, 6–3	Lesley Hunt	Marijke Schaar Alena Palmeová-West	Lea Pericoli Fiorella Bonicelli Silvia Gubler Laura Rossouw
		Brenda Kirk Laura Rossouw 8–6, 6–3	Françoise Dürr Lea Pericoli
	Carroll's Irish Open Dublin, Ireland Non-tour event Singles – Doubles	Margaret Court 6–3, 2–6, 6–3	Evonne Goolagong	Betty Stöve Lesley Bowrey	Geraldine Barniville Sue Minford Veronica Burton Tam O'Shaughnessy
		Kathleen Harter Winnie Shaw 6–4, 4–6, 7–5	Gail Chanfreau Evonne Goolagong
12 Jul	North of England Championships Hoylake, England Grand Prix Circuit (C) Grass – 32S/16D Singles – Doubles	Billie Jean King 6–3, 6–3	Rosie Casals	Margaret Court Patti Hogan	Evonne Goolagong Judy Tegart-Dalton Virginia Wade Julie Heldman
		Rosie Casals Billie Jean King walkover	Margaret Court Evonne Goolagong
19 Jul	Green Shield Midland Championships Leicester, England Non-tour event Singles – Doubles	Evonne Goolagong 6–2, 6–4	Patti Hogan	Helen Gourlay Judy Tegart-Dalton	Kristien Kemmer Kerry Harris Barbara Hawcroft Fay Toyne
		Judy Tegart-Dalton Evonne Goolagong 8–6, 6–4	Barbara Hawcroft Patti Hogan
	Austrian Open Kitzbühel, Austria Non-tour event Singles – Doubles	Billie Jean King 6–2, 4–6, 7–5	Laura Rossouw	Helga Schultze Rosie Casals	Heide Orth Tory Fretz Ana María Arias Brenda Kirk
		Rosie Casals Billie Jean King 6–2, 6–4	Helga Niessen Masthoff Heide Orth
26 Jul	Dutch Open Championships Hilversum, Netherlands[9] Non-tour event Singles – Doubles	Evonne Goolagong 8–6, 6–3	Christina Sandberg	Cora Schediwy Betty Stöve	Trudy Waldhof Katja Ebbinghaus Brenda Kirk Alena Palmeová-West
		Christina Sandberg Betty Stöve 6–1, 6–2	Katja Ebbinghaus Trudy Waldhof

August

Week	Tournament	Champions	Runners-up	Semifinalists	Quarterfinalists
2 Aug	Virginia Slims International Houston, United States Virginia Slims $40,000 Singles – Doubles	Billie Jean King 6–4, 4–6, 6–1	Kerry Melville	3rd: Nancy Richey 4th: Judy Tegart-Dalton	Mary-Ann Eisel Julie Heldman Françoise Dürr Rosie Casals
		Rosie Casals Billie Jean King 6–3, 1–6, 6–2	Judy Tegart-Dalton Françoise Dürr
	Cincinnati Open Cincinnati, United States Grand Prix Circuit (C) Hard – 32S/16D	Virginia Wade 6–3, 6–3	Linda Tuero	Gail Chanfreau Helen Gourlay	Nathalie Fuchs Winnie Shaw Sue Stap Kerry Harris
		Helen Gourlay Kerry Harris 6–4, 6–4	Gail Chanfreau Winnie Shaw
9 Aug	Women's Clay Court Championships Indianapolis, US Grand Prix Circuit (D) Clay – 32S/16D	Billie Jean King 6–4, 7–5	Linda Tuero	Helen Gourlay Gail Chanfreau	Julie Heldman Winnie Shaw Kerry Harris Kerry Melville
		Judy Dalton Billie Jean King 6–1, 6–2	Julie Heldman Linda Tuero
16 Aug	Virginia Slims of Chicago Lake Bluff, Illinois, United States Virginia Slims Clay – $20,000 Singles – Doubles	Françoise Dürr 6–4, 6–2	Billie Jean King	Nancy Richey Rosie Casals	Lesley Hunt Betty Ann Hansen Judy Tegart-Dalton Linda Tuero
		Judy Tegart-Dalton Françoise Dürr 6–4, 7–6	Rosie Casals Billie Jean King
	Wightman Cup Cleveland, United States Hard (i) Team event	United States 4–3	Great Britain
23 Aug	Eastern Grass Court Championships South Orange NJ, United States Grand Prix Circuit (C) Grass – 64S/32D	Chris Evert 6–4, 6–0	Helen Gourlay	Winnie Shaw Lita Liem	Lany Kaligis Joyce Williams Virginia Wade Lesley Bowrey
		Cancelled
30 Aug	Virginia Slims of Newport Newport, United States Virginia Slims Grass – $20,000 Singles – Doubles	Kerry Melville 6–3, 6–7^(3–5), 7–6^(5–4)	Françoise Dürr	Billie Jean King Rosie Casals	Christina Sandberg Judy Tegart-Dalton Lesley Hunt Mary-Ann Eisel
		Judy Tegart-Dalton Françoise Dürr 6–2, 6–1	Kerry Harris Kerry Melville
30 Aug 6 Sep	US Open New York, United States Grand Slam (A) Grass – 64S/32D/47X Singles – Doubles – Mixed doubles	Billie Jean King 6–4, 7–6^(5–2)	Rosie Casals	Chris Evert Kerry Melville	Laura du Pont Lesley Hunt Judy Tegart-Dalton Joyce Williams
		Rosie Casals Judy Tegart-Dalton 6–3, 6–3	Gail Chanfreau Françoise Dürr
		Owen Davidson Billie Jean King 6–3, 7–5	Bob Maud Betty Stöve

September

Week	Tournament	Champions	Runners-up	Semifinalists	Quarterfinalists
13 Sep	Virginia Slims of Louisville Louisville, United States Virginia Slims $20,000 Singles – Doubles	Billie Jean King 6–1, 4–6, 6–3	Rosie Casals	Kerry Melville Françoise Dürr	Lita Liem Alena Palmeová-West Helen Gourlay Margaret Cooper
		Judy Tegart-Dalton Françoise Dürr 2–6, 6–4, 6–3	Kerry Melville Betty Stöve
20 Sep	Pacific Southwest Championships Los Angeles, United States Grand Prix Circuit (B) Carpet (i) – 32S/16D	Billie Jean King vs. Rosie Casals 6–6 double default		Kerry Melville Françoise Dürr	Wendy Overton Lesley Hunt Helen Gourlay Judy Tegart-Dalton
		Rosie Casals Billie Jean King 6–3, 6–2	Judy Tegart-Dalton Françoise Dürr
27 Sep	Virginia Slims Thunderbird Classic Phoenix, United States Virginia Slims Hard – $20,000 – 32S/4D Singles – Doubles	Billie Jean King 7–5, 6–1	Rosie Casals	Kerry Melville Nancy Richey Gunter	Wendy Overton Judy Tegart-Dalton Françoise Dürr Lesley Hunt
		Rosie Casals Billie Jean King 6–3, 6–2	Judy Tegart-Dalton Françoise Dürr

October

Week	Tournament	Champions	Runners-up	Semifinalists	Quarterfinalists
11 Oct	Dewar Cup Edinburgh Edinburgh, United Kingdom Non-tour event Singles – Doubles	Evonne Goolagong 6–0, 6–3	Françoise Dürr	Jackie Fayter Virginia Wade	Corinne Molesworth Winnie Shaw Patti Hogan Julie Heldman
		Evonne Goolagong Julie Heldman 6–3, 6–0	Patti Hogan Nell Truman
18 Oct	Dewar Cup Billingham Billingham, United Kingdom Non-tour event 15S/4D Singles – Doubles	Virginia Wade 4–6, 7–5, 6–3	Julie Heldman	Evonne Goolagong Françoise Dürr	Betty Stöve Cathie Lorains Winnie Shaw Patti Hogan
		Françoise Dürr Virginia Wade 6–3, 4–6, 6–2	Evonne Goolagong Julie Heldman
25 Oct	Embassy British Indoor Championships London, England Grand Prix Circuit (B) Carpet – 32S/16D	Billie Jean King 6–1, 5–7, 7–5	Françoise Dürr	Rosemary Casals Evonne Goolagong	Patti Hogan Betty Stöve Virginia Wade Winnie Shaw
		Françoise Dürr Virginia Wade 3–6, 7–5, 6–3	Evonne Goolagong Julie Heldman

November

Week	Tournament	Champions	Runners-up	Semifinalists	Quarterfinalists
1 Nov	Dewar Cup Aberavon Aberavon, United Kingdom Non-tour event Singles – Doubles	Virginia Wade 7–6, 6–3	Evonne Goolagong	Julie Heldman Françoise Dürr	Wendy Gilchrist Winnie Shaw Patti Hogan Betty Stöve
		Françoise Dürr Virginia Wade 7–5, 6–4	Evonne Goolagong Julie Heldman
8 Nov	Dewar Cup Torquay Torquay, United Kingdom Non-tour event 16S/4D Singles – Doubles	Evonne Goolagong 6–1, 6–0	Françoise Dürr	Julie Heldman Virginia Wade	Jackie Fayter Winnie Shaw Penny Moor Betty Stöve
		Evonne Goolagong Julie Heldman 7–6, 6–4	Françoise Dürr Virginia Wade
15 Nov	Dewar Cup Championships London, United Kingdom Non-tour event Singles – Doubles	Virginia Wade 6–1, 6–3	Julie Heldman	Françoise Dürr Evonne Goolagong	Betty Stöve Winnie Shaw Jackie Fayter Patti Hogan
		Evonne Goolagong Julie Heldman 7–5, 6–4	Françoise Dürr Virginia Wade
29 Nov	Clean Air Classic New York City, United States Non-tour event Singles – Doubles	Virginia Wade 6–3, 6–3	Rosie Casals

December

Week	Tournament	Champions	Runners-up	Semifinalists	Quarterfinalists
1 Dec	Benson & Hedges International Christchurch, New Zealand Non-tour event Singles – Doubles	Françoise Dürr 6–3, 6–0	Billie Jean King	Rosemary Casals Kerry Melville	Lesley Hunt Kristien Kemmer Valerie Ziegenfuss Judy Tegart-Dalton
		Rosie Casals Billie Jean King 6–3, 9–8^(8–6)	Judy Tegart-Dalton Françoise Dürr

Awarding points system

Grand Prix Circuit

The Grand Prix tournaments were divided into four groups. Group A consisted of the three Grand Slam events – French Open, Wimbledon Championships and US Open – while the other tournaments were divided into Groups B, C and D by prize money and draw size. Points were allocated based on these groups and the finishing position of a player in a tournament. The points allocation is listed below:

Group A

Champion: 40 Runner-up: 30 Semifinalist: 20 Quarterfinalist: 10 Round of 16: 5 Round of 32: 3

Group B

Champion: 30 Runner-up: 20 Semifinalist: 10 Quarterfinalist: 5 Round of 16: 3 Round of 32: –

Group C

Champion: 20 Runner-up: 12 Semifinalist: 6 Quarterfinalist: 4 Round of 16: 2 Round of 32: –

Group D

Champion: 15 Runner-up: 9 Semifinalist: 5 Quarterfinalist: 3 Round of 16:: – Round of 32: –

Standings and bonus pool earnings

A bonus pool of $50,000 was available for the top 13 points ranked players. To qualify for a share of the bonus pool the players had to participate in a minimum of nine tournaments.^[10]

Rk	Name	Tour.	Points	Bonus
1	Billie Jean King	9	181	$10,000
2	Françoise Dürr	9	119	$7,500
3	Evonne Goolagong [b]	6	116	–
4	Margaret Court [b]	6	106	–
5	Helen Gourlay	12	83	$6,500
6	Rosemary Casals [b]	8	71	–
7	Judy Dalton	9	70	$5,250
8	Virginia Wade	10	69	$4,000
9	Linda Tuero [b]	7	60	–
10	Kerry Melville [b]	7	55	–

Top 10 World Rankings

The 1971 singles rankings as per Lance Tingay.^{[citation needed]}

World ranking No Player Name 1  Evonne Goolagong (AUS) 2  Margaret Court (AUS) 3  Billie Jean King (USA) 4  Rosemary Casals (USA) 5  Kerry Melville (AUS) 6  Judy Dalton (AUS) 7  Françoise Dürr (FRA) 8  Virginia Wade (GBR) 9  Helga Masthoff (FRG) 10  Chris Evert (USA)

Under 21 world ranking No Player Name 1  Evonne Goolagong (AUS) 2  Chris Evert (USA) 3  Lesley Hunt (AUS) 4  Denise Carter-Triolo (USA) 5  Kristy Pigeon (USA) 6  Kazuko Sawamatsu (JPN) 7  Linda Tuero (USA) 8  Kristien Kemmer (USA) 9  Barbara Hawcroft (AUS) 10  Eliza Pande (USA)

Prize money leaders

No.	Player Name	Prize money
1	Billie Jean King (USA)	$117,000
2	Françoise Dürr (FRA)	$65,000
3	Rosemary Casals (USA)	$62,000
4	Judy Dalton (AUS)	$33,876
5	Kerry Melville (AUS)	$29,767
6	Ann Jones (GBR)	$26,148
7	Margaret Court (AUS)	$26,000
8	Evonne Goolagong (AUS)	$25,000
9	Virginia Wade (GBR)	$24,000
10	Nancy Gunter (USA)	$15,300

Statistical information

These tables present the number of singles (S), doubles (D), and mixed doubles (X) titles won by each player and each nation during the 1971 Virginia Slims Circuit. They also include data for the Grand Slam tournaments.

1. total number of titles (a doubles title won by two players representing the same nation counts as only one win for the nation);
2. highest amount of highest category tournaments (for example, having a single Grand Slam gives preference over any kind of combination without a Grand Slam title);
3. a singles > doubles > mixed doubles hierarchy;
4. alphabetical order (by family names for players).

Key

Grand Slam tournaments

Virginia Slims events

Titles won by player

Total	Player	S	D	X	S	D	S	D	X
38	Billie Jean King (USA)	●	●	● ●	● ● ● ● ● ● ● ● ● ● ●	● ● ● ● ● ● ● ● ● ●	17	19	2
21	Rosie Casals (USA)		● ●		● ●	● ● ● ● ● ● ● ● ● ●	2	19	0
19	Evonne Goolagong (AUS)	● ●	●				9	10	0
16	Margaret Court (AUS)	●	●				10	6	0
16	Françoise Durr (FRA)		●	●	● ●	● ● ● ● ● ●	4	12	1
6	Judy Tegart Dalton (AUS)		●			● ● ●	0	6	0
5	Chris Evert (USA)				●		4	1	0
5	Ann Haydon-Jones (GBR)				● ●	● ● ●	2	3	0
2	Gail Chanfreau (FRA)		●				1	1	0
2	Kerry Melville (AUS)				●		1	1	0
2	Mary-Ann Eisel (USA)					●	0	2	0
1	Valerie Ziegenfuss (USA)					●	0	1	0

Titles won by nation

Total	Nation	S	D	X	S	D	S	D	X
30	United States (USA)	1	2	2	14	11	15	13	2
10	France (FRA)	0	1	1	2	6	2	7	1
9	Australia (AUS)	3	2	0	1	3	4	5	0
7	Great Britain (GBR)	0	0	0	2	5	2	5	0

See also

• 1971 World Championship Tennis circuit
• 1971 Grand Prix tennis circuit

Notes

1. Including three Grand Slam events.
2. Player did not participate in the required minimum of nine tournaments and therefore did not share in the bonus pool.

References

1. "History of the ITF: Foundation of International Lawn Tennis Federation 1913". www.itftennis.com. ITF. Retrieved 26 September 2023.
2. "Reprieve for Girls". The Age. Sydney, Australia: The Wikipedia Library - Newspapers.Com. 19 January 1971. p. 23. Retrieved 26 September 2023.
3. Kimball, Warren F. (December 2017). The United States Tennis Association: Raising the Game. Lincoln, NE: U of Nebraska Press. ISBN 978-1-4962-0462-2.
4. Hall, Eric Allen (15 September 2014). Arthur Ashe: Tennis and Justice in the Civil Rights Era. Baltimore, Maryland, United States: JHU Press. p. 129. ISBN 978-1-4214-1394-5.
5. John Barrett, ed. (1972). World of Tennis '72. London: Queen Anne Press. pp. 143, 144. ISBN 9780362001037. OCLC 86035663.
6. Adam Lincoln (6 January 2021). "50 years ago today: Virginia Slims Circuit kicks off". Women's Tennis Association (WTA).
7. "WTA Tour Finals" (PDF). www.wtatennis.com. Archived from the original (PDF) on 1 February 2017. Retrieved 27 April 2012.
8. "About The WTA". www.wtatennis.com. Archived from the original on 20 September 2012. Retrieved 21 May 2012.
9. "Tennisbegroting voor Hilversum iets lager". NRC Handelsblad (in Dutch). 21 July 1971. p. 4 – via Delpher.
10. John Dolan (2011). Women's Tennis 1968–84: the Ultimate Guide. Remous. p. 507.

External links

• Women's Tennis Association (WTA) official website
• International Tennis Federation (ITF) official website