1977 Wimbledon Championships


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.

Centenary celebrations

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: Kitty Godfree, Jean Borotra, René Lacoste, Henri Cochet, Jack Crawford, Sidney Wood, Fred Perry, Dorothy Round, Don Budge, Alice Marble, Yvon Petra, Jack Kramer, Bob Falkenburg, Ted Schroeder, Budge Patty, Dick Savitt, Margaret duPont, Frank Sedgman, Louise Brough, Vic Seixas, Doris Hart, Jaroslav Drobný, Tony Trabert, Shirley Irvin, Lew Hoad, Chuck McKinley, Ashley Cooper, Maria Bueno, Alex Olmedo, Neale Fraser, Angela Barrett, Rod Laver, Karen 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 won a total of 19 doubles titles, a record that remains to date. Jimmy Connors 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.".
To commemorate the centenary of the event, all former singles champions were offered a place in the main draw by the All England Club. Several former singles champions competed in the championships as a result. Björn Borg, Jimmy Connors, Stan Smith, Rod Laver and Jan Kodeš competed in the gentlemen's singles, with John Newcombe and Neale Fraser playing in the doubles. Chris Evert, Maria Bueno, Karen Susman and Billie Jean King played in the ladies singles, with Ann Jones 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.
EventWFSFQFRound of 16Round of 32Round of 64Round of 128
Men's Singles£15,000£8,000£4,000£2,000£1,200£600£350£200
Women's Singles£13,500£7,000£3,500£1,600£925£460£270£150
Men's Doubles *£6,000£3,000£2,000£1,000£500£150£0
Women's Doubles *£5,200£2,600£1,600£800£350£100£0
Mixed Doubles *£3,000£1,500£700£400£200£0£0

* per team

Champions

Seniors

Men's Singles

defeated Jimmy Connors, 3–6, 6–2, 6–1, 5–7, 6–4
defeated Betty Stöve, 4–6, 6–3, 6–1
/ Geoff Masters defeated John Alexander / Phil Dent, 6–3, 6–4, 3–6, 8–9, 6–4

Women's Doubles

/ JoAnne Russell defeated Martina Navratilova / Betty Stöve, 6–3, 6–3

Mixed Doubles

/ Greer Stevens defeated Frew McMillan / Betty Stöve, 3–6, 7–5, 6–4

Juniors

Boys' Singles

defeated Eliot Teltscher, 6–1, 1–6, 8–6

Girls' Singles

defeated Mareen Louie, 7–5, 6–1

Singles seeds

Men's singles

  1. Jimmy Connors '
  2. Björn Borg
  3. Guillermo Vilas '
  4. Roscoe Tanner '
  5. Brian Gottfried '
  6. Ilie Năstase '
  7. Raúl Ramírez '
  8. Vitas Gerulaitis '
  9. Dick Stockton '
  10. Adriano Panatta '
  11. Stan Smith '
  12. Wojciech Fibak '
  13. Phil Dent '
  14. Mark Cox '
  15. Bob Lutz '
  16. Harold Solomon

    Women's singles

  17. Chris Evert '
  18. Martina Navratilova '
  19. Virginia Wade
  20. Sue Barker '
  21. Billie Jean King '
  22. Rosie Casals '
  23. Betty Stöve '
  24. Kerry Reid '
  25. Dianne Fromholtz '
  26. Mima Jaušovec '
  27. Françoise Dürr '
  28. Kathy May