1971 ILTF Women's Tennis Circuit

The 1971 ILTF Women's Tennis Circuit was the 58th season since the formation of the International Lawn Tennis Federation in 1913, 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, and the first Grand Prix Circuit with 17 events under the auspices of the ILTF and the regular ILTF World Circuit, with 125 events makes up the majority of the 165 tournaments staged this year. Circuits ILTF Women's Grand Prix The 1971 ILTF Pepsi-Cola Women's Grand Prix was a tennis circuit administered by the International Lawn Tennis Federation. 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.

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. 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.

ILTF World Circuit The worldwide ILTF World 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.

First tournament 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.

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.

Key Grand Slam tournamentsVirginia Slims Circuit ILTF Pepsi Grand Prix CircuitILTF World CircuitTeam events

December (1970) WeekTournamentChampionsRunners-upSemifinalistsQuarterfinalists29 Dec Federation CupPerth, AustraliaFederation CupGrass – 14 teams knockout3–0Western Australian OpenPerth, AustraliaNon-tour event Margaret Court 6–1, 6–2 Virginia Wade Gail Chanfreau Betty Stöve Winnie Shaw Patti Hogan Laura Rossouw Lesley Hunt Margaret Court Evonne Goolagong6–4, 7–5 Winnie Shaw Virginia Wade

January WeekTournamentChampionsRunners-upSemifinalistsQuarterfinalists4 Jan British Motor Cars InvitationalSan Francisco, United StatesVirginia SlimsHard – $15,200 – 16S/8DSingles – 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 King6–4, 6–7, 6–1 Françoise Dürr Ann JonesNew South Wales OpenSydneyNon-tour event Margaret Court 6–2, 6–2 Olga Morozova Gail Chanfreau Kazuko Sawamatsu Brenda Kirk Kristien Kemmer Betty Stöve Patti Hogan Margaret Court Olga Morozova6–2, 6–0 Helen Gourlay Kerry Harris11 JanBillie Jean King InvitationalLong Beach, United StatesVirginia SlimsHard – $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 King7–5, 6–3 Françoise Dürr Ann Jones18 JanVirginia Slims of MilwaukeeMilwaukee, United StatesVirginia SlimsHard (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 King6–3, 1–6, 6–2 Françoise Dürr Ann Jones25 JanVirginia Slims of Oklahoma CityOklahoma City, United StatesVirginia SlimsHard – $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 King6–7, 6–0, 7–5 Mary-Ann Eisel Valerie ZiegenfussVictoria ChampionshipsMelbourne, AustraliaNon-tour event Singles Evonne Goolagong 7–6, 7–6 Margaret Court Kazuko Sawamatsu Winnie Shaw Patti Hogan Olga Morozova Trudy Walhof Gail Chanfreau

February WeekTournamentChampionsRunners-upSemifinalistsQuarterfinalists1 Feb Virginia Slims of ChattanoogaChattanooga, United StatesVirginia SlimsHard (i) – $12,700 – 16S/8D 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 King6–4, 7–5 Françoise Dürr Ann JonesBP New Zealand ChampionshipsChristchurch, New ZealandNon-tour event Evonne Goolagong 6–1, 6–4 Betty Stöve Kathleen Harter Gail Chanfreau Laura Rossouw Trudy Walhof Patty Ann Reese Winnie Shaw Kathleen Harter Winnie Shaw6–4, 4–6, 7–5 Gail Chanfreau Evonne Goolagong8 Feb Philadelphia Indoor ChampionshipsPhiladelphia, United StatesVirginia SlimsHard (i) – $12,500 – 16S 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 King15 Feb Station WLODFort Lauderdale, United StatesVirginia SlimsClay – $10,000 – 16S Françoise Dürr 6–3, 3–6, 6–3 Billie Jean King Kerry Melville Rosie Casals Judy Dalton Ann Jones Denise Carter Valerie ZiegenfussUSSR ChampionshipsMoscow, Soviet UnionNon-tour event 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 Morozova22 Feb Virginia Slims National IndoorsWinchester, United StatesVirginia SlimsHard (i) – $12,500 – 16S/2D 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 WeekTournamentChampionsRunners-upSemifinalistsQuarterfinalists1 MarBenson & Hedges Centennial OpenAuckland, New ZealandNon-tour event 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 Goolagong7–6, 6–0 Lesley Bowrey Winnie Shaw8 MarDunlop Australian OpenSydney, AustraliaGrand SlamGrass – 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 Goolagong6–0, 6–0 Jill Emmerson Lesley Hunt15 MarVirginia Slims US IndoorsDetroit, United StatesVirginia SlimsHard (i) – $10,000 – 8S/2D 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 Ziegenfuss2–6, 6–2, 6–3 Judy Tegart-Dalton Jane Bartkowicz22 MarVirginia Slims of New YorkNew York, United StatesVirginia SlimsHard (i) – $15,600 – 20S Rosie Casals 6–4, 6–4 Billie Jean King 3rd: Ann Jones 4th: Françoise Dürr Julie Heldman Kerry Melville Cecilia Martinez Jane Bartkowicz29 MarCaribe Hilton InvitationalSan Juan, Puerto RicoVirginia Slims$10,000 – 24S/11D 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 Jones7–6, 6–3 Karen Krantzcke Kerry MelvilleNatal Open ChampionshipsDurban, South AfricaNon-tour event Margaret Court 6–2, 6–1 Patti Hogan Virginia Wade Heide Schildeknecht Lesley Hunt Winnie Shaw Evonne Goolagong Helga Niessen Masthoff Margaret Court Evonne Goolagong3–6, 6–3, 6–3 Kerry Harris Winnie Shaw

April WeekTournamentChampionsRunners-upSemifinalistsQuarterfinalists5 AprVirginia Slims MastersSt. Petersburg, United StatesVirginia SlimsClay – $10,000 – 16S/11D 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 Jones7–6, 3–6, 6–3 Judy Tegart-Dalton Julie HeldmanMonte Carlo Open ChampionshipsMonte Carlo, MonacoNon-tour event 16S/4D 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 PericoliSouth Africa OpenJohannesburg, South AfricaNon-tour event26S/8D 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 Rossouw12 AprCaesar's Palace World Pro ChampionshipsLas Vegas, United StatesVirginia SlimsHard – $29,200 – 16S/10D 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 Jones0–6, 6–2, 6–4 Rosie Casals Billie Jean KingUSA National Bank OpenCharlotte, North Carolina, USNon-tour event6S/2D 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 Pande19 AprVirginia Slims of San DiegoSan Diego, United StatesVirginia SlimsHard – $12,500 – 16S/4D 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 King6–7, 6–2, 6–3 Françoise Dürr Judy Tegart-DaltonCatania Open Grand PrixCatania, ItalyNon-tour event15S/8D 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 Schultze26 AprRothmans Sutton Hard CourtsSutton, United KingdomNon-tour even 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 CooperRiver Plate ChampionshipsBuenos Aires, ArgentinaNon-tour event 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

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