Details | |
---|---|
Duration | 27 December 1969 – 26 December 1970 |
Edition | 57th (ILTF) |
Tournaments | 314 |
Categories | Grand Slam (4) African Circuit (13) Asian Circuit (16) Central America & Caribbean Circuit (6) European Circuit (141) North American Circuit (86 ) Oceania Circuit (29) South American Circuit (6) Virginia Slims (2) Team (6) |
Achievements (singles) | |
Most tournament titles | Margaret Court (21) |
Most tournament finals | Margaret Court (27) |
← 1969 1971 → |
The 1970 ILTF Women's Tennis Circuit was the 57th season since the formation of the International Lawn Tennis Federation in 1913, [1] and the 96th season since the first women's tournaments were held in 1876.
Also known as the World Tennis Circuit [2] or simply the ILTF Circuit [3] consisted of a worldwide series of 314 tennis tournaments played across 6 continental tennis circuits and administered by the ILTF and its associate members.
The circuit began in late December 1969 in Valencia, Spain and ended on 26 December 1970 in East London, South Africa.
1970 was a very important year for women's tennis that would see the staging of two women only Virginia Slims events leading to a nascent Virginia Slims Circuit. [4] The Virginia Slims Circuit would then be the platform for the formation of the Women's Tennis Association, which has risen to the structures of today. [5]
The Open era began with the British Hard Court Championships in Bournemouth in 1968. At the first Open Wimbledon, the prize-fund difference was 2.5:1 in favour of men. Billie Jean King won £750 for taking the title, while Rod Laver took £2,000. The total purses of the competitions were £14,800 for men and £5,680 for women. [6] By the 1970s, the pay difference which had been a 2.5:1 ratio between men and women had increased. In 1969, ratios of 5:1 in terms of pay were common at smaller tournaments; by 1970, these figures increased to 8:1 and even 12:1. [7]
The situation came to a head in 1970, when most tournaments offered four times as much prize money to men than they did to women. At the 1970 Italian Open, men's singles champion Ilie Năstase was paid US$3,500 while women's singles champion King received just US$600. [8] On top of this, the USLTA failed to organise any tournaments for women in 1970. [9]
Billie Jean King and eight other female tennis players – Americans Rosemary Casals, Nancy Richey, Peaches Bartkowicz, Kristy Pigeon, Valerie Ziegenfuss, Julie Heldman and Australians Kerry Melville Reid and Judy Tegart Dalton decided to enlist World Tennis magazine publisher Gladys Heldman to help negotiate for greater equality in prize money and provide valuable public relations assistance. [10] All the players were putting their tennis careers at risk because the influential USLTA did not back them. [11]
Gladys Heldman and the "Original 9" decided to target the Pacific Southwest Championships held in Los Angeles on the grounds that it paid eight times more money to men than it did to women. Heldman attempted to get the tournament chairman, former professional tennis player Jack Kramer, to reduce the inequality between the prize money purses for men and women. Kramer refused, leading the "Original 9" to declare at a press conference held at Forest Hills, New York that they would boycott the Pacific Southwest Championships and play at what would become the first Virginia Slims Circuit event, a US$7,500 Houston Women's Invitation tournament held in Houston, Texas in September 1970 [12] Despite the USLTA's declaration that it would not sanction this event, the "Original 9" went ahead. [13] The Virginia Slims Circuit provided the platform for the formation of the Women's Tennis Association, which has risen to the structures of today. [14]
The 1970 ILTF women's tennis circuit began with Coupe Faucombridge tournament in Valencia, Spain. In the four most important tournaments of the year defending champion Margaret Court defeated Kerry Melville in the final, 6–3, 6–1 to win the women's singles tennis title at the Australian Open. [15] It was her ninth Australian title. At the French Open defending champion Margaret Court defeated Helga Niessen in the final, 6–2, 6–4 to win the women's singles tennis title. [16] It was her fifth French Open singles title.
At the Wimbledon Championships Margaret Court defeated Billie Jean King in the final, 14–12, 11–9 to win the ladies' singles tennis title, [17] her third major singles title of the year, and her 19th major singles title overall. At the US Open defending champion Margaret Court defeated Rosie Casals in the final, 6–2, 2–6, 6–1 to win the women's singles tennis title at the 1970 US Open. [18] With the win, Court completed the Grand Slam, becoming the second woman to achieve it after Maureen Connolly in (1953), and the first woman in the Open Era to do so. [19] It was her record-breaking 20th major singles title, surpassing Helen Wills Moody's all-time tally. The circuit ended on 26 December 1970 at the Border Championships in East London, South Africa.
This is a calendar of all official events that were administered by the International Lawn Tennis Federation in the year 1970, with player progression documented from the quarterfinals stage. The table also includes Grand Slam events, and tournaments on the African, Asian, Australasia, Central American & Caribbean, European, and South American ILTF regional circuits, [20] as part of the annual world tennis circuit. [21] Team events such as the Federation Cup and Wightman Cup are included.
Grand Slam events |
African Circuit. [22] |
Asian Circuit. [23] |
Australasia Circuit. [24] |
Central American/Caribbean Circuit. [25] |
European Circuit. [26] |
North American Circuit. [27] |
South American Circuit. [28] |
Virginia Slims events |
Team & Games events |
These are the Top 10 World Rankings for 1970 by tennis journalists, magazines and authors. WTA Rankings did not begin until 1974/75. [219]
Lance Tingay [220] | Joseph McCauley [221] | Bud Collins [222] | Rino Tommasi [223] | Rex Bellamy [224] | Judith Elian [225] (L'Equipe) | Mike Gibson [226] | World Tennis Magazine [227] (Germany) |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
The Japan Open is a men's tennis tournament held in Ariake Tennis Forest Park with its center court Ariake Coliseum, located in Koto, Tokyo. The historical precursor event, the All-Japan Championships was founded in 1915, then later became the Japan International Championships. In 2018, the venue switched to the Musashino Forest Sports Plaza as the Ariake Coliseum was renovated for the tennis events at the 2020 Summer Olympics. The championship includes men's singles and doubles competitions.
Nirupama Mankad is a former Indian tennis player. She is the first Indian woman in the modern era to play at a main draw of a Grand Slam. She was active from 1964 to 1979 and constested 25 finals and won 18 singles titles.
The South Orange Open, formerly known as the Eastern Grass Court Championships, is a defunct Grand Prix affiliated tennis tournament founded in 1970 as the Marlborough Open Championships and was until 1983. It was held in South Orange, New Jersey in the United States and played on outdoor grass courts from 1970 to 1974, and then played on outdoor clay courts from 1975 to 1983. There were men's and women's singles tournaments as well as men's, women's, and mixed doubles.
The Phoenix Thunderbird Open was a combined men's and women's tennis tournament founded in 1952 as Phoenix Thunderbird Championships Invitational. Also known as the Phoenix Thunderbird Invitational it continued as a joint event until 1970 when the men's event was discontinued. In 1971 the women's tournament was re branded as the Virginia Slims Thunderbird Classic that event continued until 1980.
The Pennsylvania Lawn Tennis Championships also known as the Pennsylvania State Lawn Tennis Championships also known as the Pennsylvania Grass Court Open Championships was a tennis tournament played at the Merion Cricket Club in Haverford, Pennsylvania from 1894 to 1974.
Christian Kuhnke is a former German tennis player. He was part of the West Germany Davis Cup team who reached the Challenge Round in the 1970 Davis Cup. Kuhnke was a quarterfinalist at Wimbledon in 1963 and 1964 and at the Australian Championships in 1961.
Laura Rossouw is a South African former tennis player who was active in the late 1960s and first half of the 1970s.
The Italian Tennis Championships also known as the Italian National Championships are the national championships in tennis, organised every year by the Federazione Italiana Tennis Padel (FITP) from 1895 to 2004 and in 2020.
The London Hard Court Championships and later known as the Bio-Strath London Hard Court Championships for sponsorship reasons was a clay court tennis event founded in 1919. It was held at the Hurlingham Club Ranelagh Gardens, Fulham, London, England through until 1971, when it failed find new sponsors for the following season, and the tournament ended.
The West Warwickshire Open was a tennis tournament also known as the Hill Samuel Life Assurance West Warwickshire Open for sponsorship reasons. It began in 1970 and was staged at the West Warwickshire Sports Club (f.c1888), Solihull, Midlands, England. The tournament ran until 1981 when it was discontinued.
The Droitwich Open Hard Courts also known as the Bio-Strath Droitwich Open Hard Courts or Bio-Strath Droitwich for sponsorship reasons was a combined men's and women's clay court tennis tournament founded in 1968. The tournament was organised by the Droitwich Spa Lawn Tennis Club, and played at the Brine Baths Park, Droitwich Spa, Worcestershire, England. The tournament ran until 1974 then was discontinued.
The Cumberland Hard Court Championships or Cumberland Club Hard Court Championships and also known as the Cumberland Hard Court Tournament was a men's and women's clay court tennis tournament founded as in 1927. It was played at the Cumberland Club, Hampstead, London, England until tournament ended in 1986.
The St. Annes Open also known as the St. Annes on Sea Open was a men's and women's grass court tennis tournament founded as in 1932. It was played at the St. Anne's Lawn Tennis Club, Lytham St Annes, Lancashire, England until the tournament ended in 1974.
The Durham and Cleveland Championships was a men's and women's grass court tennis tournament founded as in 1900 as the Durham County Association Tournament In 1903 that event became the Durham County Lawn Tennis Championships. It was first played at the Ashbrooke Sports Club Sunderland, Tyne and Wear, England until the tournament ended in 1982.
The Vanderbilt Indoor Open was a men's and women's open international indoor clay court then later hard court tennis tournament founded in 1967 as the New York Vanderbilt Indoor. It was organised by the Vanderbilt International Racket Club (f.1966) and played at Grand Central Terminal, New York City, United States until 1970. This international tournament was part of the ILTF World Circuit, until 1970 when it was discontinued.
The U.S.S.R. All-Union Championships also known as the All-Union Championships or the All-Union Winter Championships was a men's and women's indoor closed tennis tournament founded in 1968 and usually played in late January early February annually. It was played on wood courts, then later carpet courts tennis tournament founded in 1968 and usually played in February. It was organised by the Tennis Federation of the USSR until 1975 when it was discontinued.
The Stalybridge Open was a men's and women's clay court tennis tournament founded in 1968 as the Stalybridge International Tennis Tournament. In 1970 the tournament was branded as the En-Tout-Cas Trophy Stalybridge, that year and was second leg of the En-Tout-Cas Circuit that year. The tournament was played at the Priory Tennis Club (f.1921), Stalybridge, Great Britain until 1971.
The Poole Open was a men's and women's clay court tennis tournament founded in 1970. In 1970 the tournament was branded as the En-Tout-Cass Trophy Poole, and was third leg of the En-Tout-Cass Circuit that year. The tournament was played at the East Dorset Lawn Tennis & Croquet Club (f.1909), Poole, Great Britain until 1971.
The Lebanon International Championships also known as the Beirut International or the Beirut Spring Tournament was a men's and women's international clay court tournament was founded in 1954. It was played at American University of Beirut Alumni Tennis Club, Beirut, Lebanon until 1971 when it was discontinued.
The Cardiff Open was a men's and women's grass court tennis tournament was founded in 1929 as the Cardiff LTC Tournament. It played annually through till 1975 when it was discontinued. The tournament was played at the Cardiff Lawn Tennis Club, Cardiff, Great Britain. It played annually through till 1972 when it was discontinued.