Valerie Ziegenfuss
Valerie Jean Bradshaw (née Ziegenfuss; June 29, 1949) is an American former female professional tennis player. She started as an amateur player at the beginning of the 1970s, then turned professional.
 Ziegenfuss in 1973 | |
| Country (sports) |  United States |
|---|---|
| Residence | U.S. |
| Born | June 29, 1949 San Diego, California |
| Height | 5 ft 8 in (1.73 m) [1] |
| Plays | Right-handed |
| Singles | |
| Career record | 25–44 |
| Grand Slam singles results | |
| French Open | 4R (1972) |
| Wimbledon | 3R (1970, 1973, 1975, 1976) |
| US Open | 3R (1969, 1975) |
| Other tournaments | |
| Olympic Games | 1R (1968-d, 1968-e) |
| Doubles | |
| Career record | 45–42 |
| Career titles | 6 |
| Grand Slam doubles results | |
| French Open | 3R (1971) |
| Wimbledon | SF (1969, 1971) |
| US Open | SF (1969. 1971) |
| Mixed doubles | |
| Career record | 10–9 |
| Career titles | 0 |
| Grand Slam mixed doubles results | |
| French Open | QF (1976) |
| Wimbledon | 4R (1970, 1971) |
| US Open | 2R (1972) |
| Other mixed doubles tournaments | |
| Olympic Games | QF (1968-d) |
Medal record | |
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She is most famous for being one of the Original 9 with eight of her fellow players, who rebelled against the United States Tennis Association in 1970.[2] Their actions brought about the creation of the Virginia Slims Circuit, which was the basis for the WTA Tour.[3]
During her career, she reached the fourth round at the French Open (in 1972) and the US Open on two occasions (1969 and 1975). She reached one singles final at the Virginia Slims of Oklahoma in 1972. After winning two rounds of qualifying, she defeated 5th seeded Helen Gourlay, No. 2 seed Francoise Durr, and Judy Dalton (seeded 6th) and then lost to Rosie Casals.[4]
She had far more success in doubles tournaments, with 12 doubles final appearances, including six victories.
She won a bronze medal in doubles in the 1968 Olympics in Mexico City with Jane Bartkowicz.
Career review
Original 9
In 1970, the top women tennis players started to become frustrated at the lack of equality within tennis in terms of prize money on offer for male and female players.[3] The publisher Gladys Heldman, founder of World Tennis magazine, offered $5,000 of her own money, which enabled the players to negotiate their own contracts. Ziegenfuss and the other players, including Billie Jean King and Rosie Casals, signed $1 contracts in the summer of 1970 and formed the Virginia Slims Circuit.
WTA Tour finals
Singles 1
| Legend | |
| Grand Slam | 0 |
| WTA Championships | 0 |
| Tier I | 0 |
| Tier II | 0 |
| Tier III | 0 |
| Tier IV & V | 0 |
| Outcome | No. | Date | Tournament | Surface | Opponent | Score |
| Runner-up | 1. | Feb 1972 | Oklahoma City, Oklahoma, USA | Hard | Rosie Casals |
4–6, 1–6 |
Doubles 10 (6–4)
| Legend | |
| Grand Slam | 0 |
| WTA Championships | 0 |
| Tier I | 0 |
| Tier II | 0 |
| Tier III | 0 |
| Tier IV & V | 0 |
| Outcome | No. | Date | Tournament | Surface | Partner | Opponents | Score |
| Winner | 1. | May 1967 | La Jolla, California, U.S. | Hard | Stephanie Grant |
Peaches Bartkowicz Sue Shrader |
8–6, 9–7 |
| Runner-up | 2. | Oct 1968 | Mexico City Olympics (Exhibition), Mexico | Clay | Peaches Bartkowicz |
 Rosy Darmon Julie Heldman |
0–6, 8–10 |
| Winner | 3. | 1969 | Cincinnati, Ohio, U.S. | Hard | .svg.png.webp){kind=small} Kerry Harris |
Emilie Burrer Pam Richmond |
6–3, 9–7 |
| Winner | 4. | Mar 1971 | Detroit, Michigan, U.S. | Carpet | Mary-Ann Eisel |
Peaches Bartkowicz Judy Tegart Dalton |
2–6, 6–2, 6–3 |
| Winner | 5. | Feb 1972 | Washington, D.C., U.S. | Carpet | Wendy Overton |
Judy Tegart Dalton Françoise Dürr |
7–5, 6–2 |
| Runner-up | 6. | Jun 1972 | Hamburg, Germany | Clay | Wendy Overton |
 Helga Masthoff Heide Orth |
6–3, 6–2, 0–6 |
| Runner-up | 7. | Jan 1973 | San Francisco, California, U.S. | Hard | Wendy Overton |
Margaret Court Lesley Hunt |
1–6, 5–7 |
| Winner | 8. | Nov 1976 | Johannesburg, South Africa | Hard | Laura duPont |
.svg.png.webp){kind=small} Yvonne Vermaak Elizabeth Vlotman |
6–1, 6–4 |
| Runner-up | 9. | Jan 1977 | Washington, D.C., U.S. | Carpet | Kristien Shaw |
 Martina Navratilova  Betty Stöve |
5–7, 2–6 |
| Winner | 10. | Nov 1978 | Buenos Aires, Argentina | Clay | Françoise Dürr |
Laura duPont Regina Maršíková |
1–6, 6–4, 6–3 |
References
- Bostic, Stephanie, ed. (1979). USTA Player Records 1978. United States Tennis Association (USTA). p. 268.
- "The Tour Story – One of the greatest stories in sport". Sony Ericsson WTA Tour. Archived from the original on February 18, 2009. Retrieved 10 May 2009.
- Araton, Harvey (29 August 2000). "Following in the path of a pioneer". The New York Times. Retrieved 9 May 2009.
- "1972 results". Tennis Forum.
Notes
- ^ The Original 9 featured Billie Jean King, Rosie Casals, Peaches Bartkowickz, Nancy Richey, Kerry Melville, Judy Dalton, Julie Heldman and Kristy Pigeon.
- ^ The Virginia Slims Circuit was the name of the modern day circuit WTA circuit before the formation of the Women's Tennis Association in 1973. It became the WTA Tour in 1988.
External links
- Valerie Ziegenfuss at the Women's Tennis Association
- Valerie Ziegenfuss at the International Tennis Federation
- Valerie Ziegenfuss at the Billie Jean King Cup
- Val Ziegenfuss at Wimbledon
- Valerie Ziegenfuss at Olympedia
- Valerie Ziegenfuss at Olympics.com
- Pressure Point match against Kathy Kuykendall on YouTube