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Valerie Ziegenfuss

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Valerie Ziegenfuss
Ziegenfuss in 1973
Country (sports) United States
ResidenceU.S.
Born (1949-06-29) June 29, 1949 (age 75)
San Diego, California
Height5 ft 8 in (1.73 m) [1]
PlaysRight-handed
Singles
Career record25–44
Grand Slam singles results
French Open4R (1972)
Wimbledon3R (1970, 1973, 1975, 1976)
US Open3R (1969, 1975)
Other tournaments
Olympic Games1R (1968-d, 1968-e)
Doubles
Career record45–42
Career titles6
Grand Slam doubles results
French Open3R (1971)
WimbledonSF (1969, 1971)
US OpenSF (1969. 1971)
Mixed doubles
Career record10–9
Career titles0
Grand Slam mixed doubles results
French OpenQF (1976)
Wimbledon4R (1970, 1971)
US Open2R (1972)
Other mixed doubles tournaments
Olympic GamesQF (1968-d)
Medal record
Representing  United States
Olympic Games
Silver medal – second place 1968 Mexico City Doubles (Exhib.)
Bronze medal – third place 1968 Mexico City Doubles (Demo.)

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.

She is most famous for being one of the Original 9 with eight of her fellow players,[1] 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

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Original 9

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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.[2]

WTA Tour finals

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Ziegenfuss in 1969

Singles 1

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Legend
Grand Slam 0
WTA Championships 0
Tier I 0
Tier II 0
Tier III 0
Tier IV & V 0
Result No. Date Tournament Surface Opponent Score
Loss 1. Feb 1972 Oklahoma City, Oklahoma, USA Hard United States Rosie Casals 4–6, 1–6

Doubles 10 (6–4)

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Legend
Grand Slam 0
WTA Championships 0
Tier I 0
Tier II 0
Tier III 0
Tier IV & V 0
Result No. Date Tournament Surface Partner Opponents Score
Win 1. May 1967 La Jolla, California, U.S. Hard United States Stephanie Grant United States Peaches Bartkowicz
United States Sue Shrader
8–6, 9–7
Loss 2. Oct 1968 Mexico City Olympics (Exhibition), Mexico Clay United States Peaches Bartkowicz France Rosy Darmon
United States Julie Heldman
0–6, 8–10
Win 3. 1969 Cincinnati, Ohio, U.S. Hard Australia Kerry Harris United States Emilie Burrer
United States Pam Richmond
6–3, 9–7
Win 4. Mar 1971 Detroit, Michigan, U.S. Carpet United States Mary-Ann Eisel United States Peaches Bartkowicz
Australia Judy Tegart Dalton
2–6, 6–2, 6–3
Win 5. Feb 1972 Washington, D.C., U.S. Carpet United States Wendy Overton Australia Judy Tegart Dalton
France Françoise Dürr
7–5, 6–2
Loss 6. Jun 1972 Hamburg, Germany Clay United States Wendy Overton West Germany Helga Masthoff
West Germany Heide Orth
6–3, 6–2, 0–6
Loss 7. Jan 1973 San Francisco, California, U.S. Hard United States Wendy Overton Australia Margaret Court
Australia Lesley Hunt
1–6, 5–7
Win 8. Nov 1976 Johannesburg, South Africa Hard United States Laura duPont South Africa Yvonne Vermaak
South Africa Elizabeth Vlotman
6–1, 6–4
Loss 9. Jan 1977 Washington, D.C., U.S. Carpet United States Kristien Shaw Czechoslovakia Martina Navratilova
Netherlands Betty Stöve
5–7, 2–6
Win 10. Nov 1978 Buenos Aires, Argentina Clay France Françoise Dürr United States Laura duPont
Czechoslovakia Regina Maršíková
1–6, 6–4, 6–3

References

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  1. ^ Bostic, Stephanie, ed. (1979). USTA Player Records 1978. United States Tennis Association (USTA). p. 268.
  2. ^ "The Tour Story – One of the greatest stories in sport". Sony Ericsson WTA Tour. Archived from the original on February 18, 2009. Retrieved May 10, 2009.
  3. ^ a b Araton, Harvey (August 29, 2000). "Following in the path of a pioneer". The New York Times. Retrieved May 9, 2009.
  4. ^ "1972 results". Tennis Forum. December 6, 2017.

Notes

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