Betty Flippina Stöve (born 24 June 1945) is a Dutch former professional tennis player. She is best remembered for reaching the ladies' singles final, the ladies' doubles final and the mixed doubles final during the same year at Wimbledon in 1977. She also won ten Grand Slam titles in women's doubles and mixed doubles.[1]

Betty Stöve
Stöve in 1966
Full nameBetty Flippina Stöve
ITF nameBetty Stove
Country (sports) Netherlands
ResidenceBrasschaat, Belgium
Born (1945-06-24) 24 June 1945 (age 79)
Rotterdam, Netherlands
Height1.80 m (5 ft 11 in)
PlaysRight-handed
Prize moneyUS$1,047,356
Singles
Career record190–151
Career titles1
Highest rankingNo. 5 (3 July 1977)
Grand Slam singles results
Australian Open3R (1967, 1980)
French Open3R (1965, 1971, 1972, 1973, 1979)
WimbledonF (1977)
US OpenSF (1977)
Doubles
Career record0–1
Career titles75
Highest rankingNo. 1
Grand Slam doubles results
Australian OpenSF (1967)
French OpenW (1972, 1979)
WimbledonW (1972)
US OpenW (1972, 1977, 1979)
Other doubles tournaments
Tour FinalsW (1976, 1977, 1979)
Mixed doubles
Career titles4
Grand Slam mixed doubles results
Australian Open
French OpenF (1973, 1981)
WimbledonW (1978, 1981)
US OpenW (1977, 1978)

Career

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Stöve began playing tennis internationally in the mid-1960s. She made her Grand Slam debut at the 1964 Wimbledon. A virus, complicated by a malfunctioning thyroid gland, forced Stöve out of tennis for an 18-month period in the late 1960s. Despite being advised that she should never play tennis again, Stöve recovered to have her best years on the circuit.[1]

Stöve was an accomplished singles player reaching several finals on tour and attaining a singles ranking of number 5. Stöve's best grand slam singles performance was at the 1977 Wimbledon where she reached the final beating fellow doubles partner Martina Navratilova en route in the quarterfinals, and Sue Barker in the semi-finals preventing an all-England final. She lost the final to Virginia Wade: 4–6, 6–3, 6–1. Queen Elizabeth II attended the final. In addition she also reached the final of the women's doubles (with Navratilova) and the final of the mixed doubles with Frew McMillan, unfortunately losing them all. She is notably the last player in any Grand Slam event to earn such a record.[citation needed] Later that year Stöve was also a semifinalist at the 1977 US Open, losing to Chris Evert. This time she won the women's doubles with Navratilova and the mixed doubles with McMillan. In 1978 Stove reached the semi-finals or better at 9 of the singles events she contested reaching 5 finals but failing to win any of them. Notable players she beat in singles include Martina Navratilova, Evonne Goolagong, Sue Barker, Maria Bueno, Virginia Ruzici, Tracy Austin, Kerry Reid, Billie Jean King, and Claudia Kohde-Kilsch. One notable player she was never able to beat was Chris Evert, to whom she lost on every one of the 10 occasions they played.

Stöve had her greatest success in doubles. She won 10 Grand Slam doubles championships, six in women's doubles and four in mixed doubles. She won two women's doubles championships with Billie Jean King and two with Wendy Turnbull. Her other two titles were won with Françoise Dürr and Martina Navratilova. All of her mixed doubles championships were with Frew McMillan. Stöve was the runner-up in 17 Grand Slam doubles tournaments, eight in women's doubles and nine in mixed doubles. She won a total of 75 doubles titles on tour and ranked World No. 1 in doubles.

She competed for the Netherlands Fed Cup team in 1966, 1969, 1970–1972, and 1976–1983.

Post-retirement activity

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Stöve coached Hana Mandlíková from 1980 through 1990. She also coached Kristie Boogert.[1]

Stöve is a former member of the ITF Committee of Management, its first female member.[1]

She served three terms as president of WTA Tour Players Association and received the WTA Tour Honorary Membership Award in November 1987.

In 1989, Stöve and Mandlíková wrote Total Tennis, a tennis instruction book.[2] Stöve speaks six languages, and she is an accomplished photographer.[1]

Major finals

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Betty Stöve in 1972
 
Betty Stöve in 1973

Grand Slam finals

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Singles (1 runner-up)

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Result Year Championship Surface Opponent Score
Loss 1977 Wimbledon Grass   Virginia Wade 6–4, 3–6, 2-6

Doubles: 14 (6 titles, 8 runner-ups)

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Result Year Championship Surface Partner Opponents Score
Win 1972 French Open Clay   Billie Jean King   Winnie Shaw
  Nell Truman
6–1, 6–2
Win 1972 Wimbledon Grass   Billie Jean King   Françoise Dürr
  Judy Tegart Dalton
6–2, 4–6, 6–3
Win 1972 US Open Grass   Françoise Dürr   Margaret Court
  Virginia Wade
6–3, 1–6, 6–3
Loss 1973 French Open Clay   Françoise Dürr   Margaret Court
  Virginia Wade
2–6, 3–6
Loss 1973 Wimbledon Grass   Françoise Dürr   Rosie Casals
  Billie Jean King
1–6, 6–4, 5–7
Loss 1974 US Open Grass   Françoise Dürr   Rosie Casals
  Billie Jean King
6–7, 7–6, 4–6
Loss 1975 Wimbledon Grass   Françoise Dürr   Ann Kiyomura
  Kazuko Sawamatsu
5–7, 6–1, 5–7
Loss 1976 Wimbledon Grass   Billie Jean King   Chris Evert
  Martina Navratilova
1–6, 6–3, 5–7
Loss 1977 Wimbledon Grass   Martina Navratilova   Helen Gourlay
  JoAnne Russell
3–6, 3–6
Win 1977 US Open (2) Clay   Martina Navratilova   Renée Richards
  Betty-Ann Stuart
6–1, 7–6
Win 1979 French Open (2) Clay   Wendy Turnbull   Françoise Dürr
  Virginia Wade
3–6, 7–5, 6–4
Loss 1979 Wimbledon Grass   Wendy Turnbull   Billie Jean King
  Martina Navratilova
7–5, 3–6, 2–6
Win 1979 US Open (3) Hard   Wendy Turnbull   Billie Jean King
  Martina Navratilova
6–4, 6–3
Loss 1980 US Open Hard   Pam Shriver   Billie Jean King
  Martina Navratilova
6–7, 5–7

Mixed doubles: 13 (4 titles, 9 runners-up)

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Result Year Championship Surface Partner Opponents Score
Loss 1971 US Open Grass   Bob Maud   Billie Jean King
  Owen Davidson
3–6, 5–7
Loss 1973 French Open Clay   Patrice Dominguez   Françoise Dürr
  Jean-Claude Barclay
1–6, 4–6
Loss 1975 Wimbledon Grass   Allan Stone   Margaret Court
  Marty Riessen
4–6, 5–7
Loss 1976 US Open Clay   Frew McMillan   Billie Jean King
  Phil Dent
6–3, 2–6, 5–7
Loss 1977 Wimbledon Grass   Frew McMillan   Greer Stevens
  Bob Hewitt
6–3, 5–7, 4–6
Win 1977 US Open Clay   Frew McMillan   Billie Jean King
  Vitas Gerulaitis
6–2, 3–6, 6–3
Win 1978 Wimbledon Grass   Frew McMillan   Billie Jean King
  Ray Ruffels
6–2, 6–2
Win 1978 US Open (2) Hard   Frew McMillan   Billie Jean King
  Ray Ruffels
6–3, 7–6
Loss 1979 Wimbledon Grass   Frew McMillan   Greer Stevens
  Bob Hewitt
5–7, 6–7
Loss 1979 US Open Hard   Frew McMillan   Greer Stevens
  Bob Hewitt
3–6, 5–7
Loss 1980 US Open Hard   Frew McMillan   Wendy Turnbull
  Marty Riessen
5–7, 2–6
Loss 1981 French Open Clay   Fred McNair   Andrea Jaeger
  Jimmy Arias
6–7, 4–6
Win 1981 Wimbledon (2) Grass   Frew McMillan   Tracy Austin
  John Austin
4–6, 7–6, 6–3

Year-End Championships finals

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Doubles: 3 (1 title, 2 runners-up)

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Result Year Championship Surface Partner Opponents Score
Loss 1973 New York City Carpet (i)   Françoise Dürr   Rosie Casals
  Margaret Court
2–6, 4–6
Loss 1974 Los Angeles Carpet (i)   Françoise Dürr   Rosie Casals
  Billie Jean King
1–6, 7–6, 5–7
Win 1979 New York City Carpet (i)   Françoise Dürr   Sue Barker
  Ann Kiyomura
7–6, 7–6

Career finals

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Singles (11)

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Result W/L Date Tournament Surface Opponent Score
Win 1–0 Jul 1966 Bristol Open[3] Grass   Norma Baylon 6–3, 7–5
Win 2–0 Jul 1972 Hilversum, Netherlands Clay   Marijke Schaar 7–5, 6–3
Win 3–0 Jul 1973 Hilversum, Netherlands Clay   Helga Masthoff 7–5, 6–2
Win 4–0 Sep 1976 Tokyo, Japan Carpet (i)   Margaret Court 1–6, 6–4, 6–3
Loss 4–1 July 1977 Wimbledon Grass   Virginia Wade 6–4, 3–6, 1–6
Loss 4–2 Oct 1977 Brasil Tennis Cup Hard   Billie Jean King 6–1, 6–4
Loss 4–3 Jan 1978 Virginia Slims of Washington Carpet   Martina Navratilova 5–7, 4–6
Loss 4–4 Feb 1978 WTA Seattle Carpet   Martina Navratilova 1–6, 6–1, 1–6
Loss 4–5 Sept 1978 Pan Pacific Open Carpet   Virginia Wade 4–6, 6–7
Loss 4–6 Oct 1978 Brighton International Carpet   Virginia Ruzici 7–5, 2–6, 5–7
Loss 4–7 Oct 1978 Women's Stuttgart Open Hard   Tracy Austin 3–6, 3–6

(*) Note that Tokyo was a non-tour event in 1976, and some events listed above are before the inception of the WTA in June 1973.[4]

Doubles (75)

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Result No. Date Tournament Surface Partner Opponents Score
Loss 1. Jan 1978 Washington Carpet (i)   Wendy Turnbull   Billie Jean King
  Martina Navratilova
3–6, 5–7
Win 2. Feb 1979 Detroit Carpet (i)   Wendy Turnbull   Sue Barker
  Ann Kiyomura
6–4, 7–6(7–5)
Win 3. May 1979 Rome Clay   Wendy Turnbull   Evonne Goolagong
  Kerry Melville Reid
6–3, 6–4
Win 4. May 1979 French Open Clay   Wendy Turnbull   Françoise Dürr
  Virginia Wade
2–6, 7–5, 6–4
Win 5. Jun 1979 Eastbourne Grass   Wendy Turnbull   Ilana Kloss
  Betty Ann Stuart
6–2, 6–2
Loss 6. Jun 1979 Wimbledon Grass   Wendy Turnbull   Billie Jean King
  Martina Navratilova
7–5, 3–6, 2–6
Win 7. Aug 1979 Richmond Carpet (i)   Wendy Turnbull   Billie Jean King
  Martina Navratilova
6–1, 6–4
Win 8. Aug 1979 US Open Hard   Wendy Turnbull   Billie Jean King
  Martina Navratilova
7–5, 6–3
Win 9. Sep 1979 Atlanta Carpet (i)   Wendy Turnbull   Ann Kiyomura
  Anne Smith
6–2, 6–4
Loss 10. Oct 1979 Minneapolis Carpet (i)   Wendy Turnbull   Billie Jean King
  Martina Navratilova
4–6, 6–7
Win 11. Oct 1979 Phoenix Hard   Wendy Turnbull   Rosie Casals
  Chris Evert-Lloyd
6–4, 7–6
Win 12. Oct 1979 Stockholm Carpet (i)   Wendy Turnbull   Billie Jean King
  Ilana Kloss
7–5, 7–6
Loss 13. Nov 1979 Filderstadt Carpet (i)   Wendy Turnbull   Billie Jean King
  Martina Navratilova
3–6, 3–6
Loss 14. Febr 1980 Houston Carpet (i)   Wendy Turnbull   Billie Jean King
  Ilana Kloss
6–3, 1–6, 4–6

Grand slam events in boldface.

Grand Slam singles tournament timeline

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Key
W  F  SF QF #R RR Q# DNQ A NH
(W) winner; (F) finalist; (SF) semifinalist; (QF) quarterfinalist; (#R) rounds 4, 3, 2, 1; (RR) round-robin stage; (Q#) qualification round; (DNQ) did not qualify; (A) absent; (NH) not held; (SR) strike rate (events won / competed); (W–L) win–loss record.
Tournament 1964 1965 1966 1967 1968 1969 1970 1971 1972 1973 1974 1975 1976 1977 1978 1979 1980 1981 1982 Career SR
Australia A A A 3R A A A A A A A A A A A A A 3R 2R 2R 0 / 4
France A 3R A 2R A A 1R 3R 1R 3R A A A A A 3R 2R 1R 2R 0 / 10
Wimbledon 2R 1R 3R 2R A 2R 2R 2R 4R 1R 1R QF 4R F 4R 4R 3R 2R A 0 / 17
United States 1R A A A A A A 1R 3R 2R 2R 2R 1R SF 4R 2R 1R 1R 1R 0 / 13
SR 0 / 2 0 / 2 0 / 1 0 / 3 0 / 0 0 / 1 0 / 2 0 / 3 0 / 3 0 / 3 0 / 2 0 / 2 0 / 2 0 / 2 0 / 2 0 / 3 0 / 4 0 / 4 0 / 3 0 / 44
Career statistics
Year End Ranking 22 7 7 8 22 28 123 47

Note: The Australian Open was held twice in 1977, in January and December.

See also

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References

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  1. ^ a b c d e Betty Stove Biography. wtatennis.com
  2. ^ Hana Mandlíková; Betty Stove (January 1989). Total Tennis: A Guide to the Fundamentals of the Game. Simon & Schuster. ISBN 978-0-7318-0066-7.
  3. ^ "Betty Stove Bio | Bio & Career – WTA Official".
  4. ^ "Betty Stove Women's Singles Activity". itftennis.com. Retrieved 9 August 2023.
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Awards
Preceded by Dutch Sportswoman of the Year
1977
Succeeded by
Keetie van Oosten