Murray’s Wimbledon Win Irks British Women

When Andy Murray won the Wimbledon Men’s Singles Championship this past weekend, headlines around the world noted with pride that this was the first Wimbledon win for a British player in 77 years.  It took the anger of British women, especially players, to get these same headlines changed: While Murray may have been the first British MAN to win Wimbledon in the past 77 years, it shouldn’t be forgotten that Virginia Wade won the Venus Rosewater Dish 36 years ago and held up the trophy for her home team on the tournament’s 100th birthday.

Headlines such as “Inspired Murray Ends 77 Years of British Hurt” and “Andy Murray Ends 77 Year British Drought”, must have been painful for Wade and other dedicated local female players to read.

At the time, the popular Englishwoman’s win was seen as just as big a deal as Murray’s win this weekend.  With two Grand Slams already behind her, Wade was itching to reach the finals of what she must have considered the greatest tournament to play in, but she had a disappointing record of nearly-making-it-but-not-quite.  However, 1977 was the year that the tennis gods smiled down on Wade, as she beat the number one seeded Chris Evert in three straight sets in the semifinals, before meeting the Dutch player, Betty Stove in the finals.

This was the first time in Wimbledon history that two over-30’s made it through to the finals of the tournament, and Wade finally went on to win the title a fortnight short of her 32nd birthday.

Even more meaningful for Wade was the fact that she received the trophy from no less than Queen Elizabeth II herself, who didn’t attend an All-England club game again until 2010, ironically to view Andy Murray in action!