# Betty Stöve

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.

## Career

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.
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. 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

Stöve coached Hana Mandlíková from 1980 through 1990. She also coached Kristie Boogert.
Stöve is a former member of the ITF Committee of Management, its first female member.
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. Stöve speaks six languages, and she is an accomplished photographer.

## Major finals
### Grand Slam finals
#### Singles (1 runner-up)

| 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)

| 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)

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

| 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
### Singles (11)

| Result | W/L | Date | Tournament | Surface | Opponent | Score |
| Win | 1–0 | Jul 1966 | Bristol Open | 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.

### Doubles (75)

| Result | No. | Date | Tournament | Surface | Partner | Opponents | Score |
| Win | 1. | Apr 1971 | Buenos Aires, Argentina | Clay | Olga Morozova | Beatriz Araujo Ines Roget | 7–5, 6–1 |
| Win | 2. | Jun 1972 | French Open | Clay | Billie Jean King | Winnie Shaw Nell Truman | 6–1, 6–2 |
| Win | 3. | Jul 1972 | Wimbledon | Grass | Billie Jean King | Françoise Dürr Judy Tegart Dalton | 6–2, 4–6, 6–3 |
| Win | 3. | Sep 1972 | US Open | Grass | Françoise Dürr | Margaret Court Virginia Wade | 6–3, 1–6, 6–3 |
| Win | 4. | Feb 1974 | Washington D.C., US | Carpet (i) | Billie Jean King | Françoise Dürr Kerry Harris | 6–3, 6–4 |
| Win | 2. | Apr 1974 | St. Petersburg, US | Hard | Olga Morozova | Chris Evert Evonne Goolagong | 6–4, 6–2 |
| Win | 1. | Apr 1975 | Philadelphia, US | Carpet (i) | Evonne Goolagong | Rosie Casals Billie Jean King | 4–6, 6–4, 7–6 |
| Win | 1. | Feb 1976 | Sarasota, Florida, US | Carpet (i) | Martina Navratilova | Mona Guerrant Ann Kiyomura | 6–1, 6–0 |
| Win | 4. | Mar 1976 | San Francisco, US | Carpet (i) | Billie Jean King | Rosemary Casals Françoise Dürr | 6–4, 6–1 |
| Win | 5. | Apr 1976 | Philadelphia, US | Carpet (i) | Billie Jean King | Rosemary Casals Françoise Dürr | 6–3, 7–6$^{(5–3)}$ |
| Win | 6. | Oct 1976 | Phoenix, US | Hard | Billie Jean King | Linky Boshoff Ilana Kloss | 6–2, 6–1 |
| Win | 7. | Dec 1976 | Sydney, Australia | Grass | Martina Navratilova | Françoise Dürr Ann Kiyomura | 6–3, 7–5 |
| Win | 8. | Feb 1977 | Washington D.C., US | Carpet (i) | Martina Navratilova | Kristien Kemmer-Shaw Valerie Ziegenfuss | 7–5, 6–2 |
| Win | 6. | Jan 1977 | Hollywood, US | Carpet (i) | Martina Navratilova | Rosemary Casals Chris Evert | 6–4, 3–6, 6–4 |
| Win | 7. | Jan 1977 | Houston, US | Carpet (i) | Martina Navratilova | Sue Barker Ann Kiyomura | 4–6, 6–2, 6–4 |
| Win | 9. | Feb 1977 | Detroit, US | Carpet (i) | Martina Navratilova | Janet Newberry JoAnne Russell | 6–3, 6–4 |
| Win | 10. | Mar 1977 | Dallas, US | Carpet (i) | Martina Navratilova | Kerry Reid Greer Stevens | 6–2, 6–4 |
| Loss | 1. | Mar 1977 | Philadelphia, US | Carpet (i) | Martina Navratilova | Françoise Dürr Virginia Wade | 4–6, 6–4, 4–6 |
| Win | 11. | Apr 1977 | Tokyo, Japan | Carpet (i) | Martina Navratilova | Françoise Dürr Virginia Wade | 7–5, 6–3 |
| Win | 12. | Aug 1977 | Charlotte, US | Clay | Martina Navratilova | Regina Maršíková Pam Teeguarden | 6–3, 6–4 |
| Win | 13. | Sep 1977 | US Open, New York City | Clay | Martina Navratilova | Renée Richards Betty-Ann Stuart | 6–1, 7–6 |
| Win | 14. | Oct 1977 | Atlanta, US | Carpet (i) | Martina Navratilova | Brigitte Cuypers Marise Kruger | 6–4, 6–2 |
| Win | 2. | Nov 1977 | Melbourne, Australia | Grass | Evonne Goolagong | Patricia Bostrom Kym Ruddell | 6–3, 6–0 |
| Loss | 1. | Jan 1978 | Washington | Carpet (i) | Wendy Turnbull | Billie Jean King Martina Navratilova | 3–6, 5–7 |
| Win | 3. | Feb 1978 | Chicago, US | Carpet(i) | Evonne Goolagong | Rosie Casals JoAnne Russell | 6–1, 6–4 |
| Win | 3. | Jun 1978 | Eastbourne | Grass | Chris Evert | Billie Jean King Martina Navratilova | 6–4, 6–7, 7–5 |
| Win | 2. | Oct 1978 | Phoenix, US | Hard | Tracy Austin | Martina Navratilova Anne Smith | 6–4, 6–7, 6–2 |
| Win | 3. | Oct 1978 | Filderstadt, West Germany | Carpet (i) | Tracy Austin | Mima Jaušovec Virginia Ruzici | 6–3, 6–2 |
| Loss | 4. | Jan 1979 | Oakland, US | Carpet (i) | Tracy Austin | Rosie Casals Chris Evert | 6–3, 4–6, 3–6 |
| Win | 5. | Jan 1979 | Hollywood, US | Carpet (i) | Tracy Austin | Rosie Casals Wendy Turnbull | 6–2, 2–6, 6–2 |
| Win | 2. | Feb 1979 | Detroit, US | Carpet (i) | Wendy Turnbull | Sue Barker Ann Kiyomura | 6–4, 7–6$^{(7–5)}$ |
| Win | 3. | May 1979 | Rome, Italy | 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, UK | 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, US | Carpet (i) | Wendy Turnbull | Billie Jean King Martina Navratilova | 6–1, 6–4 |
| Win | 7. | Aug 1979 | Mahwah, US | Hard | Tracy Austin | Mima Jaušovec Regina Maršíková | 7–6, 2–6, 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, US | Carpet (i) | Wendy Turnbull | Ann Kiyomura Anne Smith | 6–2, 6–4 |
| Loss | 10. | Oct 1979 | Minneapolis, US | Carpet (i) | Wendy Turnbull | Billie Jean King Martina Navratilova | 4–6, 6–7 |
| Win | 11. | Oct 1979 | Phoenix, US | Hard | Wendy Turnbull | Rosie Casals Chris Evert-Lloyd | 6–4, 7–6 |
| Win | 12. | Oct 1979 | Stockholm, Sweden | Carpet (i) | Wendy Turnbull | Billie Jean King Ilana Kloss | 7–5, 7–6 |
| Loss | 13. | Nov 1979 | Filderstadt, West Germany | Carpet (i) | Wendy Turnbull | Billie Jean King Martina Navratilova | 3–6, 3–6 |
| Loss | 14. | Feb 1980 | Houston, US | Carpet (i) | Wendy Turnbull | Billie Jean King Ilana Kloss | 6–3, 1–6, 4–6 |
| Win | 15. | Jun 1980 | Chichester, UK | Grass | Pam Shriver | Rosemary Casals Wendy Turnbull | 6–4, 7–5 |
| Loss | 2. | Oct 1980 | Stockholm, Sweden | Carpet (i) | Hana Mandlíková | Mima Jaušovec Virginia Ruzici | 2–6, 1–6 |
| Win | 3. | Nov 1980 | Filderstadt, West Germany | Carpet (i) | Hana Mandlíková | Kathy Jordan Anne Smith | 6–4, 7–5 |
| Win | 4. | Nov 1980 | Amsterdam, Netherlands | Carpet (i) | Hana Mandlíková | Mima Jaušovec JoAnne Russell | 7–6, 7–6 |
| Win | 16. | Dec 1980 | Sydney, Australia | Grass | Pam Shriver | Rosemary Casals Wendy Turnbull | 6–1, 4–6, 6–4 |
| Win | 17. | Dec 1980 | Adelaide, Australia | Grass | Pam Shriver | Sue Barker Sharon Walsh | 6–4, 6–3 |
| Loss | 3. | Feb 1981 | Detroit, US | Carpet (i) | Hana Mandlíková | Rosie Casals Wendy Turnbull | 4–6, 2–6 |
Grand slam events in boldface.

## Grand Slam singles tournament timeline

Key :
| W | F | SF | QF | #R | RR | Q# | DNQ | A | NH |
| Tournament | 1964 | 1965 | 1966 | 1967 | 1968 | 1969 | 1970 | 1971 | 1972 | 1973 | 1974 | 1975 | 1976 | 1977 | 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 | A | 3R | 2R | 1R | 2R | 0 / 10 |
| Wimbledon | 2R | 1R | 3R | 2R | A | 2R | 2R | 2R | 4R | 1R | 1R | QF | 4R | F | F | 4R | 4R | 3R | 2R | A | 0 / 17 |
| United States | 1R | A | A | A | A | A | A | 1R | 3R | 2R | 2R | 2R | 1R | SF | 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 / 2 | 0 / 3 | 0 / 4 | 0 / 4 | 0 / 3 | 0 / 44 |
| Career statistics |
| Year End Ranking | | | | | | | | | | | | 22 | 7 | 7 | 7 | 8 | 22 | 28 | 123 | 47 | |
Note: The Australian Open was held twice in 1977, in January and December.