Title: Virginia Wade
Content: Tennis. Wade won at Wimbledon, in 1977. It was the 16th year in which Wade had played at Wimbledon, and she made her first appearance in the final by beating the defending champion Chris Evert in a semifinal 6–2, 4–6, 6–1. In the final, she faced Betty Stöve. Not only was 1977 the 100th anniversary of the founding of the Wimbledon Championships, but it was the Silver Jubilee year of Elizabeth II, who attended Wimbledon for the first time since 1962 to watch the final. Wade beat Stöve in three sets to claim the championship, nine days before her 32nd

Title: 1977 Wimbledon Championships – Women's Singles
Content: illness. She was replaced in the draw by Lucky Loser Chris O'Neil. 1977 Wimbledon Championships – Women's Singles Chris Evert was the defending champion, but lost in the semifinals to Virginia Wade. Wade defeated Betty Stöve in the final, 4–6, 6–3, 6–1 in the final to win the Ladies' Singles tennis title at the 1977 Wimbledon Championships. As of 2017 Wade remains the last British woman to win a Wimbledon singles title. This was the first time Wimbledon seeded more than 8 players for the ladies' championship, increasing the number (for this year only) to twelve players. The number increased

Title: Virginia Wade
Content: won the inaugural open tennis competition — the British Hard Court Open at Bournemouth. She turned down the US$720 first prize. Five months later, she had turned professional and won the women's singles championship at the first US Open (and prize-money of $6,000 - $ today), defeating Billie Jean King in the final. Wade's second Grand Slam singles championship came in 1972 at the Australian Open. There, she defeated the Australian Evonne Goolagong in the final 6–4, 6–4. Wade was appointed a member of the Order of the British Empire (MBE) in the 1973 Birthday Honours for services to Lawn

Title: Virginia Wade
Content: Virginia Wade Sarah Virginia Wade, (born 10 July 1945) is a former professional tennis player from Great Britain. She won three Grand Slam singles championships and four Grand Slam doubles championships, and is the only British woman in history to have won titles at all four Grand Slam tournaments. She was ranked as high as No. 2 in the world in singles, and No. 1 in the world in doubles. Three times a Grand Slam singles champion, her most famous success was winning Wimbledon on 1 July 1977, the tournament's centenary year, and the year of the Silver Jubilee of

Title: 1978 Wimbledon Championships – Women's Singles
Content: 1978 Wimbledon Championships – Women's Singles Virginia Wade was the defending champion, but lost in the semifinals to Chris Evert. Martina Navratilova defeated her rival Evert in the final, 2–6, 6–4, 7–5 to win the Ladies' Singles tennis title at the 1978 Wimbledon Championships. This was Navratilova's first of 18 Grand Slam singles titles and a record nine Wimbledon singles titles. This was the first time Wimbledon seeded 16 players for the ladies' championship, increasing the number from 12 in 1977. There have been at least 16 seeds in every championship since. Chris Evert "(Final)" As originally published Rosie Casals

Question: Who was the defending champion when Virginia Wade won the Wimbledon singles?
Answer: Chris Evert