The Open Era
Netherlands · born Rotterdam, 1945 · right-handed · 1977 Wimbledon singles finalist and three times Wimbledon champion in doubles and mixed
All playersBack to the rankings
3
Wimbledon titles: doubles 1972, mixed 1978 and 1981
3
Wimbledon finals in 1977: singles, doubles and mixed
1972
First Wimbledon champion from the Netherlands
10
Major titles: six in women's doubles, four in mixed
No. 5
Career-high singles ranking, July 1977
Betty Stöve was born in Rotterdam on 24 June 1945, weeks after the end of the war in Europe, and made her Wimbledon debut in 1964. In 1968 an illness led doctors to tell her she would never compete again; she kept playing and had her best years in the decade that followed.
In 1972 she won three majors in women's doubles: the French Open and Wimbledon with Billie Jean King and the US Open, at Forest Hills, with Françoise Dürr. At Wimbledon in 1977, the centenary year, she reached the singles final, beating Martina Navratilova and Sue Barker, and lost to Virginia Wade; she lost the doubles and mixed finals too. With Frew McMillan she won four mixed majors, the US Open in 1977 and 1978 and Wimbledon in 1978 and 1981. She reached No. 1 in doubles and No. 5 in singles, and won the 1979 French and US doubles with Wendy Turnbull.
Off the court she helped found the WTA in 1973 as its first treasurer, served three terms as president of the players' association and became the first woman on the ITF Committee of Management. She retired from the tour in 1983 and coached Hana Mandlíková for about a decade, co-writing the instruction book Total Tennis with her in 1989.
| Wimbledon doubles 1972 | With Billie Jean King, beat Judy Tegart Dalton and Françoise Dürr 6-2, 4-6, 6-3 in the final on No. 1 Court |
|---|---|
| US Open 1972 | With Françoise Dürr, beat Margaret Court and Virginia Wade 6-3, 1-6, 6-3 in the doubles final on grass at Forest Hills |
| Wimbledon 1977 | Lost the singles final to Virginia Wade 4-6, 6-3, 6-1; the doubles final with Martina Navratilova to Helen Gourlay Cawley and JoAnne Russell 6-3, 6-3; and the mixed final with Frew McMillan to Bob Hewitt and Greer Stevens 3-6, 7-5, 6-4. The Compendium lists her with Doris Hart (1948) and Margaret Court (1971) as women who were runners-up in all three events in one year |
| Wimbledon mixed with Frew McMillan | 1978: beat Ray Ruffels and Billie Jean King 6-2, 6-2. 1981: beat John and Tracy Austin 4-6, 7-6, 6-3, after losing five sets in the event, the most by a mixed champion. Also lost the finals of 1977 and 1979, both to Bob Hewitt and Greer Stevens |
| Wimbledon doubles finals lost | 1973 with Dürr, to Rosie Casals and King 6-1, 4-6, 7-5. 1975 with Dürr, to Ann Kiyomura and Kazuko Sawamatsu 7-5, 1-6, 7-5. 1976 with King, to Chris Evert and Navratilova 6-1, 3-6, 7-5. 1977 with Navratilova. 1979 with Wendy Turnbull, to King and Navratilova 5-7, 6-3, 6-2 |
| Wimbledon | ||
|---|---|---|
| 1972 | Women's doubles | with Billie Jean King |
| 1978 | Mixed doubles | with Frew McMillan |
| 1981 | Mixed doubles | with Frew McMillan |
| Toyota Classic (Melbourne) | ||
| 1976 | Women's doubles† | with Margaret Court |
| 1977 | Women's doubles† | with Evonne Goolagong Cawley |
| Eastbourne | ||
| 1978 | Women's doubles† | with Chris Evert |
| 1979 | Women's doubles† | with Wendy Turnbull |
| Irish Championships | ||
| 1971 | Women's doubles† Irish Open | with Lesley Turner Bowrey |
| US Championships | ||
| 1972 | Women's doubles US Open | with Françoise Dürr |
| Welsh Championships | ||
| 1972 | Women's doubles† | with Judy Tegart Dalton |
| Newport, Rhode Island | ||
| 1973 | Women's doubles† Virginia Slims of Newport | with Françoise Dürr |
| Colgate International (Sydney) | ||
| 1976 | Women's doubles† | with Martina Navratilova |
| Chichester | ||
| 1980 | Women's doubles† | with Pam Shriver |
| National Panasonic Open | ||
| 1980 | Women's doubles† | with Pam Shriver |
| New South Wales Championships | ||
| 1980 | Women's doubles† New South Wales Open | with Pam Shriver |
Leading grass titles only: the grass majors, tour-level grass events since 1968 and the leading grass championships before 1968. † single source; ‡ sources disagree. Roll of champions
"Billie Jean told me to stand guard at the meeting room door because I was the tallest."
The person behind the player.
London, June 1973
At the Gloucester Hotel meeting that founded the WTA, Billie Jean King asked Stöve, the tallest player there, to guard the door. "People thought it was to keep the media out, but it was to keep the players in!" she recalled. She was elected the first treasurer.
Source: WTAWTA treasurer
As treasurer she had to collect the membership fees. "I would enter the locker room and it would empty out!" she said.
Source: WTA1968
In 1968 Stöve was told that a debilitating illness meant she would never compete again. "I did not listen and kept playing tennis," she said. Her major titles all came after it, from 1972 onwards.
Source: WTAWimbledon 1977 · Centenary
Stöve beat Sue Barker in the semi-finals, denying the home crowd an all-British final, then met Virginia Wade. The Queen, at Wimbledon for the second Friday in her Silver Jubilee year, presented the trophy to Wade on court. Stöve was named Dutch Sportswoman of the Year.
Source: Wimbledon Compendium 2025 (AELTC); WTACoach, 1980s
After her playing days Stöve coached Hana Mandlíková through most of her career, in which Mandlíková won four major singles titles and reached No. 3. In 1989 they wrote the instruction book Total Tennis together. "Retiring from the game never really happened," Stöve said.
Source: WTAFree membership: player news, the grass court Atlas, the rankings and the grass season calendar.
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