The Open Era
United States · born San Francisco, 1948 · five times Wimbledon doubles champion with Billie Jean King
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5
Wimbledon doubles titles with Billie Jean King
2
Wimbledon mixed titles with Ilie Nastase
3
Wimbledon singles semi-finals, 1969 to 1972
112
Professional doubles titles
5ft 2in
Her height
Born in San Francisco in 1948 to parents from El Salvador, Casals was raised by her great-uncle Manuel, who taught her on the city's public courts and was her only coach. With Billie Jean King she won the Wimbledon and US doubles in 1967. In 1970 she joined the players who broke away over prize money and won the first Virginia Slims event in Houston, the start of the women's professional tour. She reached the US Open singles final in 1970 and 1971, losing to Margaret Court and King, won 112 professional doubles titles, the last with Martina Navratilova in 1988, and played World TeamTennis for nine teams. She entered the International Tennis Hall of Fame in 1996.
| Major singles finals lost | 2: US 1970, US 1971 |
|---|---|
| Other grass singles titles | 1: Victorian Championships (1966) |
| Major doubles titles | 8 doubles (Wimbledon 5, US 3), 2 mixed (Wimbledon 2) |
| Other grass doubles titles | 4: Queen's 3 (1971, 1972, 1973); Nottingham (1973) |
| Wimbledon doubles | Champion 1967, 1968, 1970, 1971 and 1973 with Billie Jean King; runner-up 1980 and 1983 with Wendy Turnbull |
| Wimbledon mixed | Champion 1970 and 1972 with Ilie Nastase; runner-up 1976 with Dick Stockton |
| US doubles on grass | 1967 and 1974 with King; 1971 with Judy Tegart Dalton |
| Finals to remember | 1967 Wimbledon doubles: beat Maria Bueno and Nancy Richey 9-11, 6-4, 6-2. 1970 Wimbledon mixed: beat Olga Morozova and Alex Metreveli 6-3, 4-6, 9-7 |
| Wimbledon singles | Semi-finalist 1969, 1970 and 1972; quarter-finalist 1973, 1976 and 1977 |
| Wimbledon | ||
|---|---|---|
| 1967 | Women's doubles | with Billie Jean King |
| 1968 | Women's doubles | with Billie Jean King |
| 1970 | Women's doubles | with Billie Jean King |
| 1970 | Mixed doubles | with Ilie Năstase |
| 1971 | Women's doubles | with Billie Jean King |
| 1972 | Mixed doubles | with Ilie Năstase |
| 1973 | Women's doubles | with Billie Jean King |
| US Championships | ||
| 1967 | Women's doubles | with Billie Jean King |
| 1971 | Women's doubles US Open | with Judy Tegart Dalton |
| 1974 | Women's doubles US Open | with Billie Jean King |
| Queen's Club | ||
| 1971 | Women's doubles†| with Billie Jean King |
| 1972 | Women's doubles†| with Billie Jean King |
| 1973 | Women's doubles†| with Billie Jean King |
| Victorian Championships | ||
| 1966 | Women's singles†| |
| Eastern Grass Court Championships (South Orange) | ||
| 1970 | Women's doubles†| with Virginia Wade |
| Christchurch | ||
| 1971 | Women's doubles†| with Billie Jean King |
| Nottingham | ||
| 1973 | Women's doubles†| with Billie Jean King |
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
"Tiny package, explosive contents. Tennis was no waiting game at the baseline."
The person behind the player.
San Francisco · 1950s
Her great-uncle Manuel taught her on the free public courts of Golden Gate Park. At junior events she noticed that "the other kids had nice tennis clothes, nice rackets, nice white shoes, and came in Cadillacs." She said later: "I felt stigmatized because we were poor." By 16 she was the top player in Northern California.
Source: International Tennis Hall of FameHouston 1970
When the Pacific Southwest Championships offered women a fraction of the men's prize money, she and other top women broke away. Gladys Heldman put up $5,000 of her own money, and Casals won the Virginia Slims Invitational in Houston that September, the event that led to the women's tour.
Source: Encyclopedia.comWimbledon 1972
She came out in a white dress by Ted Tinling with purple patterning, and officials sent her off court to change into plain white. She enjoyed the fuss and liked to say the dress beat her to the International Tennis Hall of Fame. That summer she won the mixed with Ilie Nastase.
Source: Encyclopedia.comHouston Astrodome 1973
ABC put her beside Howard Cosell for the King and Bobby Riggs match. Producers wanted her to rag on Riggs, which she did anyway, and she found Cosell a know-it-all. "I certainly did not enjoy myself," she said decades later; she would rather have watched from the floor.
Source: NewsdayOn tour
Fans called her Rosebud, a name that sat oddly on a player who charged the net and once hit a shot between her legs. Her peers had another name. "We actually nicknamed Rosie 'general'," Billie Jean King said.
Source: International Tennis Hall of FameFree membership: player news, the grass court Atlas, the rankings and the grass season calendar.
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