Stöve in 1966 | |
| Full name | Betty Flippina Stöve |
|---|---|
| ITF name | Betty Stove |
| Country (sports) | |
| Residence | Brasschaat, Belgium |
| Born | (1945-06-24)24 June 1945 (age 80) Rotterdam, Netherlands |
| Height | 1.80 m (5 ft 11 in) |
| Retired | 1983 |
| Plays | Right-handed |
| Prize money | US$1,047,356 |
| Singles | |
| Career record | 190–151 |
| Career titles | 1 |
| Highest ranking | No. 5 (3 July 1977) |
| Grand Slam singles results | |
| Australian Open | 3R (1967, 1980) |
| French Open | 3R (1965, 1971, 1972, 1973, 1979) |
| Wimbledon | F (1977) |
| US Open | SF (1977) |
| Doubles | |
| Career record | 0–1 |
| Career titles | 78 |
| Highest ranking | No. 1 |
| Grand Slam doubles results | |
| Australian Open | SF (1967) |
| French Open | W (1972,1979) |
| Wimbledon | W (1972) |
| US Open | W (1972,1977,1979) |
| Other doubles tournaments | |
| Tour Finals | W (1976,1977,1979) |
| Mixed doubles | |
| Career titles | 4 |
| Grand Slam mixed doubles results | |
| Australian Open | — |
| French Open | F (1973, 1981) |
| Wimbledon | W (1978, 1981) |
| US Open | W (1977, 1978) |
Betty Flippina Stöve (born 24 June 1945) is a Dutch former professional tennis player. She is best known for reaching the ladies' singles final, the ladies' doubles final and the mixed doubles final during the same year atWimbledon in 1977. She also won tenGrand Slam titles in women's doubles and mixed doubles.[1]
Stöve began playing tennis internationally in the mid-1960s. She made her Grand Slam debut at the 1964Wimbledon. A virus, complicated by a malfunctioningthyroid 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.[1]
Stöve was an accomplished singles player reaching several finals on tour and attaining a singles ranking of world No. 5 in July 1977. Stöve's best grand slam singles performance was at the 1977Wimbledon where she reached the final beating fellow doubles partnerMartina Navratilova en route in the quarterfinals, andSue Barker in the semi-finals preventing an all-England final. She lost the final in three sets to third-seededVirginia Wade. QueenElizabeth II attended the final. In addition she also reached the final of the doubles (with Navratilova) and the mixed doubles withFrew McMillan, but won neither of them. She is notably the last player in any Grand Slam event to earn such a record.[citation needed] Later that year Stöve was also a semifinalist at the 1977US Open, losing to eventual championChris 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 includeMartina Navratilova,Evonne Goolagong,Sue Barker,Maria Bueno,Virginia Ruzici,Tracy Austin,Kerry Reid,Billie Jean King, andClaudia 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 withWendy Turnbull. Her other two titles were won withFrançoise 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 78 doubles titles on tour and ranked World No. 1 in doubles.
She competed for theNetherlands Fed Cup team in 1966, 1969, 1970–1972, and 1976–1983.
Stöve was elected treasurer at the founding meeting of theWomen's Tennis Association on June 21, 1973. At that meeting Stöve was asked by Billy Jean King to block the exit, saying: 'don't let anybody out until we have an association'.[2]
Stöve coachedHana Mandlíková from 1980 through 1990. She also coachedKristie Boogert.[1]
Stöve is a former member of the ITF Committee of Management, its first female member.[1]
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 wroteTotal Tennis, a tennis instruction book.[3] Stöve speaks six languages, and she is an accomplished photographer.[1]


| Result | Year | Championship | Surface | Opponent | Score |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Loss | 1977 | Wimbledon | Grass | 6–4, 3–6, 2–6 |
| Result | Year | Championship | Surface | Partner | Opponents | Score |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Win | 1972 | French Open | Clay | 6–1, 6–2 | ||
| Win | 1972 | Wimbledon | Grass | 6–2, 4–6, 6–3 | ||
| Win | 1972 | US Open | Grass | 6–3, 1–6, 6–3 | ||
| Loss | 1973 | French Open | Clay | 2–6, 3–6 | ||
| Loss | 1972 | Wimbledon | Grass | 1–6, 6–4, 5–7 | ||
| Loss | 1974 | US Open | Grass | 6–7, 7–6, 4–6 | ||
| Loss | 1975 | Wimbledon | Grass | 5–7, 6–1, 5–7 | ||
| Loss | 1976 | Wimbledon | Grass | 1–6, 6–3, 5–7 | ||
| Loss | 1977 | Wimbledon | Grass | 3–6, 3–6 | ||
| Win | 1977 | US Open(2) | Clay | 6–1, 7–6 | ||
| Win | 1979 | French Open(2) | Clay | 3–6, 7–5, 6–4 | ||
| Loss | 1979 | Wimbledon | Grass | 7–5, 3–6, 2–6 | ||
| Win | 1979 | US Open(3) | Hard | 6–4, 6–3 | ||
| Loss | 1980 | US Open | Hard | 6–7, 5–7 |
| Result | Year | Championship | Surface | Partner | Opponents | Score |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Loss | 1971 | US Open | Grass | 3–6, 5–7 | ||
| Loss | 1973 | French Open | Clay | 1–6, 4–6 | ||
| Loss | 1975 | Wimbledon | Grass | 4–6, 5–7 | ||
| Loss | 1976 | US Open | Clay | 6–3, 2–6, 5–7 | ||
| Loss | 1977 | Wimbledon | Grass | 6–3, 5–7, 4–6 | ||
| Win | 1977 | US Open | Clay | 6–2, 3–6, 6–3 | ||
| Win | 1978 | Wimbledon | Grass | 6–2, 6–2 | ||
| Win | 1978 | US Open | Hard | 6–3, 7–6 | ||
| Loss | 1979 | Wimbledon | Grass | 5–7, 6–7 | ||
| Loss | 1979 | US Open | Hard | 3–6, 5–7 | ||
| Loss | 1980 | US Open | Hard | 5–7, 2–6 | ||
| Loss | 1981 | French Open | Clay | 6–7, 4–6 | ||
| Win | 1981 | Wimbledon | Grass | 4–6, 7–6, 6–3 |
| Result | Year | Championship | Surface | Partner | Opponents | Score |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Loss | 1973 | New York City | Carpet (i) | 2–6, 4–6 | ||
| Loss | 1974 | Los Angeles | Carpet (i) | 1–6, 7–6, 5–7 | ||
| Win | 1979 | New York City | Carpet (i) | 7–6, 7–6 |
| Result | W/L | Date | Tournament | Surface | Opponent | Score |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Win | 1–0 | Jul 1966 | Bristol, UK[4] | Grass | 6–3, 7–5 | |
| Loss | 1–1 | Feb 1971 | Christchurch, New Zealand[5] | Grass | 1–6, 4–6 | |
| Win | 2–1 | Jul 1972 | Hilversum, Netherlands | Clay | 7–5, 6–3 | |
| Win | 3–1 | Jul 1973 | Hilversum, Netherlands | Clay | 7–5, 6–2 | |
| Loss | 3–2 | Aug 1973 | Denver, US | Hard | 4–6, 2–6 | |
| Loss | 3–3 | Sep 1976 | Atlanta, US | Carpet (i) | 7–5, 5–7, 5–7 | |
| Win | 4–3 | Oct 1976 | Tokyo, Japan | Carpet (i) | 1–6, 6–4, 6–3 | |
| Loss | 4–4 | Dec 1976 | Sydney, Australia | Grass | 5–7, 2–6 | |
| Loss | 4–5 | July 1977 | Wimbledon | Grass | 6–4, 3–6, 1–6 | |
| Loss | 4–6 | Oct 1977 | São Paulo, Brazil | Hard | 6–1, 6–4 | |
| Loss | 4–7 | Jan 1978 | Washington, US | Carpet (i) | 5–7, 4–6 | |
| Loss | 4–8 | Feb 1978 | Seattle, US | Carpet (i) | 1–6, 6–1, 1–6 | |
| Loss | 4–9 | Sept 1978 | Tokyo, Japan | Carpet (i) | 4–6, 6–7 | |
| Loss | 4–10 | Oct 1978 | Brighton, UK | Carpet (i) | 7–5, 2–6, 5–7 | |
| Loss | 4–11 | Oct 1978 | Stuttgart, West Germany | Hard | 3–6, 3–6 | |
| Loss | 4–12 | Nov 1979 | Stockholm, Sweden | Hard | 3–6, 7–6, 5–7 |
(*) Note: Tokyo was a non-tour event in 1976, and some events listed above are before the inception of the WTA in June 1973.[6]
| 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 | 1978 | 1979 | 1980 | 1981 | 1982 | CareerSR | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 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 | 3R | 2R | 1R | 2R | 0 / 10 | |
| Wimbledon | 2R | 1R | 3R | 2R | A | 2R | 2R | 2R | 4R | 1R | 1R | QF | 4R | F | 4R | 4R | 3R | 2R | A | 0 / 17 | |
| United States | 1R | A | A | A | A | A | A | 1R | 3R | 2R | 2R | 2R | 1R | 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 / 3 | 0 / 4 | 0 / 4 | 0 / 3 | 0 / 44 | |
| Year-end ranking | 22 | 7 | 7 | 8 | 22 | 28 | 123 | 47 | |||||||||||||
| Tournament | 1967 | 1968 | 1969 | 1970 | 1971 | 1972 | 1973 | 1974 | 1975 | 1976 | 1977 | 1978 | 1979 | 1980 | 1981 | 1982 | 1983 | 1984 | 1985 | CareerSR | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Australia | SF | A | A | A | A | A | A | A | A | A | A | A | A | A | QF | QF | 2R | 1R | A | A | 0–5 |
| France | A | A | A | QF | QF | W | F | A | A | A | A | A | W | SF | 3R | 3R | 1R | A | A | 2–9 | |
| Wimbledon | A | A | 3R | 3R | 1R | W | F | QF | F | F | F | 3R | F | QF | A | 2R | 2R | 1R | A | 1–15 | |
| United States | A | A | A | A | QF | W | QF | F | SF | QF | W | 1R | W | F | 3R | 3R | 1R | 1R | 1R | 3–15 | |
Note: The Australian Open was held twice in 1977, in January and December.
| Awards | ||
|---|---|---|
| Preceded by | Dutch Sportswoman of the Year 1977 | Succeeded by Keetie van Oosten |