Virginia Ruzici

Virginia Ruzici (born 31 January 1955) is a former professional tennis player from Romania. She won the 1978 French Open singles championship.

Virginia Ruzici

Virginia Ruzici at the 1981 Summer Universiade
Country (sports)	Romania
Born	(1955-01-31) 31 January 1955 (age 69) Câmpia Turzii, Socialist Republic of Romania
Height	1.73 m (5 ft 8 in)
Turned pro	1975
Retired	1987
Plays	Right-handed (one-handed backhand)
Prize money	$1,183,728
Singles
Career record	377–221 (63.0%)
Career titles	12
Highest ranking	No. 8 (21 May 1979)
Grand Slam singles results
Australian Open	QF (1980)
French Open	W (1978)
Wimbledon	QF (1978, 1981)
US Open	QF (1976, 1978)
Doubles
Career record	285–181 (61.2%)
Career titles	16
Highest ranking	No. 70 (12 October 1987)
Grand Slam doubles results
Australian Open	2R (1980)
French Open	W (1978)
Wimbledon	F (1978)
US Open	SF (1976)
Grand Slam mixed doubles results
French Open	F (1978, 1979)
Wimbledon	3R (1979)
US Open	QF (1981)
Team competitions
Fed Cup	25–13
Medal record Representing  Romania Summer Universiade 1977 Sofia Doubles 1977 Sofia Mixed doubles 1979 Mexico City Singles 1979 Mexico City Doubles 1979 Mexico City Mixed doubles 1981 Bucharest Singles 1981 Bucharest Doubles 1981 Bucharest Mixed doubles

Career

Ruzici became a professional tennis player in 1975. One of her main assets on court was her powerful forehand. In a career spanning 12 years, Ruzici won 12 career singles titles, including one Grand Slam title, the 1978 French Open. In the final, she beat 1977 French Open champion Mima Jaušovec 6–2, 6–2. Ruzici also won the French Open doubles event with Jaušovec in 1978 and reached the mixed doubles final in 1978. She appeared in the French Open singles final in 1980, but lost in straight sets to Chris Evert.^[1]

Ruzici remained in the world's top 20 from 1977 to 1983.^[2] She regularly featured in the Romania Fed Cup team throughout her career, and began playing for them in 1973, two years before turning professional.

At Wimbledon 1978, Ruzici lost a notable match in the quarterfinal to the Australian Evonne Goolagong who was playing with an injured ankle. Goolagong's injury led to her collapsing on court and her husband, Roger Cawley, came on to the court to aid his wife, technically defaulting the Australian from the match. When Goolagong recovered, Ruzici agreed to continue the match, but lost 7–5, 6–3 and was praised for her sportsmanship.^[3] It has been stated during TV commentaries that Ruzici's victory in 1980 at a tournament in Salt Lake City was watched by Richard Williams who was inspired by her triumph and prize money to teach his daughters Venus and Serena Williams to play tennis.^[4][5][6]

Ruzici was the manager of Romanian tennis player Simona Halep until 2022.^[7]

Grand Slam tournament finals

Singles: 2 (1 title, 1 runner–up)

Result	Year	Championship	Surface	Opponent	Score
Win	1978	French Open	Clay	Mima Jaušovec	6–2, 6–2
Loss	1980	French Open	Clay	Chris Evert	0–6, 3–6

Women's doubles: 2 (1 title, 1 runner–up)

Result	Year	Championship	Surface	Partner	Opponents	Score
Win	1978	French Open	Clay	Mima Jaušovec	Gail Sherriff Lovera   Lesley Turner Bowrey	6–4, 6–3
Loss	1978	Wimbledon	Grass	Mima Jaušovec	Kerry Melville Reid   Wendy Turnbull	6–4, 8–9^(8), 3–6

Mixed doubles: 2 (2 runner-ups)

Result	Year	Championship	Surface	Partner	Opponents	Score
Loss	1978	French Open	Clay	Patrice Dominguez	Renáta Tomanová   Pavel Složil	6–4, 6–7, ret.
Loss	1979	French Open	Clay	Ion Țiriac	Wendy Turnbull   Bob Hewitt	3–6, 6–2, 3–6

WTA career finals

Singles: 27 (12–15)

Legend Grand Slam tournaments (1–1) WTA Championships (0–0) Virginia Slims, Avon, other (11–14)

Finals by surface Hard (1–2) Grass (0–1) Clay (9–10) Carpet (2–2)

Result	No.	Date	Tournament	Surface	Opponent	Score
Win	1.	18 August 1975	South Orange, Canada	Clay	Mariana Simionescu	6–1, 6–1
Loss	1.	12 July 1976	Austrian Open	Clay	Wendy Turnbull	4–6, 7–5, 3–6
Loss	2.	18 October 1976	Spanish Open	Clay	Renáta Tomanová	6–3, 4–6, 2–6
Win	2.	26 September 1977	Eckerd Open, U.S.	Clay	Laura duPont	6–4, 4–6, 6–2
Loss	3.	15 May 1978	German Open	Clay	Mima Jaušovec	2–6, 3–6
Loss	4.	22 May 1978	Italian Open	Clay	Regina Maršíková	5–7, 5–7
Win	3.	29 May 1978	French Open	Clay	Mima Jaušovec	6–2, 6–2
Win	4.	24 July 1978	Austrian Open	Clay	Sylvia Hanika	6–4, 6–3
Loss	5.	14 August 1978	Canadian Open	Hard	Regina Maršíková	5–7, 7–6, 2–6
Win	5.	16 October 1978	Brighton Challenge, UK	Carpet (i)	Betty Stöve	5–7, 6–2, 7–5
Loss	6.	19 February 1979	VS Detroit	Carpet (i)	Wendy Turnbull	5–7, 6–1, 6–7^(4)
Loss	7.	10 December 1979	Adelaide, Australia	Grass	Hana Mandlíková	5–7, 2–2 ret.
Loss	8.	5 May 1980	Italian Open	Clay	Chris Evert	7–5, 2–6, 2–6
Loss	9.	26 May 1980	French Open	Clay	Chris Evert	0–6, 3–6
Win	6.	21 July 1980	Austrian Open	Clay	Hana Mandlíková	3–6, 6–1, ret.
Loss	10.	11 August 1980	Canadian Open	Hard	Chris Evert	3–6, 1–6
Win	7.	8 September 1980	VS Salt Lake City, U.S.	Hard	Ivanna Madruga	6–1, 6–3
Loss	11.	10 November 1980	Amsterdam, Netherlands	Carpet (i)	Hana Mandlíková	7–5, 2–6, 5–7
Loss	12.	4 May 1981	Italian Open	Clay	Chris Evert	1–6, 2–6
Loss	13.	11 May 1981	European Open	Clay	Chris Evert	1–6, 1–6
Loss	14.	3 August 1981	U.S. Clay Courts	Clay	Andrea Jaeger	1–6, 0–6
Win	8.	12 July 1982	Monte Carlo, Monaco	Clay	Bonnie Gadusek	6–2, 7–6
Win	9.	19 July 1982	Austrian Open	Clay	Lea Plchová	6–2, 6–2
Win	10.	2 August 1982	U.S. Clay Courts	Clay	Helena Suková	6–2, 6–0
Win	11.	3 October 1983	VS Detroit, U.S.	Carpet (i)	Kathy Jordan	4–6, 6–4, 6–2
Loss	15.	1 April 1985	Seabrook Island, U.S.	Clay	Katerina Maleeva	3–6, 3–6
Win	12.	15 July 1985	Austrian Open	Clay	Mima Jaušovec	6–2, 6–3

Doubles: 35 (16–19)

Legend Grand Slam tournaments (1–1) WTA Championships (0–0) Virginia Slims, Avon, other (15–18)

Finals by surface Hard (2–1) Grass (1–1) Clay (10–11) Carpet (3–6)

Result	No.	Date	Tournament	Surface	Partner	Opponents	Score
Loss	1.	11 November 1973	London, UK	Carpet (i)	Mariana Simionescu	Lesley Charles   Glynis Coles	3–6, 5–7
Win	1.	4 November 1974	Edinburgh Cup, UK	Carpet (i)	Mima Jaušovec	María-Isabel Fernández   Raquel Giscafré	6–4, 4–6, 6–4
Loss	2.	8 March 1976	Tallahassee, U.S.	Clay	Mariana Simionescu	Julie Anthony   Dianne Fromholtz	2–6, 5–7
Loss	3.	23 May 1976	Italian Open	Clay	Mariana Simionescu	Linky Boshoff   Ilana Kloss	1–6, 2–6
Win	2.	18 October 1976	Spanish Open	Clay	Florența Mihai	Nathalie Fuchs   Michele Gurdal	6–2, 6–4
Loss	4.	24 January 1977	Minneapolis Indoors, U.S.	Carpet (i)	Mima Jaušovec	Rosie Casals   Martina Navratilova	2–6, 1–6
Win	3.	15 May 1978	German Open	Clay	Mima Jaušovec	Katja Ebbinghaus   Helga Niessen Masthoff	6–4, 5–7, 6–0
Win	4.	22 May 1978	Italian Open	Clay	Mima Jaušovec	Florența Mihai   Betsy Nagelsen	6–2, 2–6, 7–6
Win	5.	29 May 1978	French Open	Clay	Mima Jaušovec	Gail Sherriff Lovera   Lesley Turner Bowrey	5–7, 6–4, 8–6
Loss	5.	26 June 1978	Wimbledon, UK	Grass	Mima Jaušovec	Kerry Melville Reid   Wendy Turnbull	6–4, 8–9^(8), 3–6
Win	6.	24 July 1978	Austrian Open	Clay	Renáta Tomanová	Regina Maršíková   Florența Mihai	7–5, 6–2
Loss	6.	23 October 1978	Porsche Tennis Grand Prix, Germany	Carpet (i)	Mima Jaušovec	Tracy Austin   Betty Stöve	3–6, 3–6
Win	7.	1 January 1979	VS Washington, U.S.	Carpet (i)	Mima Jaušovec	Renée Richards   Sharon Walsh	4–6, 6–2, 6–4
Loss	7.	18 July 1979	Austrian Open	Clay	Elly Appel-Vessies	Helena Anliot   Dianne Evers	0–6, 4–6
Win	8.	22 October 1979	Tampa Open, U.S.	Hard	Anne Smith	Ilana Kloss   Betty Ann Stuart	7–5, 4–6, 7–5
Win	9.	10 December 1979	Adelaide, Australia	Grass	Hana Mandlíková	Sue Barker   Pam Shriver	6–1, 3–6, 6–2
Loss	8.	4 August 1980	U.S. Clay Courts	Clay	Renáta Tomanová	Anne Smith   Paula Smith	4–6, 6–3, 4–6
Win	10.	8 September 1980	VS Salt Lake City, U.S.	Hard	Pam Teeguarden	Barbara Jordan   JoAnne Russell	6–4, 7–5
Win	11.	27 October 1980	Stockholm Open, Sweden	Carpet (i)	Mima Jaušovec	Hana Mandlíková   Betty Stöve	6–2, 6–1
Loss	9.	16 March 1981	VS Boston, U.S.	Carpet (i)	JoAnne Russell	Barbara Potter   Sharon Walsh	7–6, 4–6, 3–6
Loss	10.	4 May 1981	Italian Open	Clay	Chris Evert	Candy Reynolds   Paula Smith	5–7, 1–6
Win	12.	3 August 1981	U.S. Clay Courts	Clay	JoAnne Russell	Sue Barker   Paula Smith	6–2, 6–2
Loss	11.	5 April 1982	Hilton Head Island, U.S.	Clay	JoAnne Russell	Martina Navratilova   Pam Shriver	1–6, 2–6
Loss	12.	10 May 1982	European Open	Clay	JoAnne Russell	Candy Reynolds   Paula Smith	2–6, 4–6
Win	13.	12 July 1982	Monte Carlo, Monaco	Clay	Catherine Tanvier	Patricia Medrado   Cláudia Monteiro	7–6, 6–2
Loss	13.	2 August 1982	U.S. Clay Courts	Clay	JoAnne Russell	Ivanna Madruga   Catherine Tanvier	5–7, 6–7^(3)
Loss	14.	6 December 1982	European Open	Carpet (i)	JoAnne Russell	Rosie Casals   Candy Reynolds	3–6, 3–6
Loss	15.	11 April 1983	Amelia Island Championships, U.S.	Clay	Hana Mandlíková	Rosalyn Fairbank   Candy Reynolds	4–6, 2–6
Win	14.	2 May 1983	Italian Open	Clay	Virginia Wade	Ivanna Madruga   Catherine Tanvier	6–3, 2–6, 6–1
Win	15.	1 August 1983	U.S. Clay Courts	Clay	Kathy Horvath	Gigi Fernández   Beth Herr	4–6, 7–6^(6), 6–2
Loss	16.	8 August 1983	LA Championships, U.S.	Hard	Betsy Nagelsen	Martina Navratilova   Pam Shriver	1–6, 0–6
Loss	17.	24 October 1983	Porsche Grand Prix, Germany	Carpet (i)	Catherine Tanvier	Martina Navratilova   Candy Reynolds	2–6, 1–6
Loss	18.	14 May 1984	German Open	Clay	Kathy Horvath	Anne Hobbs   Candy Reynolds	3–6, 6–4, 6–7^(11)
Loss	19.	21 May 1984	Italian Open	Clay	Kathy Horvath	Iva Budařová   Helena Suková	6–7^(5), 6–1, 4–6
Win	16.	15 July 1985	Austrian Open	Clay	Mima Jaušovec	Andrea Holíková   Kateřina Skronská	6–2, 6–3

Other finals

Singles (8–4)

Outcome	No.	Date	Tournament	Surface	Opponent	Score
Runner-up	1.	1 October 1972	Cluj, Romania	Clay	Judith Gohn	2–6, 4–6
Winner	2.	12 May 1974	Stuttgart, West Germany	Clay	Alena Palmeová-West	3–6, 6–4, 7–5
Winner	3.	23 September 1974	Bucharest, Romania	Clay	Mariana Simionescu	6–3, 6–2
Winner	4.	16 July 1978	Gstaad, Switzerland	Clay	Petra Jauch-Delhees	6–2, 6–2
Winner	5.	6 August 1978	Brașov, Romania	Clay	Renáta Tomanová	6–4, 6–2
Winner	6.	13 July 1980	Gstaad, Switzerland	Clay	Sylvia Hanika	6–4, 6–3
Winner	7.	20 July 1980	Båstad, Sweden	Clay	Nina Bohm	6–2, 7–5
Runner-up	8.	2 August 1981	Orange, New Jersey, U.S.	Clay	Kathleen Horvath	0–6, 4–6
Runner-up	9.	18 April 1982	Nassau, Bahamas	Hard	Bettina Bunge	0–6, 6–7
Runner-up	10.	11 July 1982	Gstaad, Switzerland	Clay	Claudia Kohde-Kilsch	5–7, 6–1, 6–7
Winner	11.	1 August 1982	Orange, New Jersey, U.S.	Clay	Leigh-Anne Thompson	5–7, 6–2, 6–2
Winner	12.	17 July 1983	Båstad, Sweden	Hard	Carin Anderholm	6–2, 6–3

Doubles (5–0)

Outcome	No.	Date	Tournament	Surface	Partner	Opponents	Score
Winner	1.	1 October 1972	Cluj, Romania	Clay	Mariana Simionescu	Felicia Bucur   Judith Gohn	4–6, 7–5, 6–4
Winner	2.	23 September 1974	Bucharest, Romania	Clay	Mariana Simionescu	Florența Mihai   Simona Nunweiler	6–2, 6–2
Winner	3.	17 October 1976	Madrid, Spain	Clay	Florența Mihai	Regina Maršíková   Renáta Tomanová	6–4, 5–7, 6–2
Winner	4.	11 July 1982	Gstaad, Switzerland	Clay	Catherine Tanvier	Claudia Kohde-Kilsch   Heidi Eisterlehner	3–6, 6–3, 6–4
Winner	5.	19 January 1987	Bayonne, France	Hard	Catherine Tanvier	Iwona Kuczyńska   Corinne Vanier	6–3, 6–2

Grand Slam singles performance

Key

W

F

SF

QF

#R

RR

Q#

DNQ

A

NH

(W) winner; (F) finalist; (SF) semifinalist; (QF) quarterfinalist; (#R) rounds 4, 3, 2, 1; (RR) round-robin stage; (Q#) qualification round; (DNQ) did not qualify; (A) absent; (NH) not held; (SR) strike rate (events won / competed); (W–L) win–loss record.

Tournament	1973	1974	1975	1976	1977		1978	1979	1980	1981	1982	1983	1984	1985	1986	1987	Career SR
Australian Open	A	A	A	A	A	A	A	1R	QF	1R	A	A	A	A	NH	A	0 / 3
French Open	1R	2R	2R	SF	A		W	QF	F	QF	QF	3R	4R	1R	A	2R	1 / 13
Wimbledon	2R	2R	1R	1R	2R		QF	4R	2R	QF	4R	4R	2R	2R	A	A	0 / 13
US Open	A	1R	1R	QF	4R		QF	A	4R	3R	4R	1R	3R	1R	A	A	0 / 11
SR	0 / 2	0 / 3	0 / 3	0 / 3	0 / 2		1 / 3	0 / 3	0 / 4	0 / 4	0 / 3	0 / 3	0 / 3	0 / 3	0 / 0	0 / 1	1 / 40
Year-end ranking			112	26	16		12	13	11	12	11	18	44	41	NR	143

Note: The Australian Open was held twice in 1977, in January and December.

See also

• Performance timelines for all female tennis players who reached at least one Grand Slam tournament final

References

1. Tignor, Steve (25 May 2017). "Who's the greatest clay-courter of them all—Chris Evert or Rafa Nadal?". Tennis.com. Retrieved 5 June 2018.
2. Career highlights Retrieved 12 March 2008
3. Home! The Evonne Goolagong Story. Simon & Schuster Ltd (June 1995) ISBN 978-0-7318-0381-1
4. Venus and Serena Williams: A Biography. Greenwood (30 July 2005) ISBN 978-0-313-33165-7
5. John Roberts (13 September 1999). "Serena's grand entrance heralds Williams era". The Independent. Retrieved 24 August 2009.
6. Robin Finn (27 October 1994). "TENNIS; Last of the 14-Year-Olds Will Take a First Step". The New York Times. Retrieved 11 November 2009.
7. . www.wtatennis.com. Women's Tennis Association (WTA). 4 November 2013. Archived from the original on 23 October 2015. Retrieved 27 September 2015.

External links

• Virginia Ruzici at the Women's Tennis Association  
• Virginia Ruzici at the International Tennis Federation  
• Virginia Ruzici at the Billie Jean King Cup