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Virginia Ruzici
	Virginia Ruzici at the 1981 Summer Universiade
Country (sports)	Romania
Born	31 January 1955 (age 64); Câmpia Turzii, Romania
Height	1.73 m (5 ft 8 in)
Turned pro	1975
Retired	1987
Plays	Right-handed (one-handed backhand)
Prize money	US$1,183,728
Singles
Career record	377-221
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	284-181
Career titles	16
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)
Representing Romania
Summer Universiade

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

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 Jau?ovec 6-2, 6-2. Ruzici also won the French Open doubles event with Jau?ovec in 1978 and reached the mixed doubles final in 1978 that same year. She appeared in the French Open singles final again 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 Cawley 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 is now the manager of Romanian tennis player Simona Halep.^[7]

Grand Slam finals

Singles (1 title, 1 runner-up)

Outcome	Year	Championship	Surface	Opponent	Score
Winner	1978	French Open	Clay	Mima Jau?ovec	6-2, 6-2
Runner-up	1980	French Open	Clay	Chris Evert	0-6, 3-6

Women's doubles (1 title, 1 runner-up)

Outcome	Year	Championship	Surface	Partner	Opponents	Score
Winner	1978	French Open	Clay	Mima Jau?ovec	Gail Sherriff Lovera Lesley Turner Bowrey	6-4, 6-3
Runner-up	1978	Wimbledon	Grass	Mima Jau?ovec	Kerry Melville Reid Wendy Turnbull	6-4, 8-9^(8-10), 3-6

Mixed doubles (2 runners-up)

Outcome	Year	Championship	Surface	Partner	Opponents	Score
Runner-up	1978	French Open	Clay	Patrice Dominguez	Renáta Tomanová Pavel Slo?il	6-4, 6-7 ret.
Runner-up	1979	French Open	Clay	Ion ?iriac	Wendy Turnbull Bob Hewitt	3-6, 6-2, 3-6

WTA career finals

Singles: 27 (12-15)

Winner -- Legend
Grand Slam tournaments (1-1)
WTA Tour Championships (0-0)
Virginia Slims, Avon, Other (11-14)

Titles by surface
Hard (1-2)
Grass (0-1)
Clay (9-10)
Carpet (2-2)

Outcome	No.	Date	Tournament	Surface	Opponent	Score
Winner	1.	18 August 1975	South Orange	Clay	Mariana Simionescu	6-1, 6-1
Runner-up	1.	12 July 1976	Kitzbühel	Clay	Wendy Turnbull	4-6, 7-5, 3-6
Runner-up	2.	18 October 1976	Barcelona	Clay	Renáta Tomanová	6-3, 4-6, 2-6
Winner	2.	26 September 1977	Palm Harbor	Clay	Laura duPont	6-4, 4-6, 6-2
Runner-up	3.	15 May 1978	Hamburg	Clay	Mima Jau?ovec	2-6, 3-6
Runner-up	4.	22 May 1978	Rome	Clay	Regina Mar?íková	5-7, 5-7
Winner	3.	29 May 1978	French Open	Clay	Mima Jau?ovec	6-2, 6-2
Winner	4.	24 July 1978	Kitzbühel	Clay	Sylvia Hanika	6-4, 6-3
Runner-up	5.	14 August 1978	Toronto	Hard	Regina Mar?íková	5-7, 7-6, 2-6
Winner	5.	16 October 1978	Brighton	Carpet (i)	Betty Stöve	5-7, 6-2, 7-5
Runner-up	6.	19 February 1979	Detroit	Carpet (i)	Wendy Turnbull	5-7, 6-1, 6-7^(4-7)
Runner-up	7.	10 December 1979	Adelaide	Grass	Hana Mandlíková	5-7, 2-2 ret.
Runner-up	8.	5 May 1980	Rome	Clay	Chris Evert	7-5, 2-6, 2-6
Runner-up	9.	26 May 1980	French Open	Clay	Chris Evert	0-6, 3-6
Winner	6.	21 July 1980	Kitzbühel	Clay	Hana Mandlíková	3-6, 6-1 ret.
Runner-up	10.	11 August 1980	Toronto	Hard	Chris Evert	3-6, 1-6
Winner	7.	8 September 1980	Salt Lake City	Hard	Ivanna Madruga	6-1, 6-3
Runner-up	11.	10 November 1980	Amsterdam	Carpet (i)	Hana Mandlíková	7-5, 2-6, 5-7
Runner-up	12.	4 May 1981	Perugia	Clay	Chris Evert	1-6, 2-6
Runner-up	13.	11 May 1981	Lugano	Clay	Chris Evert	1-6, 1-6
Runner-up	14.	3 August 1981	Indianapolis	Clay	Andrea Jaeger	1-6, 0-6
Winner	8.	12 July 1982	Monte Carlo	Clay	Bonnie Gadusek	6-2, 7-6
Winner	9.	19 July 1982	Kitzbühel	Clay	Lea Plchová	6-2, 6-2
Winner	10.	2 August 1982	Indianapolis	Clay	Helena Suková	6-2, 6-0
Winner	11.	3 October 1983	Detroit	Carpet (i)	Kathy Jordan	4-6, 6-4, 6-2
Runner-up	15.	1 April 1985	Seabrook Island	Clay	Katerina Maleeva	3-6, 3-6
Winner	12.	15 July 1985	Bregenz	Clay	Mima Jau?ovec	6-2, 6-3

Doubles: 35 (16-19)

Winner -- Legend
Grand Slam tournaments (1-1)
WTA Tour Championships (0-0)
Virginia Slims, Avon, Other (15-18)

Titles by surface
Hard (2-1)
Grass (1-1)
Clay (10-11)
Carpet (3-6)

Outcome	No.	Date	Tournament	Surface	Partner	Opponents	Score
Runner-up	1.	11 November 1973	London	Carpet (i)	Mariana Simionescu	Lesley Charles Glynis Coles	3-6, 5-7
Winner	1.	4 November 1974	Edinburgh	Carpet (i)	Mima Jau?ovec	María-Isabel Fernández Raquel Giscafré	6-4, 4-6, 6-4
Runner-up	2.	8 March 1976	Tallahassee	Clay	Mariana Simionescu	Julie Anthony Dianne Fromholtz	2-6, 5-7
Runner-up	3.	23 May 1976	Rome	Clay	Mariana Simionescu	Linky Boshoff Ilana Kloss	1-6, 2-6
Winner	2.	18 October 1976	Barcelona	Clay	Floren?a Mihai	Nathalie Fuchs Michele Gurdal	6-2, 6-4
Runner-up	4.	24 January 1977	Minneapolis	Carpet (i)	Mima Jau?ovec	Rosie Casals Martina Navratilova	2-6, 1-6
Winner	3.	15 May 1978	Hamburg	Clay	Mima Jau?ovec	Katja Ebbinghaus Helga Niessen Masthoff	6-4, 5-7, 6-0
Winner	4.	22 May 1978	Rome	Clay	Mima Jau?ovec	Floren?a Mihai Betsy Nagelsen	6-2, 2-6, 7-6
Winner	5.	29 May 1978	French Open	Clay	Mima Jau?ovec	Gail Sherriff Lovera Lesley Turner Bowrey	5-7, 6-4, 8-6
Runner-up	5.	26 June 1978	Wimbledon	Grass	Mima Jau?ovec	Kerry Melville Reid Wendy Turnbull	6-4, 8-9^(8-10), 3-6
Winner	6.	24 July 1978	Kitzbühel	Clay	Renáta Tomanová	Regina Mar?íková Floren?a Mihai	7-5, 6-2
Runner-up	6.	23 October 1978	Filderstadt	Carpet (i)	Mima Jau?ovec	Tracy Austin Betty Stöve	3-6, 3-6
Winner	7.	1 January 1979	Washington, D.C.	Carpet (i)	Mima Jau?ovec	Renée Richards Sharon Walsh	4-6, 6-2, 6-4
Runner-up	7.	18 July 1979	Kitzbühel	Clay	Elly Appel-Vessies	Helena Anliot Diane Evers	0-6, 4-6
Winner	8.	22 October 1979	Tampa	Hard	Anne Smith	Ilana Kloss Betty Ann Stuart	7-5, 4-6, 7-5
Winner	9.	10 December 1979	Adelaide	Grass	Hana Mandlíková	Sue Barker Pam Shriver	6-1, 3-6, 6-2
Runner-up	8.	4 August 1980	Indianapolis	Clay	Renáta Tomanová	Anne Smith Paula Smith	4-6, 6-3, 4-6
Winner	10.	8 September 1980	Salt Lake City	Hard	Pam Teeguarden	Barbara Jordan JoAnne Russell	6-4, 7-5
Winner	11.	27 October 1980	Stockholm	Carpet (i)	Mima Jau?ovec	Hana Mandlíková Betty Stöve	6-2, 6-1
Runner-up	9.	16 March 1981	Boston	Carpet (i)	JoAnne Russell	Barbara Potter Sharon Walsh	7-6, 4-6, 3-6
Runner-up	10.	4 May 1981	Perugia	Clay	Chris Evert	Candy Reynolds Paula Smith	5-7, 1-6
Winner	12.	3 August 1981	Indianapolis	Clay	JoAnne Russell	Sue Barker Paula Smith	6-2, 6-2
Runner-up	11.	5 April 1982	Hilton Head Island	Clay	JoAnne Russell	Martina Navratilova Pam Shriver	1-6, 2-6
Runner-up	12.	10 May 1982	Lugano	Clay	JoAnne Russell	Candy Reynolds Paula Smith	2-6, 4-6
Winner	13.	12 July 1982	Monte Carlo	Clay	Catherine Tanvier	Patricia Medrado Cláudia Monteiro	7-6, 6-2
Runner-up	13.	2 August 1982	Indianapolis	Clay	JoAnne Russell	Ivanna Madruga Catherine Tanvier	5-7, 6-7^(3-7)
Runner-up	14.	6 December 1982	Richmond	Carpet (i)	JoAnne Russell	Rosie Casals Candy Reynolds	3-6, 3-6
Runner-up	15.	11 April 1983	Amelia Island	Clay	Hana Mandlíková	Rosalyn Fairbank Candy Reynolds	4-6, 2-6
Winner	14.	2 May 1983	Perugia	Clay	Virginia Wade	Ivana Madruga Catherine Tanvier	6-3, 2-6, 6-1
Winner	15.	1 August 1983	Indianapolis	Clay	Kathy Horvath	Gigi Fernández Beth Herr	4-6, 7-6^(8-6), 6-2
Runner-up	16.	8 August 1983	Los Angeles	Hard	Betsy Nagelsen	Martina Navratilova Pam Shriver	1-6, 0-6
Runner-up	17.	24 October 1983	Filderstadt	Carpet (i)	Catherine Tanvier	Martina Navratilova Candy Reynolds	2-6, 1-6
Runner-up	18.	14 May 1984	Berlin	Clay	Kathy Horvath	Anne Hobbs Candy Reynolds	3-6, 6-4, 6-7^(11-13)
Runner-up	19.	21 May 1984	Perugia	Clay	Kathy Horvath	Iva Buda?ová Helena Suková	6-7^(5-7), 6-1, 4-6
Winner	16.	15 July 1985	Bregenz	Clay	Mima Jau?ovec	Andrea Holíková Kate?ina Skronská	6-2, 6-3

Grand Slam singles tournament timeline

**Key**
W	F	SF	QF	#R	RR	Q#	A	NH

(W) Won; (F) finalist; (SF) semifinalist; (QF) quarterfinalist; (#R) rounds 4, 3, 2, 1; (RR) round-robin stage; (Q#) qualification round; (A) absent; (NH) not held. SR=strike rate (events won/competed)

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.

References

^ Tignor, Steve (25 May 2017). "Who's the greatest clay-courter of them all--Chris Evert or Rafa Nadal?". Tennis.com. Retrieved 2018.
^ Career highlights Retrieved 12 March 2008
^ Home! The Evonne Goolagong Story. Simon & Schuster Ltd (June 1995) ISBN 978-0-7318-0381-1
^ Venus and Serena Williams: A Biography. Greenwood (30 July 2005) ISBN 978-0-313-33165-7
^ John Roberts (13 September 1999). "Serena's grand entrance heralds Williams era". The Independent. Retrieved 2009.
^ Robin Finn (27 October 1994). "TENNIS; Last of the 14-Year-Olds Will Take a First Step". The New York Times. Retrieved 2009.
^ "40 Love Icons: Virginia Ruzici". www.wtatennis.com. Women's Tennis Association (WTA). 4 November 2013. Archived from the original on 23 October 2015. Retrieved 2015.

External links

Virginia Ruzici at the Women's Tennis Association
Virginia Ruzici at the International Tennis Federation
Virginia Ruzici at the Fed Cup

[1] Tignor, Steve (25 May 2017). "Who's the greatest clay-courter of them all--Chris Evert or Rafa Nadal?". Tennis.com. Retrieved 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 2009.

[6] Robin Finn (27 October 1994). "TENNIS; Last of the 14-Year-Olds Will Take a First Step". The New York Times. Retrieved 2009.

[wta40-7] "40 Love Icons: Virginia Ruzici". www.wtatennis.com. Women's Tennis Association (WTA). 4 November 2013. Archived from the original on 23 October 2015. Retrieved 2015.

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