The 1977 Italian Open was a combined men's and women's

tennis Tennis is a racket sport that is played either individually against a single opponent ( singles) or between two teams of two players each ( doubles). Each player uses a tennis racket that is strung with cord to strike a hollow rubber ball ...

tournament that was played by men on outdoor clay courts at the

Foro Italico Foro Italico is a sports complex in Rome, Italy, on the slopes of Monte Mario. It was built between 1928 and 1938 as the Foro Mussolini (literally Mussolini's Forum) under the design of Enrico Del Debbio and, later, Luigi Moretti. Inspired by t ...

in Rome, Italy. The men's tournament was part of the Colgate-Palmolive Grand Prix circuit while the women's tournament was part of the Colgate Series. The tournament was held from 16 May through 22 May 1977. The singles titles were won by eight-seeded

Vitas Gerulaitis Vytautas Kevin Gerulaitis (July 26, 1954 – September 17, 1994) was an American professional tennis player, known as Vitas Gerulaitis. In 1975, he won the men's doubles title at Wimbledon, partnering with Sandy Mayer. He won the men's singles ...

and fifth-seeded

Janet Newberry Janet Newberry (born August 6, 1953) is an American former professional tennis player who was active in the 1970s. She is also known by her former married name Janet Newberry-Wright and Janet Wright. She reached the semifinals of the French Open ...

who earned $21,000 and $6,000 first-prize money respectively. Gerulaitis competed despite being contracted to play for the Indiana Loves

World Team Tennis World TeamTennis (WTT) is a mixed-gender professional tennis league played with a team format in the United States, which was founded in 1973. The league's season normally takes place in the summer months. Players from the ATP and WTA take a ...

(WTT) franchise and was fined $19,000 for failing to play

Björn Borg Björn Rune Borg (; born 6 June 1956) is a Swedish former world No. 1 tennis player. Between 1974 and 1981, he became the first man in the Open Era to win 11 Grand Slam singles titles with six at the French Open and five consecutively at Wimb ...

in the weekend of the final.

Finals

Men's singles

defeated

Antonio Zugarelli Antonio "Tonino" Zugarelli (born in Rome) is a former professional tennis player from Italy. Zugarelli won 1 singles and 1 doubles title on the Grand Prix tennis tour during his career. He was also a member of the Italian team that won the 197 ...

6–2, 7–6, 3–6, 7–6

Women's singles

defeated

Renáta Tomanová Renáta Tomanová (born 9 December 1954) is a former professional tennis player from Czechoslovakia. Career Tomanová won the girls' singles title at the 1972 French Open. In 1975, she and Martina Navratilova represented Czechoslovakia in th ...

6–3, 7–6^(7–5)

Men's doubles

Brian Gottfried Brian Edward Gottfried (born January 27, 1952) is a retired American tennis player who won 25 singles titles and 54 doubles titles during his professional career. He was the runner-up in singles at the 1977 French Open, won the 1975 and 1977 Fren ...

Raúl Ramírez Raúl Ramírez (born 20 June 1953) is a Mexican retired professional tennis player. He was active during the 1970s and 1980s. Ramírez was the first player to finish first in both singles and doubles Grand Prix point standings, accomplishing th ...

defeated

Fred McNair Frederick V. McNair IV (born July 22, 1950) is an American former professional tennis player who reached the world No. 1 doubles ranking in 1976. That year, he teamed up with Sherwood Stewart to capture the men's doubles titles at French Open, ...

Sherwood Stewart Sherwood Stewart (born June 6, 1946) is a former professional tennis player who was active in the 1970s and 1980s. Stewart was ranked as high as No. 60 in the world in singles on the ATP Rankings on December 31, 1978, and No. 4 in doubles on J ...

6–7, 7–6, 7–5

Women's doubles

Brigitte Cuypers Brigitte Cuypers (born 3 December 1955) is a retired tennis player from South Africa. Cuypers reached the final of the South African Open (tennis), South African Championships singles event on five consecutive occasions from 1975 to 1979 and w ...

Marise Kruger Marise Kruger (born 17 July 1958) is a former South African tennis player who was active in the second half of the 1970s. Tennis career Kruger started playing tennis when she was five. She reached the girl's final at the 1976 Wimbledon Champion ...

defeated

Bunny Bruning Anna-Marie "Bunny" Bruning (born September 5, 1957) is an American former professional tennis player. Bruning grew up in California and was active on the WTA Tour during the 1970s and 1980s. She competed in the main draws of all four grand slam t ...

Sharon Walsh Sharon Walsh-Arnold (née Walsh; born February 24, 1952) is a former professional tennis player from the United States. Walsh enjoyed a long career, playing her first Grand Slam singles event in 1969 and her last Grand Slam doubles match in 1990 ...

3–6, 7–5, 6–2

References

External links

Women's singles draw (WTA)

Women's doubles draw (WTA)

ITF tournament details

ITN Source footage
{{DEFAULTSORT:Italian Open (Tennis), 1977 May 1977 sports events in Europe