Virginia Ruzici (born 31 January 1955) is a former professional

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 ...

player from

Romania Romania ( ; ro, România ) is a country located at the crossroads of Central Europe, Central, Eastern Europe, Eastern, and Southeast Europe, Southeastern Europe. It borders Bulgaria to the south, Ukraine to the north, Hungary to the west, S ...

. 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 The 1978 French Open was a tennis tournament that took place on the outdoor clay courts at the Stade Roland Garros in Paris, France. The tournament ran from 29 May until 11 June. It was the 82nd staging of the French Open, and the first Grand Sl ...

. In the final, she beat 1977 French Open champion

Mima Jaušovec Mima Jaušovec (; born 20 July 1956) is a retired Yugoslavian tennis player. She won the 1977 French Open singles championship. Early life Jaušovec was born in Maribor, in present-day Slovenia, when it was part of Yugoslavia. Career As a gir ...

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 Events January * January 4 – U.S. President Jimmy Carter proclaims a grain embargo against the USSR with the support of the European Commission. * January 6 – Global Positioning System time epoch begins at 00:00 UTC. * January 9 – ...

, but lost in straight sets to

Chris Evert Christine Marie Evert (born December 21, 1954), known as Chris Evert Lloyd from 1979 to 1987, is an American former world No. 1 tennis player. Evert won 18 major singles titles, including a record seven French Open titles and a joint-record ...

. Ruzici remained in the world's top 20 from 1977 to 1983. She regularly featured in the

Romania Fed Cup team The Romania Billie Jean King Cup team represents Romania in Billie Jean King Cup tennis competition. It is governed by the Federația Română de Tenis and currently competes in the World Group I, the highest level of the competition. Current t ...

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 Evonne Fay Goolagong Cawley (née Goolagong; born 31 July 1951) is an Australian former world No. 1 tennis player. Goolagong was one of the world's leading players in the 1970s and early 1980s. At the age of 19, she won the French Open singl ...

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. 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 Venus is the second planet from the Sun. It is sometimes called Earth's "sister" or "twin" planet as it is almost as large and has a similar composition. As an interior planet to Earth, Venus (like Mercury) appears in Earth's sky never fa ...

and

Serena Williams Serena Jameka Williams (born September 26, 1981) is an American inactive professional tennis player. Considered among the greatest tennis players of all time, she was ranked world No. 1 in singles by the Women's Tennis Association (WTA) for ...

to play tennis. Ruzici is now the manager of Romanian tennis player

Simona Halep Simona Halep (; born 27 September 1991) is a Romanian professional tennis player. She has been ranked world No. 1 in singles twice between 2017 and 2019, for a total of 64 weeks, which ranks eleventh in the history of the Women's Tennis Assoc ...

Grand Slam tournament finals

Singles: 2 (1 title, 1 runner–up)

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

Mixed doubles: 2 (2 runner-ups)

WTA career finals

Singles: 27 (12–15)

Doubles: 35 (16–19)

Other finals

Singles (8–4)

Doubles (5–0)

Grand Slam singles performance

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

References

External links

* * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Ruzici, Virginia 1955 births Living people French Open champions People from Câmpia Turzii Romanian female tennis players Grand Slam (tennis) champions in women's singles Grand Slam (tennis) champions in women's doubles Romanian expatriates in France Universiade medalists in tennis Universiade gold medalists for Romania Universiade silver medalists for Romania Universiade bronze medalists for Romania Medalists at the 1977 Summer Universiade Medalists at the 1979 Summer Universiade Medalists at the 1981 Summer Universiade