1973 Wimbledon Championships

{{Use dmy dates|date=October 2020}} {{Infobox tennis tournament year|1973|Wimbledon Championships| | date = 25 June – 8 July | edition = 87th | category = Grand Slam | draw = 128S / 64D / 128X | prize_money = £52,400 | surface = Grass | location = Church Road SW19, Wimbledon, London, United Kingdom | venue = All England Lawn Tennis and Croquet Club | champms = {{flagicon|TCH}} Jan Kodeš | champws = {{flagicon|USA}} Billie Jean King | champmd = {{flagicon|USA}} Jimmy Connors / {{flagicon|ROM|1965}} Ilie Năstase | champwd = {{flagicon|USA}} Rosie Casals / {{flagicon|USA}} Billie Jean King | champxd = {{flagicon|AUS}} Owen Davidson / {{flagicon|USA}} Billie Jean King | champbs = {{flagicon|USA}} Billy Martin | champgs = {{flagicon|USA}} Ann Kiyomura }}

The '''1973 Wimbledon Championships''' was a tennis tournament that took place on the outdoor grass courts at the All England Lawn Tennis and Croquet Club in Wimbledon, London, United Kingdom.<ref name=collins>{{cite book|last=Collins|first=Bud|title=The Bud Collins History of Tennis|year=2010|publisher=New Chapter Press|location=[New York]|isbn=978-0942257700|edition=2nd|pages=421, 432}}</ref><ref name=barrett>{{cite book|last=Barrett|first=John|title=Wimbledon : The Official History of the Championships|year=2001|publisher=CollinsWillow|location=London|isbn=0007117078|pages=374, 375}}</ref> The tournament was scheduled to be held from Monday 25 June until Saturday 7 July 1973 but rain on the final Friday meant that the women's singles final was postponed until Saturday and the mixed doubles final was rescheduled to Sunday 8 July.<ref name="little2013"/> It was the 87th staging of the Wimbledon Championships, and the third Grand Slam tennis event of 1973. Jan Kodeš and Billie Jean King won the singles titles. King became the first player in the open era to claim the triple crown, the second time in her career she won all three titles open to women players. Her three victories necessitated playing six matches on the final weekend of the tournament: The singles final, the doubles semi-final and final and the mixed doubles quarter-final, semi-final and final, which was played on the extended Sunday schedule.

==ATP boycott== In May 1973 Nikola Pilić, Yugoslavia's number one tennis player, was suspended by his national lawn tennis association, the Yugoslav Tennis Association, which claimed he had refused to play in a Davis Cup tie for his country against New Zealand earlier that month.<ref>{{cite web|title=Yugoslavia v New Zealand|url=https://www.daviscup.com/en/draws-results/tie.aspx?id=M-DC-1973-EUR-A-M-YUG-NZL-01|publisher=daviscup.com|access-date=9 November 2017}}</ref> The initial suspension of nine months, supported by the International Lawn Tennis Federation (ILTF), later was reduced by the ILTF to one month, which meant that Pilić would not be permitted to play at Wimbledon.<ref name=worldoftennis/> The recently formed men's players union, the Association of Tennis Professionals (ATP), stated that none should compete if Pilić were not allowed to compete. As a result, 81 of the top players, including reigning champion Stan Smith, boycotted Wimbledon in 1973 to protest the suspension of Nikola Pilić. Twelve of the 16 men's seeds had withdrawn.<ref>{{cite web|title=Wimbledon faces 2004 boycott|url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport2/hi/tennis/wimbledon_2003/3011882.stm|publisher=BBC|access-date=23 July 2012|date=23 June 2004}}</ref> This resulted in a large number of qualifiers and lucky losers.<ref>{{cite web|title=The History of the Championships|url=http://aeltc2011.wimbledon.com/125th-championships/history/index.html|publisher=AELTC|access-date=20 July 2012|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110627155450/http://aeltc2011.wimbledon.com/125th-championships/history/index.html|archive-date=27 June 2011|url-status=dead}}</ref>

Three ATP players, Ilie Năstase, Roger Taylor and Ray Keldie, defied the boycott and were fined by the ATP's disciplinary committee. Năstase unsuccessfully appealed the fine as he insisted that as a serving captain, he was under orders from the Romanian army and government to compete. Some contemporary press speculation and later biographies have suggested Năstase contrived to lose his fourth round match as he supported the ATP boycott, but to have lost any earlier to a considerably less able player would have been too obvious.<ref>Evans, Richard. 'Ilie Nastase' May 1978 Aidan Ellis Publishing. {{ISBN|978-0856280580}}</ref><ref>Robertson, Max. 'Wimbledon: Centre Court of the Game' May 1984 Parkwest Publications. {{ISBN|978-0881864502}}</ref> Năstase never has commented on this speculation. Despite the boycott, the attendance of 300,172 was the second highest in the championships' history to that date.<ref name=worldoftennis>{{cite book|title=World of Tennis '74|year=1974|publisher=Queen Anne|location=London|isbn=978-0362001686|pages=15–17, 45–47|editor=John Barrett}}</ref>

==Prize money== The total prize money for 1973 championships was £52,400. The winner of the men's title earned £5,000 while the women's singles champion earned £3,000.<ref name="little2013">{{cite book|last=Little|first=Alan|title=Wimbledon Compendium 2013|year=2013|publisher=All England Lawn Tennis & Croquet Club|location=London|isbn=978-1899039401|pages=74, 129, 327–334|edition=23}}</ref><ref name="Prizemoney">{{cite web|title=About Wimbledon – Prize Money and Finance|url=http://www.wimbledon.com/en_GB/aboutwimbledon/prize_money_and_finance.html|website=wimbledon.com|publisher=Wimbledon Championships|access-date=8 October 2017}}</ref>

{|class=wikitable style=font-size:90%;text-align:center |- | style="width:130px; background:#dfe2e9;"|'''Event''' | style="width:80px; background:lime;"|'''W''' | style="width:85px; background:thistle;"|F | style="width:85px; background:#ff0;"|SF | style="width:85px; background:#ffebcd;"|QF | style="width:85px; background:#afeeee;"|Round of 16 | style="width:85px; background:#afeeee;"|Round of 32 | style="width:85px; background:#afeeee;"|Round of 64 | style="width:85px; background:#afeeee;"|Round of 128 |- | style="background:#efefef;"|'''Men's singles''' |£5,000 |£3,000 |£1,000 |£550 |£300 |£200 |£125 |£100 |- | style="background:#efefef;"|'''Women's singles''' |£3,000 |£2,000 |£700 |£400 |£250 |£150 |£100 |£75 |- | style="background:#efefef;"|'''Men's doubles *''' |£1,000 |£600 |£400 |£200 |£0 |£0 |£0 |{{n/a}} |- | style="background:#efefef;"|'''Women's doubles *''' |£600 |£400 |£200 |£100 |£0 |£0 |£0 |{{n/a}} |- | style="background:#efefef;"|'''Mixed doubles *''' |£500 |£350 |£175 |£100 |£0 |£0 |£0 |£0 |} * per team

==Champions==

===Seniors===

====Men's singles==== {{Main|1973 Wimbledon Championships – Men's singles}} {{flagicon|TCH}} Jan Kodeš defeated {{flagicon|URS|1955}} Alex Metreveli, 6–1, 9–8(7–5), 6–3<ref name="menss">{{cite web|title=Gentlemen's Singles Finals 1877–2017|url=http://www.wimbledon.com/en_GB/roll_of_honour/gentlemenssingles.html|website=wimbledon.com|publisher=Wimbledon Championships|access-date=22 July 2017}}</ref>

====Women's singles==== {{Main|1973 Wimbledon Championships – Women's singles}} {{flagicon|USA}} Billie Jean King defeated {{flagicon|USA}} Chris Evert, 6–0, 7–5<ref name="womenss">{{cite web|title=Ladies' Singles Finals 1884–2017|url=http://www.wimbledon.com/en_GB/roll_of_honour/ladiessingles.html|website=wimbledon.com|publisher=Wimbledon Championships|access-date=22 July 2017}}</ref> *It was King's 10th career Grand Slam title (her 6th in the Open Era), and her 5th Wimbledon title.

====Men's doubles==== {{Main|1973 Wimbledon Championships – Men's doubles}} {{flagicon|USA}} Jimmy Connors / {{flagicon|ROM|1965}} Ilie Năstase defeated {{flagicon|AUS}} John Cooper / {{flagicon|AUS}} Neale Fraser, 3–6, 6–3, 6–4, 8–9(3–7), 6–1<ref name="mensd">{{cite web|title=Gentlemen's Doubles Finals 1884–2017|url=http://www.wimbledon.com/en_GB/roll_of_honour/gentlemensdoubles.html|website=wimbledon.com|publisher=Wimbledon Championships|access-date=22 July 2017}}</ref>

====Women's doubles==== {{Main|1973 Wimbledon Championships – Women's doubles}} {{flagicon|USA}} Rosemary Casals / {{flagicon|USA}} Billie Jean King defeated {{flagicon|FRA}} Françoise Dürr / {{flagicon|NED}} Betty Stöve, 6–1, 4–6, 7–5<ref name="womensd">{{cite web|title=Ladies' Doubles Finals 1913–2017|url=http://www.wimbledon.com/en_GB/roll_of_honour/ladiesdoubles.html|website=wimbledon.com|publisher=Wimbledon Championships|access-date=22 July 2017}}</ref>

====Mixed doubles==== {{Main|1973 Wimbledon Championships – Mixed doubles}} {{flagicon|AUS}} Owen Davidson / {{flagicon|USA}} Billie Jean King defeated {{flagicon|MEX}} Raúl Ramírez / {{flagicon|USA}} Janet Newberry, 6–3, 6–2<ref name="mixedd">{{cite web|title=Mixed Doubles Finals 1913–2017|url=http://www.wimbledon.com/en_GB/roll_of_honour/mixeddoubles.html|website=wimbledon.com|publisher=Wimbledon Championships|access-date=22 July 2017}}</ref> *King became the only player to win the 'triple crown' (Singles, Doubles & Mixed Doubles) twice in the post-war era, repeating her success of 1967.

===Juniors===

====Boys' singles==== {{Main|1973 Wimbledon Championships – Boys' singles}} {{flagicon|USA}} Billy Martin defeated {{flagicon|RHO}} Colin Dowdeswell, 6–2, 6–4<ref name="boyss">{{cite web|title=Boys' Singles Finals 1947–2017|url=http://www.wimbledon.com/en_GB/roll_of_honour/boyssingles.html|website=wimbledon.com|publisher=Wimbledon Championships|access-date=13 August 2017}}</ref>

====Girls' singles==== {{Main|1973 Wimbledon Championships – Girls' singles}} {{flagicon|USA}} Ann Kiyomura defeated {{flagicon|TCH}} Martina Navrátilová, 6–4, 7–5<ref name="girlss">{{cite web|title=Girls' Singles Finals 1947–2017|url=http://www.wimbledon.com/en_GB/roll_of_honour/girlssingles.html|website=wimbledon.com|publisher=Wimbledon Championships|access-date=13 August 2017}}</ref>

==Singles seeds== {{Col-begin}} {{Col-2}}

===Men's singles=== # {{flagicon|ROM|1965}} Ilie Năstase ''(fourth round, lost to Sandy Mayer)'' # {{flagicon|TCH}} '''Jan Kodeš (champion)''' # {{flagicon|GBR}} Roger Taylor ''(semifinals, lost to Jan Kodeš)'' # {{flagicon|URS|1955}} Alex Metreveli ''(final, lost to Jan Kodeš)'' # {{flagicon|USA}} Jimmy Connors ''(quarterfinals, lost to Alex Metreveli)'' # {{flagicon|SWE}} Björn Borg ''(quarterfinals, lost to Roger Taylor)'' # {{flagicon|AUS}} Owen Davidson ''(fourth round, lost to Vijay Amritraj)'' # {{flagicon|FRG}} Jürgen Fassbender ''(quarterfinals, lost to Sandy Mayer)''

The original seeding list before the boycott was: {{columns-list|colwidth=15em| # {{flagicon|USA}} Stan Smith # {{flagicon|ROM|1965}} Ilie Năstase # {{flagicon|AUS}} John Newcombe # {{flagicon|USA}} Arthur Ashe # {{flagicon|AUS}} Ken Rosewall # {{flagicon|NED}} Tom Okker # {{flagicon|USA}} Marty Riessen # {{flagicon|AUS}} Roy Emerson # {{flagicon|USA}} Tom Gorman # {{flagicon|USA}} Cliff Richey # {{flagicon|ITA}} Adriano Panatta # {{flagicon|ESP|1945}} Manuel Orantes # {{flagicon|URS|1955}} Alex Metreveli # {{flagicon|USA}} Bob Lutz # {{flagicon|TCH}} '''Jan Kodeš''' # {{flagicon|GBR}} Roger Taylor }} {{Col-2}}

===Women's singles=== # {{flagicon|AUS}} Margaret Court ''(semifinals, lost to Chris Evert)'' # {{flagicon|USA}} '''Billie Jean King (champion)''' # {{flagicon|AUS}} Evonne Goolagong ''(semifinals, lost to Billie Jean King)'' # {{flagicon|USA}} Chris Evert ''(final, lost to Billie Jean King)'' # {{flagicon|USA}} Rosie Casals ''(quarterfinals, lost to Chris Evert)'' # {{flagicon|GBR}} Virginia Wade ''(quarterfinals, lost to Evonne Goolagong)'' # {{flagicon|AUS}} Kerry Melville ''(quarterfinals, lost to Billie Jean King)'' # {{flagicon|URS|1955}} Olga Morozova ''(quarterfinals, lost to Margaret Court)'' {{Col-end}}

==References== {{reflist}}

==External links== * [http://www.wimbledon.com/index.html Official Wimbledon Championships website]

Category:1973 Wimbledon Championships Wimbledon Championships Wimbledon Championships Wimbledon Championships Wimbledon Championships