Tennis greats played in Hilton Head’s Family Circle Cup. In 1973, Rosemary Casals won big

Editor’s note: This story was first published in the Island Packet on May 10, 1973, at the end of the inaugural Family Circle Cup tennis tournament. In honor of The Island Packet’s 50th anniversary, we are republishing stories from our archive.

Rosemary Casals takes Cup from top seeds

Third-seeded Rosemary Casals, who has a reputation of always gaining, but never going past the semi-finals, survived two match points and downed Nancy Richey Gunter to capture the NBC-Family Circle Cup and the $30,000 first prize Saturday at the Sea Pines Racquet Club.

In a dramatic two hour match, Casals used a combination of overhead smashes and deadly drop shots to defeat the sister of WCT tennis star Cliff Richey, 3-6, 6-1, 7-5.

Panting on every shot, Gunter had Casals at 15-40 and 4-5 when Casals broke loose to win three straight games and the match.

Both Casals and Gunter had upset the two favorites, Margaret Court and Billie Jean King, to reach the finals.

Gunter took advantage of severe leg cramps which struck the top-seeded Court in the sixth game of the final set of their quarterfinal match and went on to win, 7-5, 1-6, 7-5.

Court led 3-2 when she suddenly doubled up, to the gasps of the spectators. She tried to work the cramp out, and when finally warned by the umpire that she must “resume play or forfeit,” she opted for the latter.

A tour trainer at that point advised her to remove her shoes and try to continue, and, to the applause of the crowd, she did, winning two straight games. But the cramps remained, and Gunter fought back from a 5-2 disadvantage to win the match.

Casals’ big break came Friday in her semi-final match with long-time nemesis and good friend King, whom she upset in straight sets.

Casals said later she could only remember beating King “five or six times” in her career. King was obviously upset throughout the match, berating herself loudly and angrily after many of her shots, even those which won points for herself.

The $30,000 first prize was the highest ever awarded to a female athlete in any sport, and made Casals the second highest money winner on this year’s Virginia Slims tour, with over $50,000. Gunters’ $12,200 is the third biggest check ever given to a woman tennis player.

The matches will be televised by NBC at 5:00 p.m. May 10 and 3:00 p.m. May 20.