Recognition finally arrives, 31 years late

Evonne Goolagong Cawley was officially awarded the No. 1 spot in the women's tennis rankings, 31 years after the fact.

The WTA Tour said the Australian should have been top ranked for a two-week period in 1976. The oversight occurred because paper records kept at the time were missing, the WTA Tour said on its Web site.

Goolagong Cawley, then ranked No. 2, beat No. 1 Chris Evert in the 1976 Virginia Slims Championship in Los Angeles on April 17. That moved her past the American by eight-10ths of a rating point for the period between April 26 to May 9.

Two weeks ago, the WTA Tour sent the 56-year-old Goolagong Cawley a trophy recognizing her as one of the 16 women to hold the No. 1 spot since the computer rankings were introduced in 1975.

"I'm simply delighted," Goolagong Cawley said on the WTA Tour's Web site. "It's personally very satisfying and this has been the best Christmas present."

Evert won the 1976 Family Circle Cup in May, a tournament Goolagong didn't play, to regain the top spot and start a run of 112 consecutive weeks at No. 1.

"Evonne was always one of the most beloved and gracious of champions," WTA Tour Chief Executive Larry Scott said. "We felt once it came to light that she did in fact assume the No. 1 ranking for a period in 1976, it was important to recognize the achievement, just like with all the other 15 women who have achieved that pinnacle in women's tennis."

Goolagong Cawley won seven Grand Slam singles championships, including four Australian Open titles, and finished second 11 times. She was inducted into the International Tennis Hall of Fame in 1988.