Kim Kessaris

Kim Kessaris
Full name	Kimberly Lynn Kessaris
Country (sports)	United States
Born	March 27, 1973 (age 51)
Prize money	$41,101
Singles
Highest ranking	No. 124 (July 17, 1989)
Grand Slam singles results
Australian Open	3R (1989)
Wimbledon	2R (1989)
US Open	1R (1989)
Doubles
Highest ranking	No. 381 (October 24, 1988)

Kimberly Lynn Kessaris (born March 27, 1973) is a former professional tennis player from the United States.

Biography

Early life

Kessaris grew up in Hendersonville, North Carolina, the daughter of Jim and Peggy. Her father, a dentist by profession, got her started in tennis when she was five. She attended the local Heritage Hall school.^[1]

Considered a tennis prodigy, she was a top ranked junior and trained at Nick Bollettieri's Tennis Academy in Florida.^[2]

Tennis career

Kessaris made her WTA Tour debut at Charleston in 1987, just days after her 14th birthday.

In 1988 she was beaten by Steffi Graf in only 32-minutes at a tournament in Mahwah.^[3]

At the 1989 Australian Open she defeated Andrea Farley in the girls' singles final to become the first American to win an Australian Open junior title.^[4]^[5] She also qualified for the main draw of the women's singles and made the third round.

Her best performance on the WTA Tour was a quarter-final appearance at the 1989 Virginia Slims of Houston as a lucky loser and that July she reached her highest ranking of 124 in the world.^[6]

Following the 1990 Australian Open she left professional tennis, aged 16.

References

^ Robb, Sharon (August 11, 1985). "Kessaris Overpowering In Girls' 12s Title Match". Sun-Sentinel. Archived from the original on March 10, 2018. Retrieved March 9, 2018.
^ Arias, Ron (October 20, 1986). "At Nick Bollettieri's Florida Boot Camp, Tennis Is Played Only One Way—to Win". People. Retrieved March 9, 2018.
^ "Tennis". The Washington Post. August 15, 1989. Retrieved March 9, 2018.
^ "Girls Singles". Reno Gazette-Journal. January 30, 1989. p. 11. Retrieved March 9, 2018.
^ "U.S. contingent ready for Australian Open juniors". USA Today. January 17, 2013. Retrieved March 9, 2018.
^ "Evert Reaches Semis". The Oklahoman. April 29, 1989. Retrieved March 9, 2018.

External links

Kim Kessaris at the Women's Tennis Association
Kim Kessaris at the International Tennis Federation

[1] Robb, Sharon (August 11, 1985). "Kessaris Overpowering In Girls' 12s Title Match". Sun-Sentinel. Archived from the original on March 10, 2018. Retrieved March 9, 2018.

[2] Arias, Ron (October 20, 1986). "At Nick Bollettieri's Florida Boot Camp, Tennis Is Played Only One Way—to Win". People. Retrieved March 9, 2018.

[3] "Tennis". The Washington Post. August 15, 1989. Retrieved March 9, 2018.

[4] "Girls Singles". Reno Gazette-Journal. January 30, 1989. p. 11. Retrieved March 9, 2018.

[5] "U.S. contingent ready for Australian Open juniors". USA Today. January 17, 2013. Retrieved March 9, 2018.

[6] "Evert Reaches Semis". The Oklahoman. April 29, 1989. Retrieved March 9, 2018.

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