Andrea Jaeger

Andrea Jaeger

Jaeger in 1981
Country (sports)	United States
Residence	Santa Rosa Beach, Florida
Born	(1965-06-04) June 4, 1965 Chicago, Illinois
Height	5 ft 6 in (1.68 m)
Turned pro	1980
Retired	1985
Plays	Right-handed (two handed-backhand)
Prize money	US$ 1,379,065[1]
Singles
Career record	260–85[1]
Career titles	10
Highest ranking	No. 2 (August 17, 1981)[2]
Grand Slam Singles results
Australian Open	SF (1982)
French Open	F (1982)
Wimbledon	F (1983)
US Open	SF (1980, 1982)
Doubles
Career record	47–38[1]
Career titles	4
Grand Slam Doubles results
Australian Open	3R (1981, 1982)
French Open	QF (1982)
Wimbledon	3R (1981)
US Open	SF (1980)
Mixed doubles
Career titles	1
Grand Slam Mixed Doubles results
French Open	W (1981)
Wimbledon	1R (1980, 1983)

Andrea Jaeger (born June 4, 1965) is a former World No. 2 professional tennis player from the United States whose brief but highly successful tennis career ended prematurely due to major shoulder injuries. Jaeger reached the singles final of Wimbledon in 1983 and the French Open in 1982. She reached the singles semifinals of the Australian Open in 1982 and of the U.S. Open in 1980 and 1982. She also won 10 singles titles. In mixed doubles, Jaeger won the French Open with Jimmy Arias in 1981. During her career, Jaeger won U.S. $1.4 million in prize money and millions more in endorsements. After retirement in 1987, she has prominently dedicated her life to public service, charities, and philanthropy. In 2006 she became "Sister Andrea" as a member of the Anglican Order of Preachers. She is a member of the Episcopal Church and based in Santa Rosa Beach, Florida, U.S.^[3]

Tennis career

While a student at Stevenson High School in suburban Chicago, Jaeger was the top ranked player in the United States in the 18-and-under age group. She won 13 U.S. national junior titles, including the most prominent junior titles in tennis: the 1979 Orange Bowl and 1979 Boca Raton.

In 1980 (at the age of 15 years, 19 days), she became the youngest player ever to be seeded at Wimbledon,^[4] a record that was broken by Jennifer Capriati in 1990. After defeating former champion Virginia Wade, she became the youngest quarter-finalist in the history of the tournament.^[5] Later in the year, she became the youngest semifinalist in US Open history.

In 1981, Jaeger won the U.S. Clay Court Championships, defeating Virginia Ruzici in the final.

At the French Open in 1982, Jaeger defeated Chris Evert in a semifinal 6–3, 6–1 but lost the final to Martina Navratilova. She then reached the semifinals of both the US Open and the Australian Open, losing both matches to Evert in straight sets.

At Wimbledon in 1983, Jaeger defeated six-time Wimbledon singles champion Billie Jean King 6–1, 6–1 in a semifinal on Centre Court, which was King's last career singles match at that tournament and her most lopsided singles defeat ever at Wimbledon.^[6] Jaeger then lost the final to Navratilova. In 2003, Jaeger said that the night before the final, she had a heated argument with her father^[7] over practicing and was locked out of her apartment by her father. Eventually, Jaeger asked Navratilova to convince her father to let her back in. She stated that emotional fatigue might have contributed to her lackluster performance in the final.^[7] On July 4, 2008, Jaeger claimed in the British paper The Daily Mail that she threw the final against Navratilova.^[8]

Jaeger competed in the tennis demonstration event at the 1984 Summer Olympics in Los Angeles (tennis was re-introduced as an Olympic sport in 1988). In 2006, Jaeger exchanged gifts with an Army Ranger serving in the Iraq War. He gave her his dog tags, and she gave him her Olympic ring.^[9]

Jaeger's career win-loss record against other top players was 3–17 against Evert, 4–11 against Navratilova, 2–8 against Tracy Austin, 6–8 against Hana Mandlíková, and 2–4 against Pam Shriver.

In an interview in 2003, Jaeger stated that she was never committed to being the top ranked player in the world and tanked matches to avoid the top spot.^[10] As she rose toward the top of the game, she started visiting hospitals during tournaments. She stated that she found it, in the words of a USA Today columnist, "difficult to reconcile the narrow-minded focus of a top tennis player with her desire to help others."^[11]

Jaeger won eight of the nine singles matches she played for the U.S. in Fed Cup. She also won two of the three Wightman Cup singles matches she played for the U.S.^[12]

A major shoulder injury at the age of 19 ended Jaeger's career prematurely in 1985. Seeing this career-ending injury as a door to a spiritual awakening, she went to college and obtained a degree in theology.

Philanthropy

Jaeger used her winnings from tennis to create the Silver Lining Foundation with her close friend and business partner Heidi Bookout in 1990. Located in Aspen, Colorado, the organization transported groups of young cancer patients to Aspen for a week of support and activities, including horseback riding and whitewater rafting. The foundation also provided money for reunions, family campouts, college scholarships, medical internships, and other programs for children who could not travel. The organization had other powerful backers, both in the world of sports and elsewhere. The first contributor was John McEnroe. Many high-profile celebrities were also involved, including Andre Agassi, Pete Sampras, and David Robinson. In 1996, Jaeger received the Samuel S. Beard Award for Greatest Public Service by an Individual 35 Years or Under, an award given out annually by Jefferson Awards.^[13]

Jaeger's autobiography, "First Service", was published in 2004. In the book she wrote about her teenage years as a tennis player and her later decision to focus on serving God. All proceeds from the book were donated to children's charities.

Jaeger has since established the "Little Star Foundation", reaching on average 4,000 kids annually. She has moved from Aspen to a much larger 220-acre (0.89 km²) property in Hesperus, Colorado, where she will be able to expand her programs.^[11]

On September 16, 2006, at the age of 41, Jaeger became Sister Andrea, an Anglican Dominican nun.^[14] She reportedly left the order in 2009.^[15]

In April 2007, Jaeger and several former athletes, including Andre Agassi, Lance Armstrong, Tony Hawk, Jackie Joyner-Kersee, and Muhammad Ali, appeared on the American morning television talk show Good Morning America to announce their formation of a new charity entitled "Athletes for Hope" with the goal of encouraging their fellow athletes to think philanthropically.^[16][17]

Oprah Winfrey describes Jaeger as a superstar turned superhero.^[18]

Major finals

Grand Slam finals

Singles: 2 finals (0 titles, 2 runners-up)

Outcome	Year	Championship	Surface	Opponent	Score
Runner-up	1982	French Open	Clay	Martina Navratilova	7–6(8–6), 6–1
Runner-up	1983	Wimbledon	Grass	Martina Navratilova	6–0, 6–3

Mixed doubles: 1 final (1 title, 0 runners-up)

Outcome	Year	Championship	Surface	Partner	Opponents	Score
Winner	1981	French Open	Clay	Jimmy Arias	Betty Stöve Fred McNair	7–6, 6–4

Year-End Championships finals

Singles: 1 finals (0 titles, 1 runner-up)

Outcome	Year	Location	Surface	Opponent	Score
Runner-up	1981	New York City	Carpet (I)	Martina Navratilova	6–3, 7–6(7–3)

WTA career finals

Singles: 36 (10–26)

Outcome	No.	Date	Tournament	Surface	Opponent	Score
Winner	1.	January 14, 1980	Las Vegas	Hard (i)	Barbara Potter	7–6, 4–6, 6–1
Runner-up	1.	March 31, 1980	Edmond	Clay	Regina Maršíková	2–6, 2–6
Winner	2.	June 2, 1980	Beckenham	Grass	Jo Durie	6–0, 6–1
Runner-up	2.	August 4, 1980	Indianapolis	Clay	Chris Evert-Lloyd	4–6, 3–6
Runner-up	3.	August 18, 1980	Mahwah	Hard	Hana Mandlíková	7–6(7–0), 2–6, 2–6
Winner	3.	September 15, 1980	Las Vegas	Hard (i)	Hana Mandlíková	7–5, 4–6, 6–3
Runner-up	4.	October 13, 1980	Deerfield Beach	Hard	Chris Evert-Lloyd	4–6, 1–6
Winner	4.	November 10, 1980	Tampa	Hard	Tracy Austin	w/o
Runner-up	5.	January 7, 1981	Landover	Carpet (i)	Tracy Austin	2–6, 2–6
Winner	5.	January 12, 1981	Kansas City	Carpet (i)	Martina Navratilova	3–6, 6–3, 7–5
Winner	6.	February 9, 1981	Oakland	Carpet (i)	Virginia Wade	6–3, 6–1
Runner-up	6.	March 2, 1981	Los Angeles	Carpet (i)	Martina Navratilova	4–6, 0–6
Runner-up	7.	March 22, 1981	Avon Championships	Carpet (i)	Martina Navratilova	3–6, 6–7(3–7)
Runner-up	8.	April 27, 1981	Orlando	Clay	Martina Navratilova	5–7, 3–6
Runner-up	9.	June 15, 1981	Eastbourne	Grass	Tracy Austin	3–6, 4–6
Winner	7.	August 3, 1981	Indianapolis	Clay	Virginia Ruzici	6–1, 6–0
Runner-up	10.	October 12, 1981	Deerfield Beach	Hard	Chris Evert-Lloyd	6–4, 3–6, 0–6
Runner-up	11.	November 16, 1981	Perth	Grass	Pam Shriver	1–6, 6–7
Runner-up	12.	January 18, 1982	Seattle	Carpet (i)	Martina Navratilova	2–6, 0–6
Winner	8.	February 1, 1982	Detroit	Carpet (i)	Mima Jaušovec	2–6, 6–4, 6–2
Winner	9.	February 22, 1982	Oakland	Carpet (i)	Chris Evert-Lloyd	7–6(7–5), 6–4
Runner-up	13.	April 3, 1982	Palm Beach Gardens	Clay	Chris Evert-Lloyd	1–6, 5–7
Runner-up	14.	April 5, 1982	Hilton Head Island	Clay	Martina Navratilova	4–6, 2–6
Runner-up	15.	April 19, 1982	Amelia Island	Clay	Chris Evert-Lloyd	3–6, 1–6
Runner-up	16.	May 24, 1982	French Open	Clay	Martina Navratilova	6–7(6–8), 1–6
Runner-up	17.	August 15, 1982	Montreal	Hard	Martina Navratilova	3–6, 5–7
Runner-up	18.	October 4, 1982	Deerfield Beach	Hard	Chris Evert-Lloyd	1–6, 1–6
Runner-up	19.	October 11, 1982	Tampa	Hard	Chris Evert-Lloyd	6–3, 1–6, 4–6
Runner-up	20.	November 15, 1982	Tokyo	Carpet (i)	Chris Evert-Lloyd	3-6, 2-6
Winner	10.	January 22, 1983	Marco Island	Clay	Hana Mandlíková	6–1, 6–3
Runner-up	21.	January 30, 1983	Palm Beach Gardens	Clay	Chris Evert-Lloyd	3–6, 3–6
Runner-up	22.	February 14, 1983	Chicago	Carpet (i)	Martina Navratilova	3–6, 2–6
Runner-up	23.	April 18, 1983	Orlando	Clay	Martina Navratilova	1–6, 5–7
Runner-up	24.	June 20, 1983	Wimbledon	Grass	Martina Navratilova	0–6, 3–6
Runner-up	25.	September 18, 1983	Tokyo	Carpet (i)	Lisa Bonder	2–6, 7–5, 1–6
Runner-up	26.	April 30, 1984	Johannesburg	Hard (i)	Chris Evert-Lloyd	3–6, 0–6

Doubles: 6 (4–2)

Outcome	No.	Date	Tournament	Surface	Partner	Opponents	Score
Winner	1.	August 11, 1980	Toronto	Hard	Regina Maršíková	Ann Kiyomura Betsy Nagelsen	6–1, 6–3
Winner	2.	October 13, 1980	Deerfield Beach	Hard	Regina Maršíková	Martina Navratilova Candy Reynolds	1–6, 6–1, 6–2
Winner	3.	January 22, 1983	Marco Island	Clay	Mary-Lou Piatek	Rosie Casals Wendy Turnbull	7–5, 6–4
Runner-up	1.	April 4, 1983	Hilton Head Island	Clay	Paula Smith	Martina Navratilova Candy Reynolds	2–6, 3–6
Winner	4.	August 15, 1983	Toronto	Hard	Anne Hobbs	Rosalyn Fairbank Candy Reynolds	6–4, 5–7, 7–5
Runner-up	2.	January 23, 1984	Marco Island	Clay	Anne Hobbs	Hana Mandlíková Helena Suková	6–3, 2–6, 2–6

Grand Slam singles performance timeline

A = did not participate in the tournament.

SR = the ratio of the number of Grand Slam singles tournaments won to the number of those tournaments played.

See also

• Performance timelines for all female tennis players who reached at least one Grand Slam final

References

External links

• Andrea Jaeger at the Women's Tennis Association
• Andrea Jaeger at the International Tennis Federation
• Andrea Jaeger at the Fed Cup
  
• Athletes for Hope