Tracy Austin

Tracy Austin

Country (sports)	United States
Residence	Rolling Hills, California
Born	(1962-12-12) December 12, 1962 Palos Verdes Peninsula, California
Height	5 ft 5 in (1.65 m)
Turned pro	October 23, 1978
Retired	July 1994
Plays	Right-handed (two-handed backhand)
Prize money	US$ 2,092,380
Int. Tennis HoF	1992 (member page)
Singles
Career record	335–90 (78.82%)
Career titles	30
Highest ranking	No. 1 (7 April 1980)
Grand Slam Singles results
Australian Open	QF (1981)
French Open	QF (1982, 1983)
Wimbledon	SF (1979, 1980)
US Open	W (1979, 1981)
Other tournaments
Tour Finals	W (1980)
Doubles
Career record	13–16
Career titles	5
Mixed doubles
Career titles	1
Grand Slam Mixed Doubles results
Wimbledon	W (1980)
US Open	SF (1988)

Tracy Ann Austin Holt (born December 12, 1962) is an American former World No. 1 retired professional tennis player. She won three Grand Slam titles, winning the women's singles title at the US Open in 1979 and 1981, and the mixed doubles title at Wimbledon in 1980. Additionally, she won the WTA Tour Championships in 1980 and the 1981 year end Toyota Championships, both in singles, before a series of injuries cut her career short. Since 1979, she has held the record as youngest ever US Open female singles champion and is the youngest inductee of all time in the International Tennis Hall of Fame. Austin won singles titles on all playing surfaces: clay (both red clay and green clay), indoor carpet, grass, and hard courts.

Playing style

Austin possessed a solid baseline game with a strong forehand and reliable two-fisted backhand. She struck the ball deep, with substantial pace (given the wooden racquet era of her prime), and with pinpoint accuracy, hitting on or near the lines. Often this aspect of her game has overshadowed her solid net game which resulted in a Wimbledon mixed doubles title with her brother John. Austin's first serve was a mid-paced high percentage shot that functioned well on all playing surfaces, and although her second serve has been described as lacking penetration, she rarely double faulted.

Career

1978 to 1980

Austin turned professional in October 1978 and that same month she won her first professional singles title, defeating Betty Stöve in the final in Filderstadt, West Germany.^[1][2] Austin defeated 35-year-old Billie Jean King in the quarterfinals of Wimbledon in 1979 before losing to Martina Navratilova in straight sets in the semifinals. Austin then became the youngest ever US Open champion, aged 16 years and 9 months, defeating Navratilova in the semifinal and winning the championship match against Chris Evert, who was bidding to win the title for the fifth consecutive year. Earlier that year, Austin had ended Evert's 125-match winning streak on clay by beating her in three sets in a semifinal of the Italian Open. The Associated Press named her female athlete of the year for 1979.

Austin lost in the semifinals of both Grand Slam tournaments she played in 1980. Evonne Goolagong Cawley, seeded fourth and the eventual champion, defeated Austin at Wimbledon. As the top seed and defending champion at the US Open, Austin was expected to extend her five-match winning streak against third-ranked Evert. Austin raced to a 4–0 lead in the first set before Evert won 16 of the final 20 games to take the match. Evert went on to beat Hana Mandlíková in the final, thus securing for herself the year-ending World No. 1 ranking. Austin was ranked the World No. 1 singles player for (2) weeks April 7–20, 1980 and for (19) weeks July 7 – November 17, 1980; partly because she captured the two sponsors' tour-ending events, defeating Navratilova to win the Avon Championships in March and Andrea Jaeger to capture the Colgate Series Championships in January 1981. In 1980, Austin won the Wimbledon mixed doubles title with her brother John, becoming the first brother and sister team ever to win a Grand Slam title together.

1981 to 1983

During the first four months of 1981, Austin played only two events because of chronic injuries. On grass, she won the tournament in Eastbourne, United Kingdom without losing a set before Pam Shriver beat her in a Wimbledon quarterfinal. Austin then won 26 consecutive matches and four consecutive tournaments. She defeated Shriver in the final of the tournament in San Diego and, three weeks later, she beat both Navratilova and Evert in straight sets to win the Canadian Open in Toronto. (It is fair to mention that Evert was under a death threat in the final.) As the third-seeded player at the US Open, Austin defeated fourth-seeded Navratilova in the final. Navratilova, however, ended Austin's winning streak in the final of the U.S. Indoor Championships. In Europe during the autumn, Austin lost to Sue Barker in the quarterfinals of the tournament in Brighton, United Kingdom, but recovered the following week to defeat Navratilova in the final of the tournament in Stuttgart, West Germany. At the final Grand Slam tournament of the year, Austin was seeded second but lost to sixth-seeded Shriver in the Australian Open quarterfinals. The 1981 year-ending Toyota Series Championships featured two matches against Evert and one against Navratilova. Evert won her round robin match with Austin, before Austin defeated Evert in their semifinal. Austin then won the tournament with a three-set defeat of Navratilova. The Associated Press named her female athlete for the second time in 1981.

Austin was the first opponent of Steffi Graf when the German made her professional debut at the Porsche Tennis Grand Prix in Stuttgart in 1982. Austin defeated the 13-year-old Graf.

Back injuries and recurring sciatica then began to impair Austin's effectiveness and sidelined her for long stretches. Billie Jean King, seeded twelfth, upset third-seeded Austin in the 1982 Wimbledon quarterfinals. Several weeks later, however, Austin won her 30th and final top-level singles title in San Diego. Austin had a good showing at the 1982 season-ending Toyota Series Championships where she defeated Jaeger, the World No. 3, in straight sets to reach the semifinals. However, she was unable to repeat 1981's victory over Evert, who double bageled her in the semifinals. In 1983 she was a finalist at the Family Circle Cup, losing to Navratilova in three sets. She also reached the quarterfinals of the French Open. But by the end of 1983, before her 21st birthday, Austin was essentially finished as a top ten player.

1988 to 1989

Austin began her first comeback on the tour in 1988, when she played in seven doubles tournaments, and in 1989, when she played in one doubles and two singles tournaments. A highlight of this comeback included a semifinal showing in the 1988 US Open Mixed Doubles with partner Ken Flach.^[3] This comeback was ended by a near-fatal motor vehicle accident on August 3, 1989.

1992

In 1992, Austin became the youngest person to be inducted into the International Tennis Hall of Fame, at the age of 29.

1993 to 1994

She attempted a second comeback in 1993 and 1994 but was not particularly successful. In 1993, Austin upset Renee Stubbs and Katerina Maleeva at the Evert Cup in Indian Wells, California where she reached the round of 16. At the WTA Manhattan Beach event she upset both Gigi Fernández and Elena Likhovtseva before losing to Gabriela Sabatini in the round of 16. The wins over Maleeva, Fernandez, and Likhovtseva began a buzz that Austin might become at least a top twenty player again. However, in 1994, her results were not as promising and at the Evert Cup in Indian Wells, California, Austin lost in the second round in straight sets to Steffi Graf, and Austin soon retired in June 1994.^[3]

Family life and work as a tennis commentator

Austin's older sister, Pam, and her older brother, Jeff, were also professional tennis players, as were brothers Doug and John. She is the sister-in-law of fitness author Denise Austin. She is married to Scott Holt and is the mother of three sons, Sean, Brandon, and Dylan.

As a child, Austin lived next door to Air Force Colonel Keith Lindell, who was responsible for the training of the original seven Project Mercury astronauts.

Since retiring as a player, Austin has worked as a commentator for NBC and the USA Network for the French Open and the US Open. She worked for the Seven Network, who broadcast the Australian Open and usually participates in the BBC's Wimbledon coverage. She began working for Tennis Channel in 2010 and joined their US Open team and later their Australian Open team in 2012. Austin has also worked for Canadian television for their coverage of the Rogers Cup since 2004.

Austin is the focus of David Foster Wallace's "How Tracy Austin Broke My Heart" (1992).

Major finals

Grand Slam finals

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

Outcome	Year	Championship	Surface	Opponent	Score
Winner	1979	US Open	Hard	Chris Evert	6–4, 6–3
Winner	1981	US Open	Hard	Martina Navratilova	1–6, 7–6(7–4), 7–6(7–1)

Mixed doubles: 2 (1 title, 1 runner–up)

Outcome	Year	Championship	Surface	Partner	Opponents	Score
Winner	1980	Wimbledon	Grass	John Austin	Dianne Fromholtz Mark Edmondson	4–6, 7–6(8–6), 6–3
Runner-up	1981	Wimbledon	Grass	John Austin	Betty Stöve Frew McMillan	4–6, 7–6(7–2), 6–3

Year-End Championships finals

Singles: 2 (1 title, 1 runner–up)

Outcome	Year	Championship	Surface	Opponent	Score
Runner-up	1979	New York City	Carpet (i)	Martina Navratilova	6–3, 3–6, 6–2
Winner	1980	New York City	Carpet (i)	Martina Navratilova	6–2, 2–6, 6–2

WTA career finals

Singles: 44 (30–14)

Outcome	No.	Date	Tournament	Surface	Opponent	Score
Winner	1.	January 10, 1977	Portland	Hard (i)	Stacy Margolin	6–7, 6–3, 4–1 ret.
Runner-up	1.	March 6, 1978	Dallas	Carpet (i)	Evonne Goolagong Cawley	4–6, 6–0, 6–2
Runner-up	2.	October 2, 1978	Phoenix	Hard	Martina Navratilova	6–4, 6–2
Winner	2.	October 23, 1978	Filderstadt	Carpet (i)	Betty Stöve	6–3, 6–3
Winner	3.	November 21, 1978	Tokyo	Hard (i)	Martina Navratilova	6–1, 6–1
Winner	4.	January 1, 1979	Washington	Carpet (i)	Martina Navratilova	6–3, 6–2
Runner-up	3.	January 29, 1979	Chicago	Carpet (i)	Martina Navratilova	6–3, 6–4
Runner-up	4.	March 21, 1979	Avon Championships	Carpet (i)	Martina Navratilova	6–3, 3–6, 6–2
Winner	5.	April 10, 1979	Hilton Head Island	Clay	Kerry Melville Reid	7–6(7–3), 7–6(9–7)
Winner	6.	May 7, 1979	Rome	Clay	Sylvia Hanika	6–4, 1–6, 6–3
Winner	7.	July 30, 1979	San Diego	Hard	Martina Navratilova	6–4, 6–2
Runner-up	5.	August 20, 1979	Mahwah	Hard	Chris Evert-Lloyd	6–7(2–7), 6–4, 6–1
Winner	8.	August 28, 1979	US Open	Hard	Chris Evert-Lloyd	6–4, 6–3
Winner	9.	November 5, 1979	Filderstadt	Carpet (i)	Martina Navratilova	6–2, 6–0
Winner	10.	December 15, 1979	Tokyo	Carpet (i)	Martina Navratilova	6–2, 6–1
Runner-up	6.	January 2, 1980	Landover	Carpet (i)	Martina Navratilova	6–2, 6–1
Winner	11.	January 7, 1980	Cincinnati	Carpet (i)	Chris Evert-Lloyd	6–2, 6–1
Winner	12.	January 28, 1980	Seattle	Carpet (i)	Virginia Wade	6–2, 7–6
Runner-up	7.	February 4, 1980	Los Angeles	Carpet (i)	Martina Navratilova	6–2, 6–0
Winner	13.	March 10, 1980	Boston	Carpet (i)	Virginia Wade	6–2, 6–1
Winner	14.	March 17, 1980	Avon Championships	Carpet (i)	Martina Navratilova	6–2, 2–6, 6–2
Winner	15.	March 29, 1980	Carlsbad	Hard	Martina Navratilova	7–5, 6–2
Winner	16.	April 7, 1980	Hilton Head Island	Clay	Regina Maršíková	3–6, 6–1, 6–0
Runner-up	8.	April 29, 1980	Orlando	Clay	Martina Navratilova	6–2, 6–4
Winner	17.	June 16, 1980	Eastbourne	Grass	Wendy Turnbull	7–6, 6–2
Winner	18.	July 28, 1980	San Diego	Hard	Wendy Turnbull	6–1, 6–3
Winner	19.	September 29, 1980	Minneapolis	Carpet (i)	Martina Navratilova	6–1, 2–6, 6–2
Winner	20.	November 3, 1980	Filderstadt	Carpet (i)	Sherry Acker	6–2, 7–5
Runner-up	9.	November 10, 1980	Tampa	Hard	Andrea Jaeger	w/o
Runner-up	10.	November 22, 1980	Tokyo	Carpet (i)	Martina Navratilova	6–4, 6–3
Winner	21.	December 15, 1980	Tucson	Carpet (i)	Peanut Louie	6–2, 6–0
Winner	22.	January 7, 1981	Landover	Carpet (i)	Andrea Jaeger	6–2, 6–2
Winner	23.	June 15, 1981	Eastbourne	Grass	Andrea Jaeger	6–3, 6–4
Winner	24.	July 27, 1981	San Diego	Hard	Pam Shriver	6–2, 5–7, 6–2
Winner	25.	August 17, 1981	Toronto	Hard	Chris Evert-Lloyd	6–1, 6–4
Winner	26.	September 1, 1981	US Open	Hard	Martina Navratilova	1–6, 7–6(7–4), 7–6(7–1)
Winner	27.	September 21, 1981	Atlanta	Hard	Mary-Lou Piatek	4–6, 6–3, 6–3
Runner-up	11.	September 28, 1981	Minneapolis	Carpet (i)	Martina Navratilova	6–0, 6–2
Winner	28.	October 26, 1981	Filderstadt	Carpet (i)	Martina Navratilova	4–6, 6–3, 6–4
Winner	29.	December 14, 1981	East Rutherford	Carpet (i)	Martina Navratilova	2–6, 6–4, 6–2
Winner	30.	July 26, 1982	San Diego	Hard	Kathy Rinaldi	7–6, 6–3
Runner-up	12.	October 18, 1982	Filderstadt	Carpet (i)	Martina Navratilova	6–3, 6–3
Runner-up	13.	December 6, 1982	Richmond	Carpet (i)	Wendy Turnbull	6–7(3–7), 6–2, 6–4
Runner-up	14.	April 4, 1983	Hilton Head Island	Clay	Martina Navratilova	5–7, 6–1, 6–0

Doubles: 7 (5–2)

Outcome	No.	Date	Tournament	Surface	Partner	Opponents	Score
Winner	1.	October 2, 1978	Phoenix	Hard	Betty Stöve	Martina Navratilova Anne Smith	6–4, 6–7, 6–2
Winner	2.	October 23, 1978	Filderstadt	Carpet (i)	Betty Stöve	Mima Jaušovec Virginia Ruzici	6–3, 6–2
Runner-up	1.	November 21, 1978	Tokyo	Hard (i)	Kathy May	Martina Navratilova Betty Stöve	6–4, 6–7, 3–6
Runner-up	2.	January 8, 1979	Oakland	Carpet (i)	Betty Stöve	Rosie Casals Chris Evert	6–3, 4–6, 3–6
Winner	3.	January 22, 1979	Hollywood	Carpet (i)	Betty Stöve	Rosie Casals Wendy Turnbull	6–2, 2–6, 6–2
Winner	4.	August 20, 1979	Mahwah	Hard	Betty Stöve	Mima Jaušovec Regina Maršíková	7–6, 2–6, 6–4
Winner	5.	July 28, 1980	San Diego	Hard	Ann Kiyomura	Rosie Casals Wendy Turnbull	3–6, 6–4, 6–3

Grand Slam singles tournament timeline

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

Note: The Australian Open was held twice in 1977, in January and December.

See also

• List of female tennis players
• List of Grand Slam Women's Singles champions
• Performance timelines for all female tennis players who reached at least one Grand Slam final

References

External links

Wikimedia Commons has media related to Tracy Austin.

• Tracy Austin at the Women's Tennis Association
• Tracy Austin at the International Tennis Federation
• Tracy Austin at the Fed Cup
  
• Tracy Austin at the International Tennis Hall of Fame