Meredith McGrath

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Meredith McGrath is a former professional tennis player. She was born on April 28, 1971 in Midland, Michigan, USA and made her debut on the Women's Tennis Association tour in 1988. In her eight year professional career Meredith achieved career-high world rankings of #18 in singles and #4 in doubles. She notched victories over such players as Martina Navratilova, Martina Hingis, Anna Kournikova, Jana Novotna, Arantxa Sanchez Vicario, and Gigi Fernandez. The pinnacle of her career came in reaching the singles semi-finals and doubles finals at the 1996 Wimbledon Championships. An injury the week prior to the 1996 Wimbledon Championships eventually ended her career. Meredith won the 1995 U.S. Open Mixed Doubles Championship (she was runner-up in 1989) and was the runner-up in the 1994 Australian Open Doubles Championship. Meredith won three WTA singles titles: Oklahoma City and Eastbourne in 1994 and Birmingham in 1996, 25 doubles titles. She retired with a 140–83 record in singles and a 189–40 record in doubles. Meredith was recognized by Tennis Magazine as the WTA Comeback Player of the Year as she overcame near career-ending injuries to having her most successful competitive season in 1996. In 1994 she received the WTA Tour Comeback Player of the Year.

Meredith played her collegiate tennis at Stanford University where she, during her only collegiate season, earned All-American honors in both singles and doubles after having achieved year-end rankings of #2 in singles and #1 in doubles (undefeated). Meredith had maintained #1 rankings in both singles and doubles during her freshman year until a loss at the NCAA Championships. Meredith turned pro after her freshman year, but returned to Stanford to earn her degree in 2000 after injuries forced her early retirement. In 1990, Meredith was awarded the Block S Award for the Most Outstanding Freshman Athlete at Stanford and with her doubles partner, Teri Whitlinger, was named the Volvo Tennis/Tennis Magazine Doubles Team of the Year. Meredith is also a 2012 inductee into the prestigious Stanford Hall of Fame.

Meredith is also a member of the USTA Midwest Hall of Fame and the USTA NorCal Hall of Fame.

As the #1 ranked junior player in the world, McGrath won a total of 19 national and international junior titles. She captured the U.S. Open Junior Doubles Title and Wimbledon Junior Doubles Title with Jennifer Capriati in 1989, and won the U.S. Open Junior Doubles Title with Kim Po in 1987 and 1988. Meredith was the runner-up in the 1988 Wimbledon Junior Singles championship. A three-time national All-American in high school, Meredith won three Michigan High School Division A State Championships. She also received six USTA National Championship Sportsmanship Awards.

Contents

[edit] WTA Tour finals

[edit] Singles 3 (3–0)

Legend
Grand Slam 0
WTA Championships 0
Tier I 0
Tier II 1
Tier III 2
Tier IV & V 0
Olympic Games 0
Outcome No. Date Tournament Surface Opponent Score
Winner 1. 20 February 1994 Oklahoma City, Oklahoma, USA Hard Netherlands Brenda Schultz 7–6, 7–6
Winner 2. 18 June 1994 Eastbourne, England Grass United States Linda Harvey-Wild 6–2, 6–4
Winner 3. 16 June 1996 Birmingham, England Grass France Nathalie Tauziat 2–6, 6–4, 6–4

[edit] Doubles 38 (26–12)

Legend
Grand Slam 0
WTA Championships 0
Tier I 3
Tier II 7
Tier III 5
Tier IV & V 5
Olympic Games 0
Titles by Surface
Hard 14
Clay 2
Grass 0
Carpet 10
Outcome No. Date Tournament Surface Partner Opponents in Final Score in Final
Runner-up 1. 18 June 1989 Birmingham, England Grass United States Pam Shriver Soviet Union Larisa Savchenko
Soviet Union Natalia Zvereva
5–7, 7–5, 0–6
Winner 2. 12 November 1989 Nashville, Tennessee, USA Hard Netherlands Manon Bollegraf Soviet Union Natalia Medvedeva
Soviet Union Leila Meskhi
1–6, 7–6, 7–6
Winner 3. 11 February 1990 Wichita, Kansas, USA Hard Netherlands Manon Bollegraf United States Mary-Lou Daniels
United States Wendy Prausa
6–0, 6–2
Winner 4. 12 August 1990 Albuquerque, New Mexico, USA Hard United States Anne Smith United States Mareen Louie-Harper
United States Wendy Prausa
7–6, 6–4
Runner-up 5. 16 September 1990 Light 'n' Lively Doubles, USA Carpet Netherlands Manon Bollegraf Soviet Union Larisa Savchenko
Soviet Union Natalia Zvereva
4–6, 1–6
Winner 6. 4 November 1990 Oakland, California, USA Carpet United States Anne Smith South Africa Rosalyn Fairbank-Nideffer
United States Robin White
2–6, 6–0, 6–4
Winner 7. 11 November 1990 Oakland, California, USA Hard United States Patty Fendick United States Katrina Adams
Canada Jill Hetherington
6–1, 6–1
Winner 8. 24 February 1991 Oklahoma City, Oklahoma, USA Hard United States Anne Smith United States Katrina Adams
Canada Jill Hetherington
6–1, 6–1
Winner 9. 10 March 1991 Boca Raton, Florida, USA Hard United Kingdom Samantha Smith Soviet Union Larisa Savchenko-Neiland
Soviet Union Natalia Zvereva
4–6, 6–7
Runner-up 10. 18 April 1993 Pattaya, Thailand Hard United States Patty Fendick United States Cammy Macgregor
France Catherine Suire
3–6, 6–7
Winner 11. 25 April 1993 Kuala Lumpur, Maylasia Hard United States Patty Fendick United States Nicole Arendt
Australia Kristine Radford
6–4, 7–6
Winner 12. 17 October 1993 Montpellier, France Carpet Germany Claudia Porwik Slovakia Janette Husárová
Belgium Dominique Monami
3–6, 6–2, 7–6
Winner 13. 7 November 1993 Oakland, California, USA Carpet United States Patty Fendick South Africa Amanda Coetzer
Argentina Inés Gorrochategui
6–2, 6–0
Winner 14. 16 January 1994 Sydney, Australia Hard United States Patty Fendick Czech Republic Jana Novotná
Spain Arantxa Sánchez Vicario
6–2, 6–3
Runner-up 15. 30 January 1994 Australian Open, Australia Hard United States Patty Fendick United States Gigi Fernández
Belarus Natalia Zvereva
3–6, 6–4, 4–6
Winner 16. 20 February 1994 Oklahoma City, Oklahoma, USA Hard United States Patty Fendick United States Katrina Adams
Netherlands Manon Bollegraf
7–6, 6–2
Runner-up 17. 20 March 1994 Key Biscayne, Florida, USA Hard United States Patty Fendick United States Gigi Fernández
Commonwealth of Independent States Natalia Zvereva
3–6, 1–6
Winner 18. 17 April 1994 Pattaya, Thailand Hard United States Patty Fendick Indonesia Yayuk Basuki
Japan Nana Miyagi
7–6, 3–6, 6–3
Winner 19. 24 April 1994 Singapore Hard United States Patty Fendick United States Nicole Arendt
Australia Krisine Radford
6–4, 6–1
Winner 20. 21 August 1994 Canadian Open, Canada Hard Spain Arantxa Sánchez Vicario United States Pam Shriver
Australia Liz Smylie
2–6, 6–2, 64
Winner 21. 28 August 1994 Schenectady, New York, USA Hard Soviet Union Larisa Savchenko United States Pam Shriver
Australia Liz Smylie
6–2, 6–2
Winner 22. 2 October 1994 Leipzig, Germany Carpet United States Patty Fendick Netherlands Manon Bollegraf
Soviet Union Larisa Savchenko
6–4, 6–4
Runner-up 23. 9 October 1994 Zurich, Switzerland Carpet United States Patty Fendick Netherlands Manon Bollegraf
United States Martina Navratilova
6–7, 1–6
Winner 24. l9 February 1995 Paris, France Hard Soviet Union Larisa Savchenko Netherlands Manon Bollegraf
Australia Rennae Stubbs
6–4, 6–1
Winner 25. 26 February 1995 Linz, Austria Carpet France Nathalie Tauziat Croatia Iva Majoli
Austria Petra Schwarz
6–1, 6–2
Winner 26. 27 May 1995 Edinburgh, Scotland Clay Soviet Union Larisa Savchenko Netherlands Manon Bollegraf
Australia Rennae Stubbs
6–2, 7–6
Winner 27. 23 September 1995 Moscow, Russia Carpet Soviet Union Larisa Savchenko Russia Anna Kournikova
Poland Aleksandra Olsza
6–1, 6–1
Winner 28. 1 October 1995 Leipzig, Germany Carpet Soviet Union Larisa Savchenko Netherlands Brenda Schultz-McCarthy
Netherlands Caroline Vis
6–4, 6–4
Runner-up 29. 15 October 1995 Filderstadt, Germany Hard Soviet Union Larisa Savchenko United States Gigi Fernández
Belarus Natalia Zvereva
7–5, 1–6 4–6
Winner 30. 22 October 1995 Brighton, England Carpet Soviet Union Larisa Savchenko United States Lori McNeil
Czech Republic Helena Suková
7–5, 6–1
Runner-up 31. 12 November 1995 Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, USA Carpet Soviet Union Larisa Savchenko United States Lori McNeil
Czech Republic Helena Suková
6–4, 3–6, 4–6
Winner 32. 25 February 1996 Essen, Germany Carpet Soviet Union Larisa Savchenko United States Lori McNeil
Czech Republic Helena Suková
6–4, 3–6, 4–6
Winner 33. 3 March 1996 Linz, Austria Carpet Netherlands Manon Bollegraf Australia Rennae Stubbs
Czech Republic Helena Suková
6–4, 6–4
Runner-up 34. 30 March 1996 Key Biscayne, Florida, USA Hard Soviet Union Larisa Savchenko Czech Republic Jana Novotná
Spain Arantxa Sánchez Vicario
4–6, 4–6
Runner-up 35. 14 April 1996 Amelia Island, Florida, USA Clay Soviet Union Larisa Savchenko United States Chanda Rubin
Spain Arantxa Sánchez Vicario
4–6, 4–6
Winner 36. 19 May 1996 WTA German Open, Berlin, Germany Clay Soviet Union Larisa Savchenko Switzerland Martina Hingis
Czech Republic Helena Suková
6–1, 5–7, 7–6
Runner-up 37. 7 July 1996 Wimbledon, England Grass Soviet Union Larisa Savchenko Switzerland Martina Hingis
Czech Republic Helena Suková
7–5, 5–7, 1–6
Runner-up 38. 17 January 1998 Sydney, Australia Hard United States Katrina Adams Switzerland Martina Hingis
Czech Republic Helena Suková
1–6, 2–6

[edit] Mixed doubles 2 (1–1)

Legend
Grand Slam 1
WTA Championships 0
Tier I 0
Tier II 0
Tier III 0
Tier IV & V 0
Olympic Games 0
Titles by Surface
Hard 1
Clay 0
Grass 0
Carpet 0
Outcome No. Date Tournament Surface Partner Opponents in Final Score in Final
Runner-up 1. 10 September 1989 US Open, USA Hard United States Rick Leach United States Shelby Cannon
United States Robin White
6–3, 2–6, 5–7
Winner 2. 10 September 1995 US Open, USA Hard United States Matt Lucena Czech Republic Cyril Suk
United States Gigi Fernández
6–4, 6–4

[edit] References