Betsy Nagelsen

Betsy Nagelsen
Country (sports) United States
ResidenceMaui, Hawaii &
Orlando, Florida
Born (1956-10-23) October 23, 1956 (age 68)
St. Petersburg, Florida
Height1.75 m (5 ft 9 in)
Turned pro1973
Retired1996
PlaysRight-handed
Prize money$1,016,519
Singles
Career record194–256
Career titles4
Highest rankingNo. 23 (end 1981)[1]
Grand Slam singles results
Australian OpenF (1978)
French Open2R (1975, 1978)
Wimbledon4R (1981, 1986)
US Open3R (1974, 1976, 1980, 1988)
Doubles
Career record385–253
Career titles25
Highest rankingNo. 11 (March 14, 1988)
Grand Slam doubles results
Australian OpenW (1978, 1980)
French OpenSF (1981, 1985)
WimbledonF (1987)
US OpenSF (1978, 1984, 1987)
Mixed doubles
Grand Slam mixed doubles results
US OpenF (1987)

Helen Elizabeth "Betsy" Nagelsen McCormack (born October 23, 1956) is an American former professional tennis player.

Career

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Nagelsen was the world's top junior in 1973. She won the 1973 U.S. Champion Girls' 16 and under singles. She also won the USTA Girls' Sportsmanship Award in 1974.[2] As a professional, she won the doubles championship at the 1978 and 1980 Australian Opens (with Renáta Tomanová and Martina Navratilova, respectively), and reached the singles final of the 1978 Australian Open, losing to Christine O'Neil. Over her 21-year career on the WTA Tour, Nagelsen won 25 doubles titles and four singles titles.

Nagelsen reached her career-high singles ranking by the end of 1981, when she became the world No. 23.[1] She also reached a career-high ranking in doubles of No. 11 on March 4, 1988. She had career wins over Navratilova, Arantxa Sánchez Vicario, Sue Barker, Pam Shriver, Claudia Kohde-Kilsch, Rosie Casals, Betty Stöve, and Sylvia Hanika. She was a four-time member of the U.S. Wightman Cup Team in 1974, 1985, 1988 and 1989.

After her retirement in 1996, Nagelsen became a commentator for ABC and ESPN in the United States and Australia's Nine Network. She married Mark McCormack, founder of the sports management group IMG, on March 1, 1986.[3] The couple donated money for the McCormack-Nagelsen Tennis Center at the College of William and Mary in Williamsburg, Virginia. The Intercollegiate Tennis Association's Women's Tennis Hall of Fame is located on the site.

Grand Slam finals

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Singles: 1 (runner-up)

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Result Year Championship Surface Opponent Score
Loss 1978 Australian Open Grass Australia Chris O'Neil 3–6, 6–7(3–7)

Doubles: 4 (2 titles, 2 runner-ups)

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Result Year Championship Surface Partner Opponents Score
Loss 1977(J) Australian Open Grass Australia Kerry Reid Australia Dianne Fromholtz
Australia Helen Gourlay
7–5, 1–6, 5–7
Win 1978 Australian Open Grass Czechoslovakia Renáta Tomanová Japan Naoko Sato
United States Pam Whytcross
7–5, 6–2
Win 1980 Australian Open Grass United States Martina Navratilova United States Ann Kiyomura
United States Candy Reynolds
6–4, 6–4
Loss 1987 Wimbledon Grass Australia Elizabeth Smylie West Germany Claudia Kohde-Kilsch
Czechoslovakia Helena Suková
5–7, 5–7

Mixed doubles: 1 (runner-up)

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Result Year Championship Surface Partner Opponents Score
Loss 1987 US Open Hard United States Paul Annacone United States Martina Navratilova
Spain Emilio Sánchez
4–6, 7–6(8–6), 6–7(12–14)

Grand Slam tournament performance timeline

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Key
W  F  SF QF #R RR Q# DNQ A NH
(W) winner; (F) finalist; (SF) semifinalist; (QF) quarterfinalist; (#R) rounds 4, 3, 2, 1; (RR) round-robin stage; (Q#) qualification round; (DNQ) did not qualify; (A) absent; (NH) not held; (SR) strike rate (events won / competed); (W–L) win–loss record.

Singles

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Tournament 1974 1975 1976 1977 1978 1979 1980 1981 1982 1983 1984 1985 1986 1987 1988 1989 1990 1991 1992 1993 SR
Australian Open A A A 1R A F A 3R 2R A 2R 1R 2R NH 2R 1R A A A A A 0 / 9
French Open 1R 2R 1R A 2R A 1R 1R 1R 1R 1R 1R 1R A A A 1R A A A 0 / 12
Wimbledon 3R 2R 1R 2R 2R 2R 3R 4R 2R 3R 2R 1R 4R 1R 1R 1R 3R 1R Q1 Q2 0 / 18
US Open 3R A 3R 1R 1R 1R 3R 2R 1R 1R 1R 1R 2R 2R 3R 2R A A A A 0 / 15
Strike rate 0 / 3 0 / 2 0 / 3 0 / 3 0 / 4 0 / 2 0 / 4 0 / 4 0 / 3 0 / 4 0 / 4 0 / 4 0 / 3 0 / 3 0 / 3 0 / 2 0 / 2 0 / 1 0 / 0 0 / 0 0 / 54

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

WTA Tour finals

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Doubles: 36 (24–12)

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Result W/L Date Tournament Surface Partner Opponents Score
Win 1–0 Jul 1976 Gstaad, Switzerland Clay Australia Wendy Turnbull South Africa Brigitte Cuypers
South Africa Annette Du Plooy
6–4, 6–4
Win 2–0 Dec 1976 Sydney, Australia Grass Australia Helen Gourlay Australia Dianne Fromholtz
Czechoslovakia Renáta Tomanová
6–4, 6–1
Loss 2–1 Jan 1977 Australian Open Grass Australia Kerry Reid Australia Dianne Fromholtz
Australia Helen Gourlay
7–5, 1–6, 5–7
Loss 2–2 May 1978 Rome, Italy Clay Romania Florența Mihai Socialist Federal Republic of Yugoslavia Mima Jaušovec
Romania Virginia Ruzici
2–6, 6–2, 6–7
Win 3–2 Dec 1978 Australian Open Grass Czechoslovakia Renáta Tomanová Japan Naoko Sato
United States Pam Whytcross
7–5, 6–2
Win 4–2 Oct 1979 Tokyo, Japan Carpet United States Penny Johnson China Chen Chuan
China Yu Li-Qiao
3–6, 6–4, 7–6
Loss 4–3 Aug 1980 Toronto, Canada Hard United States Ann Kiyomura United States Andrea Jaeger
Czechoslovakia Regina Maršíková
1–6, 3–6
Win 5–3 Dec 1980 Australian Open Grass United States Martina Navratilova United States Ann Kiyomura
United States Candy Reynolds
6–4, 6–4
Win 6–3 Sep 1981 Atlanta, US Hard United States Laura duPont United States Rosie Casals
United States Candy Reynolds
6–4, 7–5
Loss 6–4 Nov 1981 Perth, Australia Grass United States Candy Reynolds United States Barbara Potter
United States Sharon Walsh
4–6, 2–6
Win 7–4 Aug 1982 Atlanta, US Hard United States Kathy Jordan United States Chris Evert
United States Billie Jean King
4–6, 7–6(13–11), 7–6(7–3)
Loss 7–5 Aug 1983 Los Angeles, U.S. Hard Romania Virginia Ruzici United States Martina Navratilova
United States Pam Shriver
1–6, 0–6
Win 8–5 Mar 1984 Palm Beach Gardens, US Clay United States Anne White South Africa Rosalyn Fairbank
United States Candy Reynolds
2–6, 6–2, 6–2
Win 9–5 Sep 1984 San Diego, US Hard United States Paula Smith United States Terry Holladay
Poland Iwona Kuczyńska
6–2, 6–4
Win 10–5 Oct 1984 Tokyo, Japan Hard United States Candy Reynolds Argentina Emilse Longo
Argentina Adriana Villagrán
6–3, 6–2
Win 11–5 Jan 1985 Port St. Lucie, US Hard United States Paula Smith Switzerland Christiane Jolissaint
Netherlands Marcella Mesker
6–3, 6–4
Loss 11–6 Apr 1985 Tokyo, Japan Carpet (i) United States Anne White United States Kathy Jordan
Australia Elizabeth Smylie
6–4, 5–7, 2–6
Loss 11–7 Jan 1986 Key Biscayne, US Hard United States Barbara Potter United States Kathy Jordan
Australia Elizabeth Smylie
6–7(6–8), 6–2, 2–6
Win 12–7 Mar 1986 Phoenix, US Hard United States Susan Mascarin United States Linda Gates
United States Alycia Moulton
6–3, 5–7, 6–4
Win 13–7 May 1986 Lugano, Switzerland Clay United States Elise Burgin Australia Jenny Byrne
Australia Janine Tremelling
6–2, 6–3
Win 14–7 Aug 1986 Mahwah, US Hard Australia Elizabeth Smylie West Germany Steffi Graf
Czechoslovakia Helena Suková
7–6(7–4), 6–3
Loss 14–8 Dec 1986 Brisbane, Australia Grass Australia Elizabeth Smylie Czechoslovakia Hana Mandlíková
Australia Wendy Turnbull
4–6, 3–6
Win 15–8 Jan 1987 Sydney, Australia Grass Australia Elizabeth Smylie Australia Jenny Byrne
Australia Janine Thompson
6–7(5–7), 7–5, 6–1
Loss 15–9 Mar 1987 Piscataway, US Carpet (i) Australia Elizabeth Smylie United States Gigi Fernández
United States Lori McNeil
1–6, 4–6
Win 16–9 Apr 1987 Tokyo, Japan Hard United States Kathy Jordan United States Sandy Collins
United States Sharon Walsh
6–3, 7–5
Win 17–9 May 1987 Geneva, Switzerland Clay Australia Elizabeth Smylie Peru Laura Gildemeister
France Catherine Tanvier
4–6, 6–4, 6–3
Loss 17–10 Jun 1987 Wimbledon, UK Grass Australia Elizabeth Smylie West Germany Claudia Kohde-Kilsch
Czechoslovakia Helena Suková
5–7, 5–7
Win 18–10 Jan 1988 Brisbane, Australia Grass United States Pam Shriver West Germany Claudia Kohde-Kilsch
Czechoslovakia Helena Suková
2–6, 7–5, 6–2
Loss 18–11 Oct 1988 New Orleans, US Hard United States Lori McNeil United States Beth Herr
United States Candy Reynolds
4–6, 4–6
Win 19–11 Oct 1988 Brighton, UK Carpet (i) United States Lori McNeil France Isabelle Demongeot
France Nathalie Tauziat
7–6(5), 2–6, 7–6(4)
Win 20–11 Nov 1988 Chicago, US Carpet (i) United States Lori McNeil Soviet Union Larisa Savchenko
Soviet Union Natasha Zvereva
6–4, 3–6, 6–4
Win 21–11 Feb 1989 Fairfax, US Carpet United States Pam Shriver Soviet Union Larisa Savchenko
Soviet Union Natasha Zvereva
6–2, 6–3
Win 22–11 Feb 1989 Memphis, US Hard (i) United States Lori McNeil United States Elise Burgin
Australia Elizabeth Smylie
w/o
Win 23–11 Sep 1989 Dallas, US Carpet (i) United States Mary Joe Fernández United States Elise Burgin
South Africa Rosalyn Fairbank
7–6(7–5), 6–3
Loss 23–12 May 1990 Geneva, Switzerland Clay United States Elise Burgin Australia Louise Field
South Africa Dianne Van Rensburg
7–5, 6–7, 5–7
Win 24–12 Jul 1990 Montreal, Canada Hard Argentina Gabriela Sabatini Canada Helen Kelesi
Italy Raffaella Reggi
3–6, 6–2, 6–2

See also

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References

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  1. ^ a b WTA ranking 1981
  2. ^ "ITA Betsy Nagelsen McCormack". Retrieved December 8, 2011.
  3. ^ John Barrett, ed. (1990). The International Tennis Federation : World of Tennis 1990. London: Willow Books. pp. 308–309. ISBN 9780002183550.
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