Tracy Austin
 |
|
| Country (sports) |
 United States |
|---|---|
| Residence | Rolling Hills, California |
| Born |
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.
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.
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. 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.
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