Peanut Louie Harper

Peanut Louie Harper

Country (sports)	United States
Residence	San Francisco, CA, USA
Born	(1960-08-15) 15 August 1960 San Francisco, USA
Height	5 ft 5 in (1.65 m) [1]
Turned pro	1978
Retired	1994
Plays	Right-handed (two-handed backhand)
Singles
Career record	238–263
Career titles	4
Highest ranking	No. 19 (1 April 1985)
Grand Slam Singles results
French Open	3R (1978)
Wimbledon	3R (1980, 1987)
US Open	3R (1978, 1984)
Doubles
Career record	118–162
Career titles	5
Highest ranking	No. 31 (6 April 1992)
Grand Slam Doubles results
French Open	2R (1988)
Wimbledon	3R (1989)
US Open	3R (1980)
Grand Slam Mixed Doubles results
French Open	2R (1988)
Wimbledon	2R (1976, 1989)
US Open	3R (1978)

Peanut Louie Harper (born August 15, 1960), is a retired American tennis player, born in San Francisco, California^[2] to Ron and Alice Louie.^[3] She was a top ranked US junior tennis player and professional tennis player on the WTA tour. She reached a career high singles ranking of 19 in the world in 1985 and doubles ranking of 31 in the world in 1992. She is currently the co-founder and program director of Harper for Kids, a youth character development program.

Professional tennis career

During her career, she won 14 USTA National Junior titles and was the #1 ranked 16-and-under (1976) and 12-and-under tennis player (1972) in the United States. Peanut was the Junior Wimbledon finalist in 1977 and the semifinalist in 1978.^[4] She was also the #1 ranked junior in NorCal in all age divisions (10, 12, 14, 16 & 18 & unders).

After a successful junior career, she turned pro in 1978. In her 16-year career, she won 4 singles titles and reached a career high ranking of No. 19 in the world (in 1985). She also won 5 doubles titles and reached a career high ranking of No. 31 in the world (in 1992). At the Grand Slams, her best results were reaching the round of 32 in singles and the round of 16 in doubles, several times. Among her best wins were victories over Gabriela Sabatini and Zina Garrison, Mary Joe Fernandez, Helena Sukova, Wendy Turnbull, Stephanie Rehe and Andrea Jaeger.^[5]

Peanut was honored with the WTA Karen Krantzcke Sportsmanship Award in back-to-back years in 1985 and 1986 from the Women's Tennis Association (WTA). In 1986, she was also named TENNIS MAGAZINE's "Comeback Player of the Year". During her junior career, she was presented with the USTA Girls’ 18 National Championship Sportsmanship Award in 1977. See table below for professional career highlights*

Personal life and post-tennis career

Her elder sister, Marcie, also played on the WTA Tour, while her sisters Cici and Marisa, and brother Ronnie, all played at the University of San Francisco.^[6] She, along with her siblings, trained on the tennis courts of Golden Gate Park. She was given the nickname "Peanut" by her dad because she was the youngest of the five children.^[5]

She was inducted into the USTA Northern California Hall of Fame in 2000,^[7] the Multi-Ethnic Sports of Fame in 2017, the San Francisco Prep Hall of Fame in 2010,^[4] and the George Washington Athletic Hall of Fame in 1991.

She married her husband, Tim Harper in 1986. They live in San Francisco and have two kids, Casey and Jared.

Charity work

In 2008, Peanut co-founded Harper for Kids (HFK), a children's nonprofit organization, with her husband Tim Harper.^[8] HFK's youth character development program is based upon UCLA Coach John Wooden’s Pyramid of Success and teaches youth essential character traits that can help them achieve their personal best in life. HFK helps schools incorporate the Pyramid of Success into their Character Education and has worked with 106 schools throughout California, reaching over 55,000 K-12 students. Prior to starting Harper for Kids, Peanut collaborated with Coach John Wooden on his award-winning children’s book, “Inch and Miles: The Journey to Success” (Perfection Learning), along with co-author Steve Jamison.

Hall of Fame inductions

- Multi-Ethnic Sports Hall of Fame - 2017 inductee

- San Francisco Prep Hall of Fame - 2010 inductee

- USTA NorCal Hall of Fame - 2000 inductee

- George Washington High School Athletic Hall of Fame - 1991 inductee

Awards & Honors

WTA Career finals

Singles (4 titles, 1 finalist)

Outcome	Date	Tournament	Surface	Opponent	Score
Winner	1 September 1978	Avon Futures of Northern California, U.S	Hard	Ruta Gerulatis	7–6, 6–2
Winner	2 March 1980	Avon Futures of Columbus, U.S	Hard	Beth Norton	6–2, 6–3
Finalist	21 December 1980	Tucson Open, U.S	Carpet (i)	Tracy Austin	2–6, 0–6
Winner	29 April 1984	Durban, South Africa	Hard	Rene Uys	6–1, 6–4
Winner	20 January 1985	Virginia Slims of Denver, U.S	Carpet (i)	Zina Garrison	6–4, 4–6, 6–4

Doubles (5 titles, 5 finalists)

Outcome	Partner	Date	Tournament	Surface	Opponents	Score
Finalist	Marita Redondo	28 March 1979	La Costa Tennis Classic	Hard	Marcie Louie Regina Marsikova	6–2, 2–6, 6–4
Winner	Dana Gilbert	20 October 1980	Hit-Union Japan Open	Hard	Nerida Gregory Marie Pinterova	7–5, 7–6
Finalist	Marita Redondo	2 March 1981	Avon Championships of Los Angeles	Hard	Susan Leo Kim Sands	6–1, 4–6, 6–1
Winner	Anna Maria Fernandez	29 April 1984	Durban, South Africa	Hard	Claudia Monteiro Beverly Mould	7–5, 5-7, 6–1
Winner	Anna Maria Fernandez	30 July 1984	Virginia Slims of Newport	Grass	Lea Antonopolis Beverly Mould	7–5, 7–6
Finalist	Heather Ludloff	29 September 1987	Virginia Slims of New Orleans	Carpet (i)	Zina Garrison Lori McNeil	6–3, 6–3
Winner	Penny Barg	October 1989	Virginia Slims of Arizona	Hard	Elise Burgin Rosalyn Fairbank	7–6, 7–6
Finalist	Wendy White	6 August 1990	Virginia Slims of Albuquerque	Hard	Meredith McGrath Anne Smith	7–6, 6–4
Finalist	Lise Gregory	5 August 1991	Virginia Slims of Albuquerque	Hard	Katrina Adams Isabelle Demongeot	6–7, 6–4, 6–3
Winner	Cammy MacGregor	October 1991	Virginia Slims of Arizona	Hard	Sandy Colins Elna Reinach	7–5, 3–6, 6–3

References

External links

• Harper For Kids website
• Peanut Louie Harper at the Women's Tennis Association
• Peanut Louie Harper at the International Tennis Federation