Kathy Rinaldi

Kathy Rinaldi-Stunkel (born March 24, 1967) is a former professional American tennis player, who retired in September 1997. She won three singles and two doubles titles during her career on the WTA Tour, and reached the semifinals of the 1985 Wimbledon Championships.

Kathy Rinaldi-Stunkel
Country (sports) United States
ResidencePalm City, Florida
Born (1967-03-24) March 24, 1967
Stuart, Florida
Height1.68 m (5 ft 6 in)
Turned pro1980
RetiredSeptember 1997
PlaysRight-handed (two-handed backhand)
Prize money$1,353,737
Singles
Career record277–217
Career titles3 WTA, 0 ITF
Highest rankingNo. 7 (May 26, 1986)
Grand Slam Singles results
Australian Open3R (1984)
French OpenQF (1981, 1986)
WimbledonSF (1985)
US Open4R (1982)
Doubles
Career record200–184
Career titles2 WTA, 2 ITF
Highest rankingNo. 13 (February 8, 1993)

Career

Rinaldi reached her highest career ranking on May 26, 1986, when she was ranked world No. 7. The recipient of WTA Most Impressive Newcomer Award in 1981 and WTA Comeback Player of the Year Award in 1989, she had career wins over top players such as Steffi Graf, Jana Novotná, Sue Barker, Pam Shriver, Hana Mandlíková, Wendy Turnbull, Manuela Maleeva, Dianne Fromholtz, Helena Suková, Claudia Kohde-Kilsch, Zina Garrison, Sylvia Hanika, Kathy Jordan, Jo Durie, and Natasha Zvereva.

Rinaldi was the youngest player to win a match at Wimbledon (14 years, 91 days) in 1981, a record that stood until 1990. After the 1987 French Open, she suffered a freak injury in Monte Carlo, slipping on stairs, and in trying to catch herself, fracturing her right thumb. This injury sidelined her for rest of the year. She was a member of the US Wightman Cup Team in 1983, 1985, and 1986.

Fed Cup

In December 2016, Rinaldi was appointed as the captain of the United States Fed Cup team, succeeding Mary Joe Fernandez.[1][2] In her first year as Fed Cup captain, the U.S. won the 2017 Fed Cup.

Family

Rinaldi married Brad Stunkel, her high school sweetheart, on December 11, 1993, and adopted his surname. She gave birth to son Bradley Benton Stunkel, Jr. on February 8, 1995. The family currently resides in Palm City, Florida.

Awards and recognitions

WTA career finals

Singles: 7 (3–4)

Winner — Legend
Grand Slam tournaments (0–0)
WTA Tour Championships (0–0)
Virginia Slims, Avon, other (3–4)
Finals by surface
Hard (2–1)
Grass (0–0)
Clay (0–2)
Carpet (1–1)
Outcome No. Date Tournament Surface Opponent Score
Winner 1. October 18, 1981 Kyoto Hard Julie Harrington 6–1, 7–5
Runner-up 1. May 24, 1982 Berlin Clay Bettina Bunge 2–6, 2–6
Runner-up 2. July 26, 1982 San Diego Hard Tracy Austin 6–7(5–7), 3–6
Winner 2. August 18, 1985 Mahwah Hard Steffi Graf 6–4, 3–6, 6–4
Runner-up 3. September 22, 1985 Chicago Carpet (i) Bonnie Gadusek 1–6, 3–6
Runner-up 4. May 11, 1986 Houston Clay Chris Evert-Lloyd 4–6, 6–2, 4–6
Winner 3. November 16, 1986 Little Rock Carpet (i) Natasha Zvereva 6–4, 6–7(7–9), 6–0

Doubles: 12 (2–10)

Winner — Legend
Grand Slam tournaments (0–0)
WTA Tour Championships (0–0)
Tier I (0–2)
Tier II (1–2)
Tier III (1–3)
Tier IV (0–2)
Tier V (1–1)
Finals by surface
Hard (1–7)
Grass (0–0)
Clay (1–2)
Carpet (0–1)
Outcome No. Date Tournament Surface Partner Opponents Score
Runner-up 1. March 31, 1991 San Antonio Hard Jill Hetherington Patty Fendick
Monica Seles
6–7(2–7), 2–6
Winner 1. April 21, 1991 Houston Clay Jill Hetherington Patty Fendick
Mary Joe Fernández
6–1, 2–6, 6–1
Winner 2. August 4, 1991 San Diego Hard Jill Hetherington Gigi Fernández
Nathalie Tauziat
6–4, 3–6, 6–2
Runner-up 2. October 6, 1991 Leipzig Carpet (i) Jill Hetherington Manon Bollegraf
Isabelle Demongeot
4–6, 3–6
Runner-up 3. February 2, 1992 Auckland Hard Jill Hetherington Rosalyn Fairbank
Raffaella Reggi
6–1, 1–6, 5–7
Runner-up 4. March 1, 1992 Indian Wells Hard Jill Hetherington Claudia Kohde-Kilsch
Stephanie Rehe
3–6, 3–6
Runner-up 5. March 22, 1992 Key Biscayne Hard Jill Hetherington Larisa Neiland
Arantxa Sánchez Vicario
5–7, 7–5, 3–6
Runner-up 6. April 19, 1992 Houston Clay Jill Hetherington Patty Fendick
Gigi Fernández
5–7, 4–6
Runner-up 7. November 1, 1992 San Juan Hard Gigi Fernández Amanda Coetzer
Elna Reinach
2–6, 6–4, 2–6
Runner-up 8. February 7, 1993 Auckland Hard Jill Hetherington Isabelle Demongeot
Elna Reinach
2–6, 4–6
Runner-up 9. March 21, 1993 Key Biscayne Hard Jill Hetherington Larisa Neiland
Jana Novotná
2–6, 5–7
Runner-up 10. May 23, 1993 Strasbourg Clay Jill Hetherington Shaun Stafford
Andrea Temesvári
7–6(7–5), 3–6, 4–6

Grand Slam singles performance timeline

Key
W  F  SF QF #R RR Q# A NH
(W) Won; (F) finalist; (SF) semifinalist; (QF) quarterfinalist; (#R) rounds 4, 3, 2, 1; (RR) round-robin stage; (Q#) qualification round; (A) absent; (NH) not held. SR=strike rate (events won/competed)
Tournament1981198219831984198519861987198819891990199119921993199419951996Career W–L
Australian Open A A 1R 3R A NH A A A 2R 1R A 1R 1R A A 3–6
French Open QF 4R 4R 3R 3R QF 3R 1R 2R 1R 2R 1R 3R A A A 24–13
Wimbledon 2R 3R 4R 1R SF 1R A A 1R 1R 1R 2R 2R A A 1R 13–12
US Open 1R 4R 2R 2R 1R 1R A 1R 2R 2R 2R 2R 1R A 1R 1R 9–14
Win–Loss 5–3 8–3 7–4 5–4 7–3 4–3 2–1 0–2 2–3 2–4 2–4 2–3 3–4 0–1 0–1 0–2 49–45
Year-end ranking 33 15 16 23 11 8 26 88 52 69 105 111 83 NR NR 225
  • SR = the ratio of the number of Grand Slam singles tournaments won to the number played.

See also

References

  1. Ashley Marshall (December 8, 2016). "Rinaldi to lead U.S. Fed Cup team in expanded captaincy role". www.usta.com. United States Tennis Association (USTA).
  2. Sandra Harwitt (December 9, 2016). "Rinaldi appointed USA Fed Cup captain". www.fedcup.com. International Tennis Federation (ITF).
Awards and achievements
Preceded by
Andrea Jaeger
WTA Most Impressive Newcomer of the Year
1981
Succeeded by
Zina Garrison
Preceded by
Pascale Paradis
WTA Comeback of the Year
1989
Succeeded by
Elizabeth Smylie
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