Andrea Jaeger (born June 4, 1965, in Chicago,
IllinoisIllinois , the 21st state admitted to the United States of America, is the most populous and demographically diverse Midwestern state and the fifth most populous state in the nation...
) is a former World No. 2 professional
tennisTennis is a sport played between two players or between two teams of two players each . Each player uses a strung racquet to strike a hollow rubber ball covered with felt over a net into the opponent's court....
player from the United States whose brief but highly successful tennis career ended prematurely due to major shoulder injuries. Jaeger reached the singles final of
WimbledonThe Championships, Wimbledon, or simply Wimbledon, is the oldest tennis tournament in the world and is generally considered the most prestigious. It has been held at the All England Club in the London suburb of Wimbledon since 1877...
in 1983 and the French Open in 1982. She reached the singles semifinals of the
Australian OpenThe Australian Open is the first of the four Grand Slam tennis tournaments held each year. The tournament is held each January at Melbourne Park. The tournament was held for the first time in 1905 and was contested on grass from then up to 1987. Since 1988, the tournament has been held on hard...
in 1982 and of the
U.S. OpenThe US Open, formally the United States Open tennis championships, is a tennis tournament which is the modern incarnation of one of the oldest tennis championships in the world, with the U.S. National Championship, which for mens' singles was first contested in 1881...
in 1980 and 1982. She also won 11 singles titles. In mixed doubles, Jaeger won the French Open with
Jimmy AriasJames Arias is a former top-ranked tennis touring professional player from the United States.From Grand Island, near Buffalo, New York, Arias's peak year was 1983, when as a 19 year-old he finished the year ranked World No. 6, having reached the U.S...
in 1982. During her career, Jaeger won
U.S. $The United States dollar is the unit of currency of the United States. The U.S. dollar is normally abbreviated as the dollar sign, $, or as USD or US$ to distinguish it from other dollar-denominated currencies and from others that use the $ symbol. It is divided into 100 cents .The U.S...
1.4 million in prize money and millions more in endorsements. After retirement in 1987, she has prominently dedicated her life to public service, charities, and philanthropy. In 2006 she became
Sister Andrea, an Anglican
DominicanThe Order of Preachers , after the 15th century more commonly known as the Dominican Order or Dominicans, is a Catholic religious order founded by Saint Dominic in the early 13th century in France...
nunA Nun, or also known as a Sister in some cases, is a woman who has taken special vows committing her to a religious life. She may be an ascetic who voluntarily chooses to leave mainstream society and live her life in prayer and contemplation in a monastery or convent...
. She is a member of the Episcopal Church and based in
ColoradoColorado is a U.S. state located in the Rocky Mountain region of the United States of America. It may also be considered to be part of the Western and Southwestern regions of the United States. Colorado entered statehood in 1876 and was nicknamed the “Centennial State”...
, U.S.
Tennis career
While a student at Stevenson High School in suburban Chicago, Jaeger was the top ranked player in the United States in the 18-and-under age group. She won 13 U.S. national junior titles, including the most prominent junior titles in tennis: the 1979 Orange Bowl and 1979 Boca Raton.
In 1980 (at the age of 15 years, 19 days), she became the youngest player ever to be seeded at
WimbledonThe Championships, Wimbledon, or simply Wimbledon, is the oldest tennis tournament in the world and is generally considered the most prestigious. It has been held at the All England Club in the London suburb of Wimbledon since 1877...
, a record that was broken by
Jennifer CapriatiJennifer Marie Capriati is a former World No. 1 women's tennis player from the United States. She has won three Grand Slam singles titles and the women's singles gold medal at the 1992 Olympic Games...
in 1990. After defeating former champion
Virginia WadeSarah Virginia Wade, OBE is an English former tennis player. She won three Grand Slam singles titles and four Grand Slam doubles titles. She won the women's singles title at Wimbledon in the tournament's centenary year on 1 July 1977, the last time a Briton has won a singles title at the tournament...
, she became the youngest quarterfinalist in the history of the tournament. Later in the year, she became the youngest semifinalist in US Open history and was elected rookie of the year.
In 1981, Jaeger won the U.S. Clay Court Championships, defeating
Virginia RuziciVirginia Ruzici is a former professional tennis player from Romania. She was born in Câmpia Turzii, Romania and turned professional in 1975. One of her main assets on court was her powerful forehand....
in the final.
At the French Open in 1982, Jaeger defeated
Chris EvertChristine Marie "Chris" Evert is a former world number 1 professional tennis player from the United States. She won 18 Grand Slam singles championships, including a record seven championships at the French Open and a record six championships at the U.S. Open. According to the Women's Tennis...
in a semifinal 6–3, 6–1 but lost the final to
Martina NavratilovaMartina Navrátilová is a Czech-American tennis player. A former World No. 1...
. She then reached the semifinals of both the US Open and the
Australian OpenThe Australian Open is the first of the four Grand Slam tennis tournaments held each year. The tournament is held each January at Melbourne Park. The tournament was held for the first time in 1905 and was contested on grass from then up to 1987. Since 1988, the tournament has been held on hard...
, losing both matches to Evert in straight sets.
At
WimbledonThe Championships, Wimbledon, or simply Wimbledon, is the oldest tennis tournament in the world and is generally considered the most prestigious. It has been held at the All England Club in the London suburb of Wimbledon since 1877...
in 1983, Jaeger defeated six-time Wimbledon singles champion
Billie Jean KingBillie Jean King is a tennis player from the United States. She won 12 Grand Slam singles titles, 16 Grand Slam women's doubles titles, and 11 Grand Slam mixed doubles titles. King has been an advocate against sexism in sports and society...
6–1, 6–1 in a semifinal on
Centre CourtCentre Court is the main court at the Wimbledon Championship, the 3rd annual Grand Slam event of the tennis calendar. It is situated in the Aorangi Park and is home to the All England Lawn Tennis and Croquet club, its only regular use is for the two weeks a year that the Championships take place,...
, which was King's last career singles match at that tournament and her most lopsided singles defeat ever at Wimbledon. Jaeger then lost the final to Navratilova. In 2003, Jaeger said that the night before the final, she had a heated argument with her father over practicing and was locked out of her apartment by her father. Eventually, Jaeger asked Navratilova to convince her father to let her back in. She stated that emotional fatigue might have contributed to her lackluster performance in the final.
On July 4, 2008, Jaeger claimed in the British paper The Daily Mail that she threw the final against Navratilova.
Jaeger competed in the tennis demonstration event at the
1984 Summer OlympicsThe 1984 Summer Olympics, officially known as the Games of the XXIII Olympiad, was an international multi-sport event held in Los Angeles, California, United States in 1984. Los Angeles was selected as the host of the Games on May 18, 1978 on the 80th IOC session at Athens, Greece, without a vote,...
in Los Angeles (tennis was re-introduced as an Olympic sport in 1988). In 2006, Jaeger exchanged gifts with an
Army RangerArmy Ranger can refer to:* Irish Army Rangers* United States Army Rangers...
serving in the
Iraq WarThe Iraq War, also known as the Occupation of Iraq or Operation Iraqi Freedom, is an ongoing military campaign which began on March 20, 2003 with the invasion of Iraq by a multinational force led by troops from the United States and the United Kingdom.Prior to the war, the governments of the United...
. He gave her his dog tags, and she gave him her Olympic ring.
Jaeger's career win-loss record against other top players was 3–17 against Evert, 4–11 against Navratilova, 2–8 against
Tracy AustinTracy Ann Austin Holt is a former World No. 1 women's professional tennis player from the United States who won the women's singles title at the US Open in 1979 and 1981 and the mixed doubles title at Wimbledon in 1980, before a series of injuries cut short her career.-To 1980:Austin won 21...
, 6–8 against
Hana MandlikovaHana Mandlíková is a former professional tennis player from the Czech Republic. During her career, she won four Grand Slam singles titles – two at the Australian Open, one at the French Open, and one at the US Open...
, and 2–4 against
Pam ShriverPamela Howard Shriver Lazenby , is a former professional tennis player and current sports broadcaster from the United States. During the 1980s and 1990s, she won 133 top-level titles, including 21 women's doubles titles and 1 mixed doubles title at Grand Slam tournaments...
.
In an interview in 2003, Jaeger stated that she was never committed to being the top ranked player in the world and tanked matches to avoid the top spot. As she rose toward the top of the game, she started visiting hospitals during tournaments. She stated that she found it, in the words of a
USA TodayUSA Today is a national American daily newspaper published by the Gannett Company. It was founded by Al Neuharth...
columnist, "difficult to reconcile the narrow-minded focus of a top tennis player with her desire to help others."
Jaeger won eight of the nine singles matches she played for the U.S. in
Fed CupFed Cup is the premier team competition in women's tennis, launched in 1963 to celebrate the 50th Anniversary of the International Tennis Federation...
. She also won two of the three
Wightman CupThe Wightman Cup was a team tennis competition for women contested from 1923 through 1989 between teams from the United States and Great Britain. Hazel Hotchkiss Wightman wanted to generate international interest in women's tennis the way Davis Cup did for men's...
singles matches she played for the U.S.
A major shoulder injury at the age of 19 ended Jaeger's career prematurely in 1985. Seeing this career-ending injury as a door to a spiritual awakening, she went to college and received a degree in
theologyThe term "theology" literally means the study of God, deriving from the Greek word theos, meaning 'God', and the suffix -ology from the Greek word logos meaning "discourse", "theory", or "reasoning"...
.
Philanthropy
Jaeger used her winnings from tennis to create the
Silver Lining Foundation with her close friend and business partner Heidi Bookout in 1990. Located in
AspenThe City of Aspen is a Home Rule Municipality that is the county seat and the most populous city of Pitkin County, Colorado, United States. The United States Census Bureau estimates that the city population was 5,804 in 2005...
,
ColoradoColorado is a U.S. state located in the Rocky Mountain region of the United States of America. It may also be considered to be part of the Western and Southwestern regions of the United States. Colorado entered statehood in 1876 and was nicknamed the “Centennial State”...
, the organization transported groups of young
cancerCancer is a class of diseases in which a group of cells display uncontrolled growth , invasion , and sometimes metastasis...
patients to Aspen for a week of support and activities, including horseback riding and whitewater rafting. The foundation also provided money for reunions, family campouts, college scholarships, medical internships, and other programs for children who could not travel. The organization had other powerful backers, both in the world of sports and elsewhere. The first contributor was
John McEnroeJohn Patrick McEnroe, Jr. is an American former World No. 1 professional tennis player. McEnroe won seven Grand Slam singles titles—three at Wimbledon and four at the US Open—nine Grand Slam men's doubles titles, and one Grand Slam mixed doubles title...
. Many high-profile celebrities were also involved, including
Andre AgassiAndre Kirk Agassi is a former World No. 1 professional American tennis player who won eight Grand Slam singles tournaments and an Olympic gold medal in singles. He is generally considered by critics and fellow players to be among the greatest tennis players of all time, and has been called the...
,
Pete SamprasPete Sampras is a retired American tennis player and former World No. 1. During his 15-year tour career, he won 14 Grand Slam men's singles titles, and had a 203–38 win-loss record over 52 Grand Slam singles tournament appearances....
, and
David RobinsonDavid Maurice Robinson is a retired American NBA basketball player, who played center for the San Antonio Spurs for his entire NBA career. Based on his prior service as an officer in the United States Navy, Robinson earned the nickname "The Admiral". Robinson and teammate power forward Tim Duncan,...
.
Jaeger's autobiography, "First Service," was published in 2004. In the book she wrote about her teenage years as a tennis player and her later decision to focus on serving God. All proceeds from the book were donated to children's charities.
Jaeger has since established the "Little Star Foundation," reaching on average 4,000 kids annually. She has moved from Aspen to a much larger property in Hesperus, Colorado, where she will be able to expand her programs.
On September 16, 2006, at the age of 41, Jaeger became Sister Andrea, an Anglican Dominican
nunA Nun, or also known as a Sister in some cases, is a woman who has taken special vows committing her to a religious life. She may be an ascetic who voluntarily chooses to leave mainstream society and live her life in prayer and contemplation in a monastery or convent...
.
In April 2007, Jaeger and several former athletes, including
Andre AgassiAndre Kirk Agassi is a former World No. 1 professional American tennis player who won eight Grand Slam singles tournaments and an Olympic gold medal in singles. He is generally considered by critics and fellow players to be among the greatest tennis players of all time, and has been called the...
,
Lance ArmstrongLance Edward Armstrong is an American professional road racing cyclist who rides for UCI ProTeam . He is also the founder and chairman of the Lance Armstrong Foundation for cancer research and support....
,
Tony HawkAnthony Frank "Birdman" Hawk , better known as Tony Hawk, is an American professional skateboarder. Tony gained significant fame for completing the first 900 at the 1999 X-Games as well as his licensed video game titles distributed by Activision.-Early life:Hawk was born in San Diego, California,...
,
Jackie Joyner-KerseeJacqueline "Jackie" Joyner-Kersee is a retired American athlete, ranked among the all-time greatest athletes in the women's heptathlon as well as in the women's long jump. She won three gold, one silver, and two bronze Olympic medals, in those two different events...
, and
Muhammad AliMuhammad Ali is a retired American boxer and three-time World Heavyweight Champion, who is widely considered one of the greatest heavyweight champions. As an amateur, he won a gold medal in the light heavyweight division at the 1960 Summer Olympics in Rome...
, appeared on the American morning television talk show
Good Morning AmericaGood Morning America is an American news Morning show and talk show that is broadcast on the ABC television network, debuting on November 3, 1975. The weekday program airs for two hours; a third hour, available exclusively on ABC News Now, was introduced in 2007...
to announce their formation of a new charity entitled "Athletes for Hope" with the goal of encouraging their fellow athletes to think philanthropically.
Oprah WinfreyOprah Gail Winfrey is an American media personality, actress, television producer, literary critic and magazine publisher, best known for her self-titled, multi-award winning talk show, which has become the highest-rated program of its kind in history...
describes Jaeger as a
superstar-People:* Rajnikanth, actor from Tamil Nadu, commonly referred as Superstar Rajnikanth.* Warhol Superstar, associates of Andy Warhol* List of World Wrestling Entertainment employees, the name given to a wrestler of World Wrestling Entertainment...
turned superhero.
Runner-ups (2)
| Year |
Championship |
Opponent in Final |
Score in Final |
| 1982 |
French Open |
USA Martina NavratilovaMartina Navrátilová is a Czech-American tennis player. A former World No. 1...
|
7–6(6), 6–1 |
| 1983 |
WimbledonThe Championships, Wimbledon, or simply Wimbledon, is the oldest tennis tournament in the world and is generally considered the most prestigious. It has been held at the All England Club in the London suburb of Wimbledon since 1877...
|
USA Martina Navratilova |
6–0, 6–3 |
Win
| Year |
Championship |
Partner |
Opponents in Final |
Score in Final |
| 1981 |
French Open |
USA Jimmy Arias James Arias is a former top-ranked tennis touring professional player from the United States.From Grand Island, near Buffalo, New York, Arias's peak year was 1983, when as a 19 year-old he finished the year ranked World No. 6, having reached the U.S...
|
NED Betty Stöve Betty Stöve is a Dutch former professional tennis player who won ten Grand Slam titles in women's doubles and mixed doubles.- Tennis career :...
USA Fred McNairFrederick V. McNair, IV is a former professional tennis player from the United States who reached the World No. 1 doubles ranking in 1976. That year, he teamed up with Sherwood Stewart to capture the men's doubles titles at French Open, the German Open and the Masters...
|
7–6, 6–4 |
Grand Slam singles performance timeline
| Tournament | 1979 | 1980 | 1981 | 1982 | 1983 | 1984 | 1985 | Career SR |
|---|
Australian OpenThe Australian Open is the first of the four Grand Slam tennis tournaments held each year. The tournament is held each January at Melbourne Park. The tournament was held for the first time in 1905 and was contested on grass from then up to 1987. Since 1988, the tournament has been held on hard...
|
A |
A |
QF |
SF |
A |
A |
A |
0 / 2 |
| French Open |
A |
1R |
SF |
F |
SF |
1R |
2R |
0 / 6 |
| Wimbledon |
A |
QF |
4R |
4R |
F |
A |
A |
0 / 4 |
| U.S. Open |
2R |
SF |
2R |
SF |
QF |
A |
2R |
0 / 6 |
| SR |
0 / 1 |
0 / 3 |
0 / 4 |
0 / 4 |
0 / 3 |
0 / 1 |
0 / 2 |
0 / 18 |
A = did not participate in the tournament.
SR = the ratio of the number of Grand Slam singles tournaments won to the number of those tournaments played.
Singles wins
| No. |
Date |
Tournament |
Surface |
Opponent in the final |
Score |
| 1. |
November 23, 1979 |
African Eagles Classic (not listed on the WTA website) |
Unknown |
Germany Bettina Bunge Bettina Bunge is a German tennis player. She was born in Adliswil, Switzerland, plays right-handed and is 1.73 m tall and weighs 56.6 kg ....
|
6–4, 6–1 |
| 2. |
February 14, 1980 |
Las VegasLas Vegas is the most populous city in the U.S. state of Nevada, the seat of Clark County, and an internationally renowned major resort city for gambling, shopping, fine dining, and entertainment. Las Vegas, which bills itself as The Entertainment Capital of the World, is famous for the number of...
, NevadaNevada is a state located in the western region of the United States. The capital is Carson City and the largest city is Las Vegas. The state's nickname is Silver State, due to the large number of silver deposits that were discovered and mined there...
, USA (Avon Futures tournament) |
Hard |
USA Barbara Potter Barbara Potter is a former tennis player from the United States, who competed professionally on the Sony Ericsson WTA Tour, winning six singles titles and eight doubles titles....
|
7–6, 4–6, 6–1 |
| 3. |
June 13, 1980 |
Beckenham Beckenham is a town in the London Borough of Bromley, England. It is located 8.4 miles south east of Charing Cross, and 1.75 miles west of Bromley town...
, United Kingdom |
Grass |
GBR Jo Durie Jo Durie is a former world Top 5 professional tennis player from the United Kingdom. During her career, she won two Grand Slam titles, both in the mixed doubles.-Career:...
|
6–0, 6–1 |
| 4. |
September 15, 1980 |
Buick Riviera Classic, Las Vegas, Nevada, USA |
Hard |
CZE Hana MandlíkováHana Mandlíková is a former professional tennis player from the Czech Republic. During her career, she won four Grand Slam singles titles – two at the Australian Open, one at the French Open, and one at the US Open...
|
7–5, 4–6, 6–3 |
| 5. |
November 10, 1980 |
Florida Federal Open, Tampa Tâmpa may refer to several villages in Romania:* Tâmpa, a village in Băcia Commune, Hunedoara County* Tâmpa, a village in Miercurea Nirajului, Mureş County* Tâmpa, a mountain in Braşov city....
, FloridaFlorida is a state located in the southeastern region of the United States, bordering Alabama to the northwest and Georgia to the north. It was the 27th state admitted to the United States...
, USA |
Hard |
USA Tracy AustinTracy Ann Austin Holt is a former World No. 1 women's professional tennis player from the United States who won the women's singles title at the US Open in 1979 and 1981 and the mixed doubles title at Wimbledon in 1980, before a series of injuries cut short her career.-To 1980:Austin won 21...
|
walkover |
| 6. |
January 12, 1981 |
Avon Championships of Kansas City, USA |
Carpet |
USA Martina NavrátilováMartina Navrátilová is a Czech-American tennis player. A former World No. 1...
|
3–6, 6–3, 7–5 |
| 7. |
February 9, 1981 |
Avon Championships of California, Oakland, USA |
Carpet |
GBR Virginia Wade Sarah Virginia Wade, OBE is an English former tennis player. She won three Grand Slam singles titles and four Grand Slam doubles titles. She won the women's singles title at Wimbledon in the tournament's centenary year on 1 July 1977, the last time a Briton has won a singles title at the tournament...
|
6–3, 6–1 |
| 8. |
August 3, 1981 |
U.S. Women's Clay Court Championship, USA |
Clay |
ROM Virginia Ruzici Virginia Ruzici is a former professional tennis player from Romania. She was born in Câmpia Turzii, Romania and turned professional in 1975. One of her main assets on court was her powerful forehand....
|
6–1, 6–0 |
| 9. |
February 1, 1982 |
Avon Championships of Detroit, USA |
Carpet |
YUG Mima Jaušovec ' is a Slovenian female former tennis player. She was born on July 20, 1956, in Maribor, Slovenia . She holds a record in highest singles ranking record for any Slovenian tennis player ever, both male an female, when she was "World No. 12" in January 1983.Jaušovec's only Grand Slam success came in...
|
2–6, 6–4, 6–2 |
| 10. |
February 22, 1982 |
Avon Championships of California, Oakland, USA |
Carpet |
USA Chris Evert |
7–6(5), 6–4 |
| 11. |
January 24, 1983 |
Avon Tennis Cup The Avon Cup is a defunct WTA Tour affiliated tennis tournament played from 1983 to 1986. It was held on Marco Island, Florida and played on outdoor clay courts from 1983 to 1984 and again in 1986 and on outdoor hard courts in 1985...
, Marco Island, Florida, USA |
Clay |
CZE Hana Mandlíková |
6–1, 6–3 |
See also
External links