Carling Kathrin Bassett-Seguso (born October 9, 1967) is a former Canadian

Canada

Canada is a North American country consisting of ten provinces and three territories. Located in the northern part of the continent, it extends from the Atlantic Ocean in the east to the Pacific Ocean in the west, and northward into the Arctic Ocean...

 professional tennis

Tennis

Tennis is a sport usually played between two players or between two teams of two players each . Each player uses a racket that is strung to strike a hollow rubber ball covered with felt over a net into the opponent's court. Tennis is an Olympic sport and is played at all levels of society at all...

 player. Bassett is the daughter of John F. Bassett

John Bassett (USFL)

John F. Bassett was a Canadian professional American football club owner and notable tennis player.-Sports teams ownership:Bassett owned the WFL's Toronto Northmen/Memphis Southmen and the USFL's Tampa Bay Bandits team....

 and Susan Carling, and the granddaughter of media baron John Bassett

John Bassett

John White Hughes Bassett, was a Canadian publisher and media baron.Born in Ottawa, Ontario, he was the son of John Bassett , publisher of the Montreal Gazette, and Margaret Avery. Bassett attended Ashbury College and graduated from Bishop's University with a BA in 1936...

 and politician and brewery executive John Carling

John Carling

Sir John Carling, PC, KCMG of the Carling Brewery was a prominent politician and businessman from London, Ontario, Canada...

.

Tennis career

In 1981, Bassett won the Canadian junior indoor tennis title. In 1982, she was ranked No. 2 junior player in the world after winning events in Tokyo

Tokyo

, ; officially , is one of the 47 prefectures of Japan. Tokyo is the capital of Japan, the center of the Greater Tokyo Area, and the largest metropolitan area of Japan. It is the seat of the Japanese government and the Imperial Palace, and the home of the Japanese Imperial Family...

 and Taipei

Taipei

Taipei City is the capital of the Republic of China and the central city of the largest metropolitan area of Taiwan. Situated at the northern tip of the island, Taipei is located on the Tamsui River, and is about 25 km southwest of Keelung, its port on the Pacific Ocean...

. That year she also became the youngest winner of the Canadian closed championship at the age of 14. She won the title again in 1983 and 1986. By age 16, Bassett was Canada's top tennis player. At the same time, she had a successful second career as a fashion model

Model (person)

A model , sometimes called a mannequin, is a person who is employed to display, advertise and promote commercial products or to serve as a subject of works of art....

, working for the world-famous Ford modeling agency. She also dabbled in acting, being promoted as one of the stars of a 1982 teen comedy film, Spring Fever

Spring Fever (1982 film)

----Spring Fever is a 1982 independent film, set in the world of competitive tennis. It was produced with the participation at the Canadian Film Development Corporation and Famous Players Limited.-Plot:...

, and later appearing in a 1984 episode of The Littlest Hobo

The Littlest Hobo

The Littlest Hobo is a Canadian television series based upon a 1958 American film of the same name directed by Charles R. Rondeau. The series first aired from 1963 to 1965 in syndication, and was revived for a popular second run on CTV from October 11, 1979 to March 7, 1985.All three productions...

.

In 1983, Bassett advanced to the quarter-finals of the Australian Open

Australian Open

The Australian Open is the only Grand Slam tennis tournament held in the southern hemisphere. The tournament was held for the first time in 1905 and was last contested on grass in 1987. Since 1972 the Australian Open has been held in Melbourne, Victoria. In 1988, the tournament became a hard court...

 and won her first top-level singles titles in Pennsylvania

Pennsylvania

The Commonwealth of Pennsylvania is a U.S. state that is located in the Northeastern and Mid-Atlantic regions of the United States. The state borders Delaware and Maryland to the south, West Virginia to the southwest, Ohio to the west, New York and Ontario, Canada, to the north, and New Jersey to...

. In 1984, she reached the quarter-finals at the French Open and the semi-finals at the US Open. She reached the French Open quarter-finals again in 1986. Bassett won her second top-level singles title in 1987 at Strasbourg

Strasbourg

Strasbourg is the capital and principal city of the Alsace region in eastern France and is the official seat of the European Parliament. Located close to the border with Germany, it is the capital of the Bas-Rhin département. The city and the region of Alsace are historically German-speaking,...

.

Bassett was named the WTA

Women's Tennis Association

The Women's Tennis Association , founded in 1973 by Billie Jean King, is the principal organizing body of Women's Professional Tennis. It governs the WTA Tour which is the worldwide professional tennis tour for women. Its counterpart organization in the men's professional game is the Association of...

's Most Impressive Newcomer in 1983, and Canada's Female Athlete of the Year in 1983 and 1985. During her career, Bassett won a total of two top-level singles titles and two doubles titles.

Personal life

Following her tennis career, Bassett admitted she had struggled for years with the eating disorder bulimia. "It becomes part of your life, like smoking," She told People Magazine in 1992. "Or it's like being an alcoholic. It's so easy to get into and so hard to get out of. I hated myself that I couldn't stop."

Bassett married the American

United States

The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...

 tennis player Robert Seguso

Robert Seguso

Robert Arthur Seguso is a former professional tennis player from the United States. A doubles specialist, he won 4 Grand Slam men's doubles titles . He also won the men's doubles Gold Medal at the 1988 Olympic Games in Seoul, partnering Ken Flach. Seguso reached the World No...

 in 1987. The couple have three sons and a daughter – Holden John Seguso, born March 14, 1988, daughter Carling Jr., born in 1990, Ridley Jack, born in 1993 and Lennon Shy on April 10, 2010. Holden has played in a handful of Futures tennis tournaments, off and on, since 2005.

Bassett-Seguso currently operates a tennis academy with her husband, and Chris Evert

Chris Evert

Christine 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. She was the year-ending World No...

.

On Monday, August 13, 2007, during the Canadian Open Tennis Championships at the Rexall Centre

Rexall Centre

Rexall Centre is a tennis stadium in Toronto, Ontario. Rexall Centre is the venue for the professional Canada Masters tournament, held annually. The facility also is a year-round tennis training facility. The main stadium is occasionally used for seasonal concerts...

 in Toronto, Bassett, along with John McEnroe

John McEnroe

John Patrick McEnroe, Jr. is a former world no. 1 professional tennis player from the United States. During his career, he won seven Grand Slam singles titles , nine Grand Slam men's doubles titles, and one Grand Slam mixed doubles title...

, was inducted into the Canadian Tennis Hall of Fame. After the ceremony, Bassett teamed up with US tennis great Jim Courier

Jim Courier

James Spencer "Jim" Courier, Jr. is a former world no. 1 professional tennis player from the United States. During his career, he won four Grand Slam singles titles, two at the French Open and two at the Australian Open...

, for a friendly doubles match against John McEnroe and Anna Kournikova

Anna Kournikova

Anna Sergeyevna Kournikova is a Russian retired professional tennis player. Her beauty and celebrity status made her one of the best known tennis stars worldwide, despite the fact that she never won a WTA singles title. At the peak of her fame, fans looking for images of Kournikova made her name...

.

Singles: 6 (2–4)

Titles by Surface

Hard (0–2)

Grass (0–0)

Clay (1–1)

Carpet (1–1)

Outcome	No.	Date	Tournament	Surface	Opponent in the final	Score in the final
Winner	1.	February 20, 1983	Hershey, Pennsylvania, USA	Carpet (I)	Sandy Collins Sandy Collins (tennis) Sandy Collins is an American professional tennis player who played from the late 1970s until 1994.Sandy is a native of San Bernardino, California. After high school, Sandy went to Odessa College where she played tennis for Coach Virginia Brown and the Wranglers...	2–6, 6–0, 6–4
Runner-up	1.	March 6, 1983	Palm Springs, California, USA	Hard	Yvonne Vermaak Yvonne Vermaak Yvonne Vermaak is a former tour tennis player who represented her native South Africa.Vermaak's best result was defeating Virginia Wade in the quarter-finals of the 1983 Wimbledon Championships.Late in her playing career, Vermaak became an American citizen....	6–3, 7–5
Runner-up	2.	April 17, 1983	Amelia Island, Florida, USA	Clay	Chris Evert-Lloyd Chris Evert Christine 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. She was the year-ending World No...	6–3, 2–6, 7–5
Runner-up	3.	November 13, 1983	Honolulu, Hawaii, USA	Carpet (I)	Kathy Horvath	4–6, 6–2, 7–6 (1)
Runner-up	4.	October 14, 1984	Tarpon Springs Eckerd Open The Eckerd Open is a defunct WTA Tour affiliated tennis tournament played from 1971 to 1990. It was held in St. Petersburg, Florida in the United States from 1971 to 1974, Palm Harbor, Florida in the United States in 1977, in Clearwater, Florida in the United States in 1978 and in Tampa, Florida in... , Florida, USA	Hard	Michelle Torres Michelle Torres Michelle Torres is a former American athlete who competed in professional women's tennis during the 1980s.-Career:At age 15 Torres played Wimbledon, the French and U.S. Opens. By 1984 she was ranked 17th in the world...	6–1, 7–6 (4)
Winner	2.	May 24, 1987	Strasbourg Internationaux de Strasbourg The Internationaux de Strasbourg is a tennis tournament held in Strasbourg, France. Held since 1987, this WTA Tour event is an International-level tournament played on outdoor clay courts.... , France	Clay	Sandra Cecchini Sandra Cecchini Anna-Maria Cecchini is a former Italian professional tennis player.Cecchini or Sandra as she was known on the WTA tour, played from 1981 to 1998 and won 11 singles titles. Her most notable Grand Slam performance came in her first appearance at Roland Garros in 1984, when she reached the quarter...	6–3, 6–4

Doubles: 2 (1–1)

Titles by Surface

Hard (1–0)

Grass (0–0)

Clay (0–1)

Carpet (0–0)

Outcome	No.	Date	Tournament	Surface	Partner	Opponents in Final	Score in Final
Winner	1.	October 14, 1984	Tarpon Springs Eckerd Open The Eckerd Open is a defunct WTA Tour affiliated tennis tournament played from 1971 to 1990. It was held in St. Petersburg, Florida in the United States from 1971 to 1974, Palm Harbor, Florida in the United States in 1977, in Clearwater, Florida in the United States in 1978 and in Tampa, Florida in... , Florida, USA	Hard	Elizabeth Sayers Elizabeth Smylie Elizabeth Smylie is an Australian former tennis player.She won the Western Australian Sports Star of the Year award in 1985.She won the Comeback Player of the Year award in 1990 and 1993....	Mary-Lou Daniels Mary-Lou Daniels Mary-Lou Daniels was an American tennis player.She was born Mary-Lou Piatek in Whiting, Indiana. In 1979, she was junior world champion.-Singles 4 :-Doubles 21 :-References:*...     Wendy White	6–4, 6–3
Runner-up	1.	April 21, 1985	Amelia Island, Florida, USA	Clay	Chris Evert-Lloyd Chris Evert Christine 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. She was the year-ending World No...	Rosalyn Fairbank Rosalyn Fairbank Rosalyn Doris Fairbank-Nideffer is a former professional tennis player from South Africa. She played her first grand slam in 1979, with her last appearance coming as late as 1997...     Hana Mandlíková Hana Mandlíková Hana Mandlíková is a former Czech professional tennis player from Czechoslovakia and later Australia. 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...	6–1, 2–6, 6–2

Grand Slam singles performance timeline

Tournament	1982	1983	1984	1985	1986	1987	1988	1989	1990	Career SR
Australian Open Australian Open The Australian Open is the only Grand Slam tennis tournament held in the southern hemisphere. The tournament was held for the first time in 1905 and was last contested on grass in 1987. Since 1972 the Australian Open has been held in Melbourne, Victoria. In 1988, the tournament became a hard court...	A	QF	1R	A	NH	4R	A	A	A	0 / 3
French Open	A	1R	QF	4R	QF	3R	1R	A	A	0 / 6
Wimbledon	A	4R	3R	2R	4R	1R	1R	A	A	0 / 6
US Open	A	3R	SF	4R	1R	2R	3R	1R	A	0 / 7
SR	0 / 0	0 / 4	0 / 4	0 / 3	0 / 3	0 / 4	0 / 3	0 / 1	0 / 0	0 / 22

• NH = tournament not held.
• 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.

External links

• Carling Bassett article
• CNN transcript
• Times Online article