Helen Kelesi is a former tour 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. She has been coached by her father, Milan Kelesi, throughout her tennis career.

"Hurricane Helen", as the Canadian pressed dubbed her for her fiery demeanour, achieved a career high 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...

 ranking of World No. 13 (November 1989), and was a regular fixture in the top-25 between 1986 and 1991. She won singles in two tour events, the 1986 Japan Open and the 1988 Citta de Taranto, and was a singles French Open quarter-finalist in 1988 (lost to Gabriela Sabatini) and 1989 (lost to Mary-Joe Fernandez). During her time on the WTA Tour, Kelesi recorded wins over Arantxa Sanchez Vicario, Conchita Martinez, Jana Novotna, Manuela Maleeva-Fragniere, Helena Sukova and Pam Shriver, and pushed Chris Evert and Monica Seles hard in high-profile matches. She also held set-point in a 4th Round at the French Open against Steffi Graf in 1987.

Kelesi's game was characterised by aggressive baseline play, with a powerful top-spin forehand and two-handed backhand. She also retrieved well and could play defensively when needed. These skills meant that Kelesi was particularly good on clay and hard-court surfaces. Her volley and forecourt play was not so instinctive, however, and a missed volley at a crucial stage in a match against Monica Seles illustrated this (Seles won 4–6 6–4 6–4 in a second round match at the 1990 French Open).

Kelesi was a Canadian Federation Cup

Fed Cup

Fed Cup is the premier team competition in women's tennis, launched in 1963 to celebrate the 50th Anniversary of the International Tennis Federation...

 team member from 1986 to 1993. She was Tennis Canada

Tennis Canada

Tennis Canada is the national governing body of tennis within Canada. It works together with the provincial associations to organize tournaments and rules. Tennis Canada also host one ATP Masters Series tournament and one WTA Tier I tournament . The event locations rotate between Montreal and...

 singles player of the year four times (1986, 1987, 1989, and 1990).

Kelesi's professional career came to an end in 1995 when a brain tumour the size of a tennis ball was discovered following months of headaches, dizziness and vision problems. Numerous operations followed over the years, but Kelesi successfully recovered and began coaching young children in Canada in the late 1990s. She also became a part-time tennis journalist and commentator.

Singles 8 (2–6)

Legend
Grand Slam	0
WTA Championships	0
Tier I	0
Tier II	0
Tier III	0
Tier IV & V	1
Olympic Games	0

Outcome	No.	Date	Tournament	Surface	Opponent	Score
Runner-up	1.	15 August 1985	Monticello Monticello Monticello is a National Historic Landmark just outside Charlottesville, Virginia, United States. It was the estate of Thomas Jefferson, the principal author of the United States Declaration of Independence, third President of the United States, and founder of the University of Virginia; it is... , USA	Hard	Barbara Potter Barbara Potter Barbara Potter is a former tennis player from the United States, who competed professionally on the Sony Ericsson WTA Tour, winning five singles titles and eighteen doubles titles.-Career:...	4–6, 3–6
Winner	2.	19 October 1986	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... , Japan	Hard	Bettina Fulco Bettina Fulco Bettina Fulco is a retired Argentine professional women's tennis player. She reached her highest ranking of No. 23 on October 10, 1988. Fulco began playing tennis at age 10 at the University Club in her hometown of Mar Del Plata, having been inspired to start because of the increased interest in...	6–2, 6–2
Winner	3.	1 May 1988	Taranto Ilva Trophy The Ilva Trophy is a defunct WTA Tour affiliated tennis tournament played from 1984 to 1994, with the exception of 1986 and 1987. It was held in Taranto in Italy and played on outdoor clay courts. It was a Tier V tournament until 1992 and was promoted to Tier IV for its last two... , Italy	Clay	Laura Garrone Laura Garrone Laura Garrone is a former professional tennis player from Italy.Garrone won five doubles titles during her career on the WTA Tour. The right-hander reached her highest career ranking on January 19, 1987, when she became the number 32 of the world...	6–1, 6–0
Runner-up	4.	8 May 1988	Rome, Italy	Clay	Gabriela Sabatini Gabriela Sabatini Gabriela Beatriz Sabatini is a former professional Argentine tennis player. She was one of the leading players on the women's circuit in the late-1980s and early-1990s...	1–6, 7–6, 1–6
Runner-up	5.	7 August 1988	Cincinnati, Ohio, USA	Hard	Barbara Potter Barbara Potter Barbara Potter is a former tennis player from the United States, who competed professionally on the Sony Ericsson WTA Tour, winning five singles titles and eighteen doubles titles.-Career:...	2–6, 2–6
Runner-up	6.	30 April 1989	Barcelona Spanish Open (tennis) The Spanish Open is a defunct WTA Tour affiliated tennis tournament played from 1972 to 1995. It was held at the Real Club de Tenis Barcelona in Barcelona in Spain and played on outdoor clay courts... , Spain	Clay	Arantxa Sánchez Vicario Arantxa Sánchez Vicario Aránzazu 'Arantxa' Isabel Maria Sánchez Vicario is a Spanish former professional tennis player...	2–6, 7–5, 1–6
Runner-up	7.	12 November 1989	Nashville VS of Nashville The Virginia Slims of Nashville is a defunct WTA Tour tennis tournament held in Nashville, Tennessee between 1973 and 1984 and at the Maryland Farms Racquet Club in Brentwood, Tennessee between 1988 and 1991. The tournament was played on indoor carpet courts from 1982 to 1983 and on indoor carpet... , Tennessee, USA	Hard	Leila Meskhi Leila Meskhi Leila Meskhi is a retired Georgian professional female tennis player. She was ranked World No. 12 on 5 August 1991.She was born in Tbilisi, Georgian SSR, Soviet Union.-Singles :-Singles finalist :...	2–6, 3–6
Runner-up	8.	26 May 1991	European Open WTA Swiss Open The WTA Swiss Open was a women's professional tennis tournament played in a number of locations in Switzerland. The event was held from 1971–1994, and was played on outdoor clay courts. The tournament underwent a name change in 1986, when it was titled the European Open until its discontinuation.... , Switzerland	Clay	Manuela Maleeva-Fragniere	3–6, 6–3, 3–6

Doubles 5 (2–3)

Legend
Grand Slam	0
WTA Championships	0
Tier I	1
Tier II	0
Tier III	0
Tier IV & V	1
Olympic Games	0

Titles by Surface
Hard	1
Clay	1
Grass	0
Carpet	0

Outcome	No.	Date	Tournament	Surface	Partner	Opponents	Score
Runner-up	1.	1 May 1988	Taranto Ilva Trophy The Ilva Trophy is a defunct WTA Tour affiliated tennis tournament played from 1984 to 1994, with the exception of 1986 and 1987. It was held in Taranto in Italy and played on outdoor clay courts. It was a Tier V tournament until 1992 and was promoted to Tier IV for its last two... , Italy	Clay	Laura Garrone Laura Garrone Laura Garrone is a former professional tennis player from Italy.Garrone won five doubles titles during her career on the WTA Tour. The right-hander reached her highest career ranking on January 19, 1987, when she became the number 32 of the world...	Andreas Betzner    Claudia Porwik Claudia Porwik Claudia Porwik is a former professional tennis player. She was born on 14 November 1968 in Coburg, West Germany and played on the WTA tour from 1986 to 1996...	1–6, 2–6
Runner-up	2.	7 August 1988	Cincinnati, Ohio, USA	Hard	Lindsay Bartlett	Beth Herr Beth Herr Beth Herr is an American tennis player. She became the number 1 junior tennis player in the world at age 16. She was the #1 college recruit in 1985 and went on to play for the University of Southern California where she won the NCAA singles title and team title in her freshman year...     Candy Reynolds Candy Reynolds Candy Reynolds is a former professional tennis player from the United States.-Career:During her career, Reynolds won the women's doubles title at the French Open in 1983...	6–4, 6–7, 1–6
Winner	3.	13 May 1990	Rome, Italy	Clay	Monica Seles Monica Seles Monica Seles is a former world no. 1 professional tennis player and a member of the International Tennis Hall of Fame. She was born in Novi Sad, Serbia, former Yugoslavia to Hungarian parents. She became a naturalized United States citizen in 1994 and also received Hungarian citizenship in June 2007...	Laura Garrone Laura Garrone Laura Garrone is a former professional tennis player from Italy.Garrone won five doubles titles during her career on the WTA Tour. The right-hander reached her highest career ranking on January 19, 1987, when she became the number 32 of the world...     Laura Golarsa Laura Golarsa Laura Golarsa is a former professional tennis player .Golarsa was born in Milan, Italy on 27 November 1967 and played on the WTA tour from 1985 to 2001. She did not win any senior titles but did reach the quarter finals of Wimbledon in 1989...	6–3, 6–4
Runner-up	4.	5 August 1990	Canadian Open, Canada	Hard	Raffaella Reggi Raffaella Reggi Raffaella Reggi is a former professional tennis player from Italy, known for her fiery on-court personality, expressiveness and gesticulations....	Betsy Nagelsen Betsy Nagelsen Betsy Nagelsen McCormack is a retired professional tennis player from the United States. Nagelsen won the doubles championship at the 1978 and 1980 Australian Opens . She reached the singles final of the 1978 Australian Open, losing to Christine O'Neil...     Gabriela Sabatini Gabriela Sabatini Gabriela Beatriz Sabatini is a former professional Argentine tennis player. She was one of the leading players on the women's circuit in the late-1980s and early-1990s...	6–3, 2–6, 2–6
Winner	5.	21 October 1990	Scottsdale Scottsdale Scottsdale is the name of several places:* Scottsdale, Arizona, United States* Scottsdale, Tasmania, Australia* Scottsdale Reserve, New South Wales, Australia... , Arizona, USA	Hard	Elise Burgin Elise Burgin Elise Burgin was an American tennis player. Her highest ranking was # 22.-Tennis career:Before playing professionally, Burgin was an outstanding singles and doubles player at Stanford University...	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...     Ronni Reis Ronni Reis Ronni Reis was an American tennis player who turned pro in 1980 and played until 1991.She played for the University of Miami, partnering with Lise Gregory to win the NCAA tournament in 1986...	6–4, 6–2

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