sport.wikisort.org - Athlete

Ginger Helgeson-Nielsen (born September 14, 1968) is a former American professional tennis player, who is considered to be perhaps the greatest player ever to come out of Minnesota.[1] She reached her highest singles ranking on January 2, 1995, when she became the No. 29 in the world. In doubles, she reached No. 38 in the same year, on January 9.

Ginger Helgeson-Nielsen

Country (sports)	United States
Residence	Alpine, California
Born	(1968-09-14) September 14, 1968 (age 54) St. Cloud, Minnesota
Height	173 cm (5 ft 8 in)
Turned pro	1987
Retired	1998
Plays	Right-handed (two handed backhand)
Prize money	$724,792
Singles
Career record	183–144 (56.0%)
Career titles	1 WTA
Highest ranking	No. 29 (January 2, 1995)
Grand Slam singles results
Australian Open	4R (1994)
French Open	2R (1992, 1993, 1994)
Wimbledon	3R (1994)
US Open	4R (1994)
Doubles
Career record	98–108 (47.6%)
Career titles	0 WTA, 1 ITF
Highest ranking	No. 38 (January 9, 1995)
Grand Slam doubles results
Australian Open	2R (1992, 1993, 1997)
French Open	QF (1994)
Wimbledon	QF (1997)
US Open	3R (1994)

Tennis career

Helgeson-Nielsen was born in St. Cloud, Minnesota, before moving to Edina after seventh grade. She was coached by her brother, Brace, throughout juniors and high school.[1] She attended Edina High School and became a three-time consecutive Minnesota state singles champion,[2] and was ranked No. 1 by the USTA Northern at all levels.[3]

Helgeson-Nielsen then received a scholarship to attend Pepperdine University in Malibu, California. Whilst there, she was a four-year letter winner and a three-time All American, and holds the all-time best career winning percentage.[3]

She played professionally from 1987, spending her first few years on the ITF Women's Circuit. Her best season was in 1994, winning her first WTA title in Auckland and reaching the fourth round of the Australian and U.S. Opens. At the latter event, she beat reigning Wimbledon champion Conchita Martínez for her biggest career victory.[4] Her ranking hit the top 30 as a result of her breakthrough season. She reached the final of Auckland again in 1995, but a serious wrist injury at a tournament in Amelia Island put her out for the rest of the 1995 season.[4] She returned in March 1996, but wasn't able to make it back into the top 100 in singles. She played her last match at the US Open qualifying tournament in 1998, where she reached the second round.

In addition to her win over Martínez, she also recorded victories over Helena Suková, Mary Joe Fernández, Gigi Fernández, Anke Huber, Lori McNeil, Sabine Appelmans, Sabine Hack and Natasha Zvereva.[4]

In 2009, she was inducted into the USTA Northern Hall of Fame,[3] having already been inducted into the Pepperdine Athletic Hall of Fame in 2008.[5] Helgeson-Nielsen now lives in Alpine, California,[1] with her two boys. She runs her own professional tennis instruction business.[1]

WTA career finals

Legend

Grand Slam tournaments

Virginia Slims

Tier I

Tier II

Tier III

Tier IV & V

Singles: 1 title, 1 runner-up

Result	W/L	Date	Tournament	Category	Surface	Opponent	Score
Win	1–0	Feb 1994	Auckland, New Zealand	Tier IV	Hard	Inés Gorrochategui	7–6(7–4), 6–3
Loss	1–1	Feb 1995	Auckland, New Zealand	Tier IV	Hard	Nicole Bradtke	6–3, 2–6, 1–6

Doubles: 2 runner-ups

Result	W/L	Date	Tournament	Category	Surface	Partner	Opponents	Score
Loss	0–1	Aug 1992	Schenectady, U.S.	Tier V	Hard	Shannan McCarthy	Alexia Dechaume Florencia Labat	3–6, 6–1, 2–6
Loss	0–2	Aug 1994	San Diego Open, U.S.	Tier II	Hard	Rachel McQuillan	Jana Novotná Arantxa Sánchez Vicario	3–6, 3–6

Best Grand Slam results details

References

External links

• Ginger Helgeson-Nielsen at the Women's Tennis Association
• Ginger Helgeson-Nielsen at the International Tennis Federation

На других языках

---

[de] Ginger Helgeson-Nielsen

Ginger Helgeson-Nielsen (* 14. September 1968 in St. Cloud, Minnesota) ist eine ehemalige US-amerikanische Tennisspielerin.

---

- [en] Ginger Helgeson-Nielsen

---

---