Helen Elizabeth "Betsy" Nagelsen McCormack (born October 23, 1956) is an American former professional tennis player.

Betsy Nagelsen
Country (sports) United States
ResidenceMaui, Hawaii &
Orlando, Florida
Born (1956-10-23) October 23, 1956 (age 68)
St. Petersburg, Florida
Height1.75 m (5 ft 9 in)
Turned pro1973
Retired1996
PlaysRight-handed
Prize money$1,016,519
Singles
Career record194–256
Career titles4
Highest rankingNo. 23 (end 1981)[1]
Grand Slam singles results
Australian OpenF (1978)
French Open2R (1975, 1978)
Wimbledon4R (1981, 1986)
US Open3R (1974, 1976, 1980, 1988)
Doubles
Career record385–253
Career titles26
Highest rankingNo. 11 (March 14, 1988)
Grand Slam doubles results
Australian OpenW (1978, 1980)
French OpenSF (1981, 1985)
WimbledonF (1987)
US OpenSF (1978, 1984, 1987)
Mixed doubles
Grand Slam mixed doubles results
US OpenF (1987)

Career

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Nagelsen was the world's top junior in 1973. She won the 1973 U.S. Champion Girls' 16 and under singles. She also won the USTA Girls' Sportsmanship Award in 1974.[2] As a professional, she won the doubles championship at the 1978 and 1980 Australian Opens (with Renáta Tomanová and Martina Navratilova, respectively), and reached the singles final of the 1978 Australian Open, losing to Christine O'Neil. Over her 21-year career on the WTA Tour, Nagelsen won 26 doubles titles and four singles titles.

Nagelsen reached her career-high singles ranking by the end of 1981, when she became the world No. 23.[1] She also reached a career-high ranking in doubles of No. 11 on March 4, 1988. She had career wins over Navratilova, Arantxa Sánchez Vicario, Sue Barker, Pam Shriver, Claudia Kohde-Kilsch, Rosie Casals, Betty Stöve, and Sylvia Hanika. She was a four-time member of the U.S. Wightman Cup Team in 1974, 1985, 1988 and 1989.

After her retirement in 1996, Nagelsen became a commentator for ABC and ESPN in the United States and Australia's Nine Network. She married Mark McCormack, founder of the sports management group IMG. The couple donated money for the McCormack-Nagelsen Tennis Center at the College of William and Mary in Williamsburg, Virginia. The Intercollegiate Tennis Association's Women's Tennis Hall of Fame is located on the site.

Grand Slam finals

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Singles: 1 (runner-up)

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Result Year Championship Surface Opponent Score
Loss 1978 Australian Open Grass   Chris O'Neil 3–6, 6–7(3–7)

Doubles: 4 (2 titles, 2 runner-ups)

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Result Year Championship Surface Partner Opponents Score
Loss 1977(J) Australian Open Grass   Kerry Reid   Dianne Fromholtz
  Helen Gourlay
7–5, 1–6, 5–7
Win 1978 Australian Open Grass   Renáta Tomanová   Naoko Sato
  Pam Whytcross
7–5, 6–2
Win 1980 Australian Open Grass   Martina Navratilova   Ann Kiyomura
  Candy Reynolds
6–4, 6–4
Loss 1987 Wimbledon Grass   Elizabeth Smylie   Claudia Kohde-Kilsch
  Helena Suková
5–7, 5–7

Mixed doubles: 1 (runner-up)

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Result Year Championship Surface Partner Opponents Score
Loss 1987 US Open Hard   Paul Annacone   Martina Navratilova
  Emilio Sánchez
4–6, 7–6(8–6), 6–7(12–14)

Grand Slam tournament performance timeline

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Key
W  F  SF QF #R RR Q# DNQ A NH
(W) winner; (F) finalist; (SF) semifinalist; (QF) quarterfinalist; (#R) rounds 4, 3, 2, 1; (RR) round-robin stage; (Q#) qualification round; (DNQ) did not qualify; (A) absent; (NH) not held; (SR) strike rate (events won / competed); (W–L) win–loss record.

Singles

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Tournament 1974 1975 1976 1977 1978 1979 1980 1981 1982 1983 1984 1985 1986 1987 1988 1989 1990 1991 1992 1993 SR
Australian Open A A A 1R A F A 3R 2R A 2R 1R 2R NH 2R 1R A A A A A 0 / 9
French Open 1R 2R 1R A 2R A 1R 1R 1R 1R 1R 1R 1R A A A 1R A A A 0 / 12
Wimbledon 3R 2R 1R 2R 2R 2R 3R 4R 2R 3R 2R 1R 4R 1R 1R 1R 3R 1R Q1 Q2 0 / 18
US Open 3R A 3R 1R 1R 1R 3R 2R 1R 1R 1R 1R 2R 2R 3R 2R A A A A 0 / 15
Strike rate 0 / 3 0 / 2 0 / 3 0 / 3 0 / 4 0 / 2 0 / 4 0 / 4 0 / 3 0 / 4 0 / 4 0 / 4 0 / 3 0 / 3 0 / 3 0 / 2 0 / 2 0 / 1 0 / 0 0 / 0 0 / 54

Note: The Australian Open was held twice in 1977, in January and December.

See also

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References

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  1. ^ a b WTA ranking 1981
  2. ^ "ITA Betsy Nagelsen McCormack". Retrieved December 8, 2011.
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