Bonnie Gadusek

Bonnie Gadusek

Country (sports)	United States
Residence	Largo, Florida, USA
Born	September 11, 1963 Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, USA
Turned pro	September 1981
Retired	April 1987
Plays	Right-handed (two-handed backhand)
Prize money	$504,238
Singles
Career record	169–95
Career titles	5
Highest ranking	No. 8 (July 9, 1984)
Grand Slam Singles results
Australian Open	2R (1981)
French Open	4R (1985)
Wimbledon	2R (1985)
US Open	QF (1982, 1986)
Doubles
Career record	83–71
Career titles	3
Highest ranking	No. 59 (January 5, 1987)

Bonnie Gadusek (born September 11, 1963) is a retired American professional tennis player.

Career

Gadusek started a career in gymnastics, training for the 1980 Olympics, but fell from uneven parallel bars and landed on her neck, dislocating two vertebrae.^[1] While recovering from her injuries, she took up tennis as part of her therapy.^[2] She played in her first junior tournament wearing a brace. She was named Junior of the Year in 1980 and Player of the Year in 1981 by the Florida Tennis Association. She won the 1981 French Open girls’ singles championship.

Gadusek played on the WTA Tour from 1981 to 1987. She was named Rookie of the Year in 1982. She won 5 singles and 3 doubles titles before retiring. The right-hander reached her highest career ranking on July 9, 1984, when she became the World No. 8. Her best Grand Slam finish were two quarterfinals at the US Open, in 1982 and 1986.

Gadusek had career wins over Billie Jean King, Andrea Jaeger, Sue Barker, Hana Mandlíková, Manuela Maleeva, Wendy Turnbull, Gabriela Sabatini, Dianne Fromholtz, Claudia Kohde-Kilsch, Helena Suková, Zina Garrison, Mary Joe Fernandez, Sylvia Hanika, Jo Durie, and Rosie Casals. During her career, she was coached by renowned Australian coach Harry Hopman.

Gadusek was a member of the 1986 Wightman Cup Team. She helped coach the 1987 Wightman Cup Team. She retired with a 169–95 win/loss record.^[3]

WTA Tour finals

Singles: 10 (5–5)

Winner — Legend Grand Slam tournaments (0–0) WTA Tour Championships (0–0) Virginia Slims, Avon, Other (5–5)

Titles by Surface Hard (1–1) Grass (0–0) Clay (2–3) Carpet (2–1)

Outcome	No.	Date	Tournament	Surface	Opponent	Score
Runner-up	1.	July 12, 1982	Monte Carlo	Clay	Virginia Ruzici	2–6, 6–7^(5–7)
Runner-up	2.	May 2, 1983	Perugia	Clay	Andrea Temesvári	1–6, 0–6
Runner-up	3.	November 7, 1983	Deerfield Beach	Hard	Chris Evert-Lloyd	0–6, 4–6
Winner	1.	January 23, 1984	Marco Island	Clay	Kathleen Horvath	3–6, 6–0, 6–4
Runner-up	4.	March 12, 1984	Palm Beach Gardens	Clay	Chris Evert-Lloyd	0–6, 1–6
Winner	2.	January 28, 1985	Marco Island	Hard	Pam Casale	6–3, 6–4
Winner	3.	May 20, 1985	Lugano	Clay	Manuela Maleeva	6–2, 6–2
Winner	4.	September 16, 1985	Chicago	Carpet (I)	Kathy Rinaldi	6–1, 6–3
Winner	5.	October 7, 1985	Indianapolis	Carpet (I)	Pam Casale	6–0, 6–3
Runner-up	5.	December 9, 1985	Tokyo	Carpet (I)	Manuela Maleeva	6–7^(2–7), 6–3, 5–7

Doubles: 6 (3–3)

Winner — Legend Grand Slam tournaments (0–0) WTA Tour Championships (0–0) Virginia Slims (3–3)

Titles by Surface Hard (1–2) Grass (0–0) Clay (1–0) Carpet (1–1)

Outcome	No.	Date	Tournament	Surface	Partner	Opponents	Score
Runner-up	1.	October 10, 1983	Tampa	Hard	Wendy White	Martina Navratilova Pam Shriver	0–6, 1–6
Winner	1.	November 7, 1983	Deerfield Beach	Hard	Wendy White	Pam Casale Mary-Lou Piatek	6–1, 3–6, 6–3
Runner-up	2.	January 28, 1985	Marco Island	Hard	Camille Benjamin	Kathy Jordan Elizabeth Smylie	3–6, 3–6
Winner	2.	May 20, 1985	Lugano	Clay	Helena Suková	Bettina Bunge Eva Pfaff	6–2, 6–4
Winner	3.	October 7, 1985	Indianapolis	Carpet (I)	Mary-Lou Piatek	Penny Barg Sandy Collins	6–1, 6–0
Runner-up	3.	February 24, 1986	Oakland	Carpet (I)	Helena Suková	Hana Mandlíková Wendy Turnbull	6–7^(5–7), 1–6

Grand Slam singles performance timeline

Tournament	1981	1982	1983	1984	1985	1986	1987	Career SR
Australian Open	2R	A	A	A	A	NH	A	0 / 1
French Open	1R	3R	1R	A	4R	A	A	0 / 4
Wimbledon	A	A	A	A	2R	A	A	0 / 1
US Open	A	QF	4R	4R	3R	QF	1R	0 / 6
SR	0 / 2	0 / 2	0 / 2	0 / 1	0 / 3	0 / 1	0 / 1	0 / 12
Year End Ranking	35	18	19	13	10	13	461

• 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.

References

1. Linz, Franz (February 11, 1985). "Bonnie Gadusek Calls Herself the Animal, But She Is a Dreamer, Too". Sports Illustrated. Retrieved 6 December 2011.
2. Diliberto, Gioia (January 24, 1983). "A Near-Fatal Fall Broke Gymnast Bonnie Gadusek's Neck, but Not the Spirit That Made Her a Champion". People. Retrieved 6 December 2011.
3. "WTA Bonnie Gadusek (USA)". Retrieved 2011-12-06.

External links

• Bonnie Gadusek at the Women's Tennis Association
• Bonnie Gadusek at the International Tennis Federation