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Saturday, July 18, 2015

Amelie Mauresmo(France) inducted into the International Tennis Hall of Fame Saturday July 18,2015

 

WTA Star Amelie Mauresmo, Australian Wheelchair Champion David Hall, and Tennis Industry Leader Nancy Jeffett to be inducted into the International Tennis Hall of Fame in 2015

France`s Amelie Mauresmo, a two-time Grand Slam winner and former world number one, was inducted into the International Tennis Hall of Fame on Saturday July 18,2015

Amelie Mauresmo spent a total of 39 weeks atop the world rankings in 2004 and 2006, winning the Australian Open and Wimbledon in 2006 -- when she beat Belgian Justine Henin in both finals.

Amelie Mauresmo was the first French woman to achieve the world No. 1 ranking since the computer rankings began in the 1970s

Amelie Mauresmo is one of 3 French women to win a Grand Slam title in the Open Era, along with Mary Pierce ( won the Australian Open in 1995 and French Open in 2000 and had also won the 2000 French Open Women's Doubles and 2005 Wimbledon Mixed Doubles Title )and Marion Bartoli who won the 2013 Wimbledon Women's Singles Title

Amelie Mauresmo was the Olympic silver medalist at the 2004 Games in Athens. In 2005, she won the WTA Tour Championships. In all, she won 25 singles titles on the WTA Tour and compiled a career singles record of 545-227

Since retirement, Mauresmo has stayed active in the sport as a coach and she is currently coaching Andy Murray

David Hall of Sydney, Australia, is one of the most decorated wheelchair tennis players to date. He was ranked world No. 1 in singles and doubles and he won every major title in the sport–winning most on multiple occasions. 



In 1986, when he was 16 years old, Hall was struck by a car and had to have both of his legs amputated. After about seven months of rehabilitation, he saw a photograph of a wheelchair tennis player in the newspaper and was intrigued. Within a year, he entered his first tournament, igniting his passion for the sport.

He went on to become 6-time Paralympic medalist, winning medals in singles and doubles at the 1996, 2000, and 2004 Games. At the 2000 Games in Sydney, before his hometown crowd, he won the Gold Medal in singles and the Silver Medal in doubles. Hall was honored with the Medal of Order of Australia in recognition of this accomplishment.

David Hall won the Australian Open for Wheelchair Tennis an incredible nine times and the US Open eight times. He was also champion at the British Open seven times and the Japan Open eight times. He won 18 Super Series titles over the course of his career.

David Hall holds a remarkable career singles record of 632-111 and a career doubles record of 397-89.

David Hall retired from the sport in 2006, but remains highly engaged in promoting wheelchair tennis around the world

Nancy Jeffett’s service to tennis over the past 50 years has been instrumental in advancing professional women’s tennis and in developing opportunities for junior tennis development.



In 1968, Jeffett partnered with her good friend Mureen Mo Connolly, a then recently retired nine-time Grand Slam singles champion, to build tennis programming to engage more people with the sport, especially children and those from lower socio-economic backgrounds

Maureen Connolly Brinker

The Maureen Connolly Brinker Tennis Foundation (MCBTF) was established with the goal of providing funds for tennis clinics and to aid juniors who could not afford to compete nationally.

Unfortunately, Connolly did not live to see the foundation thrive, as she passed away just a one year later. However, Jeffett remained highly committed to the cause, as she does to this day in her role as Chairman Emeritus, and as a result, one of the most prestigious junior tennis programs in the world was established. Jeffett developed an organization that inspires youth tennis, hosts a dozen major tournaments, and has contributed more than $4 million to player development—from tennis programs in public parks to professional tournaments.

In Connolly's honor, in 1969, Jeffett staged the first Maureen Connolly Brinker Memorial tournament. In the years that followed, Jeffett was determined to grow the tournament, as well as the opportunity for women's pro tennis to flourish. 

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