Andrea Jaeger

Andrea Jaeger

Jaeger in 1981
Country (sports)	United States
Residence	Santa Rosa Beach, Florida
Born	(1965-06-04) June 4, 1965 (age 56) Chicago, Illinois
Height	5 ft 6 in (1.68 m)
Turned pro	1980
Retired	1985
Plays	Right-handed (two handed-backhand)
Prize money	US$ 1,379,065[1]
Singles
Career record	260–85[1]
Career titles	10
Highest ranking	No. 2 (August 17, 1981)[2]
Grand Slam Singles results
Australian Open	SF (1982)
French Open	F (1982)
Wimbledon	F (1983)
US Open	SF (1980, 1982)
Doubles
Career record	47–38[1]
Career titles	4
Grand Slam Doubles results
Australian Open	3R (1981, 1982)
French Open	QF (1982)
Wimbledon	3R (1981)
US Open	SF (1980)
Mixed doubles
Career titles	1
Grand Slam Mixed Doubles results
French Open	W (1981)
Wimbledon	1R (1980, 1983)

Andrea Jaeger (/ˈjeɪɡər/ YAY-gər; born June 4, 1965) is a former World No. 2 professional tennis player from the United States whose brief but highly successful tennis career ended prematurely due to major shoulder injuries. Jaeger reached the singles final of Wimbledon in 1983 and the French Open in 1982. She reached the singles semifinals of the Australian Open in 1982 and of the U.S. Open in 1980 and 1982. She also won 10 singles titles. In mixed doubles, Jaeger won the French Open with Jimmy Arias in 1981. During her career, Jaeger won U.S. $1.4 million in prize money and millions more in endorsements. After retirement in 1987, she has prominently dedicated her life to public service, charities, and philanthropy. In 2006, she became "Sister Andrea" as a member of the Anglican Order of Preachers. She is a member of the Episcopal Church and based in Santa Rosa Beach, Florida, U.S.^[3]

Tennis career[]

While a student at Stevenson High School in suburban Chicago, Jaeger was the top ranked player in the United States in the 18-and-under age group. She won 13 U.S. national junior titles, including the most prominent junior titles in tennis: the 1979 Orange Bowl and 1979 Boca Raton.

In 1980 (at the age of 15 years, 19 days), she became the youngest player ever to be seeded at Wimbledon,^[4] a record that was broken by Jennifer Capriati in 1990. After defeating former champion Virginia Wade, she became the youngest quarterfinalist in the history of the tournament.^[5] Later in the year, she became the youngest semifinalist in US Open history.

At the French Open in 1982, Jaeger defeated Chris Evert in a semifinal 6–3, 6–1 but lost the final to Martina Navratilova. She then reached the semifinals of both the US Open and the Australian Open, losing both matches to Evert in straight sets.

At Wimbledon in 1983, Jaeger defeated six-time Wimbledon singles champion Billie Jean King 6–1, 6–1 in a semifinal on Centre Court, which was King's last career singles match at that tournament and her most lopsided singles defeat at Wimbledon.^[6] Jaeger then lost the final to Navratilova. In 2003, Jaeger said that the night before the final, she had a heated argument with her father^[7] over practicing and was locked out of her apartment by him. Eventually, Jaeger asked Navratilova to convince her father to let her back in. She stated that emotional fatigue might have contributed to her lackluster performance in the final.^[7]

Jaeger's career win-loss record against other top players was 3–17 against Evert, 4–11 against Navratilova, 2–8 against Tracy Austin, 6–8 against Hana Mandlíková, and 2–4 against Pam Shriver.

In an interview in 2003, Jaeger stated that she never was committed to being the top-ranked player in the world and tanked matches to avoid the top spot.^[8][9] As she rose toward the top of the game, she started visiting hospitals during tournaments. She stated that she found it, in the words of a USA Today columnist, "difficult to reconcile the narrow-minded focus of a top tennis player with her desire to help others."^[10]

Jaeger won eight of the nine singles matches she played for the U.S. in Fed Cup. She also won two of the three Wightman Cup singles matches she played for the U.S.^[11]

A major shoulder injury at the age of 19 ended Jaeger's career prematurely in 1985. She went to college and obtained a degree in theology.

Philanthropy[]

Jaeger used her winnings from tennis to create the Silver Lining Foundation with her close friend and business partner Heidi Bookout in 1990. Located in Aspen, Colorado, the organization transported groups of young cancer patients to Aspen for a week of support and activities, including horseback riding and whitewater rafting. The foundation also provided money for reunions, family campouts, college scholarships, medical internships, and other programs for children who could not travel. The organization had other powerful backers, both in the world of sports and elsewhere. The first contributor was John McEnroe. Many high-profile celebrities were involved, including Andre Agassi, Pete Sampras, and David Robinson. In 1996, Jaeger received the Samuel S. Beard Award for Greatest Public Service by an Individual 35 Years or Under, an award given annually by Jefferson Awards.^[12]

Jaeger's autobiography First Service was published in 2004. In the book, she wrote about her teenage years as a tennis player and her later decision to focus on serving God. All proceeds from the book were donated to children's charities.

Jaeger later established the Little Star Foundation, claiming to reach on average 4,000 kids annually. Jaeger ran into financial issues with the nonprofit in 2009. As a result, she tried to sell the foundation's property in Aspen for $13.5 million, but neighbors said she was breaking homeowners association covenants, which resulted in a lawsuit. She moved to a much larger 220-acre (0.89 km²) property in Hesperus, Colorado, where she claimed she would expand her programs.^[10] Jaeger sold the ranch to an unknown buyer in November 2018. In January 2019, the State of Colorado revoked Little Star Foundation's property tax exemption on the basis that an investigation had revealed that the group had falsified records and never had conducted any charitable activities since moving to Hesperus.^[13]

In 2006, Jaeger exchanged gifts with an Army Ranger serving in the Iraq War. He gave her his dog tags, and she gave him her Olympic ring.^[14]

On September 16, 2006, at the age of 41, Jaeger became Sister Andrea, an Anglican Dominican nun.^[15] She reportedly left the order in 2009.^[16]

In April 2007, Jaeger and several former athletes, including Andre Agassi, Lance Armstrong, Tony Hawk, Jackie Joyner-Kersee, and Muhammad Ali, appeared on the American morning television talk show Good Morning America to announce their formation of a charity titled Athletes for Hope.^[17][18]

Major finals[]

Grand Slam finals[]

Singles: 2 runner-ups[]

Result	Year	Championship	Surface	Opponent	Score
Loss	1982	French Open	Clay	Martina Navratilova	6–7(6–8), 1–6
Loss	1983	Wimbledon	Grass	Martina Navratilova	0–6, 3–6

Mixed doubles: 1 title[]

Result	Year	Championship	Surface	Partner	Opponents	Score
Win	1981	French Open	Clay	Jimmy Arias	Betty Stöve Fred McNair	7–6, 6–4

Year-End Championships finals[]

Singles: 1 runner-up[]

Result	Year	Championship	Surface	Opponent	Score
Loss	1981	New York City	Carpet (I)	Martina Navratilova	3–6, 6–7(3–7)

WTA career finals[]

Singles: 36 (10–26)[]

Result	No.	Date	Tournament	Surface	Opponent	Score
Win	1.	Jan 1980	Las Vegas, US	Hard (i)	Barbara Potter	7–6, 4–6, 6–1
Loss	1.	Mar 1980	Edmond, US	Clay	Regina Maršíková	2–6, 2–6
Win	2.	Jun 1980	Beckenham, England	Grass	Jo Durie	6–0, 6–1
Loss	2.	Aug, 1980	Indianapolis, US	Clay	Chris Evert-Lloyd	4–6, 3–6
Loss	3.	Aug 1980	Mahwah, US	Hard	Hana Mandlíková	7–6(7–0), 2–6, 2–6
Win	3.	Sep 1980	Las Vegas, US	Hard (i)	Hana Mandlíková	7–5, 4–6, 6–3
Loss	4.	Oct 1980	Deerfield Beach, US	Hard	Chris Evert-Lloyd	4–6, 1–6
Win	4.	Nov 1980	Tampa, US	Hard	Tracy Austin	w/o
Loss	5.	Jan 1981	Landover, US	Carpet (i)	Tracy Austin	2–6, 2–6
Win	5.	Jan 1981	Kansas City, US	Carpet (i)	Martina Navratilova	3–6, 6–3, 7–5
Win	6.	Feb 1981	Oakland, US	Carpet (i)	Virginia Wade	6–3, 6–1
Loss	6.	Mar 1981	Los Angeles, US	Carpet (i)	Martina Navratilova	4–6, 0–6
Loss	7.	Mar 1981	Avon Championships, US	Carpet (i)	Martina Navratilova	3–6, 6–7(3–7)
Loss	8.	Apr 1981	Orlando, US	Clay	Martina Navratilova	5–7, 3–6
Loss	9.	Jun 1981	Eastbourne, England	Grass	Tracy Austin	3–6, 4–6
Win	7.	Aug 1981	Indianapolis, US	Clay	Virginia Ruzici	6–1, 6–0
Loss	10.	Oct, 1981	Deerfield Beach, US	Hard	Chris Evert-Lloyd	6–4, 3–6, 0–6
Loss	11.	Nov 1981	Perth, Australia	Grass	Pam Shriver	1–6, 6–7
Loss	12.	Jan 1982	Seattle, US	Carpet (i)	Martina Navratilova	2–6, 0–6
Win	8.	Feb 1982	Detroit, US	Carpet (i)	Mima Jaušovec	2–6, 6–4, 6–2
Win	9.	Feb 1982	Oakland, US	Carpet (i)	Chris Evert-Lloyd	7–6(7–5), 6–4
Loss	13.	Apr 1982	Palm Beach Gardens, US	Clay	Chris Evert-Lloyd	1–6, 5–7
Loss	14.	Apr 1982	Hilton Head Island, US	Clay	Martina Navratilova	4–6, 2–6
Loss	15.	Apr 1982	Amelia Island, US	Clay	Chris Evert-Lloyd	3–6, 1–6
Loss	16.	May 1982	French Open	Clay	Martina Navratilova	6–7(6–8), 1–6
Loss	17.	Aug 1982	Montreal, Canada	Hard	Martina Navratilova	3–6, 5–7
Loss	18.	Oct 1982	Deerfield Beach, US	Hard	Chris Evert-Lloyd	1–6, 1–6
Loss	19.	Oct 1982	Tampa, US	Hard	Chris Evert-Lloyd	6–3, 1–6, 4–6
Loss	20.	Nov, 1982	Tokyo, Japan	Carpet (i)	Chris Evert-Lloyd	3–6, 2–6
Win	10.	Jan 1983	Marco Island, US	Clay	Hana Mandlíková	6–1, 6–3
Loss	21.	Jan 1983	Palm Beach Gardens, US	Clay	Chris Evert-Lloyd	3–6, 3–6
Loss	22.	Feb 1983	Chicago, US	Carpet (i)	Martina Navratilova	3–6, 2–6
Loss	23.	Apr 1983	Orlando, US	Clay	Martina Navratilova	1–6, 5–7
Loss	24.	Jun 1983	Wimbledon, England	Grass	Martina Navratilova	0–6, 3–6
Loss	25.	Sep 1983	Tokyo, Japan	Carpet (i)	Lisa Bonder	2–6, 7–5, 1–6
Loss	26.	Apr 1984	Johannesburg, South Africa	Hard (i)	Chris Evert-Lloyd	3–6, 0–6

Doubles: 6 (4–2)[]

Result	No.	Date	Tournament	Surface	Partner	Opponents	Score
Win	1.	Aug 1980	Toronto, Canada	Hard	Regina Maršíková	Ann Kiyomura Betsy Nagelsen	6–1, 6–3
Win	2.	Oct 1980	Deerfield Beach, US	Hard	Regina Maršíková	Martina Navratilova Candy Reynolds	1–6, 6–1, 6–2
Win	3.	Jan 1983	Marco Island, US	Clay	Mary-Lou Piatek	Rosie Casals Wendy Turnbull	7–5, 6–4
Loss	1.	Apr 1983	Hilton Head Island, US	Clay	Paula Smith	Martina Navratilova Candy Reynolds	2–6, 3–6
Win	4.	Aug 1983	Toronto, Canada	Hard	Anne Hobbs	Rosalyn Fairbank Candy Reynolds	6–4, 5–7, 7–5
Loss	2.	Jan 1984	Marco Island, US	Clay	Anne Hobbs	Hana Mandlíková Helena Suková	6–3, 2–6, 2–6

Grand Slam singles performance timeline[]

See also[]

• Performance timelines for all female tennis players who reached at least one Grand Slam final

References[]

External links[]

• Andrea Jaeger at the Women's Tennis Association
• Andrea Jaeger at the International Tennis Federation
• Andrea Jaeger at the Billie Jean King Cup
• Athletes for Hope