, USA) is a former American tennis

Tennis

Tennis is a sport usually played between two players or between two teams of two players each . Each player uses a racket that is strung to strike a hollow rubber ball covered with felt over a net into the opponent's court. Tennis is an Olympic sport and is played at all levels of society at all...

 player. During her career, she won 7 Grand Slam titles, 5 of them in women's doubles and 2 of them in mixed doubles. She also was the 1983 Australian Open women's singles runner-up and won 1 singles title and 41 doubles titles.

Personal life

Jordan was one of the top juniors during the 1970s. She also was a top high school basketball player, being named to the All-Conference basketball team while at Upper Merion Area High School

Upper Merion Area High School

Upper Merion Area High School is a high school of the Upper Merion Area School District located at 435 Crossfield Road in King of Prussia, Pennsylvania....

 in King of Prussia, Pennsylvania

King of Prussia, Pennsylvania

King of Prussia is a census-designated place in Upper Merion Township, Montgomery County, Pennsylvania, United States. As of the 2010 census, its population was 19,936. The community took its name in the 18th century from a local tavern named the King of Prussia Inn, which was named after...

. She received an athletic scholarship to Stanford University

Stanford University

The Leland Stanford Junior University, commonly referred to as Stanford University or Stanford, is a private research university on an campus located near Palo Alto, California. It is situated in the northwestern Santa Clara Valley on the San Francisco Peninsula, approximately northwest of San...

 in 1978. While at Stanford, she won the 1979 AIAW Championships in singles and in doubles with her sister, Barbara Jordan. Her sister won the 1979 Australian Open

Australian Open

The Australian Open is the only Grand Slam tennis tournament held in the southern hemisphere. The tournament was held for the first time in 1905 and was last contested on grass in 1987. Since 1972 the Australian Open has been held in Melbourne, Victoria. In 1988, the tournament became a hard court...

 women's singles title. Her father, Bob Jordan, was instrumental in development of WTA deferred compensation plan.

Career

Jordan turned professional in 1979. Her best performance in a Grand Slam singles tournament was runner-up at the 1983 Australian Open

Australian Open

The Australian Open is the only Grand Slam tennis tournament held in the southern hemisphere. The tournament was held for the first time in 1905 and was last contested on grass in 1987. Since 1972 the Australian Open has been held in Melbourne, Victoria. In 1988, the tournament became a hard court...

, where she lost to Martina Navratilova 6–2, 7–6.

She was the first player to defeat Chris Evert

Chris Evert

Christine Marie "Chris" Evert is a former world number 1 professional tennis player from the United States. She won 18 Grand Slam singles championships, including a record seven championships at the French Open and a record six championships at the U.S. Open. She was the year-ending World No...

 before the semifinals of a Grand Slam singles tournament. Jordan defeated Evert 6–1, 7–6 in the third round of Wimbledon in 1983 after Evert had reached at least the semifinals of her first 34 Grand Slam singles tournaments.

In women's doubles, Jordan won five Grand Slam titles, four of which were in partnership with Anne Smith

Anne Smith

Anne Smith is a female former professional tennis player from the United States. Smith's highest women's doubles ranking was World No. 1 in 1980 and 1981. Her highest singles ranking was World No. 12 in 1982...

. She also won a career Grand Slam in women's doubles, winning the 1980 French Open, 1980 and 1985 Wimbledon

The Championships, Wimbledon

The Championships, Wimbledon, or simply Wimbledon , is the oldest tennis tournament in the world, considered by many to be the most prestigious. It has been held at the All England Club in Wimbledon, London since 1877. It is one of the four Grand Slam tennis tournaments, the other three Majors...

, 1981 US Open, and 1981 Australian Open

Australian Open

The Australian Open is the only Grand Slam tennis tournament held in the southern hemisphere. The tournament was held for the first time in 1905 and was last contested on grass in 1987. Since 1972 the Australian Open has been held in Melbourne, Victoria. In 1988, the tournament became a hard court...

.

In the Wimbledon final on July 6, 1985, Jordan and Elizabeth Smylie

Elizabeth Smylie

Elizabeth Smylie is an Australian former tennis player.She won the Western Australian Sports Star of the Year award in 1985.She won the Comeback Player of the Year award in 1990 and 1993....

 teamed to snap the 109-match winning streak of Navratilova and Pam Shriver

Pam Shriver

Pamela Howard Shriver Lazenby , is a former professional tennis player and is currently a sports broadcaster from the United States for ESPN2. During the 1980s and 1990s, she won 133 top-level titles, including 21 women's doubles titles and one mixed doubles title at Grand Slam tournaments...

 5–7, 6–3, 6–4.

In mixed doubles, Jordan won two Grand Slam titles, 1986 French Open and 1986 Wimbledon, both of which were in partnership with Ken Flach

Ken Flach

Kenneth Eliot "Ken" Flach is a former professional tennis player from the United States. A doubles specialist, he won 4 Grand Slam men's doubles titles , and 2 Grand Slam mixed doubles titles...

.

Jordan retired in 1991. Her highest singles rank was world number five in 1984 and her highest doubles rank was world number 6 in 1991. She won several awards during her career, including 1979 WTA Most Impressive Newcomer Award, 1980 WTA Doubles Team of the Year Award with Smith, 1984 WTA Most Improved Player of the Year Award, and 1991 WTA Player Service Award

After retiring, Jordan returned to Stanford University and received a B.A. in political science in 1991. She was elected vice-president of the WTA

WTA

WTA may refer to:* World Trampolining Association, Founded in 1866 following the founding of the Amateur Athletics Association in 1864.*War of the Triple Alliance, a war between Paraguay and the alliance of Argentina, Brazil and Uruguay...

 in 1992. She also served as chairperson of the WTA Drug Testing Committee and served on WTA executive, deferred compensation, finance/marketing, and insurance Committees through 1992.

In 2002, Jordan was presented with a Mentor Award by Martina Navratilova, on behalf of the WTA Tour, in recognition of her contribution to the Partners for Success program and to the sport of tennis at large.

Jordan was nicknamed "KJ."

Singles: 1 (0 titles, 1 runner-up)

Outcome	Year	Championship	Surface	Opponent in the final	Score in the final
Runner-up	1983 1983 Australian Open - Women's Singles Martina Navratilova defeated Kathy Jordan 6–2 7–6 in the final to win the Women's Singles title at the 1983 Australian Open.See also:-Seeds:...	Australian Open Australian Open The Australian Open is the only Grand Slam tennis tournament held in the southern hemisphere. The tournament was held for the first time in 1905 and was last contested on grass in 1987. Since 1972 the Australian Open has been held in Melbourne, Victoria. In 1988, the tournament became a hard court...	Grass	Martina Navratilova	6–2, 7–6(5)

Doubles: 11 (5 titles, 6 runner-ups)

Outcome	Year	Championship	Surface	Partner	Opponents in the final	Score in the final
Winner	1980	French Open	Clay	Anne Smith Anne Smith Anne Smith is a female former professional tennis player from the United States. Smith's highest women's doubles ranking was World No. 1 in 1980 and 1981. Her highest singles ranking was World No. 12 in 1982...	Ivanna Madruga   Adriana Villagran	6–1, 6–0
Winner	1980	Wimbledon The Championships, Wimbledon The Championships, Wimbledon, or simply Wimbledon , is the oldest tennis tournament in the world, considered by many to be the most prestigious. It has been held at the All England Club in Wimbledon, London since 1877. It is one of the four Grand Slam tennis tournaments, the other three Majors...	Grass	Anne Smith	Rosemary Casals Rosemary Casals Rosemary "Rosie" Casals is a former American professional tennis player.Rosemary Casals earned her reputation as a rebel in the staid tennis world when she began competing in the early 1960s. During a tennis career that spanned more than two decades, she won more than 90 tournaments and worked for...   Wendy Turnbull Wendy Turnbull Wendy Turnbull, MBE, is a retired Australian professional tennis player. During her career, she won 9 Grand Slam titles, 4 of them in women's doubles and 5 of them in mixed doubles. She also was a 3-time Grand Slam singles runner-up and won 13 singles titles and 55 doubles titles.-Career:Turnbull...	4–6, 7–5, 6–1
Runner-up	1981	Wimbledon	Grass	Anne Smith	Martina Navratilova   Pam Shriver Pam Shriver Pamela Howard Shriver Lazenby , is a former professional tennis player and is currently a sports broadcaster from the United States for ESPN2. During the 1980s and 1990s, she won 133 top-level titles, including 21 women's doubles titles and one mixed doubles title at Grand Slam tournaments...	6–3, 7–6(6)
Winner	1981	US Open	Hard	Anne Smith	Rosemary Casals   Wendy Turnbull	6–3, 6–3
Winner	1981	Australian Open Australian Open The Australian Open is the only Grand Slam tennis tournament held in the southern hemisphere. The tournament was held for the first time in 1905 and was last contested on grass in 1987. Since 1972 the Australian Open has been held in Melbourne, Victoria. In 1988, the tournament became a hard court...	Grass	Anne Smith	Martina Navratilova   Pam Shriver Pam Shriver Pamela Howard Shriver Lazenby , is a former professional tennis player and is currently a sports broadcaster from the United States for ESPN2. During the 1980s and 1990s, she won 133 top-level titles, including 21 women's doubles titles and one mixed doubles title at Grand Slam tournaments...	6–2, 7–5
Runner-up	1982	Wimbledon	Grass	Anne Smith	Martina Navratilova   Pam Shriver	6–4, 6–1
Runner-up	1983	French Open	Clay	Anne Smith	Rosalyn Fairbank Rosalyn Fairbank Rosalyn Doris Fairbank-Nideffer is a former professional tennis player from South Africa. She played her first grand slam in 1979, with her last appearance coming as late as 1997...   Candy Reynolds Candy Reynolds Candy Reynolds is a former professional tennis player from the United States.-Career:During her career, Reynolds won the women's doubles title at the French Open in 1983...	5–7, 7–5, 6–2
Runner-up	1984	Wimbledon	Grass	Anne Smith	Martina Navratilova   Pam Shriver	6–3, 6–4
Winner	1985	Wimbledon (2)	Grass	Elizabeth Smylie Elizabeth Smylie Elizabeth Smylie is an Australian former tennis player.She won the Western Australian Sports Star of the Year award in 1985.She won the Comeback Player of the Year award in 1990 and 1993....	Martina Navratilova   Pam Shriver	5–7, 6–3, 6–4
Runner-up	1987	US Open	Hard	Elizabeth Smylie	Martina Navratilova   Pam Shriver	5–7, 6–4, 6–2
Runner-up	1990	Wimbledon	Grass	Elizabeth Smylie	Jana Novotná Jana Novotná Jana Novotná is a former professional tennis player from the Czech Republic. She played a serve and volley game, an increasingly rare style of play among women during her career. She won the women's singles title at Wimbledon in 1998 and was runner-up in three previous Grand Slam tournaments...   Helena Suková Helena Suková Helena Suková is a former professional tennis player from Czechia. During her career, she won 14 Grand Slam titles, 9 of them in women's doubles and 5 of them in mixed doubles...	6–4, 6–1

Mixed doubles: 3 (2 titles, 1 runner-up)

Outcome	Year	Championship	Surface	Partner	Opponents in the final	Score in the final
Runner-up	1984	Wimbledon The Championships, Wimbledon The Championships, Wimbledon, or simply Wimbledon , is the oldest tennis tournament in the world, considered by many to be the most prestigious. It has been held at the All England Club in Wimbledon, London since 1877. It is one of the four Grand Slam tennis tournaments, the other three Majors...	Grass	Steve Denton Steve Denton Steve Denton is a former professional tennis player for the ATP Tour. He is currently the head men's tennis coach at Texas A&M University....	Wendy Turnbull Wendy Turnbull Wendy Turnbull, MBE, is a retired Australian professional tennis player. During her career, she won 9 Grand Slam titles, 4 of them in women's doubles and 5 of them in mixed doubles. She also was a 3-time Grand Slam singles runner-up and won 13 singles titles and 55 doubles titles.-Career:Turnbull...   John Lloyd	6–3, 6–3
Winner	1986	French Open	Clay	Ken Flach Ken Flach Kenneth Eliot "Ken" Flach is a former professional tennis player from the United States. A doubles specialist, he won 4 Grand Slam men's doubles titles , and 2 Grand Slam mixed doubles titles...	Rosalyn Fairbank Rosalyn Fairbank Rosalyn Doris Fairbank-Nideffer is a former professional tennis player from South Africa. She played her first grand slam in 1979, with her last appearance coming as late as 1997...   Mark Edmondson Mark Edmondson Mark Edmondson is a former professional Australian male tennis player....	3–6, 7–6(3), 6–3
Winner	1986	Wimbledon	Grass	Ken Flach	Martina Navratilova   Heinz Günthardt Heinz Günthardt Heinz Peter Günthardt is a former tennis player from Switzerland, who won five singles titles during his professional career, including the Rotterdam WCT in 1980....	6–3, 7–6(7)

Doubles: 1 (1 title, 0 runner-ups)

Outcome	Year	Location	Surface	Partner	Opponents in the final	Score in the final
Winner	1990	New York City	Carpet (I)	Elizabeth Smylie Elizabeth Smylie Elizabeth Smylie is an Australian former tennis player.She won the Western Australian Sports Star of the Year award in 1985.She won the Comeback Player of the Year award in 1990 and 1993....	Mercedes Paz Mercedes Paz Mercedes María Paz is a former professional tennis player from Argentina, who won three singles titles during her career on the WTA Tour. The right-hander reached her highest career ranking on April 29, 1991, when she became the number 28 of the world...     Arantxa Sánchez Arantxa Sánchez Vicario Aránzazu 'Arantxa' Isabel Maria Sánchez Vicario is a Spanish former professional tennis player...	7–6(4), 6–4

Singles (1)

No.	Date	Location	Surface	Opponent in Final	Score in Final
1.	March 21, 1982	Boston, Massachusetts, USA	Carpet (I)	Wendy Turnbull Wendy Turnbull Wendy Turnbull, MBE, is a retired Australian professional tennis player. During her career, she won 9 Grand Slam titles, 4 of them in women's doubles and 5 of them in mixed doubles. She also was a 3-time Grand Slam singles runner-up and won 13 singles titles and 55 doubles titles.-Career:Turnbull...	7–5, 1–6, 6–4

Doubles (41)

Grand slam events in boldface.

• 1979: Indianapolis U.S. Women's Clay Court Championships (with Anne Smith
  Anne Smith
  Anne Smith is a female former professional tennis player from the United States. Smith's highest women's doubles ranking was World No. 1 in 1980 and 1981. Her highest singles ranking was World No. 12 in 1982...
  
  )
• 1980: Hilton Head (with Anne Smith)
• 1980: French Open (with Anne Smith)
• 1980: Eastbourne (with Anne Smith)
• 1980: Wimbledon (with Anne Smith)
• 1980: Las Vegas (with Anne Smith)
• 1980: Brighton (with Anne Smith)
• 1981: Cincinnati (with Anne Smith)
• 1981: Amelia Island (with Anne Smith)
• 1981: San Diego (with Candy Reynolds
  Candy Reynolds
  Candy Reynolds is a former professional tennis player from the United States.-Career:During her career, Reynolds won the women's doubles title at the French Open in 1983...
  
  )
• 1981: US Open (with Anne Smith)
• 1981: Australian Open (with Anne Smith)
• 1982: Washington (with Anne Smith)
• 1982: Houston (with Pam Shriver
  Pam Shriver
  Pamela Howard Shriver Lazenby , is a former professional tennis player and is currently a sports broadcaster from the United States for ESPN2. During the 1980s and 1990s, she won 133 top-level titles, including 21 women's doubles titles and one mixed doubles title at Grand Slam tournaments...
  
  )
• 1982: Los Angeles (with Anne Smith)
• 1982: Boston (with Anne Smith)
• 1982: San Diego (with Paula Smith
  Paula Smith
  Paula Smith is a former American tennis player.Smith played 100 tour singles matches and 47 doubles matches between 1976 and 1988. She reached the finals of the French Open once in 1981, partnering Candy Reynolds, and again in mixed doubles in 1985, partnering Francisco González and losing to...
  
  )
• 1982: Atlanta (with Betsy Nagelsen
  Betsy Nagelsen
  Betsy Nagelsen McCormack is a retired professional tennis player from the United States. Nagelsen won the doubles championship at the 1978 and 1980 Australian Opens . She reached the singles final of the 1978 Australian Open, losing to Christine O'Neil...
  
  )
• 1983: Palm Springs (with Ann Kiyomura
  Ann Kiyomura
  Ann Kiyomura-Hayashi is a former professional tennis player.Kiyomura played on the WTA Tour from 1973 to 1984. She played in 11 US Opens, reaching the fourth round in 1978. In 1975, she won the Wimbledon women's doubles title, playing with Kazuko Sawamatsu...
  
  )
• 1983: Detroit (with Barbara Potter
  Barbara Potter
  Barbara Potter is a former tennis player from the United States, who competed professionally on the Sony Ericsson WTA Tour, winning five singles titles and eighteen doubles titles.-Career:...
  
  )

• 1984: Amelia Island (with Anne Smith)
• 1984: Montreal (with Elizabeth Smylie
  Elizabeth Smylie
  Elizabeth Smylie is an Australian former tennis player.She won the Western Australian Sports Star of the Year award in 1985.She won the Comeback Player of the Year award in 1990 and 1993....
  
  )
• 1985: Key Biscayne (with Elizabeth Smylie)
• 1985: Marco Island (with Elizabeth Smylie)
• 1985: Tokyo Bridgestone Doubles (with Elizabeth Smylie)
• 1985: Wimbledon (with Elizabeth Smylie)
• 1985: Mahwah (with Elizabeth Smylie)
• 1985: Chicago (with Elizabeth Smylie)
• 1986: Wichita (with Candy Reynolds)
• 1986: Key Biscayne (with Elizabeth Smylie)
• 1986: Princeton (with Elizabeth Smylie)
• 1986: Hilversum (with Helena Suková
  Helena Suková
  Helena Suková is a former professional tennis player from Czechia. During her career, she won 14 Grand Slam titles, 9 of them in women's doubles and 5 of them in mixed doubles...
  
  )
• 1987: Tokyo Japan Open (with Betsy Nagelsen)
• 1987: Houston (with Martina Navratilova)
• 1987: Aptos (with Robin White
  Robin White
  Robin White may refer to:* Robin White , BBC journalist and playwright* Robin White , professional tennis player* Robin White , barrister at Old Square Chambers, Bedford Row, London who practises in employment and discrimination law....
  
  )
• 1987: Brighton (with Helena Suková)
• 1990: San Antonio (with Elizabeth Smylie)
• 1990: Tokyo Japan Open (with Elizabeth Smylie)
• 1990: Nashville (with Elizabeth Smylie)
• 1990: Virginia Slims Championships (with Elizabeth Smylie)
• 1991: Tokyo Pan Pacific (with Elizabeth Smylie)

Grand Slam singles performance timeline

Tournament	1978	1979	1980	1981	1982	1983	1984	1985	1986	1987	1988	1989	1990	Career SR
Australian Open Australian Open The Australian Open is the only Grand Slam tennis tournament held in the southern hemisphere. The tournament was held for the first time in 1905 and was last contested on grass in 1987. Since 1972 the Australian Open has been held in Melbourne, Victoria. In 1988, the tournament became a hard court...	A	A	A	3R	A	F	A	A	NH	A	A	A	A	0 / 2
French Open	A	A	QF	3R	A	4R	2R	A	1R	A	A	A	A	0 / 5
Wimbledon	A	4R	4R	4R	3R	QF	SF	2R	4R	1R	A	A	1R	0 / 10
US Open	2R	4R	4R	4R	1R	4R	2R	4R	4R	1R	A	A	1R	0 / 11
SR	0 / 1	0 / 2	0 / 3	0 / 4	0 / 2	0 / 4	0 / 3	0 / 2	0 / 3	0 / 2	0 / 0	0 / 0	0 / 2	0 / 28

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.

External links