Carole Caldwell Graebner (née Caldwell; June 24, 1943 – November 19, 2008) was an American

tennis Tennis is a racket sport that is played either individually against a single opponent ( singles) or between two teams of two players each ( doubles). Each player uses a tennis racket that is strung with cord to strike a hollow rubber ball ...

player. According to Lance Tingay of ''The Daily Telegraph'' and the ''Daily Mail'', Graebner was ranked in the world top 10 in 1964 and 1965, reaching a career high of World No. 4 in these rankings in 1964. Graebner was included in the year-end top 10 rankings issued by the

United States Lawn Tennis Association The United States Tennis Association (USTA) is the national governing body for tennis in the United States. A not-for-profit organization with more than 700,000 members, it invests 100% of its proceeds to promote and develop the growth of tennis, ...

from 1961 through 1965 and in 1967. She was the third-ranked U.S. player in 1964 and 1965. She was ranked U.S. No. 1 in doubles in 1963.

Career summary

Graebner paired with Nancy Richey to win doubles titles at the U.S. National Championships in 1965 (defeating

Billie Jean King Billie Jean King (née Moffitt; born November 22, 1943) is an American former world No. 1 tennis player. King won 39 major titles: 12 in singles, 16 in women's doubles, and 11 in mixed doubles. King was a member of the victorious United States ...

and

Karen Hantze Susman Karen Susman (née Hantze; born December 11, 1942) is a retired female tennis player from the United States. She won the 1962 women's singles title at Wimbledon, defeating Věra Pužejová Suková in the final 6–4, 6–4, but did not defend he ...

in the final) and the

Australian Championships The Australian Open is a tennis tournament held annually at Melbourne Park in Melbourne, Australia. The tournament is the first of the four Grand Slam tennis events held each year, preceding the French Open, Wimbledon, and the US Open. Th ...

in 1966 (defeating Margaret Court and Lesley Turner Bowrey in the final). Graebner lost to Maria Bueno in the singles final of the 1964 U.S. Championships. Graebner won the doubles title at the U.S. Women's Clay Court Championships in 1964 and 1965. In the singles event, she was a runner-up in 1962 and 1964 to

Donna Floyd Donna Floyd Fales (née Floyd; born October 14, 1940) is a former American amateur tennis player. She was ranked in the Top 10 in the United States from 1960 to 1963, and from 1965 to 1966. Biography She was born in Atlanta, Georgia and moved t ...

and Nancy Richey respectively. In 1961 at the tournament in

Cincinnati Cincinnati ( ) is a city in the U.S. state of Ohio and the county seat of Hamilton County. Settled in 1788, the city is located at the northern side of the confluence of the Licking and Ohio rivers, the latter of which marks the state line wit ...

, Caldwell won the doubles title with Cathie Gagel and lost the singles final to

Peachy Kellmeyer Fern 'Peachy' Kellmeyer (born February 19, 1944 in West Virginia, United States) is a retired tennis player and current tennis administrator who helped change the face of women's tennis. Kellmeyer is an alumnus of Florida Atlantic University. A j ...

. Caldwell won the

Pacific Southwest The Pacific Southwest is a region of the United States. In its broadest definition, it encompasses five states: California, Arizona, Hawaii, Utah, and part of Nevada. The region is one of cultural diversity seen all over. Several major urban area ...

singles title in 1962 and 1965 and won a gold medal in doubles at the 1963

Pan American Games The Pan American Games (also known colloquially as the Pan Am Games) is a continental multi-sport event in the Americas featuring summer sports, in which thousands of athletes participate in a variety of competitions. The competition is held ...

. Graebner was on the first U.S. Federation Cup team and attended California State University, Los Angeles. After her playing career ended, Graebner was a radio and television commentator and a vice president with ''Tennis Week'' magazine. She also served in sales and administration with Sports Investors, Inc. Graebner was the chair of the Fed Cup Committee and vice chair of the Wightman Cup Committee.

Awards and honors

She was the recipient of the USTA Service Bowl Award in 1989 and the Sarah Palfrey Danzig Award in 1991. She was named Eastern Tennis Association Woman of the Year in 1989. In 1997, she was inducted into the ITA Women's Collegiate Tennis Hall of Fame.

Personal

Caldwell was born in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania and grew up in Santa Monica, California. On July 11, 1964, she married American tennis star Clark Graebner. They had two children, a daughter Cameron and a son Clark. The couple separated in 1975 but never divorced. Graebner died of cancer in New York City on November 19, 2008, aged 65.

Grand Slam finals

Singles: 1 (1 runner-up)

Doubles: 2 (2 titles)

Grand Slam singles tournament timeline

References

External links

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Caldwell Graebner, Carole 1943 births 2008 deaths American female tennis players Australian Championships (tennis) champions Deaths from cancer in New York (state) California State University, Los Angeles alumni United States National champions (tennis) Tennis players from Santa Monica, California Tennis players from Pittsburgh Grand Slam (tennis) champions in women's doubles Pan American Games medalists in tennis Pan American Games gold medalists for the United States Tennis players at the 1963 Pan American Games 20th-century American women 21st-century American women Medalists at the 1963 Pan American Games