Jennifer Russell (born Jennifer Rebecca Embry, August 7, 1978) is an American former professional

tennis player 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 cove ...

. Russell was ranked in top 50 for doubles and as high as number 41, in November 2005. Before joining th

WTA Tour The WTA Tour is a worldwide top-tier tennis tour for women organized by the Women's Tennis Association. The second-tier tour is the WTA 125K series, and third-tier is the ITF Women's Circuit. The men's equivalent is the ATP Tour. WTA Tour tourna ...

, she had won 13 titles on the

ITF Women's Circuit The ITF Women's World Tennis Tour, previously known as the ITF Women's Circuit, is a series of professional tennis tournaments run by the International Tennis Federation for female professional tennis players. History It serves as a developmental ...

. She won her first WTA doubles title at the

Gaz de France Stars Gaz de France Stars, also known by its non-sponsored name, the Hasselt Cup, was a women's tennis tournament held in Hasselt, Belgium. Held from 2004 till 2006, this WTA Tour event was a Tier III-tournament and was played on indoor hardcourts. ...

in 2004, partnered with

Mara Santangelo Mara Santangelo (born 28 June 1981) is a retired tennis player from Italy and Grand Slam champion in double. Tennis career Santangelo reached the fourth round at the 2004 Australian Open, defeating 16th-seeded Magüi Serna, Barbara Schett, a ...

. In 2004, they reached the third round at

Wimbledon Wimbledon most often refers to: * Wimbledon, London, a district of southwest London * Wimbledon Championships, the oldest tennis tournament in the world and one of the four Grand Slam championships Wimbledon may also refer to: Places London * ...

, before being beaten by

Martina Navratilova Martina Navratilova ( cs, Martina Navrátilová ; ; born October 18, 1956) is a Czech–American, former professional tennis player. Widely considered among the greatest tennis players of all time, Navratilova won 18 major singles titles, 31 maj ...

and

Lisa Raymond Lisa Raymond (born August 10, 1973) is an American retired professional tennis player who has achieved notable success in Doubles (tennis), doubles tennis. Raymond has eleven Grand Slam (tennis), Grand Slam titles to her name: six in women's do ...

. In 2005, they reached the quarterfinals at the

Australian Open 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 ...

. Russell is a graduate of

Purdue University Purdue University is a public land-grant research university in West Lafayette, Indiana, and the flagship campus of the Purdue University system. The university was founded in 1869 after Lafayette businessman John Purdue donated land and money ...

and was one of the highest ranked professional players ever to have also been a college graduate player. Jennifer Embry married Jeff Russell on May 1, 2004. She now has two children, Isabella Mae, born 2006, and Chloe Nicole, born 2009.

References

External links

* * 1978 births Living people American female tennis players 21st-century American women Tennis players from Houston {{US-tennis-bio-stub