Kathy May Fritz (born June 18, 1956) is an American former professional
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 c ...
player.
She reached three Grand Slam quarterfinals, once at the
US Open in 1978 and twice at the
French Open
The French Open (french: Internationaux de France de tennis), also known as Roland-Garros (), is a major tennis tournament held over two weeks at the Stade Roland Garros in Paris, France, beginning in late May each year. The tournament and v ...
in 1977 and 1978. She won seven
WTA singles titles during her career, and achieved a career-high ranking of world no. 10 in 1977.
She also competed under the names Kathy May Teacher after her marriage in 1979 to tennis player
Brian Teacher
Brian David Teacher (born December 23, 1954) is a former American professional male tennis player. He reached a career-high ranking World No. 7 in 1981.
Teacher is best remembered for his singles championship at the Australian Open in 1980. Hi ...
, and Kathy May-Paben. Her son
Taylor Fritz
Taylor Harry Fritz (born October 28, 1997) is an American professional tennis player. He has a career-high singles ranking of world No. 8 by the Association of Tennis Professionals (ATP), achieved on October 10, 2022, and a doubles ranking of ...
is also a professional tennis player, and he was the 2015 ITF Junior World Champion.
Early and personal life
May was born and grew up in Beverly Hills, California.
[The Making of America's Next Great Tennis Talent]
/ref> She is the great-granddaughter of David May, founder of The May Department Stores Company
The May Department Stores Company was an American department store holding company, formerly headquartered in downtown St. Louis, Missouri. It was founded in Leadville, Colorado, Leadville, Colorado, by David May (merchant), David May in 1877, ...
(now Macy's
Macy's (originally R. H. Macy & Co.) is an American chain of high-end department stores founded in 1858 by Rowland Hussey Macy. It became a division of the Cincinnati-based Federated Department Stores in 1994, through which it is affiliated wi ...
).
In 1979, she married fellow Californian player Brian Teacher
Brian David Teacher (born December 23, 1954) is a former American professional male tennis player. He reached a career-high ranking World No. 7 in 1981.
Teacher is best remembered for his singles championship at the Australian Open in 1980. Hi ...
, also a top 10 tennis player and the 1980 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. ...
champion; they subsequently divorced. She married fireman Donn Paben in 1981 with whom she had two sons, and subsequently divorced. She later married Guy Fritz, her third husband, and had her third son Taylor Fritz
Taylor Harry Fritz (born October 28, 1997) is an American professional tennis player. He has a career-high singles ranking of world No. 8 by the Association of Tennis Professionals (ATP), achieved on October 10, 2022, and a doubles ranking of ...
.
Tennis career
She reached three Grand Slam quarterfinals, once at the US Open in 1978 and twice at the French Open in 1977 and 1978. She won seven WTA singles titles during her career, and achieved a career-high ranking of world no. 10 in 1977.
She was coached by Tony Trabert
Tony may refer to:
People and fictional characters
* Tony (given name), including a list of people and fictional characters
* Gregory Tony (born 1978), American law enforcement officer
* Motu Tony (born 1981), New Zealand international rugby leag ...
.
WTA Tour finals
Singles: 7 (7–0)
Doubles: 7 (4–3)
Grand Slam singles tournament timeline
*Note: The Australian Open was held twice in 1977, in January and December.
See also
*List of female tennis players
This is a list of female tennis players who meet one or more of the following criteria:
* Singles:
**Officially ranked among the top 25 by the Women's Tennis Association (since 1975)
**Ranked among the top 10 by an expert (e.g. A. Wallis Myers) ...
References
External links
*
*
{{DEFAULTSORT:May, Kathy
1956 births
Living people
American female tennis players
American people of German-Jewish descent
Jewish American sportspeople
Jewish tennis players
Sportspeople from Beverly Hills, California
Tennis people from California
May family
21st-century American Jews
21st-century American women