Luanne Spadea-Nachmann (born December 28, 1972) is a 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 ...

player from the United States.

Biography

Spadea, who grew up in

Boca Raton, Florida Boca Raton ( ; es, Boca Ratón, link=no, ) is a city in Palm Beach County, Florida, United States. It was first incorporated on August 2, 1924, as "Bocaratone," and then incorporated as "Boca Raton" in 1925. The population was 97,422 in the ...

, is the elder sister of tennis player

Vince Spadea Vincent Spadea (born July 19, 1974) is a former professional tennis player from the United States. He reached a career high tenth position in the ATP Champions Race in April 2003, as well as a career-high 18th ATP ranking in February 2005. He h ...

. Her mother Hilda is Colombian and she is of Italian descent on her father's side. While still a junior she began competing in WTA Tour main draws late in 1987, aged 14. In 1989, Spadea was the

Orange Bowl The Orange Bowl is an annual American college football bowl game played in the Miami metropolitan area. It has been played annually since January 1, 1935, making it, along with the Sugar Bowl and the Sun Bowl, the second-oldest bowl game in th ...

(18 & Under) champion, her third Orange Bowl title, having earlier won the event in the 12s and 14s age divisions. She won her first ITF title in 1990 in

Key Biscayne Key Biscayne ( es, Cayo Vizcaíno, link=no) is an island located in Miami-Dade County, Florida, located between the Atlantic Ocean and Biscayne Bay. It is the southernmost of the barrier islands along the Atlantic coast of Florida, and lies sout ...

, an $25,000 event. On the WTA Tour, she achieved her biggest success as a doubles player, reaching a career-high doubles ranking of 98 in the world. She was a doubles finalist at São Paulo in 1990 partnering

Mary Pierce Mary Caroline Pierce (born 15 January 1975) is a retired tennis professional who represented France internationally in team competitions and the Olympics. She was born in Canada to an American father and a French mother, and holds citizenship of ...

and the following year made the singles quarter-finals of the same tournament. All of her

grand slam Grand Slam most often refers to: * Grand Slam (tennis), one player or pair winning all four major annual tournaments, or the tournaments themselves Grand Slam or Grand slam may also refer to: Games and sports * Grand slam, winning category te ...

main draw appearances were in women's doubles. After finishing up on tour in 1994 she played collegiate tennis for

Duke University Duke University is a private research university in Durham, North Carolina. Founded by Methodists and Quakers in the present-day city of Trinity in 1838, the school moved to Durham in 1892. In 1924, tobacco and electric power industrialist James ...

. She played alongside sister Diana while at Duke and in 1997 earned

All-America The All-America designation is an annual honor bestowed upon an amateur sports person from the United States who is considered to be one of the best amateurs in their sport. Individuals receiving this distinction are typically added to an All-Am ...

n honours. Married to Marc Nachmann, Spadea lives in Florida with son Alec and daughter Elle, who are junior golfers.

WTA Tour finals

Doubles (0–1)

References

External links

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Spadea, Luanne 1972 births Living people American female tennis players Tennis players from Florida Sportspeople from Boca Raton, Florida American sportspeople of Colombian descent American people of Italian descent Duke Blue Devils women's tennis players