Shaun Stafford Beckish (born December 13, 1968), née Shaun Stafford, is an American former college and 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 who played on the

Women's Tennis Association The Women's Tennis Association (WTA) is the principal organizing body of women's professional tennis. It governs the WTA Tour which is the worldwide professional tennis tour for women and was founded to create a better future for women's tenni ...

(WTA) tour from 1989 to 1996. As a collegiate tennis player, Stafford won the 1988 NCAA national singles championship while playing for the

University of Florida The University of Florida (Florida or UF) is a public land-grant research university in Gainesville, Florida. It is a senior member of the State University System of Florida, traces its origins to 1853, and has operated continuously on its ...

. She won two WTA tournaments in her professional career, one in singles and the other in doubles.

Early years

Stafford was born in

Ocala, Florida Ocala ( ) is a city in and the county seat of Marion County within the northern region of Florida, United States. As of the 2020 United States Census, the city's population was 63,591, making it the 54th most populated city in Florida. Home to ...

, but moved to

Gainesville, Florida Gainesville is the county seat of Alachua County, Florida, Alachua County, Florida, and the largest city in North Central Florida, with a population of 141,085 in 2020. It is the principal city of the Gainesville metropolitan area, Florida, Gaine ...

with her family when she was 11 years old. She graduated from

Buchholz High School F. W. Buchholz High School (commonly referred to as Buchholz (pronounced ) or BHS) is a high school in Gainesville, Florida, United States. Buchholz is one of seven high schools in Alachua County. Opened in January 1971, it is the largest public ...

in Gainesville, where she played for the Buchholz Bobcats high school tennis team. As a junior in 1985, she was the high school state singles champion.Bobb Pulley,
Shaun Stafford: On the court, she's in her own league
" ''The Gainesville Sun'', p. 4B (April 1, 1986). Retrieved March 13, 2012. As a senior in 1986, Stafford won the Florida Class 4A state singles championship again, and she and partner Kim Dunn reached the finals of the state doubles championship, too. Her older sister, Nicole, played college tennis for the

Clemson Tigers The Clemson Tigers are the athletic teams that represent Clemson University, located in Clemson, South Carolina. They compete as a member of the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) Division I level (Football Bowl Subdivision (FBS) s ...

women's tennis team.

College career

Stafford accepted an athletic scholarship to attend the

in Gainesville, where she played for coach

Andy Brandi Andres V. Brandi (born c. 1952) is an American college and professional tennis coach. He is currently co-head coach of the LSU Tigers tennis team with his son, Chris Brandi. Brandi was formerly the coach of the Florida Gators women's tennis te ...

Florida Gators women's tennis The Florida Gators women's tennis team represents the University of Florida in the sport of tennis. The Gators compete in Division I of the National Collegiate Athletics Association (NCAA) and the Southeastern Conference (SEC). They play their ...

team in

National Collegiate Athletic Association The National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) is a nonprofit organization that regulates student athletics among about 1,100 schools in the United States, Canada, and Puerto Rico. It also organizes the athletic programs of colleges an ...

(NCAA) competition in 1987 and 1988.
Florida Women's Tennis 2011–12 Media Supplement
'', University Athletic Association, Gainesville, Florida, pp. 48, 49, 50, 51, 55, 56, 58, 60, 61, 62, 68, 70, 71, 72 (2011). Retrieved March 13, 2012. As a s freshman, she was an individual singles finalist in the 1987 NCAA tournament, losing to Patty Fendick of the

Stanford Cardinal The Stanford Cardinal are the athletic teams that represent Stanford University. As of June, 2022, Stanford's program has won 131 NCAA team championships. Stanford has won at least one NCAA team championship each academic year for 46 consecutive ...

women's tennis team. As a sophomore, Stafford was the No. 1 singles player for the Lady Gators' NCAA national runner-up team in 1988.Melissa Isaacson,
UF Women Fall Short In Final, Cardinal Pull Upset In NCAA Tennis
" ''Orlando Sentinel'' (May 16, 1988). Retrieved March 13, 2012. She won the individual NCAA singles championship by defeating her Gator teammate Halle Cioffi, 7–6, 6–4, by relying on her strong serve and forehand in the tournament final in 1988. She previously defeated top-seeded

Ronni Reis Ronni Reis (sometimes spelled Ronnie Reis; also Ronni Reis-Bernstein) (born May 10, 1966) is an American former tennis player. Reis won three gold medals at the 1985 Maccabiah Games in Israel, the doubles bronze medal at the 1986 Goodwill Games, ...

of the

Miami Hurricanes The Miami Hurricanes (known informally as The U, UM, or The 'Canes) are the intercollegiate sports teams that represent the University of Miami in Coral Gables, Florida. The Hurricanes compete in Division I of the National Collegiate Athletic A ...

women's team, 6–1, 7–6, in the 1988 NCAA semifinal. She was a two-time All-American and a two-time first-team All-

Southeastern Conference The Southeastern Conference (SEC) is an American college athletic conference whose member institutions are located primarily in the South Central and Southeastern United States. Its fourteen members include the flagship public universities of ...

(SEC) selection, and was also the recipient of the 1987–88 Broderick Award (now the Honda Sports Award) as the outstanding college women's tennis player in the country. She was inducted into the University of Florida Athletic Hall of Fame as a "Gator Great" in 1999.

Professional career

Stafford turned professional in 1989. She won two WTA tournaments: the 1992 Taiwan Open singles title, and the 1993

Internationaux de Strasbourg The Internationaux de Strasbourg (formally known as the Strasbourg Grand Prix) is a professional women's tennis tournament held in Strasbourg, France. It is an International-level outdoor event of the WTA Tour played on clay courts. The tournament ...

doubles title with partner

Andrea Temesvári Andrea Temesvári (born 26 April 1966) is a former professional tennis player from Hungary. She won the Italian Open at age sixteen, but injuries would later hamper her career. Born in Budapest, Temesvári began playing tennis at age nine. Sh ...

. She and partner

Cammy MacGregor Cammy MacGregor (born October 11, 1968) is an American former tennis player from the mid-1980s until 1995. Her elder sister Cynthia Cynthia is a feminine given name of Greek origin: , , "from Mount Cynthus" on Delos island. The name has been ...

were also the runners-up in the 1993 Melbourne Open doubles tournament, losing in the final to Jill Hetherington and

Kathy Rinaldi Kathy Rinaldi-Stunkel (born March 24, 1967) is a former professional American tennis player, who retired in September 1997. In her career, she won three singles and two doubles titles on the WTA Tour, and reached the semifinals of the 1985 Wimble ...

. Her highest world singles ranking was No. 48 on January 22, 1990; her highest world doubles ranking was No. 33 on May 16, 1994.WTATour.org, Players
Shaun Stafford
Retrieved May 1, 2018. Her best

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 ...

singles tournament was the fourth round (round of sixteen) of the

1994 French Open The 1994 French Open was a tennis tournament that took place on the outdoor clay courts at the Stade Roland Garros in Paris, France. The tournament was held from 23 May until 5 June. It was the 98th staging of the French Open, and the second Gra ...

; her best Grand Slam doubles performance was reaching the quarterfinals (round of eight) of the 1994 Australian Open. Her career earnings totaled $786,504. Stafford and partner

Jack Waite Jack Waite (born May 1, 1969) is an American former 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 ra ...

participated in the mixed doubles competition at the 1995 Pan American Games in

Mar del Plata, Argentina Mar del Plata is a city on the coast of the Atlantic Ocean, in Buenos Aires Province, Argentina. It is the seat of General Pueyrredón district. Mar del Plata is the second largest city in Buenos Aires Province. The name "Mar del Plata" is a sh ...

, and won the gold medal.Antonya English,
Santa Fe CC honors Adent
" ''The Gainesville Sun'', p. 5C (March 26, 1995). Retrieved March 13, 2012. She is remembered for being an emotional and verbally expressive player on the WTA tour.

Life after playing career

After retiring from WTA Tour, she was an assistant coach for the

Duke Blue Devils The Duke Blue Devils are the intercollegiate athletic teams that represent Duke University, located in Durham, North Carolina. Duke's athletics department features 27 varsity teams that all compete at the National Collegiate Athletic Associatio ...

women's tennis team from 1997 to 1998. Duke reached the finals of the 1998 NCAA national championship tournament. Stafford married physician Michael Beckish in July 1996. They live in

Williamston, South Carolina Williamston is a town in Anderson County, South Carolina, United States. The population was 3,934 at the 2010 census. Geography Williamston is located in northeastern Anderson County at (34.617699, -82.479256). The twin towns of Pelzer and Wes ...

, a suburb of Greenville.

Popular culture

In the movie '' King Richard'', about Venus and Serena Williams's father, her character was played by

Kaitlyn Christian Kaitlyn Christian (born January 13, 1992) is a tennis player from the United States. Christian is primarily a doubles player. She has a career-high doubles ranking of world No. 38, achieved in February 2019, and a career-high singles ranking of ...

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Stafford, Shaun 1968 births Living people American female tennis players Florida Gators women's tennis players Sportspeople from Gainesville, Florida Sportspeople from Ocala, Florida Tennis players at the 1995 Pan American Games Pan American Games medalists in tennis Pan American Games gold medalists for the United States People from Williamston, South Carolina Medalists at the 1995 Pan American Games Tennis people from Florida