Chanda Rubin (born February 18, 1976) is an American former top-10 professional tennis player. During her career, she reached the semifinals at the

1996 Australian Open The 1996 Australian Open was a tennis tournament played on Hardcourt, outdoor hard courts at Melbourne Park in Melbourne in Victoria (state), Victoria in Australia. It was the 84th edition of the Australian Open and was held from 15 through 28 Jan ...

, the quarterfinals of the

French Open The French Open (), also known as Roland-Garros (), is a tennis tournament organized by the French Tennis Federation annually at Stade Roland Garros in Paris, France. It is chronologically the second of the four Grand Slam (tennis), Grand Slam ...

three times, and had wins over world No. 1s

Serena Williams Serena Jameka Williams (born September 26, 1981) is an American former professional tennis player. She was ranked as the List of WTA number 1 ranked singles tennis players, world No. 1 in women's singles by the Women's Tennis Association (WT ...

and

Martina Hingis Martina Hingis (, ; born 30 September 1980) is a Swiss former professional tennis player. She was ranked as the world No. 1 in women's singles by the Women's Tennis Association (WTA) for 209 weeks ( fifth-most of all time) and as the world No. ...

. In doubles, she won the

with

Arantxa Sánchez Vicario Aránzazu Isabel María "Arantxa" Sánchez Vicario (; born 18 December 1971) is a Spanish former professional tennis player. She was ranked as the world No. 1 in women's singles by the Women's Tennis Association (WTA) for 12 weeks, as well as ...

and alongside

Sandrine Testud Sandrine Testud (born 3 April 1972) is a former professional tennis player from France. Career Testud broke into top 20 singles rankings in July 1997. On February 7, 2000, she became the sixth Frenchwoman after Françoise Dürr, Mary Pierce, ...

, were runners-up at the 1999 US Open. She is also known to have played at the very first official match of the Arthur Ashe Stadium, at the 1997 US Open, in which she faced

Tamarine Tanasugarn Tamarine Tanasugarn (, , ; born 24 May 1977) is a Thai former tennis player. Born in Los Angeles, she turned professional in 1994, and has been in the top 20 in both singles and doubles. Tanasugarn's career-high WTA ranking is No. 19, achiev ...

Thailand Thailand, officially the Kingdom of Thailand and historically known as Siam (the official name until 1939), is a country in Southeast Asia on the Mainland Southeast Asia, Indochinese Peninsula. With a population of almost 66 million, it spa ...

and lost in two sets.

Early life and family

Rubin was born to Edward D. Rubin, a state judge in

Louisiana Louisiana ( ; ; ) is a state in the Deep South and South Central regions of the United States. It borders Texas to the west, Arkansas to the north, and Mississippi to the east. Of the 50 U.S. states, it ranks 31st in area and 25 ...

, and Bernadette Fontenot Rubin. She was the middle child of three siblings. As a child, she was taught the sport of tennis by Nehemiah Atkinson. She married Mireyou Hollier in April 2015, and their daughter was born in October 2016. In early 2016, her younger brother, Edward Rubin Jr., died aged 38 at his home in

Lafayette, Louisiana Lafayette ( , ) is the most populous city in and parish seat of Lafayette Parish, Louisiana, Lafayette Parish in the U.S. state of Louisiana, located along the Vermilion River (Louisiana), Vermilion River. It is Louisiana's List of municipaliti ...

Tennis career

In 1992, Rubin won the girls' singles title 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 * W ...

, and reached a peak ranking of world No. 2 in the ITF Junior rankings. Rubin's breakthrough season on the professional tour was 1995. In the third round of the

, she made a comeback from 0–5, 0–40 down in the third set against 5th seed

Jana Novotná Jana Novotná (; 2 October 1968 – 19 November 2017) was a Czech professional tennis player. She was ranked world No. 2 in women's singles by the Women's Tennis Association (WTA) in 1997, and as the world No. 1 in women's doubles for 67 weeks. ...

, saving nine match points before eventually winning 8–6. She went on to reach her maiden Grand Slam quarterfinal, losing to world No. 1

, the tournament's defending champion and eventual runner-up. In the second round of

, Rubin defeated

Patricia Hy-Boulais Patricia Hy-Boulais (born 22 August 1965) is a former tennis player. She turned professional on 12 October 1986. Early in her career she represented Hong Kong (since the beginning until the end of the 1987 season). She became a citizen of Canada ...

7–6, 6–7, 17–15, the longest women's match in Wimbledon history. At the LA Tennis Championships in August, she defeated world No. 8

Gabriela Sabatini Gabriela Beatriz Sabatini (; born 16 May 1970) is an Argentine former professional tennis player. A former world No. 3 in both singles and doubles, Sabatini was one of the leading players from the mid-1980s to the mid-1990s, amassing 41 titles a ...

and world No. 2 Sánchez Vicario, on her way to the final, where she lost to world No. 3

Conchita Martínez Conchita Martínez Bernat (born 16 April 1972) is a Spanish former professional tennis player and current coach. She was the first Spaniard to win the women's singles title at Wimbledon, doing so in 1994. Martínez also was the runner-up at th ...

in three sets. In 1996, Rubin reached the

Australian Open The Australian Open (stylized ΛO) is a tennis tournament organised by Tennis Australia annually at Melbourne Park in Melbourne, Victoria (state), Victoria, Australia. It is chronologically the first of the four Grand Slam (tennis), Grand Sl ...

semifinals, defeating Sabatini in the fourth round and Sánchez Vicario 6–4, 2–6, 16–14 in the quarterfinals. The 48 games played in their quarterfinal were the most for a women's match at the Australian Open, a record which would be tied by

Lauren Davis Lauren Davis (born October 9, 1993) is an American professional tennis player. Known for her aggressive backhand, speed, and clay-court strength, she has won two singles titles on the WTA Tour and reached a career-high singles WTA rankings, ran ...

and

Simona Halep Simona Halep (; born 27 September 1991) is a Romanian former professional tennis player. She was ranked as the List of WTA number 1 ranked singles tennis players, world No. 1 in women's singles by the Women's Tennis Association (WTA) for 64 w ...

2018 Events January * January 1 – Bulgaria takes over the Presidency of the Council of the European Union, after the Estonian presidency. * January 4 – SPLM-IO rebels loyal to Chan Garang Lual start a raid against Juba, capital of ...

. Rubin lost in the semifinals to eventual champion

Monica Seles Monica Seles (born December 2, 1973) is a Serbian–American former professional tennis player. She was ranked as the List of WTA number 1 ranked singles tennis players, world No. 1 in women's singles by the Women's Tennis Association (WTA) for ...

6–7, 6–1, 7–5, despite holding a 5–2 lead in the third set. A few days later, she and Sánchez Vicario won the doubles title, defeating third-seeded

Lindsay Davenport Lindsay Ann Davenport Leach (born June 8, 1976) is an American former professional tennis player. She was ranked as the world No. 1 in women's singles by the Women's Tennis Association (WTA) for 98 weeks (including as the year-end No. 1 four ...

and

Mary Joe Fernández Mary Joe Fernández Godsick (born María José Fernández; August 19, 1971) is an American former professional tennis player, who reached a career-high ranking of world No. 4 in both singles and doubles. In singles, Fernández was the runner-up ...

in the final. Rubin rose to a career-high singles ranking of No. 6 after reaching the final of the 1996 Miami Open where she lost to world No. 1

Steffi Graf Stefanie Maria Graf ( , ; born 14 June 1969) is a German former professional tennis player. She was ranked as the List of WTA number 1 ranked singles tennis players, world No. 1 in women's singles by the Women's Tennis Association (WTA) for a r ...

. During the tournament, Rubin fractured a bone in her right hand. She eventually underwent surgery in August and missed the majority of the rest of the season. Representing the United States, Rubin won the 1997

Hopman Cup The Hopman Cup is an international tennis tournament that plays mixed teams (one male and one female) on a country-by-country basis. It was first held in Perth, Western Australia each year from 1989 to 2019, played on indoor hardcourt, before b ...

alongside

Justin Gimelstob Justin Jeremy Gimelstob (born January 26, 1977) is a retired American tennis player. Gimelstob has been a resident of Morristown, New Jersey, and as of 2009 lived in Santa Monica, California. He was the top-ranked boy in his age group at the ag ...

. She remained undefeated through three ties and the final in her singles matches. At the Linz Open, Rubin defeated world No. 4

on the way to her first singles title. In Indian Wells in 1999, Rubin defeated both

Amanda Coetzer Amanda Coetzer (born 22 October 1971, in Hoopstad) is a South African former professional tennis player. Coetzer finished in the WTA rankings top 20 for ten consecutive seasons (1992–2001), peaking at world No. 3. She reached three Grand Sla ...

and world No. 1,

, in straight sets on her way to the semifinals. She also won her second career title at the Hobart International. Rubin underwent arthroscopic surgery on her left knee in 2001 after the Australian Open, and then suffered a left Achilles tendon injury in April, thereby missing the majority of the season. In 2002, Rubin underwent surgery on her left knee again, missing the first half of the season. In August, she defeated Lindsay Davenport, Jelena Dokic and world No. 1

on her way to the title in

Los Angeles Los Angeles, often referred to by its initials L.A., is the List of municipalities in California, most populous city in the U.S. state of California, and the commercial, Financial District, Los Angeles, financial, and Culture of Los Angeles, ...

. Her upset of Williams ended the top-ranked player's winning streak of 21 matches, a stretch that had carried Williams through titles at the

and

. At the 2003 Miami Open, Rubin defeated

Amélie Mauresmo Amélie Simone Mauresmo (; born 5 July 1979) is a French former professional tennis player, tennis coach, and tournament director. She was ranked as the world No. 1 in women's singles by the Women's Tennis Association (WTA) for 39 weeks. Maur ...

and

Justine Henin Justine Henin (; born 1 June 1982) is a Belgian former professional tennis player. She was ranked as the List of WTA number 1 ranked singles tennis players, world No. 1 in women's singles by the Women's Tennis Association (WTA) for 117 weeks, i ...

in straight sets en route to the semifinals, after which she peaked again at No. 6 in the rankings. She reached her third and final French Open quarterfinal and also won the

Eastbourne International The Eastbourne Open (also known as Eastbourne International, formerly Rothesay) is a tennis tournament on the WTA Tour and the ATP Tour held at the Devonshire Park Lawn Tennis Club, Eastbourne, United Kingdom. Held since 1974, it is classified as ...

title for a second time, defeating Jennifer Capriati in the semifinals and

in the final. It would be Rubin's last career title. Rubin missed the majority of the 2004–2006 seasons due to the persistent knee injury. Her last professional match was in October 2006 in

Quebec City Quebec City is the capital city of the Provinces and territories of Canada, Canadian province of Quebec. As of July 2021, the city had a population of 549,459, and the Census Metropolitan Area (including surrounding communities) had a populati ...

. Rubin was inducted into the Southern Tennis Hall of Fame in 2009 and the Louisiana Sports Hall of Fame in 2013.

Post-retirement

In 2013, Rubin completed a four-year Bachelor of Liberal Arts in Extension Studies with a concentration in Economics at

Harvard Extension School Harvard Extension School (HES) is the Continuing education, continuing education School of Harvard University, a Private university, private Ivy League research university in Cambridge, Massachusetts, United States. Established in 1910, it is o ...

, graduating

cum laude Latin honors are a system of Latin phrases used in some colleges and universities to indicate the level of distinction with which an academic degree has been earned. The system is primarily used in the United States. It is also used in some Sout ...

. In recent years, she has developed a career in broadcasting, working for Tennis Channel as a presenter and commentator.

Awards

* 1995: ATA Athlete of the Year * 1995: ''TENNIS'' Magazine Most Improved Player of the Year * 1995: US Tennis Association Female Athlete of the Year * 1995: WTA Most Improved Player of the Year * 1997: Arthur Ashe Leadership Award * 2002: Family Circle Player Who Makes a Difference Award * 2003: USTA Service Bowl Award * 2008: International Lawn Tennis Danzig Trophy

Grand Slam tournament finals

Doubles: 2 (1 title, 1 runner-up)

WTA Tour finals

Singles: 19 (7 titles, 12 runner-ups)

Doubles: 17 (10 titles, 7 runner-ups)

Singles performance timeline

Wins over top 10 players

References

External links

* * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Rubin, Chanda 1976 births Living people African-American tennis players American female tennis players Australian Open (tennis) champions Hopman Cup competitors Olympic tennis players for the United States Sportspeople from Lafayette, Louisiana Tennis players from Louisiana Tennis players at the 2004 Summer Olympics Wimbledon junior champions Grand Slam (tennis) champions in women's doubles Grand Slam (tennis) champions in girls' singles American tennis commentators Harvard Extension School alumni Tennis players at the 1995 Pan American Games Medalists at the 1995 Pan American Games Pan American Games silver medalists for the United States in tennis Pan American Games bronze medalists for the United States in tennis 21st-century African-American sportswomen 20th-century African-American sportswomen 20th-century American sportswomen 21st-century American sportswomen