Career

Jordan turned professional in 1979. Her best performance in a Grand Slam singles tournament was runner-up at the 1983 Australian Open, where she lost to Martina Navratilova in straight sets..

She was the first player to defeat Chris Evert before the semifinals of a Grand Slam singles tournament. Jordan defeated Evert 6-1, 7-6 in the third round of Wimbledon in 1983 after Evert had reached at least the semifinals of her first 34 Grand Slam singles tournaments.

In women's doubles, Jordan won five Grand Slam titles, four of which were in partnership with Anne Smith. She also won a career Grand Slam in women's doubles, winning the 1980 French Open, 1980 and 1985 Wimbledon, 1981 US Open, and 1981 Australian Open.

In the Wimbledon final on July 6, 1985, Jordan and Elizabeth Smylie teamed to snap the 109-match winning streak of Navratilova and Pam Shriver by defeating them in three sets..

In mixed doubles, Jordan won two Grand Slam titles, 1986 French Open and 1986 Wimbledon, both of which were in partnership with Ken Flach.

Jordan retired in 1991. Her highest singles rank was world number five in 1984 and her highest doubles rank was world number 6 in 1991. She won several awards during her career, including 1979 WTA Most Impressive Newcomer Award, 1980 WTA Doubles Team of the Year Award with Smith, 1984 WTA Most Improved Player of the Year Award, and 1991 WTA Player Service Award

After retiring, Jordan returned to Stanford University and received a B.A. in political science in 1991. She was elected vice-president of the WTA in 1992. She also served as chairperson of the WTA Drug Testing Committee and served on WTA executive, deferred compensation, finance/marketing, and insurance Committees through 1992.

In 2002, Jordan was presented with a Mentor Award by Martina Navratilova, on behalf of the WTA Tour, in recognition of her contribution to the Partners for Success program and to the sport of tennis at large.

Jordan was nicknamed "KJ."

Personal life

Jordan was one of the top juniors during the 1970s. She also was a top high school basketball player, being named to the All-Conference basketball team while at Upper Merion Area High School in King of Prussia, Pennsylvania. She received an athletic scholarship to Stanford University in 1978. While at Stanford, she won the 1979 AIAW Championships in singles and in doubles with her sister, Barbara Jordan. Her sister won the 1979 Australian Open women's singles title. Her father, Bob Jordan, was instrumental in the development of the WTA deferred compensation plan.

Major finals

Grand Slam finals

Singles: 1 (0 titles, 1 runner-up)

Outcome	Year	Championship	Surface	Opponent	Score
Runner-up	1983	Australian Open	Grass	Martina Navratilova	6-2, 7-6(7-5)

Women's doubles: 11 (5 titles, 6 runners-up)

Outcome	Year	Championship	Surface	Partner	Opponents	Score
Winner	1980	French Open	Clay	Anne Smith	Ivanna Madruga Adriana Villagrán	6-1, 6-0
Winner	1980	Wimbledon	Grass	Anne Smith	Rosemary Casals Wendy Turnbull	4-6, 7-5, 6-1
Runner-up	1981	Wimbledon	Grass	Anne Smith	Martina Navratilova Pam Shriver	6-3, 7-6(8-6)
Winner	1981	US Open	Hard	Anne Smith	Rosemary Casals Wendy Turnbull	6-3, 6-3
Winner	1981	Australian Open	Grass	Anne Smith	Martina Navratilova Pam Shriver	6-2, 7-5
Runner-up	1982	Wimbledon	Grass	Anne Smith	Martina Navratilova Pam Shriver	6-4, 6-1
Runner-up	1983	French Open	Clay	Anne Smith	Rosalyn Fairbank Candy Reynolds	5-7, 7-5, 6-2
Runner-up	1984	Wimbledon	Grass	Anne Smith	Martina Navratilova Pam Shriver	6-3, 6-4
Winner	1985	Wimbledon	Grass	Elizabeth Smylie	Martina Navratilova Pam Shriver	5-7, 6-3, 6-4
Runner-up	1987	US Open	Hard	Elizabeth Smylie	Martina Navratilova Pam Shriver	5-7, 6-4, 6-2
Runner-up	1990	Wimbledon	Grass	Elizabeth Smylie	Jana Novotná Helena Suková	6-4, 6-1

Mixed doubles: 3 (2 titles, 1 runner-up)

Outcome	Year	Championship	Surface	Partner	Opponents	Score
Runner-up	1984	Wimbledon	Grass	Steve Denton	Wendy Turnbull John Lloyd	6-3, 6-3
Winner	1986	French Open	Clay	Ken Flach	Rosalyn Fairbank Mark Edmondson	3-6, 7-6(7-3), 6-3
Winner	1986	Wimbledon	Grass	Ken Flach	Martina Navratilova Heinz Günthardt	6-3, 7-6(9-7)

Year-End Championships finals

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

Outcome	Year	Location	Surface	Partner	Opponents	Score
Runner-up	1982	New York City	Carpet	Anne Smith	Martina Navratilova Pam Shriver	6-4, 6-3
Winner	1990	New York City	Carpet	Elizabeth Smylie	Mercedes Paz Arantxa Sánchez Vicario	7-6(7-4), 6-4

WTA Career Finals

Singles 13 (3-10)

Winner — Legend Grand Slam tournaments (0-1) WTA Tour Championships (0-0) Virginia Slims, Avon, Other (3-9)

Titles by Surface Hard (1-1) Grass (0-3) Clay (0-0) Carpet (2-6)

Outcome	No.	Date	Tournament	Surface	Opponent	Score
Winner	1.	January 8, 1979	San Antonio	Carpet	Linda Siegel	6-2, 7-5
Winner	2.	March 12, 1979	Orlando	Hard	Regina Maršíková	4-6, 6-1, 6-4
Runner-up	1.	August 13, 1979	Richmond	Carpet	Martina Navratilova	1-6, 3-6
Winner	3.	March 15, 1982	Boston	Carpet	Wendy Turnbull	7-5, 1-6, 6-4
Runner-up	2.	April 25, 1983	Atlanta	Hard	Pam Shriver	2-6, 0-6
Runner-up	3.	September 19, 1983	Richmond	Carpet	Rosalyn Fairbank	4-6, 7-5, 4-6
Runner-up	4.	October 3, 1983	Detroit	Carpet	Virginia Ruzici	6-4, 4-6, 2-6
Runner-up	5.	November 21, 1983	Sydney	Grass	Jo Durie	3-6, 5-5
Runner-up	6.	November 28, 1983	Australian Open	Grass	Martina Navratilova	2-6, 6-7(5-7)
Runner-up	7.	March 19, 1984	Dallas	Carpet	Hana Mandlíková	6-7(3-7), 6-3, 1-6
Runner-up	8.	June 18, 1984	Eastbourne	Grass	Martina Navratilova	4-6, 1-6
Runner-up	9.	May 13, 1985	Melbourne	Carpet	Pam Shriver	4-6, 4-6
Runner-up	10.	February 24, 1986	Oakland	Carpet	Chris Evert-Lloyd	2-6, 4-6

Doubles 78 (42-36)

Winner — Legend Grand Slam tournaments (6-6) WTA Tour Championships (1-1) Tier I (0-0) Tier II (1-0) Tier III (1-0) Tier IV (2-1) Tier V (0-0) Virginia Slims, Avon, Other (31-28)

Titles by Surface Hard (16-3) Grass (4-9) Clay (6-7) Carpet (16-17)

Outcome	No.	Date	Tournament	Surface	Partner	Opponent	Score
Winner	1.	January 8, 1979	San Antonio	Carpet	Wendy White	Bunny Bruning Valerie Ziegenfuss	6-2, 6-2
Winner	2.	August 6, 1979	Indianapolis	Clay	Anne Smith	Penny Johnson Paula Smith	6-1, 6-0
Runner-up	1.	January 21, 1980	Chicago	Carpet	Sylvia Hanika	Billie Jean King Martina Navratilova	3-6, 4-6
Runner-up	2.	February 4, 1980	Los Angeles	Carpet	Anne Smith	Rosemary Casals Martina Navratilova	6-7, 2-6
Runner-up	3.	February 18, 1980	Detroit	Carpet	Anne Smith	Billie Jean King Ilana Kloss	6-3, 3-6, 2-6
Winner	3.	April 7, 1980	Hilton Head Island	Clay	Anne Smith	Candy Reynolds Paula Smith	6-2, 6-1
Runner-up	4.	April 14, 1980	Amelia Island	Clay	Pam Shriver	Rosemary Casals Ilana Kloss	6-7, 6-7
Winner	4.	May 26, 1980	French Open	Clay	Anne Smith	Ivanna Madruga Adriana Villagrán	6-1, 6-0
Winner	5.	June 16, 1980	Eastbourne	Grass	Anne Smith	Pam Shriver Betty Stöve	6-4, 6-1
Winner	6.	June 23, 1980	Wimbledon	Grass	Anne Smith	Rosemary Casals Wendy Turnbull	4-6, 7-5, 6-1
Winner	7.	September 15, 1980	Las Vegas	Hard (I)	Anne Smith	Martina Navratilova Betty Stöve	2-6, 6-4, 6-3
Runner-up	5.	September 22, 1980	Atlanta	Carpet	Anne Smith	Barbara Potter Sharon Walsh	3-6, 1-6
Winner	8.	October 20, 1980	Brighton	Carpet	Anne Smith	Martina Navratilova Betty Stöve	6-3, 7-5
Runner-up	6.	November 3, 1980	Filderstadt	Hard (I)	Anne Smith	Hana Mandlíková Betty Stöve	4-6, 5-7
Winner	9.	January 19, 1981	Cincinnati	Carpet	Anne Smith	Martina Navratilova Pam Shriver	1-6, 6-3, 6-3
Runner-up	7.	March 9, 1981	Dallas	Carpet	Anne Smith	Martina Navratilova Pam Shriver	5-7, 4-6
Winner	10.	April 20, 1981	Amelia Island	Clay	Paula Smith	JoAnne Russell Pam Shriver	6-3, 5-7, 7-6
Runner-up	8.	June 15, 1981	Eastbourne	Grass	Anne Smith	Martina Navratilova Pam Shriver	7-6, 2-6, 1-6
Runner-up	9.	22 June 1981	Wimbledon	Grass	Anne Smith	Martina Navratilova Pam Shriver	3-6, 6-7(6-8)
Winner	11.	July 27, 1981	San Diego	Hard	Candy Reynolds	Rosemary Casals Pam Shriver	6-1, 2-6, 6-4
Runner-up	10.	August 10, 1981	Richmond	Carpet	Anne Smith	Sue Barker Ann Kiyomura	6-4, 6-7, 4-6
Winner	12.	September 1, 1981	US Open	Hard	Anne Smith	Rosemary Casals Wendy Turnbull	6-3, 6-3
Runner-up	11.	November 23, 1981	Sydney	Grass	Anne Smith	Martina Navratilova Pam Shriver	7-6, 2-6, 4-6
Winner	13.	November 30, 1981	Australian Open	Grass	Anne Smith	Martina Navratilova Pam Shriver	6-2, 7-5
Winner	14.	January 4, 1982	Washington, D.C.	Carpet	Anne Smith	Martina Navratilova Pam Shriver	6-2, 3-6, 6-1
Runner-up	12.	January 18, 1982	Seattle	Carpet	Anne Smith	Rosemary Casals Wendy Turnbull	5-7, 4-6
Winner	15.	February 15, 1982	Houston	Carpet	Pam Shriver	Sue Barker Sharon Walsh	7-6(8-6), 6-2
Runner-up	13.	February 22, 1982	Oakland	Carpet	Pam Shriver	Barbara Potter Sharon Walsh	1-6, 6-3, 6-7(5-7)
Winner	16.	March 1, 1982	Los Angeles	Carpet	Anne Smith	Barbara Potter Sharon Walsh	6-3, 7-5
Winner	17.	March 15, 1982	Boston	Carpet	Anne Smith	Rosemary Casals Wendy Turnbull	7-6, 2-6, 6-4
Runner-up	14.	March 24, 1982	Avon Championships	Carpet	Anne Smith	Martina Navratilova Pam Shriver	4-6, 3-6
Runner-up	15.	April 15, 1982	Fort Worth	Clay	Anne Smith	Martina Navratilova Pam Shriver	5-7, 3-6
Runner-up	16.	April 26, 1982	Orlando	Clay	Anne Smith	Rosemary Casals Wendy Turnbull	3-6, 3-6
Runner-up	17.	June 14, 1982	Eastbourne	Grass	Anne Smith	Martina Navratilova Pam Shriver	3-6, 4-6
Runner-up	18.	June 21, 1982	Wimbledon	Grass	Anne Smith	Martina Navratilova Pam Shriver	4-6, 1-6
Winner	18.	July 26, 1982	San Diego	Hard	Paula Smith	Patricia Medrado Cláudia Monteiro	6-3, 5-7, 7-6
Winner	19.	August 9, 1982	Atlanta	Hard	Betsy Nagelsen	Chris Evert Billie Jean King	4-6, 7-6(13-11), 7-6(7-3)
Runner-up	19.	January 3, 1983	Washington, D.C.	Carpet	Anne Smith	Martina Navratilova Pam Shriver	6-4, 5-7, 3-6
Runner-up	20.	January 30, 1983	Palm Beach Gardens	Clay	Paula Smith	Barbara Potter Sharon Walsh	4-6, 6-4, 2-6
Runner-up	21.	February 14, 1983	Chicago	Carpet	Anne Smith	Martina Navratilova Pam Shriver	1-6, 2-6
Winner	20.	February 21, 1983	Palm Springs	Hard	Ann Kiyomura	Dianne Fromholtz Betty Stöve	6-2, 6-2
Runner-up	22.	March 14, 1983	Boston	Carpet	Anne Smith	Jo Durie Ann Kiyomura	3-6, 1-6
Runner-up	23.	March 28, 1983	Tokyo	Carpet	Anne Smith	Billie Jean King Sharon Walsh	1-6, 1-6
Runner-up	24.	May 23, 1983	French Open	Clay	Anne Smith	Rosalyn Fairbank Candy Reynolds	7-5, 5-7, 2-6
Runner-up	25.	September 19, 1983	Richmond	Carpet	Barbara Potter	Rosalyn Fairbank Candy Reynolds	7-6(7-3), 2-6, 1-6
Runner-up	26.	26 September 1983	Hartford	Carpet	Barbara Potter	Billie Jean King Sharon Walsh	6-3, 3-6, 4-6
Winner	21.	October 3, 1983	Detroit	Carpet	Barbara Potter	Rosemary Casals Wendy Turnbull	6-4, 6-1
Winner	22.	April 16, 1984	Amelia Island	Clay	Anne Smith	Anne Hobbs Mima Jaušovec	6-4, 3-6, 6-4
Runner-up	27.	June 25, 1984	Wimbledon	Grass	Anne Smith	Martina Navratilova Pam Shriver	3-6, 4-6
Winner	23.	August 20, 1984	Montreal	Hard	Elizabeth Smylie	Claudia Kohde-Kilsch Hana Mandlíková	6-1, 6-2
Winner	24.	January 21, 1985	Key Biscayne	Hard	Elizabeth Smylie	Svetlana Parkhomenko Larisa Savchenko	6-4, 7-6(7-2)
Winner	25.	January 28, 1985	Marco Island	Hard	Elizabeth Smylie	Camille Benjamin Bonnie Gadusek	6-3, 6-3
Runner-up	28.	February 4, 1985	Delray Beach	Hard	Hana Mandlíková	Gigi Fernández Martina Navratilova	6-7(4-7), 2-6
Winner	26.	April 1, 1985	Tokyo	Carpet	Elizabeth Smylie	Betsy Nagelsen Anne White	6-4, 5-7, 2-6
Runner-up	29.	May 13, 1985	Melbourne	Carpet	Anne Hobbs	Pam Shriver Elizabeth Smylie	2-6, 7-5, 1-6
Runner-up	30.	June 17, 1985	Eastbourne	Grass	Elizabeth Smylie	Martina Navratilova Pam Shriver	5-7, 4-6
Winner	27.	June 24, 1985	Wimbledon	Grass	Elizabeth Smylie	Martina Navratilova Pam Shriver	5-7, 6-3, 6-4
Winner	28.	August 12, 1985	Mahwah	Hard	Elizabeth Smylie	Claudia Kohde-Kilsch Helena Suková	7-6(8-6), 6-3
Winner	29.	September 16, 1985	Chicago	Carpet	Elizabeth Smylie	Elise Burgin JoAnne Russell	6-2, 6-2
Winner	30.	January 20, 1986	Wichita	Carpet	Candy Reynolds	JoAnne Russell Anne Smith	6-3, 6-7(5-7), 6-3
Winner	31.	January 27, 1986	Key Biscayne	Hard	Elizabeth Smylie	Betsy Nagelsen Barbara Potter	7-6(7-5), 2-6, 6-2
Winner	32.	March 3, 1986	Princeton	Carpet	Elizabeth Smylie	Hana Mandlíková Helena Suková	6-3, 7-5
Runner-up	31.	March 28, 1986	Nashville	Carpet	Elizabeth Smylie	Barbara Potter Pam Shriver	4-6, 3-6
Runner-up	32.	March 31, 1986	Marco Island	Clay	Elise Burgin	Martina Navratilova Andrea Temesvári	5-7, 2-6
Winner	33.	September 29, 1986	Hilversum	Carpet	Helena Suková	Tine Scheuer-Larsen Catherine Tanvier	7-5, 6-1
Winner	34.	April 13, 1987	Tokyo	Hard	Betsy Nagelsen	Sandy Collins Sharon Walsh	6-3, 7-5
Winner	35.	April 20, 1987	Houston	Clay	Martina Navratilova	Zina Garrison Lori McNeil	6-2, 6-4
Runner-up	33.	July 13, 1987	Newport	Grass	Anne Hobbs	Gigi Fernández Lori McNeil	6-7(5-7), 5-7
Winner	36.	July 27, 1987	Aptos	Hard	Robin White	Lea Antonoplis Barbara Gerken	6-1, 6-0
Runner-up	34.	August 31, 1987	US Open	Hard	Elizabeth Smylie	Martina Navratilova Pam Shriver	7-5, 4-6, 2-6
Winner	37.	October 19, 1987	Brighton	Carpet	Helena Suková	Tine Scheuer-Larsen Catherine Tanvier	7-5, 6-1
Winner	38.	March 26, 1990	San Antonio	Hard	Elizabeth Smylie	Gigi Fernández Robin White	7-5, 7-5
Winner	39.	April 9, 1990	Tokyo	Hard	Elizabeth Smylie	Hu Na Michelle Jaggard	6-0, 3-6, 6-1
Runner-up	35.	May 21, 1990	Strasbourg	Clay	Elizabeth Smylie	Nicole Provis Elna Reinach	1-6, 4-6
Runner-up	36.	June 25, 1990	Wimbledon	Grass	Elizabeth Smylie	Jana Novotná Helena Suková	3-6, 4-6
Winner	40.	October 29, 1990	Nashville	Hard (I)	Larisa Neiland	Brenda Schultz Caroline Vis	6-1, 6-2
Winner	41.	November 12, 1990	Virginia Slims Championships	Carpet	Elizabeth Smylie	Mercedes Paz Arantxa Sánchez Vicario	7-6(7-4), 6-4
Winner	42.	January 28, 1991	Tokyo	Carpet	Elizabeth Smylie	Mary Joe Fernández Robin White	4-6, 6-0, 6-3

Grand Slam performance timeline

Singles

Tournament	1977		1978	1979	1980	1981	1982	1983	1984	1985	1986	1987	1988	1989	1990	W-L
Australian Open	A	A	A	A	A	3R	A	F	A	A	NH	A	A	A	A	7-2
French Open	A		A	A	QF	3R	A	4R	2R	A	1R	A	A	A	A	8-5
Wimbledon	A		A	4R	4R	4R	3R	QF	SF	2R	4R	1R	A	A	1R	21-10
US Open	LQ		2R	4R	4R	4R	1R	4R	2R	4R	4R	1R	A	A	1R	23-12
Year End Ranking	NR		NR	11	13	15	21	14	10	19	15	35	NR	NR	205

Doubles

Tournament	1978	1979	1980	1981	1982	1983	1984	1985	1986	1987	1988	1989	1990	1991	W-L
Australian Open	A	A	A	W	A	SF	A	A	NH	A	A	A	3R	QF	13-3
French Open	A	2R	W	QF	A	F	QF	A	QF	A	A	A	2R	QF	24-7
Wimbledon	A	1R	W	F	F	QF	F	W	3R	QF	A	A	F	QF	39-9
US Open	QF	2R	SF	W	QF	SF	3R	2R	QF	F	A	QF	SF	A	38-11
Year End Ranking							4	5	10	10	NR	65	9	21

Mixed doubles

Tournament	1979	1980	1981	1982	1983	1984	1985	1986	1987	1988	1989	1990	1991	W-L
Australian Open	NH	NH	NH	NH	NH	NH	NH	NH	A	A	A	A	2R	1-1
French Open	A	2R	A	A	A	A	A	W	A	A	A	1R	QF	9-3
Wimbledon	A	1R	A	A	QF	F	SF	W	QF	A	A	2R	2R	21-7
US Open	2R	A	A	A	2R	QF	1R	QF	2R	A	A	1R	A	7-7

NH = tournament not held.

A = did not participate in the tournament.

SR = the ratio of the number of Grand Slam singles tournaments won to the number of those tournaments played.

Note: The Australian Open was held twice in 1977, in January and December.

[ Source: Wikipedia ]