Kathy Rinaldi
Age: 57
Kathy Rinaldi-Stunkel (born March 24, 1967) is a former professional American tennis player, who retired in September 1997. She won three singles and two doubles titles during her career on the WTA Tour, and reached the semifinals of the 1985 Wimbledon Championships.
Career
Rinaldi reached her highest career ranking on May 26, 1986, when she was ranked World No. 7. The recipient of WTA Most Impressive Newcomer Award in 1981 and WTA Comeback Player of the Year Award in 1989, she had career wins over top players such as Steffi Graf, Jana Novotná, Sue Barker, Pam Shriver, Hana Mandlíková, Wendy Turnbull, Manuela Maleeva, Dianne Fromholtz, Helena Suková, Claudia Kohde-Kilsch, Zina Garrison, Sylvia Hanika, Kathy Jordan, Jo Durie, and Natasha Zvereva.
Rinaldi was the youngest player to win a match at Wimbledon (14 years, 91 days) in 1981, a record that stood until 1990. After the 1987 French Open, she suffered a freak injury in Monte Carlo, slipping on stairs, and in trying to catch herself, fracturing her right thumb. This injury sidelined her for rest of the year. She was a member of the US Wightman Cup Team in 1983, 1985, and 1986.
Family
Rinaldi married Brad Stunkel, her high school sweetheart, on December 11, 1993, and adopted his surname. She gave birth to son Bradley Benton Stunkel, Jr. on February 8, 1995. The family currently resides in Palm City, Florida.
Awards and recognitions
- 1981: WTA Most Impressive Newcomer of the Year
- 1989: WTA Comeback of the Year
WTA Tour finals
Singles: 7 (3-4)
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Outcome | No. | Date | Tournament | Surface | Opponent | Score |
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Winner | 1. | October 18, 1981 | Kyoto | Hard | Julie Harrington | 6-1, 7-5 |
Runner-up | 1. | May 24, 1982 | Berlin | Clay | Bettina Bunge | 2-6, 2-6 |
Runner-up | 2. | July 26, 1982 | San Diego | Hard | Tracy Austin | 6-7(5-7), 3-6 |
Winner | 2. | August 18, 1985 | Mahwah | Hard | Steffi Graf | 6-4, 3-6, 6-4 |
Runner-up | 3. | September 22, 1985 | Chicago | Carpet (I) | Bonnie Gadusek | 1-6, 3-6 |
Runner-up | 4. | May 11, 1986 | Houston | Clay | Chris Evert-Lloyd | 4-6, 6-2, 4-6 |
Winner | 3. | November 16, 1986 | Little Rock | Carpet (I) | Natalia Zvereva | 6-4, 6-7(7-9), 6-0 |
Doubles: 12 (2-10)
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Outcome | No. | Date | Tournament | Surface | Partner | Opponents | Score |
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Runner-up | 1. | March 31, 1991 | San Antonio | Hard | Jill Hetherington | Patty Fendick Monica Seles |
6-7(2-7), 2-6 |
Winner | 1. | April 21, 1991 | Houston | Clay | Jill Hetherington | Patty Fendick Mary Joe Fernández |
6-1, 2-6, 6-1 |
Winner | 2. | August 4, 1991 | San Diego | Hard | Jill Hetherington | Gigi Fernández Nathalie Tauziat |
6-4, 3-6, 6-2 |
Runner-up | 2. | October 6, 1991 | Leipzig | Carpet (I) | Jill Hetherington | Manon Bollegraf Isabelle Demongeot |
4-6, 3-6 |
Runner-up | 3. | February 2, 1992 | Auckland | Hard | Jill Hetherington | Rosalyn Fairbank-Nideffer Raffaella Reggi-Concato |
6-1, 1-6, 5-7 |
Runner-up | 4. | March 1, 1992 | Indian Wells | Hard | Jill Hetherington | Claudia Kohde-Kilsch Stephanie Rehe |
3-6, 3-6 |
Runner-up | 5. | March 22, 1992 | Key Biscayne | Hard | Jill Hetherington | Larisa Neiland Arantxa Sánchez Vicario |
5-7, 7-5, 3-6 |
Runner-up | 6. | April 19, 1992 | Houston | Clay | Jill Hetherington | Patty Fendick Gigi Fernández |
5-7, 4-6 |
Runner-up | 7. | November 1, 1992 | San Juan | Hard | Gigi Fernández | Amanda Coetzer Elna Reinach |
2-6, 6-4, 2-6 |
Runner-up | 8. | February 7, 1993 | Auckland | Hard | Jill Hetherington | Isabelle Demongeot Elna Reinach |
2-6, 4-6 |
Runner-up | 9. | March 21, 1993 | Key Biscayne | Hard | Jill Hetherington | Larisa Neiland Jana Novotná |
2-6, 5-7 |
Runner-up | 10. | May 23, 1993 | Strasbourg | Clay | Jill Hetherington | Shaun Stafford Andrea Temesvári |
7-6(7-5), 3-6, 4-6 |
Grand Slam singles performance timeline
Tournament | 1981 | 1982 | 1983 | 1984 | 1985 | 1986 | 1987 | 1988 | 1989 | 1990 | 1991 | 1992 | 1993 | 1994 | 1995 | 1996 | Career SR |
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Australian Open | A | A | 1R | 3R | A | NH | A | A | A | 2R | 1R | A | 1R | 1R | A | A | 0 / 6 |
French Open | QF | 4R | 4R | 3R | 3R | QF | 3R | 1R | 2R | 1R | 2R | 1R | 3R | A | A | A | 0 / 13 |
Wimbledon | 2R | 3R | 4R | 1R | SF | 1R | A | A | 1R | 1R | 1R | 2R | 2R | A | A | 1R | 0 / 12 |
US Open | 1R | 4R | 2R | 2R | 1R | 1R | A | 1R | 2R | 2R | 2R | 2R | 1R | A | 1R | 1R | 0 / 14 |
SR | 0 / 3 | 0 / 3 | 0 / 4 | 0 / 4 | 0 / 3 | 0 / 3 | 0 / 1 | 0 / 2 | 0 / 3 | 0 / 4 | 0 / 4 | 0 / 3 | 0 / 4 | 0 / 1 | 0 / 1 | 0 / 2 | 0 / 45 |
Year End Ranking | 33 | 15 | 16 | 23 | 11 | 8 | 26 | 88 | 52 | 69 | 105 | 111 | 83 | NR | NR | 225 |
- 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.