Kathleen Horvath
Country (sports) United States
ResidenceShort Hills, New Jersey
Born (1965-08-25) August 25, 1965
Chicago, Illinois
Height5 ft 6+1⁄2 in (1.69 m)
Turned pro1981
Retired1989
PlaysRight-handed (two-handed backhand)
Prize money$220,905
Singles
Career record176–154
Career titles6
Highest rankingNo. 10 (June 11, 1984)
Grand Slam singles results
Australian Open1R (1989)
French OpenQF (1983, 1984)
Wimbledon3R (1986)
US Open3R (1981, 1986)
Doubles
Career record150–132
Career titles3
Highest rankingNo. 45 (September 12, 1988)
Grand Slam doubles results
Australian Open2R (1989)
French OpenSF (1982, 1984)
Wimbledon3R (1982)
US Open3R (1985)
Grand Slam mixed doubles results
Australian Open1R (1989)
French OpenSF (1981)
Wimbledon1R (1986)
US OpenSF (1985)

Erica Kathleen "Kathy" Horvath (born August 25, 1965) is an American former professional tennis player. She is best known for upsetting world No. 1 Martina Navratilova in the fourth round of the 1983 French Open, delivering her only defeat for the season.

Career

She was the youngest player to play in the US Open in 1979 at 14 years and five days — this record still stands. Horvath was the youngest player to win the U.S. National 16 and under in 1979.[1] She also is the only player to ever win all four age groups in the U.S. Girls Clay Courts in all consecutive years.

Horvath played on the WTA Tour from 1981 to 1989, winning six singles titles and reaching a career-high ranking of world No. 10 in 1984.[2][1] She reached the quarterfinals at the French Open in 1983 and 1984. She retired with a 176–154 singles record.[3]

Horvath was the only player to defeat Martina Navratilova in the 1983 season (at the French Open), winning in the fourth round in three sets.[1] Navratilova's coaches (Renee Richards and Nancy Lieberman) argued in the stands over strategy, something Navratilova noticed during the match.[4]

Horvath had career victories over Navratilova, Andrea Jaeger, Manuela Maleeva, Gabriela Sabatini, Dianne Fromholtz, Claudia Kohde-Kilsch, Mary Joe Fernández, Betty Stöve, and Sylvia Hanika. She was a member of the 1984 United States Fed Cup team. Horvath played in the 1984 Olympics when tennis was reintroduced as a demonstration sport and was the first seed. She was coached by Harry Hopman and Nick Bollettieri.

After her tennis career, she got her BS and MBA at the Wharton School of Business and then worked on Wall Street until 2003.

WTA career finals

Singles 9: (6–3)

Winner — Legend
Grand Slam tournaments (0–0)
WTA Tour Championships (0–0)
Virginia Slims, Avon, other (6–3)
Finals by surface
Hard (0–0)
Grass (0–0)
Clay (2–3)
Carpet (4–0)
Result W/L Date Tournament Surface Opponent Score
Win 1. Jan 1981 Montreal, Canada Carpet (i) United States Candy Reynolds 6–4, 7–6
Win 2. Mar 1983 Nashville, US Carpet (i) Czechoslovakia Marcela Skuherská 6–4, 6–3
Loss 1. May 1983 Berlin, West Germany Clay United States Chris Evert-Lloyd 4–6, 6–7(1–7)
Win 3. Nov 1983 Honolulu, US Carpet Canada Carling Bassett 4–6, 6–2, 7–6(7–1)
Loss 2. Jan 1984 Marco Island, US Clay United States Bonnie Gadusek 6–3, 0–6, 4–6
Loss 3. May 1984 Berlin, West Germany Clay West Germany Claudia Kohde-Kilsch 6–7(8–10), 1–6
Win 4. Mar 1985 Indianapolis, US Carpet (i) United States Elise Burgin 6–2, 6–4
Win 5. Mar 1985 Palm Beach Gardens, US Clay Switzerland Petra Jauch-Delhees 3–6, 6–3, 6–3
Win 6. Jul 1987 Knokke, Belgium Clay West Germany Bettina Bunge 6–1, 7–6(7–5)

Doubles 9: (3–6)

Winner — Legend
Grand Slam tournaments (0–0)
WTA Tour Championships (0–0)
Virginia Slims (3–6)
Finals by surface
Hard (0–0)
Grass (0–0)
Clay (2–6)
Carpet (1–0)
Result W/L Date Tournament Surface Partner Opponents Score
Win 1. May 1982 Perugia, Italy Clay South Africa Yvonne Vermaak United States Billie Jean King
South Africa Ilana Kloss		 2–6, 6–4, 7–6
Win 2. Aug 1983 Indianapolis, US Clay Romania Virginia Ruzici United States Gigi Fernández
United States Beth Herr		 4–6, 7–6, 6–2
Loss 1. May 1984 Berlin, West Germany Clay Romania Virginia Ruzici United Kingdom Anne Hobbs
United States Candy Reynolds		 3–6, 6–4, 6–7(11–13)
Loss 2. May 1984 Perugia, Italy Clay Romania Virginia Ruzici Czechoslovakia Iva Budařová
Czechoslovakia Helena Suková		 6–7(5–7), 6–1, 4–6
Win 3. Mar 1985 Indianapolis, US Carpet (i) United States Elise Burgin South Africa Jennifer Mundel
United States Molly Van Nostrand		 6–4, 6–1
Loss 3. Apr 1985 Orlando, US Clay United States Elise Burgin United States Martina Navratilova
United States Pam Shriver		 3–6, 1–6
Loss 4. May 1987 Strasbourg, France Clay Netherlands Marcella Mesker Czechoslovakia Jana Novotná
France Catherine Suire		 0–6, 2–6
Loss 5. Jul 1987 Knokke, Belgium Clay Netherlands Marcella Mesker West Germany Bettina Bunge
Bulgaria Manuela Maleeva		 6–4, 4–6, 4–6
Loss 6. Oct 1987 Athens, Greece Clay South Africa Dinky Van Rensburg West Germany Andrea Betzner
Austria Judith Wiesner		 4–6, 6–7(0–7)

Grand Slam singles performance timeline

Key
W  F  SF QF #R RR Q# DNQ A NH
(W) winner; (F) finalist; (SF) semifinalist; (QF) quarterfinalist; (#R) rounds 4, 3, 2, 1; (RR) round-robin stage; (Q#) qualification round; (DNQ) did not qualify; (A) absent; (NH) not held; (SR) strike rate (events won / competed); (W–L) win–loss record.
Tournament19791980198119821983198419851986198719881989Career SR
Australian Open A A A A A A A NH A A 1R 0 / 1
French Open A 2R 3R 3R QF QF 3R 1R 1R 1R A 0 / 9
Wimbledon A A A 1R A 2R A 3R 1R 1R A 0 / 5
US Open 2R 2R 3R A 2R 1R 1R 3R 1R A A 0 / 8
SR 0 / 1 0 / 2 0 / 2 0 / 2 0 / 2 0 / 3 0 / 2 0 / 3 0 / 3 0 / 2 0 / 1 0 / 23
Year-end ranking NR NR 28 49 15 29 50 47 37 85 218

References

  1. 1 2 3 John Barrett, ed. (1985). The International Tennis Federation : World of Tennis 1985. London: Willow Books. p. 331. ISBN 0002181703.
  2. ↑ "WTA Tour".
  3. ↑ "ITF Kathy Horvath (USA)". Retrieved 2011-12-05.
  4. ↑ Cindy Shmerler (June 3, 2017). "The Tennis Mom Who Put the Blemish in Martina Navratilova's 86-1 Record". The New York Times.
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