Leslie Allen (tennis)

Leslie Allen
Country (sports)  United States
Born (1957-03-12) March 12, 1957
Cleveland, United States
Height 5 ft 10 in (1.78 m) [1]
Turned pro 1977
Retired 1987
Plays Right-handed [1]
College USC
Prize money $330,606
Singles
Career record 12–21
Highest ranking No. 17 (February 15, 1981)
Grand Slam Singles results
Australian Open 3R (1982)
French Open 4R (1979, 1980, 1981)
Wimbledon 3R (1981)
US Open 3R (1979)
Doubles
Career record 11–15
Highest ranking No. 10 (February 16, 1983)
Grand Slam Doubles results
Australian Open 2R (1982)
French Open 3R (1983, 1984)
Wimbledon 3R (1982, 1984)
US Open 3R (1982, 1983)
Grand Slam Mixed Doubles results
French Open F (1982)
Wimbledon 3R (1982)
US Open 2R (1981, 1982)

Leslie Allen (born March 12, 1957) is a retired American professional tennis player.

Unranked in junior tennis, Leslie Allen was an ATA, NCAA & WTA Champion. Allen was a member of the University of Southern California national championship team and graduated cum laude with a Bachelor of Arts in speech communications. She joined the WTA Tour in 1977 and went on to reach a career high ranking of #17 in the world.

In 1981, Allen became the first African American woman to win a major pro tennis tournament since Althea Gibson when she won the Avon Championships of Detroit, although Renee Blount is also credited with this feat because she won the Futures of Columbus in 1979.[2] Allen was also a mixed doubles finalist at the 1983 French Open. After retiring from professional tennis, she became a television broadcaster and was also elected to the WTA Board of Directors. Allen founded the Leslie Allen Foundation to introduce young people to the 100+careers behind the scenes in pro tennis. Through the Foundation's Win4Life program students are challenged to use the Win4Life 4D's (Desire, Dedication,Determination, Discipline) to succeed on and off the court. The Foundation's motto is "Tennis is more than just hitting a ball. Allen currently works as a real estate agent in NJ and is a motivational speaker.

Grand Slam mixed doubles final

Runner-up (1)

Year Championship Partnering Opponents in final Score in final
1983 French Open United States Charles Strode United States Barbara Jordan
United States Eliot Teltscher
2–6, 3–6

References

  1. 1 2 Emery, David, ed. (1983). Who's Who in International Tennis. London: Sphere. p. 7. ISBN 9780722133200.
  2. Djata, Sundiata A. (2006). Blacks at the net: Black achievement in the history of tennis, Volume 1. Reed Business Information. Retrieved 2010-01-26.

External links



This article is issued from Wikipedia - version of the Monday, May 02, 2016. The text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution/Share Alike but additional terms may apply for the media files.