ADAMS, KATRINA (Katrina Michelle Adams)
United States
Born 05 August 1968 in Chicago, Illinois
Nickname: "Kat"
Height: 5' 5"
Plays right handed with two handed backhand
[Active 1984-1999]
Best known for her doubles-where she was world top ten. Katrina is the current USTA President, the first time the post has been held by an African American female and a former pro player. In addition she is, at 46, the youngest person to head the USTA.
Katrina started tennis at the age of six on the public courts of Chicago, where both of her parents were teachers. In her own words, "I stumbled into tennis".
Adams attended Northwestern University as an undergraduate, majoring in communications, and helped the Wildcats to a Big Ten championship in 1986. She was an NCAA All-American in 1986 and 1987, and in 1987 became the first African-American NCAA doubles champion.
She took the fall quarter of 1987 off from college to play as an amateur, trying to see if she could raise her singles ranking enough to get into the main draw (128 players) of Grand Slam tournaments, which Adams saw as the litmus test for becoming a pro.
When Adams made the 1988 Australian Open, it meant telling her parents, who saw tennis as the way to a college degree, that she was leaving school. "A very difficult conversation," she said.
Her best singles performance in a major came soon after at the Wimbledon in 1988. Adams reached the 4R, taking a set off of Chris Evert in a 5-7 6-3 6-0 defeat. That event also saw her get the semis in doubles.
Most of Adams success came in doubles. She won 20 titles-7 with Zina Garrison. At majors the quarterfinals proved to be a ceiling she couldn't quite crack-with 12 quarterfinals losses next to the lone semi at Wimbledon.
As long as she was winning in an event the superstitious Adams made sure she used the same shower and sat on the same side of the curt for each match.
Later a TV commentator for various networks from 2003 to 2014, when her positions within the USTA demanded her time. Always active in USTA, she had been on the USTA Board since 2005.
Adams on leading the USTA and how to measure success--
“I do think we are in a great position moving forward in American tennis. But it’s all through the eyes of the beholder, what you think is successful, and too often we’re just looking for that Grand Slam player without looking at all the obstacles just to get to a Grand Slam event, into that top 100. I was eighth in the world in doubles, 67th in singles. Could I have achieved more? Yes, perhaps, but I did it my way. And now I’m sitting in this seat.
WTA Career Statistics
Singles
Matches Won/Lost: 182 - 194
Her highest singles ranking was # 67 on May 8, 1989.
Won ITF title at New Braunfels in 1991. RU at Wellington in 1988 and Nashville in 1991.
Doubles
Matches Won/Lost: 419 - 226
Her highest doubles ranking was #* on 14-August1989. (Adams won 6 titles this year)
Won 20 WTA doubles titles.
Adams in 1991
Sources:
She Stumbled Into Tennis, but Strode Into a Top Post:Katrina Adams Takes Helm of U.S.T.A. After a Long Ascent
By HARVEY ARATON.
The New York Times, JAN. 16, 2015
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Katrina_Adams
KATRINA ADAMS | ITA Women's Hall of Fame
1991 Kraft Media Guide, page 78.
1997 Corel WTA Player Guide, pages 32 and 33.
