Helen Kelesi

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Helen Kelesi (born November 15, 1969 in Victoria, British Columbia) is a former tour professional tennis player. She has been coached by her father, Milan Kelesi, throughout her tennis career.

"Hurricane Helen", as the Canadian pressed dubbed her for her fiery demeanour, achieved a career high WTA ranking of World No. 13 (November 1989), and was a regular fixture in the top-25 between 1986 and 1991. She won singles in two tour events, the 1988 Citta de Taranto and 1991 Midland 1, and was a singles French Open quarter-finalist in 1988 (lost to Gabriela Sabatini) and 1989 (lost to Mary-Joe Fernandez). During her time on the WTA Tour, Kelesi recorded wins over Arantxa Sanchez-Vicario, Conchita Martinez, Jana Novotna, Manuela Maleeva-Fragniere, Helena Sukova and Pam Shriver, and pushed Chris Evert and Monica Seles hard in high-profile matches. She also held set-point in a 4th Round at the French Open against Steffi Graf in 1987.

Kelesi's game was characterised by aggressive baseline play, with a powerful top-spin forehand and two-handed backhand. She also retrieved well and could play defensively when needed. These skills meant that Kelesi was particularly good on clay and hard-court surfaces. Her volley and forecourt play was not so instinctive, however, and a missed volley at a crucial stage in a match against Monica Seles illustrated this (Seles won 4–6 6–4 6–4 in a second round match at the 1990 French Open).

Kelesi was a Canadian Federation Cup team member from 1986 to 1993. She was Tennis Canada singles player of the year four times (1986, 1987, 1989, and 1990).

Kelesi's professional career came to an end in 1995 when a brain tumour the size of a tennis ball was discovered following months of headaches, dizziness and vision problems. Numerous operations followed over the years, but Kelesi successfully recovered and began coaching young children in Canada in the late 1990s. She also became a part-time tennis journalist and commentator.


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