Helen Kelesi

Helen Kelesi

Country (sports)	Canada
Residence	Richmond, British Columbia, Canada
Born	(1969-11-15) 15 November 1969 Victoria, British Columbia, Canada
Turned pro	1985
Plays	Right-handed (two-handed backhand)
Prize money	US$ 900,990
Singles
Career record	263–182
Career titles	2 WTA, 3 ITF
Highest ranking	No. 13 (20 November 1989)
Grand Slam Singles results
Australian Open	3R (1990)
French Open	QF (1988, 1989)
Wimbledon	3R (1993)
US Open	3R (1986, 1987)
Other tournaments
Olympic Games	1R (1988)
Doubles
Career record	81–109
Career titles	2 WTA, 0 ITF
Highest ranking	No. 26 (22 April 1991)
Grand Slam Doubles results
Australian Open	2R (1992)
French Open	QF (1989)
Wimbledon	2R (1987, 1988)
US Open	2R (1990, 1991)
Grand Slam Mixed Doubles results
French Open	2R (1988)
Wimbledon	2R (1986, 1987)

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

Career

"Hurricane Helen", as the Canadian press 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 titles in two tour events, the 1986 Japan Open and the 1988 Citta de Taranto, 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 a set-point in a 4th Round match at the French Open against Steffi Graf in 1987.

Kelesi's game was characterized 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, Kelesi successfully recovered and began coaching young children in Canada in the late 1990s. She also became a part-time tennis journalist and commentator.

WTA Tour finals

Singles: 9 (2 titles, 7 runners-up)

Outcome	No.	Date	Tournament	Surface	Opponent	Score
Runner-up	1.	26 August 1985	Monticello	Hard	Barbara Potter	6–4, 3–6, 2–6
Winner	1.	19 October 1986	Tokyo	Hard	Bettina Fulco	6–2, 6–2
Winner	2.	1 May 1988	Taranto	Clay	Laura Garrone	6–1, 6–0
Runner-up	2.	8 May 1988	Rome	Clay	Gabriela Sabatini	1–6, 7–6(4), 1–6
Runner-up	3.	7 August 1988	Cincinnati	Hard	Barbara Potter	2–6, 2–6
Runner-up	4.	30 April 1989	Barcelona	Clay	Arantxa Sánchez Vicario	2–6, 7–5, 1–6
Runner-up	5.	12 November 1989	Nashville	Hard (I)	Leila Meskhi	2–6, 3–6
Runner-up	6.	27 May 1990	Geneva	Clay	Barbara Paulus	6–2, 5–7, 6–7(3)
Runner-up	7.	26 May 1991	Geneva	Clay	Manuela Maleeva-Fragniere	3–6, 6–3, 3–6

Doubles: 5 (2 titles, 3 runners-up)

Outcome	No.	Date	Tournament	Surface	Partner	Opponents	Score
Runner-up	1.	1 May 1988	Taranto	Clay	Laura Garrone	Andrea Betzner Claudia Porwik	1–6, 2–6
Runner-up	2.	7 August 1988	Cincinnati	Hard	Lindsay Bartlett	Beth Herr Candy Reynolds	6–4, 6–7(9), 1–6
Winner	1.	13 May 1990	Rome	Clay	Monica Seles	Laura Garrone Laura Golarsa	6–3, 6–4
Runner-up	3.	5 August 1990	Montreal	Hard	Raffaella Reggi	Betsy Nagelsen Gabriela Sabatini	6–3, 2–6, 2–6
Winner	2.	21 October 1990	Scottsdale	Hard	Elise Burgin	Sandy Collins Ronni Reis	6–4, 6–2

Grand Slam singles performance timeline

External links

• Helen Kelesi at the Women's Tennis Association
• Helen Kelesi at the International Tennis Federation
• Helen Kelesi at the Fed Cup