Bonnie Gadusek Explained

Bonnie Gadusek (born September 11, 1963) is a retired American professional tennis player.

Career

Gadusek started a career in gymnastics, training for the 1980 Olympics, but fell from uneven parallel bars and landed on her neck, dislocating two vertebrae.^[2] While recovering from her injuries, she took up tennis as part of her therapy.^[3] She played in her first junior tournament wearing a brace. She was named Junior of the Year in 1980 and Player of the Year in 1981 by the Florida Tennis Association. She won the 1981 French Open girls’ singles championship.

Gadusek played on the WTA Tour from 1981 to 1987. She was named Rookie of the Year in 1982. She won five singles and three doubles titles before retiring. The right-hander reached her highest career ranking on July 9, 1984 when she became the world No. 8. Her best Grand Slam finishes were two quarterfinals at the US Open in 1982 and 1986.

Gadusek had career wins over Billie Jean King, Andrea Jaeger, Sue Barker, Hana Mandlíková, Manuela Maleeva, Wendy Turnbull, Gabriela Sabatini, Dianne Fromholtz, Claudia Kohde-Kilsch, Helena Suková, Zina Garrison, Mary Joe Fernandez, Sylvia Hanika, Jo Durie, and Rosie Casals. During her career, she was coached by renowned Australian coach Harry Hopman.

Gadusek was a member of the 1986 Wightman Cup Team. She helped coach the 1987 Wightman Cup Team. She retired with a 169–95 win–loss record.^[4]

WTA career finals

Singles: 10 (5 titles, 5 runner-ups)

Winner — Legend Grand Slam tournaments (0–0) WTA Championships (0–0) Virginia Slims, Avon, other (5–5)

Titles by surface Hard (1–1) Grass (0–0) Clay (2–3) Carpet (2–1)

Result	W/L	Date	Tournament	Surface	Opponent	Score
Loss	0–1	Jul 1982	Tournoi de Monte Carlo, Monaco	Clay	Virginia Ruzici	2–6, 6–7(5–7)
Loss	0–2	May 1983	Italian Open	Clay	Andrea Temesvári	1–6, 0–6
Loss	0–3	Nov 1983	Maybelline Classic, U.S.	Hard	Chris Evert-Lloyd	0–6, 4–6
Win	1–3	Jan 1984	VS Marco Island, U.S.	Clay	Kathleen Horvath	3–6, 6–0, 6–4
Loss	1–4	Mar 1984	VS Palm Beach Gardens, U.S.	Clay	Chris Evert-Lloyd	0–6, 1–6
Win	2–4	Jan 1985	VS Marco Island, U.S.	Hard	Pam Casale	6–3, 6–4
Win	3–4	May 1985	Swiss Open	Clay	Manuela Maleeva	6–2, 6–2
Win	4–4	Sep 1985	VS Chicago, U.S.	Carpet (i)	Kathy Rinaldi	6–1, 6–3
Win	5–4	Oct 1985	VS Indianapolis, U.S.	Carpet (i)	Pam Casale	6–0, 6–3
Loss	5–5	Dec 1985	Pan Pacific Open, Japan	Carpet (i)	Manuela Maleeva	6–7(2–7), 6–3, 5–7

Doubles: 6 (3 titles, 3 runner-ups)

Winner — Legend Grand Slam tournaments (0–0) WTA Tour Championships (0–0) Virginia Slims (3–3)

Titles by surface Hard (1–2) Grass (0–0) Clay (1–0) Carpet (1–1)

Result	W/L	Date	Tournament	Surface	Partner	Opponents	Score
Loss	1.	Oct 1983	Tampa Open, U.S.	Hard	Wendy White	Martina Navratilova Pam Shriver	0–6, 1–6
Win	1.	Nov 1983	Deerfield Beach Classic, U.S.	Hard	Wendy White	Pam Casale Mary-Lou Piatek	6–1, 3–6, 6–3
Loss	2.	Jan 1985	Marco Island Cup, U.S.	Hard	Camille Benjamin	Kathy Jordan Elizabeth Smylie	3–6, 3–6
Win	2.	May 1985	Lugano Open, Switzerland	Clay	Helena Suková	Bettina Bunge Eva Pfaff	6–2, 6–4
Win	3.	Oct 1985	VS Indianapolis, U.S.	Carpet (i)	Mary-Lou Piatek	Penny Barg Sandy Collins	6–1, 6–0
Loss	3.	Feb 1986	Oakland Classic, U.S.	Carpet (i)	Helena Suková	Hana Mandlíková Wendy Turnbull	6–7(5–7), 1–6

Grand Slam singles performance timeline

Tournament							1987
Australian Open	2R	A	A	A	A	NH	A
French Open	1R	3R	1R	A	4R	A	A
Wimbledon	A	A	A	A	2R	A	A
US Open	A	QF	4R	4R	3R	QF	1R
Year-end ranking	35	18	18	13	10	13	461

Notes and References

1. Web site: Bonnie S Gadusek. Florida Resident Directory. 23 September 2017. en.
2. Linz. Franz. Bonnie Gadusek Calls Herself the Animal, But She Is a Dreamer, Too. 6 December 2011. Sports Illustrated. February 11, 1985. dead. https://web.archive.org/web/20100914220653/http://sportsillustrated.cnn.com/vault/article/magazine/MAG1119122/index.htm. 14 September 2010.
3. Diliberto. Gioia. A Near-Fatal Fall Broke Gymnast Bonnie Gadusek's Neck, but Not the Spirit That Made Her a Champion. 6 December 2011. People. January 24, 1983.
4. Web site: Bonnie Gadusek – United States . WTA . 2020-09-04.