Belinda Cordwell

Belinda Jane Cordwell (born 21 September 1965) is a sports commentator and a former professional tennis player from New Zealand, who represented her native country at the 1988 Summer Olympics in Seoul. A former world top 20 player, her best result in the Grand Slam events was reaching the semifinals of the 1989 Australian Open. Cordwell remains the highest ever ranked New Zealand singles player, either male or female in the open era.

Belinda Cordwell
Country (sports) New Zealand
ResidenceWairarapa, New Zealand
Born (1965-09-21) 21 September 1965
Wellington, New Zealand
Turned pro19 July 1982
Retired23 September 1991
PlaysLeft-handed (one-handed backhand)
Prize moneyUS$310,585
Singles
Career record157–120 (56.7%)
Career titles1 WTA, 5 ITF
Highest rankingNo. 17 (4 December 1989)
Grand Slam singles results
Australian OpenSF (1989)
French Open1R (1986)
Wimbledon3R (1987, 1988)
US Open3R (1985)
Other tournaments
Olympic Games1R (1988)
Doubles
Career record122–99 (55.2%)
Career titles2 WTA, 11 ITF
Highest rankingNo. 35 (8 May 1989)
Grand Slam doubles results
Australian Open3R (1987, 1989)
French Open1R (1986)
Wimbledon3R (1987)
US Open2R (1987, 1988, 1990)

Biography

During her career Cordwell won one WTA singles title (at Singapore) and two WTA doubles titles (at Singapore & Tokyo). Cordwell reached her highest individual ranking on the WTA Tour on 4 December 1989, when she became No. 17 in the world. Her most notable result was reaching the semifinals of the Australian Open in 1989, where she lost to Helena Suková.[1] She represented New Zealand at the 1988 Summer Olympics, losing in the first round to Great Britain's Sara Gomer.[2][3] After retiring Cordwell has worked as a television tennis commentator for One Sport and Sky Sport.[4]

WTA career finals

Singles (1 title, 1 runner-up)
Result W/L Date Tournament Surface Opponent Score
Loss 0–1 Feb 1989 Auckland Open, New Zealand Hard United States Patty Fendick 2–6, 0–6
Win 1–1 Apr 1989 Singapore Open Hard Japan Akiko Kijimuta 6–1, 6–0

Doubles (2 titles, 3 runner-ups)
Result W/L Date Tournament Surface Partner Opponents Score
Win 1–0 Oct 1985 Japan Open Hard New Zealand Julie Richardson Peru Laura Gildemeister
United States Beth Herr		 6–4, 6–4
Loss 1–1 Feb 1988 Wellington Classic, New Zealand Hard New Zealand Julie Richardson United States Patty Fendick
Canada Jill Hetherington		 3–6, 3–6
Loss 1–2 Apr 1988 Taipei Championships, Taiwan Carpet (i) New Zealand Julie Richardson United States Patty Fendick
United States Ann Henricksson		 2–6, 6–2, 2–6
Loss 1–3 Jun 1988 Eastbourne Championships, England Grass South Africa Dinky Van Rensburg West Germany Eva Pfaff
Australia Elizabeth Smylie		 4–6, 6–7
Win 2–3 Apr 1989 Singapore Open Hard Australia Elizabeth Smylie United States Ann Henricksson
United States Beth Herr		 6–7(6–8), 6–2, 6–1

ITF finals
$100,000 tournaments
$75,000 tournaments
$50,000 tournaments
$25,000 tournaments
$10,000 tournaments

Singles: 6 (5–1)
Outcome No. Date Tournament Surface Opponent Score
Winner 1. 10 October 1983 ITF Newcastle, Australia Grass United States Deeann Hansel 6–1, 6–2
Winner 2. 25 February 1985 ITF Tasmania, Australia Hard Australia Rebecca Bryant 4–6, 6–3, 7–6
Runner-up 3. 11 March 1985 ITF Adelaide, Australia Hard Australia Louise Field 3–6, 1–6
Winner 4. 29 April 1985 ITF Canberra, Australia Grass Australia Rebecca Bryant 6–2, 4–6, 6–4
Winner 5. 16 March 1987 ITF Canberra, Australia Hard Norway Amy Jönsson Raaholt 6–3, 6–2
Winner 6. 30 March 1987 ITF Adelaide, Australia Hard Australia Louise Field 6–0, 4–6, 6–4

Doubles: 17 (11–6)
Outcome No. Date Tournament Surface Partnering Opponents Score
Winner 1. 28 May 1984 ITF Flemington, United States Hard New Zealand Julie Richardson United States Beverly Bowes
United States Becky Callan		 6–0, 6–1
Winner 2. 25 June 1984 ITF Chatham, United States Hard New Zealand Julie Richardson Australia Rebecca Bryant
United States Aschara Maranon		 6–2, 6–0
Runner-up 3. 2 July 1984 ITF Detroit, United States Hard Australia Rebecca Bryant United States Patty Fendick
United States Linda Howell		 4–6, 6–7
Winner 4. 9 July 1984 ITF West Palm Beach, United States Clay New Zealand Julie Richardson United States Patty Fendick
United States Linda Howell		 7–6, 6–7, 6–3
Winner 5. 30 July 1984 ITF Delray Beach, United States Hard New Zealand Julie Richardson United States Linda Gates
United States Cynthia MacGregor		 7–5, 6–0
Runner-up 6. 8 October 1984 ITF Wyong, Australia Grass Australia Colleen Carney Sweden Stina Almgren
Sweden Helena Olsson		 5–7, 5–7
Winner 7. 15 October 1984 ITF Newcastle, United States Grass New Zealand Julie Richardson Australia Amanda Tobin
Australia Annette Gulley		 6–3, 6–2
Winner 8. 22 October 1984 ITF Sydney, Australia Clay New Zealand Julie Richardson Australia Jackie Masters
New Zealand Michelle Parun		 6–0, 6–2
Runner-up 9. 22 October 1984 ITF Sydney, Australia Grass New Zealand Julie Richardson United States Diane Farrell
Australia Annette Gulley		 3–6, 3–6
Winner 10. 11 March 1985 ITF Adelaide, Australia Hard New Zealand Julie Richardson Australia Louise Field
Australia Janine Thompson		 6–2, 2–6, 6–2
Runner-up 11. 30 September 1985 ITF Chiba, Japan Hard New Zealand Julie Richardson Brazil Niege Dias
Brazil Patricia Medrado		 6–4, 4–6, 4–6
Winner 12. 6 October 1986 ITF Chiba, Japan Hard Australia Michelle Jaggard-Lai Japan Kumiko Okamoto
Japan Naoko Sato		 6–2, 7–6(3)
Runner-up 13. 3 November 1986 ITF Matsuyama, Japan Hard United States Wendy Wood Indonesia Yayuk Basuki
Indonesia Suzanna Wibowo		 6–0, 4–6, 2–6
Winner 14. 23 March 1987 ITF Melbourne, Australia Hard Australia Louise Field Australia Colleen Carney
Sweden Anna-Karin Olsson		 6–2, 3–6, 6–3
Winner 15. 30 March 1987 ITF Adelaide, Australia Hard Australia Louise Field Australia Colleen Carney
Australia Alison Scott		 6–1, 1–6, 6–4
Winner 16. 8 August 1988 ITF York, United States Hard Australia Kristine Kunce United States Allyson Ingram
United States Jennifer Young		 6–3, 6–1
Runner-up 17. 25 September 1989 ITF Chiba, Japan Hard New Zealand Julie Richardson Japan Ei Iida
Japan Maya Kidowaki		 6–7, 4–6

References
  1. Leggat, David (10 August 2020). "Where is she now? Belinda Cordwell". Newsroom. Retrieved 24 January 2023.
  2. "Belinda Cordwell". New Zealand Olympic Team. 8 February 2016. Retrieved 24 January 2023.
  3. "Tennis: Kiwis once had a shot at grand slam glory". NZ Herald. Retrieved 24 January 2023.
  4. "ASB Classic powers on despite wet weather". RNZ. 5 January 2023. Retrieved 24 January 2023.
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