Marianne Werdel

Marianne Werdel (born October 17, 1967) is an American former professional tennis player.

Marianne Werdel
Country (sports) United States
Born (1967-10-17) October 17, 1967
Los Angeles, California
Height5 ft 10 in (1.78 m)
Turned pro1986
PlaysRight-handed (two-handed backhand)
Prize moneyUS$1,044,641
Singles
Career record237–227
Career titles0
Highest rankingNo. 21 (October 9, 1995)
Grand Slam singles results
Australian OpenSF (1995)
French Open2R (1989, 1994)
Wimbledon3R (1991, 1993)
US Open2R (1985, 1986, 1994, 1995)
Doubles
Career record179–202
Career titles0
Highest rankingNo. 45 (May 25, 1992)

Werdel was born in Los Angeles and played on the WTA Tour from 1982 to 1997. She is also known as Marianne Witmeyer or Werdel-Witmeyer.

She won 19 national junior titles. In 1988 Werdel suffered a partially herniated disc, forcing a two-month absence from the tour.[1]

At the 1995 Australian Open, unseeded Marianne Werdel defeated fifth-seeded Gabriela Sabatini of Argentina in a first-round match. Werdel won the first set, but Sabatini raced out to a 3–0 lead in the second set before twice losing her serve. Werdel won four consecutive games to close out the match in straight sets, dismissing Sabatini 6–4, 6–4.[2] Werdel had also beaten Sabatini two years earlier at a tournament in Japan. After she had disposed of Sabatini, Werdel continued to work her way through the draw beating Park Sung-hee, Elena Makarova, Barbara Paulus and Angélica Gavaldón en route to a semifinal encounter with the top-seed and world No. 1 Arantxa Sánchez Vicario. In their two previous meetings, Werdel had lost both times to Sánchez Vicario. This time proved no different as Sánchez Vicario defeated Werdel in two sets. In reaching the semifinals, the 1995 Australian Open proved to be the best result Werdel would have in Grand Slam singles competition. She defeated Sánchez Vicario two months later in the third round of the Lipton Championships in Key Biscayne.[3]

Werdel was coached by Woody Blocher.[1]

On 21 November 1992, she married Major League Baseball player Ron Witmeyer.[1][2]

WTA career finals
Legend
Grand Slam
Tier I
Tier II
Tier III
Tier IV & V

Singles: 6 runner-ups
Result W/L Date Tournament Surface Opponent Score
Loss 0–1 Jul 1989 Schenectady, U.S. Hard Peru Laura Gildemeister 4–6, 3–6
Loss 0–2 Aug 1990 Schenectady, U.S. Hard West Germany Anke Huber 1–6, 7–5, 4–6
Loss 0–3 Oct 1990 Scottsdale, U.S. Hard Spain Conchita Martínez 5–7, 1–6
Loss 0–4 Apr 1993 Pattaya Open, Thailand Hard Indonesia Yayuk Basuki 3–6, 1–6
Loss 0–5 Sep 1993 Hong Kong Open Hard Chinese Taipei Wang Shi-ting 4–6, 6–3, 5–7
Loss 0–6 Jan 1997 Hobart, Australia Hard Belgium Dominique Van Roost 3–6, 3–6

Doubles: 6 runner-ups
Result W/L Date Tournament Surface Partner Opponents Score
Loss 0–1 May 1992 Swiss Open Clay Czechoslovakia Karina Habšudová United States Amy Frazier
South Africa Elna Reinach		 5–7, 2–6
Loss 0–2 May 1993 Swiss Open Clay United States Lindsay Davenport United States Mary Joe Fernandez
Czech Republic Helena Suková		 2–6, 4–6
Loss 0–3 Sep 1993 Hong Kong Open, China Hard United States Debbie Graham Germany Karin Kschwendt
Australia Rachel McQuillan		 6–4, 4–6, 2–6
Loss 0–4 Feb 1995 Chicago Cup, U.S. Carpet (i) United States Tami Whitlinger-Jones Argentina Gabriela Sabatini
Netherlands Brenda Schultz		 7–5, 6–7, 4–6
Loss 0–5 May 1996 Strasbourg, France Clay United States Tami Whitlinger-Jones Indonesia Yayuk Basuki
Australia Nicole Bradtke		 7–5, 4–6, 4–6
Loss 0–6 Feb 1997 Oklahoma Cup, U.S. Hard United States Tami Whitlinger-Jones Japan Rika Hiraki
Japan Nana Miyagi		 4–6, 1–6

References
  1. John Barrett, ed. (1996). ITF World of Tennis 1996. London: CollinsWillow. p. 381. ISBN 9780002187138.
  2. Michael Hirsley (February 11, 1995). "Wed To A Life In Sports". Chicago Tribune.
  3. "Sanchez Vicario Sent Home Early at Lipton". Los Angeles Times. March 21, 1995.


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