Samantha Smith (tennis)

Samantha Smith (born 27 November 1971) is an English former professional tennis player, who was the British ladies' No. 1 from 1996 to 1999. She now commentates on the game, predominantly for the BBC, ITV, Sky Sports, BT Sport and Eurosport and Amazon Prime[1] as well as in Australia on the Australian Open which she has been a part of for 11 years with the Seven Network and as of 2019 the Nine Network.[2]

Samantha Smith
Country (sports) United Kingdom
ResidenceLoughton, Essex, England
Born (1971-11-27) 27 November 1971
Epping, Essex, England
Height1.75 m (5 ft 9 in)
PlaysRight-handed
Prize money$351,902
Singles
Career record199–160
Career titles3 ITF
Highest rankingNo. 55 (22 February 1999)
Grand Slam singles results
Australian Open2R (1999)
French Open1R (1991, 1999)
Wimbledon4R (1998)
US Open2R (1997)
Doubles
Career record54–75
Career titles5 ITF
Highest rankingNo. 126 (25 June 1990)
Grand Slam doubles results
Australian Open1R (1998)
Wimbledon1R (1996, 1997, 1998, 1999, 2000)
Team competitions
Fed Cup10–5
Medal record
Representing  Great Britain
Women's Tennis
Summer Universiade
Silver medal – second place1995 FukuokaMixed doubles
Bronze medal – third place1993 BuffaloWomen's Singles

Early life

Smith was born in Epping, Essex and was educated at Bancroft's School. She took three years out of tennis to attend the University of Exeter where she attained an upper second class Honours degree in history.[1]

Tennis career

Smith competed on the WTA Tour from 1990 to 1992 and from 1995 to 2000. Her highest achievement was in reaching the fourth round at the Wimbledon Championships in 1998, when she beat Anne-Gaëlle Sidot, Mariana Díaz Oliva and former champion Conchita Martínez before losing to eventual runner up Nathalie Tauziat. In so doing she picked up an ankle injury that required her to have two operations and spend four months in plaster; this effectively ended her career. She peaked at No. 55 in the WTA rankings before the injury curtailed her climb up the rankings.[1]

At the Australian Open, she competed in the first round of the women's doubles competition in 1992 (with Ilana Berger), and reached the second round in 1999.[1]

At the French Open at Roland Garros, she competed in the first round in 1991 and 1999.[1]

At Wimbledon, she competed eight times and reached the fourth round in 1998.[1]
At the US Open, she competed in the first round in 1998 and reached the second round in 1997.
At the 1992 Barcelona Olympics she reached the second round.

Smith won a silver medal in the mixed doubles at the 1995 Universiade (World University Games) in Fukuoka, Japan, partnering Paul Robinson. She also reached the quarterfinals in the singles.[1]

She won the ITF tournaments at Nottingham in 1995 (singles and doubles) and Frinton-on-Sea in 2000. She represented Britain in the Fed Cup and European Cup in 1991 and from 1996 to 1999. She was unbeaten in her five singles matches in the 1997 Fed Cup.[1]

ITF finals

Singles (3–4)

$100,000 tournaments
$75,000 tournaments
$50,000 tournaments
$25,000 tournaments
$10,000 tournaments
Outcome No. Date Tournament Surface Opponent Score
Runner-up 1. 24 April 1989 Sutton, United Kingdom Clay Japan Kimiko Date 2–6, 1–6
Runner-up 2. 2 September 1991 Arzachena, Italy Hard Italy Katia Piccolini 2–6, 7–6, 4–6
Runner-up 3. 4 November 1991 Manchester, United Kingdom Carpet (i) United Kingdom Amanda Grunfeld 6–4, 4–6, 2–6
Winner 1. 2 October 1995 Nottingham, United Kingdom Hard (i) United Kingdom Abigail Tordoff 6–4, 6–2
Runner-up 4. 10 February 1996 Sunderland, Great Britain Hard (i) Romania Raluca Sandu 6–4, 5–7, 4–6
Winner 2. 8 February 1999 Rockford, United States Hard (i) Switzerland Miroslava Vavrinec 6–4, 6–4
Winner 3. 23 July 2000 Frinton-on-Sea, United Kingdom Grass United Kingdom Helen Crook 6–3, 6–0

Doubles (5–2)

Outcome No. Date Tournament Surface Partner Opponents Score
Winner 1. 13 August 1990 Brasília, Brazil Clay Denmark Sofie Albinus Brazil Luciana Tella
Brazil Andrea Vieira
7–6(7–2), 4–6, 6–3
Winner 2. 11 February 1991 Key Biscayne, United States Hard United States Penny Barg Canada Rene Simpson
Netherlands Hellas ter Riet
7–5, 6–2
Winner 3. 25 September 1995 Telford, United Kingdom Hard (i) United Kingdom Jane Wood United Kingdom Kaye Hand
Sweden Anna-Karin Svensson
4–6, 7–6(8–6), 6–3
Runner-up 1. 2 October 1995 Nottingham, United Kingdom Hard (i) United Kingdom Jane Wood Sweden Sofia Finér
Sweden Annica Lindstedt
6–7(7–9), 5–7
Winner 4. 2 August 1998 Salt Lake City, United States Hard South Africa Mariaan de Swardt South Africa Liezel Horn
Austria Karin Kschwendt
6–2, 6–2
Runner-up 2. 25 October 1998 Welwyn, United Kingdom Carpet (i) Australia Louise Pleming Belgium Laurence Courtois
Slovenia Tina Križan
6–7, 4–6
Winner 5. 21 February 1999 Midland, United States Hard (i) South Africa Liezel Horn Germany Kirstin Freye
Canada Sonya Jeyaseelan
7–6(8–6), 0–6, 7–5

References

  1. Sam Smith Archived 2009-06-11 at the Wayback Machine Biography and Image, Celebrity Tennis
  2. Knox, David (30 December 2014). "Summer of Tennis: guide". TV Tonight. Retrieved 21 February 2015.
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