Kathy Rinaldi


Kathy Rinaldi-Stunkel is an American former professional tennis player, who retired in September 1997. In her career she won three singles and two doubles titles on the WTA Tour, and reached the semifinals of the Wimbledon Championships.

Career

Rinaldi reached her highest career ranking on May 26, 1986, when she was ranked world No. 7. The recipient of WTA Most Impressive Newcomer Award in 1981 and WTA Comeback Player of the Year Award in 1989, she had career wins over top players such as Steffi Graf, Jana Novotná, Sue Barker, Pam Shriver, Hana Mandlíková, Wendy Turnbull, Manuela Maleeva, Dianne Fromholtz, Helena Suková, Claudia Kohde-Kilsch, Zina Garrison, Sylvia Hanika, Kathy Jordan, Jo Durie, and Natasha Zvereva.
In 1981, Rinaldi became the youngest player to win a match at Wimbledon, a record that stood until 1990. After the 1987 French Open, she suffered a freak injury in Monte Carlo, slipping on stairs, and in trying to catch herself, fracturing her right thumb. This injury sidelined her for the rest of the year. She was a member of the US Wightman Cup Team in 1983, 1985, and 1986.

Fed Cup

In December 2016, Rinaldi was appointed as the captain of the United States Fed Cup team, succeeding Mary Joe Fernández. In her first year as Fed Cup captain, the U.S. won the 2017 Fed Cup.

Family

Rinaldi married Brad Stunkel, her high school sweetheart, on December 11, 1993, and adopted his surname. She gave birth to a son, Bradley Benton "Duke" Stunkel Jr., on February 8, 1995. The family currently resides in Palm City, Florida.

Awards and recognitions

WTA career finals

Singles: 7 (3–4)

ResultW-LDateTournamentSurfaceOpponentScore
Win1–0Oct 1981Kyoto, JapanHard

Doubles: 12 (2–10)

ResultNo.DateTournamentSurfacePartnerOpponentsScore
Loss1.Mar 1991San AntonioHard

Grand Slam singles performance timeline

Tournament1981198219831984198519861987198819891990199119921993199419951996Career W–L
Australian OpenAA1R3RANHAAA2R1RA1R1RAA3–6
French OpenQF4R4R3R3RQF3R1R2R1R2R1R3RAAA24–13
Wimbledon2R3R4R1RSF1RAA1R1R1R2R2RAA1R13–12
US Open1R4R2R2R1R1RA1R2R2R2R2R1RA1R1R9–14
Win–loss5–38–37–45–47–34–32–10–22–32–42–42–33–40–10–10–249–45
Year-end ranking331514231182688526910511183NRNR225-