Julie Heldman

Julie Heldman (born December 8, 1945) was an American tennis player who won 22 professional tennis titles and helped pioneer the women's professional circuit.

In 1969, Heldman was World No. 5, her highest career world ranking, and was ranked second in the U.S.

Tennis career

The daughter of junior champion Julius Heldman (the U.S. junior champion in 1936; a leading amateur player in the 1930s and 1940s) and "World Tennis" founder & publisher Gladys Heldman (who played at Wimbledon), she was born in Berkeley, California and began playing tennis when she was eight years old.

She won her first national title (the Canadian 18 and under singles) at age 12, in 1958. It was the first of her three Canadian Junior Championships, and she became the first 12 year-old ever to capture a national crown. Heldman went on to win the U.S. Girls Junior Singles Title in 1960 (in the 15s) and 1963 (in the 18s).

While a student at Stanford University in 1964, Heldman reached the national collegiate singles and doubles finals. She received her BA from Stanford in 1966 and went on to earn her J.D. from UCLA Law School in 1981, where she was a law review editor and was Law School Graduate of the Year, as well as UCLA Graduate Woman of the Year.

Heldman won the singles title in Cincinnati in 1962 and the Canadian Open singles title in 1965. In 1969, she won the Italian Open, beating Kerry Melville Reid in the final. She reached the semifinals of three Grand Slam singles tournaments: the 1970 French Open, the 1974 Australian Open, and the 1974 U.S. Open. She won the doubles title at the U.S. Women's Clay Court Championships and at the Canadian Open in 1974.

In 1970, she was a member of the "Houston Nine" who left the United States Tennis Association (USTA) to play in the Virginia Slims tournament in Houston. Supported by her mother, the tour was so successful that it eventually merged with the USTA and became the current WTA. The first all-woman's tour, the Virginia Slims circuit eventually earned women the right to receive equal pay with men in competitions.

Federation Cup

Heldman played on the U.S. Federation Cup teams that captured the championship in 1966 and 1969. She also played on the U.S. Federation Cup teams in 1970, 1974, and 1975. She was the captain of the team in 1975. Her career win-loss record in Federation Cup competition was 21-9. [ [http://www.fedcup.com/teams/player.asp?player=20003578 Julie Heldman career Federation Cup record] ]

Olympics

Heldman won a gold, silver, and bronze medal in the 1968 Olympic Games in Mexico City when tennis was a demonstration sport.

Maccabiah Games

In 1969, Heldman, who is Jewish, won the Maccabiah Games Singles in Israel — plus the Maccabiah Doubles with Marilyn Aschner and Mixed Doubles with Ed Rubinoff.

Other career highlights

*Ranked in the USTA Top 10, 1963-65, 1968-69, 1971-75
*Ranked in the World Top 10, 1969-70, 1973-74
*Virginia Slims Professional Tour, 1971-75
*U.S. Wightman Cup Team Member, 1969-71, 1974; Most Valuable Player, 1969; Team Captain, 1974-75
*U.S. Bonne Bell Cup Team Member, 1973-1974; Most Valuable Player, Team Captain, 1974
*Winner of USTA Service Bowl 1975

Halls of Fame

Heldman was inducted into the:

*Stanford University Athletic Hall of Fame, 1978
*National Jewish Sports Hall of Fame, 1989
*ITA Women's Hall of Fame, 1998
*International Jewish Sports Hall of Fame, 2001
*USTA Eastern Tennis Hall of Fame, 2006 [http://www.bigvdesign.com/USTA_EASTERN/inductees.htm]

Miscellaneous

*Her sister Carrie Heldman was also an excellent junior player.

*After ending her playing career, she worked as a television color commentator and journalist with CBS, NBC, PBS, and HBO at the U.S. Open and Wimbledon, 1973-78. She at the same time authored articles for various publications, including her mother’s magazine, World Tennis.

*Covering the Avis Challenge Cup Tournament for NBC in 1976, she became the first woman to provide commentary on a men’s tennis event.

*Married Bernie Weiss in 1981 and had daughter Amy in 1987.

*In 1985, Heldman became President & Co-Chairman of Signature Eyewear.

*Heldman retired in 2000.

External links

* [http://www.wm.edu/tenniscenter/heldmanj.html ITA bio]
* [http://www.fedcup.com/teams/player.asp?player=20003578 Fed Cup bio]
* [http://www.jewishsports.net/BioPages/JulieHeldman.htm Jewish Sports bio]
* [http://www.jewishsports.org/jewishsports/detail.asp?id=103 Jewish Sports Hall of Fame bio]
* [http://www.jewsinsports.org/profile.asp?sport=tennis&ID=22 Jews in Sports bio]

Notes