Chanda Rubin (born February 18, 1976) is an American former top-10 professional tennis player. During her career, she reached the semifinals at the 1996 Australian Open, the quarterfinals of the French Open three times, and had wins over world No. 1s Serena Williams and Martina Hingis. In doubles, she won the 1996 Australian Open with Arantxa Sánchez Vicario and alongside Sandrine Testud, were runners-up at the 1999 US Open.
Early life and family Rubin was born to Edward D. Rubin, a state judge in Louisiana, and Bernadette Fontenot Rubin. She was the middle child of three siblings. As a child, she was taught the sport of tennis by Nehemiah Atkinson.
She married Mireyou Hollier in April 2015, and their daughter was born in October 2016.
In early 2016, her younger brother, Edward Rubin Jr., died aged 38 at his home in Lafayette, Louisiana.
Tennis career In 1992, Rubin won the girls' singles title at Wimbledon, and reached a peak ranking of world No. 2 in the ITF Junior rankings.
Rubin's breakthrough season on the professional tour was 1995. In the third round of the French Open, she made a comeback from 0–5, 0–40 down in the third set against 5th seed Jana Novotná, saving nine match points before eventually winning 8–6. She went on to reach her maiden Grand Slam quarterfinal, losing to world No. 1 Arantxa Sánchez Vicario, the tournament's defending champion and eventual runner-up. In the second round of Wimbledon, Rubin defeated Patricia Hy-Boulais 7–6, 6–7, 17–15, the longest women's match in Wimbledon history. At the LA Tennis Championships in August, she defeated world No. 8 Gabriela Sabatini and world No. 2 Sánchez Vicario, on her way to the final, where she lost to world No. 3 Conchita Martínez in three sets.
In 1996, Rubin reached the Australian Open semifinals, defeating Sabatini in the fourth round and Sánchez Vicario 6–4, 2–6, 16–14 in the quarterfinals. The 48 games played in their quarterfinal were the most for a women's match at the Australian Open, a record which would be tied by Lauren Davis and Simona Halep in 2018. Rubin lost in the semifinals to eventual champion Monica Seles 6–7, 6–1, 7–5, despite holding a 5–2 lead in the third set. A few days later, she and Sánchez Vicario won the doubles title, defeating third-seeded Lindsay Davenport and Mary Joe Fernández in the final.
Rubin rose to a career-high singles ranking of No. 6 after reaching the final of the 1996 Miami Open where she lost to world No. 1 Steffi Graf. During the tournament, Rubin fractured a bone in her right hand. She eventually underwent surgery in August and missed the majority of the rest of the season.
Rubin is known to have played at the very first official match of the Arthur Ashe Stadium, at the 1997 US Open, in which she faced Tamarine Tanasugarn of Thailand and lost in two sets.
Representing the United States, Rubin won the 1997 Hopman Cup alongside Justin Gimelstob. She remained undefeated through three ties and the final in her singles matches. At the Linz Open, Rubin defeated world No. 4 Jana Novotná on the way to her first singles title.
In Indian Wells in 1999, Rubin defeated both Amanda Coetzer and world No. 1, Martina Hingis, in straight sets on her way to the semifinals. She also won her second career title at the Hobart International.
Rubin underwent arthroscopic surgery on her left knee in 2001 after the Australian Open, and then suffered a left Achilles tendon injury in April, thereby missing the majority of the season.
In 2002, Rubin underwent surgery on her left knee again, missing the first half of the season. In August, she defeated Lindsay Davenport, Jelena Dokic and world No. 1 Serena Williams on her way to the title in Los Angeles. Her upset of Williams ended the top-ranked player's winning streak of 21 matches, a stretch that had carried Williams through titles at the French Open and Wimbledon.
At the 2003 Miami Open, Rubin defeated Amélie Mauresmo and Justine Henin in straight sets en route to the semifinals, after which she peaked again at No. 6 in the rankings. She reached her third and final French Open quarterfinal and also won the Eastbourne International title for a second time, defeating Jennifer Capriati in the semifinals and Conchita Martínez in the final. It would be Rubin's last career title.
Rubin missed the majority of the 2004–2006 seasons due to the persistent knee injury. Her last professional match was in October 2006 in Quebec City.
Rubin was inducted into the Southern Tennis Hall of Fame in 2009 and the Louisiana Sports Hall of Fame in 2013.
Post-retirement In 2013, Rubin completed a four-year Bachelor of Liberal Arts in Extension Studies with a concentration in Economics at Harvard Extension School, graduating cum laude.
In recent years, she has developed a career in broadcasting, working for Tennis Channel as a presenter and commentator.
Awards 1995: ATA Athlete of the Year 1995: TENNIS Magazine Most Improved Player of the Year 1995: US Tennis Association Female Athlete of the Year 1995: WTA Most Improved Player of the Year 1997: Arthur Ashe Leadership Award 2002: Family Circle Player Who Makes a Difference Award 2003: USTA Service Bowl Award 2008: International Lawn Tennis Danzig Trophy
Grand Slam tournament finals Doubles: 2 (1 title, 1 runner-up) ResultYearChampionshipPartnerOpponentsScoreWin 1996 Australian Open Arantxa Sánchez Vicario Lindsay Davenport Mary Joe Fernández 7–5, 2–6, 6–4Loss 1999US Open Sandrine Testud Serena Williams Venus Williams 6–4, 1–6, 4–6
WTA Tour finals Singles: 19 (7 titles, 12 runner-ups) ResultW/L DateTournamentSurfaceOpponentScoreLoss 0–1 Nov 1991 Scottsdale Championships, U.S. Hard Sabine Appelmans 5–7, 1–6Loss 0–2 Feb 1994 Chicago Cup, U.S. Hard (i) Natasha Zvereva 3–6, 5–7Loss 0–3 Jun 1995 Eastbourne International, UK Grass Nathalie Tauziat 6–3, 0–6, 5–7Loss 0–4 Aug 1995 LA Championships, U.S. Hard Conchita Martínez 6–4, 1–6, 3–6Loss 0–5 Mar 1996 Key Biscayne, U.S. Hard Steffi Graf 1–6, 3–6Win 1–5 Feb 1997 Linz Open, Austria Hard (i) Karina Habšudová 6–4, 6–2Loss 1–6 Nov 1998 Tournoi de Québec, Canada Carpet (i) Tara Snyder 6–4, 4–6, 6–7(6–8)Win 2–6 Jan 1999 Hobart International, Australia Hard Rita Grande 6–2, 6–3Loss 2–7 Nov 1999 Tournoi de Québec, Canada Carpet (i) Jennifer Capriati 6–4, 1–6, 2–6Loss 2–8 Jan 2000 Hobart International, Australia Hard Kim Clijsters 6–2, 2–6, 2–6Win 3–8 Nov 2000 Tournoi de Québec, Canada Carpet (i) Jennifer Capriati 6–4, 6–2Loss 3–9 May 2002 Madrid Open, Spain Clay Monica Seles 4–6, 2–6Win 4–9 Jun 2002 Eastbourne International, UK Grass Anastasia Myskina 6–1, 6–3Win 5–9 Aug 2002 LA Championships, U.S. Hard Lindsay Davenport 5–7, 7–6(7–5), 6–3Win 6–9 May 2003 Madrid Open, Spain Clay María Sánchez Lorenzo 6–4, 5–7, 6–4Win 7–9 Jun 2003 Eastbourne International, UK Grass Conchita Martínez 6–4, 3–6, 6–4Loss 7–10 Sep 2003 Bali International, Indonesia Hard Elena Dementieva 2–6, 1–6Loss 7–11 Sep 2003 China Open, Shanghai Hard Elena Dementieva 3–6, 6–7(6–8)Loss 7–12 Oct 2003 Luxembourg Open Hard (i) Kim Clijsters 2–6, 5–7
Doubles: 17 (10 titles, 7 runner-ups) Legend Grand Slam (1–1) Tier I (1–1) Tier II (5–3) Tier III (1–2) Tier IV (2–0)
ResultW/LDateTournamentSurfacePartnerOpponentsScoreWin 1–0 Sep 1993 Tokyo Championships, Japan Hard Lisa Raymond Amanda Coetzer Linda Wild 6–4, 6–1Win 2–0 Jan 1994 Hobart International, Australia Hard Linda Wild Jenny Byrne Rachel McQuillan 7–5, 4–6, 7–6Loss 1–2 Nov 1994 Tournoi de Québec, Canada Carpet (i) Linda Wild Elna Reinach Nathalie Tauziat 4–6, 3–6Win 3–1 May 1995 Prague Open, Czech Republic Clay Linda Wild Maria Lindström Maria Strandlund 6–7, 6–3, 6–2Loss 3–2 Oct 1995 Zurich Open, Switzerland Hard (i) Caroline Vis Nicole Arendt Manon Bollegraf 4–6, 6–7(4–7), 4–6Win 4–2 Jan 1996 Australian Open, Melbourne Hard Arantxa Sánchez Vicario Lindsay Davenport Mary Joe Fernández 7–5, 2–6, 6–4Win 5–2 Feb 1996 Oklahoma South Cup, U.S. Hard (i) Brenda Schultz-McCarthy Katrina Adams Debbie Graham 6–4, 6–3Win 6–2 Mar 1996 Indian Wells Open, U.S. Hard Brenda Schultz-McCarthy Julie Halard-Decugis Nathalie Tauziat 6–1, 6–4Win 7–2 Apr 1996 Amelia Island Championships, U.S. Clay Arantxa Sánchez Vicario Meredith McGrath Larisa Neiland 6–1, 6–1Loss 7–3 Sep 1997 Tokyo Princess Cup, Japan Hard Julie Halard-Decugis Monica Seles Ai Sugiyama 1–6, 0–6Loss 7–4 Oct 1998 Tournoi de Québec, Canada Carpet (i) Sandrine Testud Lori McNeil Kimberly Po 7–6(7–3), 5–7, 4–6Loss 7–5 Sep 1999 US Open, New York Hard Sandrine Testud Serena Williams Venus Williams 6–4, 1–6, 4–6Win 8–5 Oct 1999 Porsche Grand Prix, Germany Hard (i) Sandrine Testud Arantxa Sánchez Vicario Larisa Neiland 6–3, 6–4Loss 8–6 Nov 1999 Philadelphia Championships, U.S. Carpet (i) Sandrine Testud Lisa Raymond Rennae Stubbs 1–6, 6–7(2–7)Win 9–6 Jul 2000 Stanford Classic, U.S. Hard Sandrine Testud Cara Black Amy Frazier 6–4, 6–4Win 10–6 Oct 2000 Linz Open, Austria Carpet (i) Amélie Mauresmo Ai Sugiyama Nathalie Tauziat 6–4, 6–4Loss 10–7 Oct 2001 Linz Open, Austria Hard (i) Els Callens Jelena Dokic Nadia Petrova 1–6, 4–6
Singles performance timeline
Tournament199019911992199319941995199619971998199920002001200220032004200520062007 Australian OpenAA1R1R4R2RSF4R1R4R2R1RA4R4RAAA French OpenAQ21RA1RQFA2R4R2RQFA4RQFAQ1AA WimbledonAQ11R2R1R3RA1R3R1R1R1R4R3R1RAAA US Open1R2R4R3R1R4RA1R2R1R3R3R4R1R3RA1RAGrand Slam SR0 / 10 / 10 / 40 / 30 / 40 / 40 / 10 / 40 / 40 / 40 / 40 / 30 / 30 / 40 / 30 / 00 / 10 / 0WTA Tour ChampionshipsAAAAA1RAAAA1RA1RRRAAAAYear-end ranking521838369231517303422135413953546481NR
Wins over top 10 players Season 1995 1996 1997 1998 1999 2000 2001 2002 2003 Total Wins 5 4 2 0 2 1 0 4 422 #PlayerRankEventSurfaceRdScoreRubinRank19951. Jana Novotná5French OpenClay3R 7–6, 4–6, 8–6532. Kimiko Date6Eastbourne, UKGrassQF 6–3, 6–0293. Gabriela Sabatini8Manhattan Beach, U.S.HardQF 6–7, 7–6, 6–0224. Arantxa Sánchez Vicario2Manhattan Beach, U.S.HardSF 6–3, 6–1225. Lindsay Davenport9Filderstadt, GermanyCarpet (i)3R 4–6, 6–2, 6–41519966. Gabriela Sabatini7Australian OpenHard4R 6–2, 6–4147. Arantxa Sánchez Vicario3Australian OpenHardQF 6–4, 2–6, 16-14148. Gabriela Sabatini6Miami, U.S.HardQF 6–3, 5–7, 6–399. Iva Majoli8Philadelphia, U.S.Carpet (i)R3 5–7, 6–2, 6–114199710. Jana Novotná4Linz, AustriaCarpet (i)SF 7–5, 5–7, 6–32211. Karina Habšudová10Linz, AustriaCarpet (i)F 6–4, 6–222199912. Amanda Coetzer9Indian Wells, U.S.Hard4R 6–4, 6–42613. Martina Hingis1Indian Wells, U.S.HardQF 6–3, 7–626200014. Nathalie Tauziat6French OpenClay3R 6–4, 7–625200215. Serena Williams1Manhattan Beach, U.S.HardQF 6–2, 4–6, 7–52116. Jelena Dokic5Manhattan Beach, U.S.HardSF 6–0, 6–22117. Lindsay Davenport9Manhattan Beach, U.S.HardF 5–7, 7–6, 6–32118. Jelena Dokic8Linz, AustriaHard (i)QF 7–5, 6–214200319. Amélie Mauresmo4Miami, U.S.Hard4R 6–3, 6–21020. Justine Henin7Miami, U.S.HardQF 6–0, 6–21021. Jennifer Capriati8Eastbourne, UKGrassSF 2–6, 7–6, 6–2722. Amélie Mauresmo6WTA Finals, L.A.Hard (i)SF 4–6, 6–4, 6–210
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