Helen Kelesi (born 15 November 1969) is a former professional tennis player from Canada. She was coached by her father Milan Kelesi.
Career "Hurricane Helen", as the Canadian press dubbed her for her fiery demeanour, achieved a career-high ranking of world No. 13 (November 1989), and was a regular fixture in the top 25 from 1986 to 1991. She won singles titles at two tour events, the 1986 Japan Open and the 1988 Citta de Taranto, and at the French Open, she was a quarterfinalist in 1988 (losing to Gabriela Sabatini) and 1989 (losing to Mary Joe Fernández). During her time on the WTA Tour, Kelesi recorded wins over Arantxa Sánchez Vicario, Conchita Martínez, Jana Novotná, Manuela Maleeva-Fragnière, Helena Suková and Pam Shriver.
Kelesi's game was characterized by aggressive baseline play, with a powerful top-spin forehand and two-handed backhand. She also retrieved well and could play defensively when needed. These skills meant that Kelesi was particularly good on clay and hardcourt surfaces.
Kelesi was a Canadian Federation Cup team member from 1986 to 1993. She was Tennis Canada Singles Player of the Year four times (1986, 1987, 1989, and 1990).
Her professional career came to an end in 1995 when a brain tumour the size of a tennis ball was discovered following months of headaches, dizziness and vision problems. Numerous operations followed over the years. Kelesi successfully recovered and began coaching young children in Canada in the late 1990s. She also became a part-time tennis journalist and commentator.
WTA career finals Singles: 9 (2 titles, 7 runner-ups) LegendGrand Slam tournaments (0–0)Tier I (0–0)Tier II (0–0)Tier III (0–1)Tier IV (0–3)Tier V (1–2)Virginia Slims (1–1) Finals by surfaceHard (1–3)Grass (0–0)Clay (1–4)Carpet (0–0) ResultW/L DateTournamentSurfaceOpponentScoreLoss 0–1 Aug 1985 VS Monticello, U.S. Hard Barbara Potter 6–4, 3–6, 2–6Win 1–1 Oct 1986 Japan Open Hard Bettina Fulco 6–2, 6–2Win 2–1 May 1988 Ilva Trophy, Italy Clay Laura Garrone 6–1, 6–0Loss 2–2 May 1988 Italian Open Clay Gabriela Sabatini 1–6, 7–6(7–4), 1–6Loss 2–3 Aug 1988 Cincinnati Masters, U.S. Hard Barbara Potter 2–6, 2–6Loss 2–4 Apr 1989 Barcelona Open, Spain Clay Arantxa Sánchez Vicario 2–6, 7–5, 1–6Loss 2–5 Nov 1989 VS Nashville, U.S. Hard (I) Leila Meskhi 2–6, 3–6Loss 2–6 May 1990 Geneva, Switzerland Clay Barbara Paulus 6–2, 5–7, 6–7(3–7)Loss 2–7 May 1991 Geneva, Switzerland Clay Manuela Maleeva-Fragnière 3–6, 6–3, 3–6
Doubles: 5 (2 titles, 3 runner-ups) LegendGrand Slam tournaments (0–0)Tier I (1–1)Tier II (0–0)Tier III (0–1)Tier IV (1–0)Tier V (0–1) Finals by surfaceHard (1–2)Grass (0–0)Clay (1–1)Carpet (0–0) ResultW/L DateTournamentSurfacePartnerOpponentsScoreLoss 0–1 May 1988 Ilva Trophy, Italy Clay Laura Garrone Andrea Betzner Claudia Porwik 1–6, 2–6 Loss 0–2 Aug 1988 Cincinnati Masters, U.S. Hard Lindsay Bartlett Beth Herr Candy Reynolds 6–4, 6–7(9–11), 1–6Win 1–2 May 1990 Italian Open Clay Monica Seles Laura Garrone Laura Golarsa 6–3, 6–4Loss 1–3 Aug 1990 Canadian Open Hard Raffaella Reggi Betsy Nagelsen Gabriela Sabatini 6–3, 2–6, 2–6Win 2–3 Oct 1990 VS Scottsdale, U.S. Hard Elise Burgin Sandy Collins Ronni Reis 6–4, 6–2
ITF finals
$100,000 tournaments $75,000 tournaments $50,000 tournaments $25,000 tournaments $10,000 tournaments
Singles (3–0) ResultDateTournament SurfaceOpponentScoreWin 3 February 1991 ITF Midland, United States Hard (i) Meredith McGrath 6–2, 6–2Win 27 January 1992 ITF Midland, United States Hard (i) Claire Wegink 7–6(7–2), 7–6(10–8)Win 25 January 1993 ITF Austin, United States Hard Elly Hakami 6–4, 3–6, 6–2
Doubles (0–2) ResultDateTournament SurfacePartnerOpponentsLoss 3 February 1991 ITF Midland, United States Hard (i) Katrina Adams Anne Smith Meredith McGrath 5–7, 5–7Loss 27 January 1992 ITF Midland, United States Hard (i) Caroline Vis Manon Bollegraf Meredith McGrath 3–6, 1–6
Grand Slam singles performance timeline
Tournament 1985 1986 1987 1988 1989 1990 1991 1992 1993 1994 1995 1996 1997 Career SR Australian OpenANH2RAA3RA1RA2RAAA0 / 4 French Open1R1R4RQFQF2R3RA1R1RAAA0 / 9 Wimbledon1R2R1R1R1R1R1RA3R1RAAA0 / 9US Open1R3R3R2R1R2R2R1R1R1RAAA0 / 10 SR0 / 30 / 30 / 40 / 30 / 30 / 40 / 30 / 20 / 30 / 40 / 00 / 00 / 00 / 32Year-end ranking4839321913252912849124NRNR763
References
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