Betsy Nagelsen

Betsy Nagelsen
Country (sports)	United States
Residence	Maui, Hawaii &; Orlando, Florida
Born	October 23, 1956 (age 68); St. Petersburg, Florida
Height	1.75 m (5 ft 9 in)
Turned pro	1973
Retired	1996
Plays	Right-handed
Prize money	$1,016,519
Singles
Career record	194–256
Career titles	4
Highest ranking	No. 23 (end 1981)
Grand Slam singles results
Australian Open	F (1978)
French Open	2R (1975, 1978)
Wimbledon	4R (1981, 1986)
US Open	3R (1974, 1976, 1980, 1988)
Doubles
Career record	385–253
Career titles	25
Highest ranking	No. 11 (March 14, 1988)
Grand Slam doubles results
Australian Open	W (1978, 1980)
French Open	SF (1981, 1985)
Wimbledon	F (1987)
US Open	SF (1978, 1984, 1987)
Mixed doubles
Grand Slam mixed doubles results
US Open	F (1987)

Last updated February 28, 2025

Helen Elizabeth "Betsy" Nagelsen McCormack (born October 23, 1956) is an American former professional tennis player.

Career

Nagelsen was the world's top junior in 1973. She won the 1973 U.S. Champion Girls' 16 and under singles. She also won the USTA Girls' Sportsmanship Award in 1974.^[2] As a professional, she won the doubles championship at the 1978 and 1980 Australian Opens (with Renáta Tomanová and Martina Navratilova, respectively), and reached the singles final of the 1978 Australian Open, losing to Christine O'Neil. Over her 21-year career on the WTA Tour, Nagelsen won 25 doubles titles and four singles titles.

Nagelsen reached her career-high singles ranking by the end of 1981, when she became the world No. 23.^[1] She also reached a career-high ranking in doubles of No. 11 on March 4, 1988. She had career wins over Navratilova, Arantxa Sánchez Vicario, Sue Barker, Pam Shriver, Claudia Kohde-Kilsch, Rosie Casals, Betty Stöve, and Sylvia Hanika. She was a four-time member of the U.S. Wightman Cup Team in 1974, 1985, 1988 and 1989.

After her retirement in 1996, Nagelsen became a commentator for ABC and ESPN in the United States and Australia's Nine Network. She married Mark McCormack, founder of the sports management group IMG, on March 1, 1986.^[3] The couple donated money for the McCormack-Nagelsen Tennis Center at the College of William and Mary in Williamsburg, Virginia. The Intercollegiate Tennis Association's Women's Tennis Hall of Fame is located on the site.

Grand Slam finals

Singles: 1 (runner-up)

Result	Year	Championship	Surface	Opponent	Score
Loss	1978	Australian Open	Grass	Chris O'Neil	3–6, 6–7^(3–7)

Doubles: 4 (2 titles, 2 runner-ups)

Result	Year	Championship	Surface	Partner	Opponents	Score
Loss	1977^(J)	Australian Open	Grass	Kerry Reid	Dianne Fromholtz Helen Gourlay	7–5, 1–6, 5–7
Win	1978	Australian Open	Grass	Renáta Tomanová	Naoko Sato Pam Whytcross	7–5, 6–2
Win	1980	Australian Open	Grass	Martina Navratilova	Ann Kiyomura Candy Reynolds	6–4, 6–4
Loss	1987	Wimbledon	Grass	Elizabeth Smylie	Claudia Kohde-Kilsch Helena Suková	5–7, 5–7

Mixed doubles: 1 (runner-up)

Result	Year	Championship	Surface	Partner	Opponents	Score
Loss	1987	US Open	Hard	Paul Annacone	Martina Navratilova Emilio Sánchez	4–6, 7–6^(8–6), 6–7^(12–14)

Grand Slam tournament performance timeline

Key
W	F	SF	QF	#R	RR	Q#	DNQ	A	NH

(W) winner; (F) finalist; (SF) semifinalist; (QF) quarterfinalist; (#R) rounds 4, 3, 2, 1; (RR) round-robin stage; (Q#) qualification round; (DNQ) did not qualify; (A) absent; (NH) not held; (SR) strike rate (events won / competed); (W–L) win–loss record.

Singles

Tournament	1974	1975	1976	1977		1978	1979	1980	1981	1982	1983	1984	1985	1986	1987	1988	1989	1990	1991	1992	1993	SR
Australian Open	A	A	A	1R	A	F	A	3R	2R	A	2R	1R	2R	NH	2R	1R	A	A	A	A	A	0 / 9
French Open	1R	2R	1R	A		2R	A	1R	1R	1R	1R	1R	1R	1R	A	A	A	1R	A	A	A	0 / 12
Wimbledon	3R	2R	1R	2R		2R	2R	3R	4R	2R	3R	2R	1R	4R	1R	1R	1R	3R	1R	Q1	Q2	0 / 18
US Open	3R	A	3R	1R		1R	1R	3R	2R	1R	1R	1R	1R	2R	2R	3R	2R	A	A	A	A	0 / 15
Strike rate	0 / 3	0 / 2	0 / 3	0 / 3		0 / 4	0 / 2	0 / 4	0 / 4	0 / 3	0 / 4	0 / 4	0 / 4	0 / 3	0 / 3	0 / 3	0 / 2	0 / 2	0 / 1	0 / 0	0 / 0	0 / 54

Note: The Australian Open was held twice in 1977, in January and December.

WTA Tour finals

Doubles: 36 (24–12)

Result	W/L	Date	Tournament	Surface	Partner	Opponents	Score
Win	1–0	Jul 1976	Gstaad, Switzerland	Clay	Wendy Turnbull	Brigitte Cuypers Annette Du Plooy	6–4, 6–4
Win	2–0	Dec 1976	Sydney, Australia	Grass	Helen Gourlay	Dianne Fromholtz Renáta Tomanová	6–4, 6–1
Loss	2–1	Jan 1977	Australian Open	Grass	Kerry Reid	Dianne Fromholtz Helen Gourlay	7–5, 1–6, 5–7
Loss	2–2	May 1978	Rome, Italy	Clay	Florența Mihai	Mima Jaušovec Virginia Ruzici	2–6, 6–2, 6–7
Win	3–2	Dec 1978	Australian Open	Grass	Renáta Tomanová	Naoko Sato Pam Whytcross	7–5, 6–2
Win	4–2	Oct 1979	Tokyo, Japan	Carpet	Penny Johnson	Chen Chuan Yu Li-Qiao	3–6, 6–4, 7–6
Loss	4–3	Aug 1980	Toronto, Canada	Hard	Ann Kiyomura	Andrea Jaeger Regina Maršíková	1–6, 3–6
Win	5–3	Dec 1980	Australian Open	Grass	Martina Navratilova	Ann Kiyomura Candy Reynolds	6–4, 6–4
Win	6–3	Sep 1981	Atlanta, US	Hard	Laura duPont	Rosie Casals Candy Reynolds	6–4, 7–5
Loss	6–4	Nov 1981	Perth, Australia	Grass	Candy Reynolds	Barbara Potter Sharon Walsh	4–6, 2–6
Win	7–4	Aug 1982	Atlanta, US	Hard	Kathy Jordan	Chris Evert Billie Jean King	4–6, 7–6^(13–11), 7–6^(7–3)
Loss	7–5	Aug 1983	Los Angeles, U.S.	Hard	Virginia Ruzici	Martina Navratilova Pam Shriver	1–6, 0–6
Win	8–5	Mar 1984	Palm Beach Gardens, US	Clay	Anne White	Rosalyn Fairbank Candy Reynolds	2–6, 6–2, 6–2
Win	9–5	Sep 1984	San Diego, US	Hard	Paula Smith	Terry Holladay Iwona Kuczyńska	6–2, 6–4
Win	10–5	Oct 1984	Tokyo, Japan	Hard	Candy Reynolds	Emilse Longo Adriana Villagrán	6–3, 6–2
Win	11–5	Jan 1985	Port St. Lucie, US	Hard	Paula Smith	Christiane Jolissaint Marcella Mesker	6–3, 6–4
Loss	11–6	Apr 1985	Tokyo, Japan	Carpet (i)	Anne White	Kathy Jordan Elizabeth Smylie	6–4, 5–7, 2–6
Loss	11–7	Jan 1986	Key Biscayne, US	Hard	Barbara Potter	Kathy Jordan Elizabeth Smylie	6–7^(6–8), 6–2, 2–6
Win	12–7	Mar 1986	Phoenix, US	Hard	Susan Mascarin	Linda Gates Alycia Moulton	6–3, 5–7, 6–4
Win	13–7	May 1986	Lugano, Switzerland	Clay	Elise Burgin	Jenny Byrne Janine Tremelling	6–2, 6–3
Win	14–7	Aug 1986	Mahwah, US	Hard	Elizabeth Smylie	Steffi Graf Helena Suková	7–6^(7–4), 6–3
Loss	14–8	Dec 1986	Brisbane, Australia	Grass	Elizabeth Smylie	Hana Mandlíková Wendy Turnbull	4–6, 3–6
Win	15–8	Jan 1987	Sydney, Australia	Grass	Elizabeth Smylie	Jenny Byrne Janine Thompson	6–7^(5–7), 7–5, 6–1
Loss	15–9	Mar 1987	Piscataway, US	Carpet (i)	Elizabeth Smylie	Gigi Fernández Lori McNeil	1–6, 4–6
Win	16–9	Apr 1987	Tokyo, Japan	Hard	Kathy Jordan	Sandy Collins Sharon Walsh	6–3, 7–5
Win	17–9	May 1987	Geneva, Switzerland	Clay	Elizabeth Smylie	Laura Gildemeister Catherine Tanvier	4–6, 6–4, 6–3
Loss	17–10	Jun 1987	Wimbledon, UK	Grass	Elizabeth Smylie	Claudia Kohde-Kilsch Helena Suková	5–7, 5–7
Win	18–10	Jan 1988	Brisbane, Australia	Grass	Pam Shriver	Claudia Kohde-Kilsch Helena Suková	2–6, 7–5, 6–2
Loss	18–11	Oct 1988	New Orleans, US	Hard	Lori McNeil	Beth Herr Candy Reynolds	4–6, 4–6
Win	19–11	Oct 1988	Brighton, UK	Carpet (i)	Lori McNeil	Isabelle Demongeot Nathalie Tauziat	7–6⁽⁵⁾, 2–6, 7–6⁽⁴⁾
Win	20–11	Nov 1988	Chicago, US	Carpet (i)	Lori McNeil	Larisa Savchenko Natasha Zvereva	6–4, 3–6, 6–4
Win	21–11	Feb 1989	Fairfax, US	Carpet	Pam Shriver	Larisa Savchenko Natasha Zvereva	6–2, 6–3
Win	22–11	Feb 1989	Memphis, US	Hard (i)	Lori McNeil	Elise Burgin Elizabeth Smylie	w/o
Win	23–11	Sep 1989	Dallas, US	Carpet (i)	Mary Joe Fernández	Elise Burgin Rosalyn Fairbank	7–6^(7–5), 6–3
Loss	23–12	May 1990	Geneva, Switzerland	Clay	Elise Burgin	Louise Field Dianne Van Rensburg	7–5, 6–7, 5–7
Win	24–12	Jul 1990	Montreal, Canada	Hard	Gabriela Sabatini	Helen Kelesi Raffaella Reggi	3–6, 6–2, 6–2

References

1 2 WTA ranking 1981
↑ "ITA Betsy Nagelsen McCormack" . Retrieved December 8, 2011.
↑ John Barrett, ed. (1990). The International Tennis Federation : World of Tennis 1990. London: Willow Books. pp. 308–309. ISBN 9780002183550.

External links

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[WTA1981-1] 1 2 WTA ranking 1981

[2] "ITA Betsy Nagelsen McCormack" . Retrieved December 8, 2011.

[wot1990-3] John Barrett, ed. (1990). The International Tennis Federation : World of Tennis 1990. London: Willow Books. pp. 308–309. ISBN 9780002183550.

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