Helen Kelesi

Helen Kelesi

Country (sports)	Canada
Born	(1969-11-15) 15 November 1969 (age 55) Victoria, British Columbia, Canada
Turned pro	1985
Plays	Right-handed (two-handed backhand)
Prize money	US$900,990
Singles
Career record	263–182
Career titles	2 WTA, 3 ITF
Highest ranking	No. 13 (20 November 1989)
Grand Slam singles results
Australian Open	3R (1990)
French Open	QF (1988, 1989)
Wimbledon	3R (1993)
US Open	3R (1986, 1987)
Other tournaments
Olympic Games	1R (1988)
Doubles
Career record	81–109
Career titles	2 WTA
Highest ranking	No. 26 (22 April 1991)
Grand Slam doubles results
Australian Open	2R (1992)
French Open	QF (1989)
Wimbledon	2R (1987, 1988)
US Open	2R (1990, 1991)
Grand Slam mixed doubles results
French Open	2R (1988)
Wimbledon	2R (1986, 1987)

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", ^[1] 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. ^{[2] [3]} 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)

Legend Grand 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 surface Hard (1–3) Grass (0–0) Clay (1–4) Carpet (0–0)

Result	W/L	Date	Tournament	Surface	Opponent	Score
Loss	0–1	Aug 1985	VS Monticello, U.S.	Hard	Barbara Potter	6–4, 3–6, 2–6
Win	1–1	Oct 1986	Japan Open	Hard	Bettina Fulco	6–2, 6–2
Win	2–1	May 1988	Ilva Trophy, Italy	Clay	Laura Garrone	6–1, 6–0
Loss	2–2	May 1988	Italian Open	Clay	Gabriela Sabatini	1–6, 7–6(4), 1–6
Loss	2–3	Aug 1988	Cincinnati Masters, U.S.	Hard	Barbara Potter	2–6, 2–6
Loss	2–4	Apr 1989	Barcelona Open, Spain	Clay	Arantxa Sánchez Vicario	2–6, 7–5, 1–6
Loss	2–5	Nov 1989	VS Nashville, U.S.	Hard (I)	Leila Meskhi	2–6, 3–6
Loss	2–6	May 1990	Geneva, Switzerland	Clay	Barbara Paulus	6–2, 5–7, 6–7(3)
Loss	2–7	May 1991	Geneva, Switzerland	Clay	Manuela Maleeva-Fragnière	3–6, 6–3, 3–6

Doubles: 5 (2 titles, 3 runner-ups)

Legend Grand 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 surface Hard (1–2) Grass (0–0) Clay (1–1) Carpet (0–0)

Result	W/L	Date	Tournament	Surface	Partner	Opponents	Score
Loss	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), 1–6
Win	1–2	May 1990	Italian Open	Clay	Monica Seles	Laura Garrone Laura Golarsa	6–3, 6–4
Loss	1–3	Aug 1990	Canadian Open	Hard	Raffaella Reggi	Betsy Nagelsen Gabriela Sabatini	6–3, 2–6, 2–6
Win	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)

Result	Date	Tournament	Surface	Opponent	Score
Win	3 February 1991	ITF Midland, United States	Hard (i)	Meredith McGrath	6–2, 6–2
Win	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)

Result	Date	Tournament	Surface	Partner	Opponents
Loss	3 February 1991	ITF Midland, United States	Hard (i)	Katrina Adams	Anne Smith Meredith McGrath	5–7, 5–7
Loss	27 January 1992	ITF Midland, United States	Hard (i)	Caroline Vis	Manon Bollegraf Meredith McGrath	3–6, 1–6

Grand Slam singles 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.

Tournament	1985	1986	1987	1988	1989	1990	1991	1992	1993	1994	1995	1996	1997	Career SR
Australian Open	A	NH	2R	A	A	3R	A	1R	A	2R	A	A	A	0 / 4
French Open	1R	1R	4R	QF	QF	2R	3R	A	1R	1R	A	A	A	0 / 9
Wimbledon	1R	2R	1R	1R	1R	1R	1R	A	3R	1R	A	A	A	0 / 9
US Open	1R	3R	3R	2R	1R	2R	2R	1R	1R	1R	A	A	A	0 / 10
SR	0 / 3	0 / 3	0 / 4	0 / 3	0 / 3	0 / 4	0 / 3	0 / 2	0 / 3	0 / 4	0 / 0	0 / 0	0 / 0	0 / 32
Year-end ranking	48	39	32	19	13	25	29	128	49	124	NR	NR	763

References

1. "Helen Kelesi". BC Sports Hall of Fame. Retrieved 25 March 2025.
2. "A tumour the size of a tennis ball couldn't stop Hurricane Helen". The Globe and Mail. 27 May 2008. Retrieved 25 March 2025.
3. S.L. Price (17 May 1997). "THE SECOND TIME AROUND HELEN KELESI WAS A TENNIS TERROR UNTIL A BRAIN TUMOR CHANGED HER LIFE AND APPROACH TO THE GAME". Vault.si. Retrieved 25 March 2025.

External links

• Helen Kelesi at the Women's Tennis Association
• Helen Kelesi at the International Tennis Federation
• Helen Kelesi at the Billie Jean King Cup (archived)
• Helen Kelesi at Olympedia
• Helen Kelesi at Olympics.com
• Helen Kelesi at Team Canada