Kathy Rinaldi

Kathy Rinaldi-Stunkel
Country (sports)	United States
Residence	Palm City, Florida
Born	March 24, 1967 (age 57); Stuart, Florida
Height	1.68 m (5 ft 6 in)
Turned pro	1980
Retired	September 1997
Plays	Right-handed (two-handed backhand)
Prize money	$1,353,737
Singles
Career record	277–217
Career titles	3 WTA, 0 ITF
Highest ranking	No. 7 (May 26, 1986)
Grand Slam singles results
Australian Open	3R (1984)
French Open	QF (1981, 1986)
Wimbledon	SF (1985)
US Open	4R (1982)
Doubles
Career record	200–184
Career titles	2 WTA, 2 ITF
Highest ranking	No. 13 (February 8, 1993)

Last updated October 09, 2024

Kathy Rinaldi-Stunkel (born March 24, 1967) is an American former professional tennis player, who retired in September 1997. In her career she won three singles and two doubles titles on the WTA Tour, and reached the semifinals of the 1985 Wimbledon Championships.

Career

Rinaldi reached her highest career ranking on May 26, 1986, when she was ranked world No. 7. The recipient of WTA Most Impressive Newcomer Award in 1981 and WTA Comeback Player of the Year Award in 1989, she had career wins over top players such as Steffi Graf, Jana Novotná, Sue Barker, Pam Shriver, Hana Mandlíková, Wendy Turnbull, Manuela Maleeva, Dianne Fromholtz, Helena Suková, Claudia Kohde-Kilsch, Zina Garrison, Sylvia Hanika, Kathy Jordan, Jo Durie, and Natasha Zvereva.

In 1981, Rinaldi became the youngest player to win a match at Wimbledon (14 years, 91 days), a record that stood until 1990. After the 1987 French Open, she suffered a freak injury in Monte Carlo, slipping on stairs, and in trying to catch herself, fracturing her right thumb. This injury sidelined her for the rest of the year. She was a member of the US Wightman Cup Team in 1983, 1985, and 1986.

Fed Cup

In December 2016, Rinaldi was appointed as the captain of the United States Fed Cup team, succeeding Mary Joe Fernandez.^[1]^[2] In her first year as Fed Cup captain, the U.S. won the 2017 Fed Cup.

Family

Rinaldi married Brad Stunkel, her high school sweetheart, on December 11, 1993, and adopted his surname. She gave birth to a son, Bradley Benton Stunkel Jr., on February 8, 1995. The family currently resides in Palm City, Florida.

Awards and recognitions

1981: WTA Most Impressive Newcomer of the Year
1989: WTA Comeback of the Year

WTA career finals

Singles: 7 (3–4)

Legend
Grand Slam tournaments (0–0)
WTA Tour Championships (0–0)
Virginia Slims, Avon, other (3–4)

Finals by surface
Hard (2–1)
Grass (0–0)
Clay (0–2)
Carpet (1–1)

Result	No.	Date	Tournament	Surface	Opponent	Score
Win	1.	Oct 1981	Kyoto	Hard	Julie Harrington	6–1, 7–5
Loss	1.	May 1982	Berlin	Clay	Bettina Bunge	2–6, 2–6
Loss	2.	Jul 1982	San Diego	Hard	Tracy Austin	6–7^(5–7), 3–6
Win	2.	Aug 1985	Mahwah	Hard	Steffi Graf	6–4, 3–6, 6–4
Loss	3.	Sep 1985	Chicago	Carpet (i)	Bonnie Gadusek	1–6, 3–6
Loss	4.	May 1986	Houston	Clay	Chris Evert-Lloyd	4–6, 6–2, 4–6
Win	3.	Nov 1986	Little Rock	Carpet (i)	Natasha Zvereva	6–4, 6–7^(7–9), 6–0

Doubles: 12 (2–10)

Legend
Grand Slam tournaments (0–0)
Tier I (0–2)
Tier II (1–2)
Tier III (1–3)
Tier IV (0–2)
Tier V (1–1)

Finals by surface
Hard (1–7)
Grass (0–0)
Clay (1–2)
Carpet (0–1)

Result	No.	Date	Tournament	Surface	Partner	Opponents	Score
Loss	1.	Mar 1991	San Antonio	Hard	Jill Hetherington	Patty Fendick Monica Seles	6–7^(2–7), 2–6
Win	1.	Apr 1991	Houston	Clay	Jill Hetherington	Patty Fendick Mary Joe Fernández	6–1, 2–6, 6–1
Win	2.	Aug 1991	San Diego	Hard	Jill Hetherington	Gigi Fernández Nathalie Tauziat	6–4, 3–6, 6–2
Loss	2.	Oct 1991	Leipzig	Carpet (i)	Jill Hetherington	Manon Bollegraf Isabelle Demongeot	4–6, 3–6
Loss	3.	Feb 1992	Auckland	Hard	Jill Hetherington	Rosalyn Fairbank Raffaella Reggi	6–1, 1–6, 5–7
Loss	4.	Mar 1992	Indian Wells	Hard	Jill Hetherington	Claudia Kohde-Kilsch Stephanie Rehe	3–6, 3–6
Loss	5.	Mar 1992	Key Biscayne	Hard	Jill Hetherington	Larisa Neiland Arantxa Sánchez Vicario	5–7, 7–5, 3–6
Loss	6.	Apr 1992	Houston	Clay	Jill Hetherington	Patty Fendick Gigi Fernández	5–7, 4–6
Loss	7.	Nov 1992	San Juan	Hard	Gigi Fernández	Amanda Coetzer Elna Reinach	2–6, 6–4, 2–6
Loss	8.	Feb 1993	Auckland	Hard	Jill Hetherington	Isabelle Demongeot Elna Reinach	2–6, 4–6
Loss	9.	Mar 1993	Key Biscayne	Hard	Jill Hetherington	Larisa Neiland Jana Novotná	2–6, 5–7
Loss	10.	May 1993	Strasbourg	Clay	Jill Hetherington	Shaun Stafford Andrea Temesvári	7–6^(7–5), 3–6, 4–6

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	1981	1982	1983	1984	1985	1986	1987	1988	1989	1990	1991	1992	1993	1994	1995	1996	Career W–L
Australian Open	A	A	1R	3R	A	NH	A	A	A	2R	1R	A	1R	1R	A	A	3–6
French Open	QF	4R	4R	3R	3R	QF	3R	1R	2R	1R	2R	1R	3R	A	A	A	24–13
Wimbledon	2R	3R	4R	1R	SF	1R	A	A	1R	1R	1R	2R	2R	A	A	1R	13–12
US Open	1R	4R	2R	2R	1R	1R	A	1R	2R	2R	2R	2R	1R	A	1R	1R	9–14
Win–loss	5–3	8–3	7–4	5–4	7–3	4–3	2–1	0–2	2–3	2–4	2–4	2–3	3–4	0–1	0–1	0–2	49–45
Year-end ranking	33	15	16	23	11	8	26	88	52	69	105	111	83	NR	NR	225

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References

↑ Ashley Marshall (December 8, 2016). "Rinaldi to lead U.S. Fed Cup team in expanded captaincy role". www.usta.com. United States Tennis Association (USTA).
↑ Sandra Harwitt (December 9, 2016). "Rinaldi appointed USA Fed Cup captain". www.fedcup.com. International Tennis Federation (ITF).

External links

Kathy Rinaldi at the Women's Tennis Association
Kathy Rinaldi at the International Tennis Federation

Awards and achievements
Preceded by Andrea Jaeger	WTA Most Impressive Newcomer of the Year 1981	Succeeded by Zina Garrison
Preceded by Pascale Paradis	WTA Comeback of the Year 1989	Succeeded by Elizabeth Smylie

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[1] Ashley Marshall (December 8, 2016). "Rinaldi to lead U.S. Fed Cup team in expanded captaincy role". www.usta.com. United States Tennis Association (USTA).

[2] Sandra Harwitt (December 9, 2016). "Rinaldi appointed USA Fed Cup captain". www.fedcup.com. International Tennis Federation (ITF).

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