American tennis player
Andrea Jaeger ( YAY-gər; born June 4, 1965) is an American former professional tennis player. A former world No. 2, Jaeger's brief but successful tennis career ended prematurely due to injury.
Jaeger started her professional tennis career at the age of 14 and went on to win pro tennis tournaments while still competing in other junior tennis events.[3][4] By the age of 16, she was the second ranked female professional tennis player in the world. Jaeger reached the singles finals at the French Open in 1982 and at Wimbledon in 1983. She also reached the singles semifinals at the Australian Open and the U.S. Open. During her career, Jaeger won 10 singles titles. In mixed doubles, Jaeger won the French Open with Jimmy Arias in 1981.
After retiring from tennis in 1987, Jaeger became involved in philanthropic efforts and started a foundation for children with cancer. In 2006, she became an Anglican Dominican nun.
Early life
Andrea Jaeger was born on June 4, 1965 in Chicago.[5] Her parents are Roland and Ilse Jaeger.[6] Jaeger grew up in Skokie and Lincolnshire, Illinois.[7]
Tennis career
While a student at Stevenson High School, Jaeger was the top-ranked player in the United States in the 18-and-under age group.[8] She won 13 U.S. national junior titles, including the most prominent junior titles in tennis: the 1979 Orange Bowl and 1979 Boca Raton.[9]
In 1980 (at the age of 15 years, 19 days), Jaeger became the youngest player ever to be seeded at Wimbledon,[10] a record that was broken by Jennifer Capriati in 1990.[11] After defeating former champion Virginia Wade, she became the youngest quarterfinalist in the history of the tournament.[12] Later in the year, she became the youngest semifinalist in US Open history. By the age of 16, she had become the second ranked female professional tennis player in the world.[6][13]
Jaeger became a household name on the front pages of news publications, notable magazines and appearances on TV. People Magazine, Sports Illustrated, Life Magazine visited her junior high and high school. One of her endorsement commercials featured Jaeger with Bjorn Borg and another with her Mom, highlighting a new way of viewing sports prodigies.[citation needed]
At the French Open in 1982, Jaeger defeated Chris Evert in the semifinal 6–3, 6–1 but lost the final to Martina Navratilova. She then reached the semifinals of both the US Open and the Australian Open, losing both matches to Evert in straight sets.[14] Jaeger and Evert met 10 times in all in 1982, with Jaeger winning three of the first five but losing the last five in a row.[15][16]
At Wimbledon in 1983, Jaeger defeated six-time Wimbledon singles champion Billie Jean King 6–1, 6–1 in a semifinal on Centre Court, which was King's last career singles match at that tournament and her most lopsided singles defeat at Wimbledon.[17][18] Jaeger then lost the final to Navratilova.[19][20] In 2003, Jaeger said that the night before the final, she had a heated argument with her father over practicing and was locked out of her apartment by him. Eventually, Jaeger asked Navratilova to convince her father to let her back in.[21]
Jaeger's career win–loss record against other top players was 3–17 against Evert, 4–11 against Navratilova, 2–8 against Tracy Austin, 6–8 against Hana Mandlíková, and 2–4 against Pam Shriver.[citation needed]
In an interview in 2003, Jaeger stated that she never was committed to being the top-ranked player in the world and tanked matches to avoid the top spot.[22][23] As she rose toward the top of the game, she started visiting hospitals during tournaments. She stated that she found it, in the words of a USA Today columnist, "difficult to reconcile the narrow-minded focus of a top tennis player with her desire to help others."[24]
Jaeger won eight of the nine singles matches she played for the U.S. in Fed Cup. She also won two of the three Wightman Cup singles matches she played for the U.S.[25]
A major shoulder injury at the age of 19 ended Jaeger's career prematurely in 1985. She went to college and obtained a degree in theology and ministry training.[26][27]
During her career, Jaeger won U.S. $1.4 million in prize money.[1]
In 2023, Jaeger stated that she had experienced sexual harassment from a WTA employee during her tennis career and was subjected to other harassment, including finding razor blades that had been placed in her sneakers.[28]
Philanthropy
Jaeger used her winnings from tennis to create the Silver Lining Foundation in 1990.[29] The foundation's purpose was to provide long term care to children with cancer and children in need.[30] Originally located in Aspen, Colorado, the organization transported groups of young cancer patients to Aspen for a week of support and activities, including horseback riding and whitewater rafting. The foundation also provided money for programs for children who could not travel. The first contributor was John McEnroe.[31] Many high-profile celebrities were involved, including Andre Agassi, Pete Sampras, David Robinson, Cindy Crawford, David Foster and Kevin Costner.[32] The foundation was later renamed ‘Little Star Foundation’, paying tribute to Rhea Olsen, a teenager with cancer from Chicago. Olsen became best friends with Jaeger and became the first-ever paid employee of the Foundation. Jaeger helped Olsen for years before her death.[33][34][35]
In 1996, Jaeger received the Samuel S. Beard Award for Greatest Public Service by an Individual 35 Years or Under, an award given annually by Jefferson Awards.[36][37][38]
Jaeger's autobiography, First Service, was published in 2004. In the book, she discussed her teenage years as a tennis player and her focus on serving God. All proceeds from the book were donated to children's charities.[39]
In 2006, Jaeger exchanged gifts with an Army Ranger serving in the Iraq War. Jaeger knew the ranger as a boy due to his cancer diagnosis and had assisted him through her foundation. He gave her his dog tags, and she gave him her Olympic ring.[40]
In the aftermath of Hurricane Sandy, Jaeger’s Foundation provided food, medical, daily, educational and recreational supplies and support to help.[41][42][43][44]
In April 2007, Jaeger and several former athletes, including Andre Agassi, Lance Armstrong, Tony Hawk, Jackie Joyner-Kersee, and Muhammad Ali, appeared on the American morning television talk show Good Morning America to announce their formation of a charity called Athletes for Hope.[45][46]
Faith
Jaeger is a member of the Episcopal Church.[14][47] On September 16, 2006, she became an Anglican Dominican nun. Jaeger is known as "Sister Andrea".[48]
United States
