MONTREAL, July 28, 2017 (Tennis Canada Press Release)
Tennis Canada announced on Friday that former world No. 1 and Grand Slam champion Tracy Austin will be inducted into the Rogers Cup Hall of Fame at the 2017 Rogers Cup presented by National Bank in Toronto. She will be celebrated in a special Centre Court ceremony to be held at Aviva Centre on Friday August 11 before the evening’s two quarter-final matches.
“We are thrilled to be honouring Tracy Austin at this year’s Rogers Cup,” said Karl Hale, Rogers Cup Toronto tournament director. “It’s definitely appropriate that in our 125thanniversary year we are inducting one of our great former women’s champions into the Rogers Cup Hall of Fame. Tracy was part of an incredible era of tennis and her talent combined with her competitive attitude made her a fan favourite and always exciting to watch. We can’t wait to welcome Tracy back to Toronto and celebrate her many achievements.”
In her two appearances at Rogers Cup over the course of her short career, she made her time on Canadian soil count, posting a 7-1 record and capturing the title in her Rogers Cup debut. En route to the 1981 championship, the then-18-year-old defeated Martina Navratilova in the semifinals followed by Chris Evert for the title, defeating both in straight sets.
Austin captured 35 career titles, including three Grand Slam trophies, during her time on the tour. She was a two-time US Open champion, with her win at age 16 in 1979 making her the youngest female singles champion in tournament history. Austin also won the Wimbledon mixed doubles title alongside her brother John Austin, and the pair became the first brother-sister team to ever win a Grand Slam.
She reached the world No. 1 ranking in April of 1980. While Austin’s promising career was cut short due to injuries, she was inducted into the International Tennis Hall of Fame in 1992 for her many accomplishments.
She has remained involved in the sport ever since, and has provided analysis and valuable on-court insight to Rogers Cup television broadcasts since 2004. She will be back in the broadcast booth for Sportsnet this year as well.
The Rogers Cup Hall of Fame recognizes key contributors to Canada’s premier tennis tournament over the years. Austin will join an impressive list of past inductees including Billie Jean King, Stefan Edberg, Andre Agassi, Monica Seles, Justine Henin, Chris Evert, and John McEnroe.
