Lori McNeil facts for kids

Quick facts for kids
Lori McNeil

Country (sports)	United States
Residence	Houston, Texas
Born	(1963-12-18) December 18, 1963 (age 61) San Diego, California
Height	1.70 m (5 ft 7 in)
Turned pro	1983
Retired	2002
Plays	Right-handed (one handed-backhand)
Prize money	$3,441,604
Singles
Career record	436–309 (58.52%)
Career titles	10
Highest ranking	No. 9 (July 4, 1988)
Grand Slam singles results
Australian Open	QF (1987)
French Open	3R (1988, 1992, 1994)
Wimbledon	SF (1994)
US Open	SF (1987)
Doubles
Career record	605–335 (64.36%)
Career titles	33
Highest ranking	No. 4 (November 9, 1987)
Grand Slam doubles results
Australian Open	F (1987)
French Open	QF (1987, 1992, 1993)
Wimbledon	SF (1987)
US Open	SF (1995, 1996)
Mixed doubles
Career titles	1
Grand Slam mixed doubles results
Australian Open	SF (1997)
French Open	W (1988)
Wimbledon	F (1994)
US Open	QF (1992)

Lori McNeil (born December 18, 1963) is an American tennis coach and former top 10 player. She was a great tennis player who competed in many big tournaments. Lori reached the semifinals at the US Open in 1987 and at Wimbledon in 1994. She also made it to the finals in women's doubles at the Australian Open in 1987 with her partner Zina Garrison. In 1988, she won the mixed-doubles title at the French Open with Jorge Lozano.

Lori McNeil's Early Life and Family

Lori McNeil was the youngest of four children. Her mom was Dorothy, and her dad was Charlie McNeil. Her father played professional football for the San Diego Chargers in the 1960s.

Her family moved from San Diego to Houston. There, Lori learned to play tennis at MacGregor Park playground. This was a public tennis facility in the Third Ward area. She became very good friends with Zina Garrison there. Zina also became a professional tennis player later on.

Lori McNeil's Tennis Career Highlights

Lori McNeil went to Oklahoma State University for two years. She played tennis for the Cowgirls team. In 1983, she reached the quarterfinals of the NCAA tournament.

She played on the WTA Tour for 19 years, from 1983 to 2002. During her career, she won 10 singles titles and 33 doubles titles. Her highest ranking in singles was No. 9 in the world in 1988. For doubles, she reached No. 4 in the world in 1987.

In 1987, Lori McNeil was named the WTA Most Improved Player of the Year. This award goes to the player who shows the most improvement in their game.

Big Wins Against Steffi Graf

Lori McNeil is well-known for her matches against Steffi Graf. Steffi Graf was one of the best tennis players ever. In 1992, Lori beat Graf 7–6, 6–4 in the first round of the WTA Tour Championships. This was a big deal because it was the first time since 1985 that Graf had lost in the first round of any tournament.

Then, in 1994, Lori did it again at Wimbledon. She beat Graf 7–5, 7–6 in the first round. This was a historic moment! It was the first time in Grand Slam history that a defending champion lost in the very first round.

After that big win, Lori went on to reach the semifinals at Wimbledon that year. She lost to the player who eventually won the tournament, Conchita Martínez, in a close match (3-6, 6-2, 10-8). This was her best result in a Grand Slam singles tournament. She also reached the semifinals at the US Open in 1987. In that tournament, she beat six-time champion Chris Evert in the quarterfinals. She then lost to Steffi Graf (4-6, 6-2, 6-4).

Doubles Success and Coaching

Even though Lori never won a women's doubles Grand Slam title, she was very successful. She reached the quarterfinal stage or better 22 times in major tournaments. She won many WTA Tour doubles titles with famous partners. These partners included Martina Navratilova, Gigi Fernández, Rennae Stubbs, Katrina Adams, Zina Garrison, and Helena Suková.

After her playing career, Lori McNeil became a coach. From 2001 to 2004, she coached Amanda Coetzer, who was a top-5 player. As a team, coach and student reached the doubles quarterfinals of the 2002 Australian Open. Lori was also an Assistant Coach for the US Olympic tennis teams in 2004 and 2008.

In 2006, Lori McNeil was honored for her achievements. She was inducted into the ITA Hall of Fame.

Grand Slam Tournament Finals

Lori McNeil played in several Grand Slam finals. These are the biggest tennis tournaments in the world.

Doubles Final: 1 (Runner-up)

She reached one doubles final but finished as the runner-up.

Result	Year	Tournament	Surface	Partner	Opponents	Score
Loss	1987	Australian Open	Grass	Zina Garrison	Martina Navratilova Pam Shriver	6–1, 6–0

Mixed Doubles Finals: 4 (1 Title, 3 Runner-ups)

Lori McNeil played in four mixed doubles finals. She won one title and was runner-up three times.

Result	Year	Tournament	Surface	Partner	Opponents	Score
Loss	1987	French Open	Clay	Sherwood Stewart	Pam Shriver Emilio Sánchez	6–3, 7–6(7–4)
Win	1988	French Open	Clay	Jorge Lozano	Brenda Schultz Michiel Schapers	7–5, 6–2
Loss	1992	French Open	Clay	Bryan Shelton	Arantxa Sánchez Vicario Mark Woodforde	6–2, 6–3
Loss	1994	Wimbledon	Grass	T. J. Middleton	Helena Suková Todd Woodbridge	3–6, 7–5, 6–3

WTA Tour Finals

The WTA Tour is where professional women's tennis players compete. Lori McNeil played in many finals during her career.

Singles Finals: 21 (10 Titles, 11 Runner-ups)

Lori McNeil won 10 singles titles and was runner-up 11 times.

Result	W/L	Date	Tournament	Surface	Opponent	Score
Loss	0–1	Feb 1986	Oklahoma City, US	Carpet (i)	Marcella Mesker	4–6, 6–4, 3–6
Loss	0–2	Jul 1986	Newport, US	Grass	Pam Shriver	4–6, 2–6
Win	1–2	Sep 1986	Tampa, US	Hard	Zina Garrison	2–6, 7–5, 6–2
Win	2–2	Sep 1986	Tulsa, US	Hard	Beth Herr	6–0, 6–1
Loss	2–3	Feb 1987	Oklahoma City, US	Hard	Elizabeth Smylie	6–4, 3–6, 5–7
Loss	2–4	Mar 1987	Piscataway, US	Carpet (i)	Helena Suková	0–6, 3–6
Loss	2–5	Sep 1987	New Orleans, US	Carpet (i)	Chris Evert	3–6, 5–7
Win	3–5	Feb 1988	Oklahoma City, US	Carpet (i)	Brenda Schultz	6–3, 6–2
Loss	3–6	May 1988	Geneva, Switzerland	Clay	Barbara Paulus	4–6, 7–5, 1–6
Win	4–6	Jul 1988	Newport, US	Grass	Barbara Potter	6–4, 4–6, 6–3
Loss	4–7	Jan 1989	Tokyo, Japan	Carpet (i)	Martina Navratilova	7–6(7–3), 3–6, 6–7(5–7)
Win	5–7	Aug 1989	Albuquerque, US	Hard	Elna Reinach	6–1, 6–3
Win	6–7	Feb 1991	Denver, US	Carpet (i)	Manon Bollegraf	6–3, 6–4
Win	7–7	Apr 1991	Tokyo, Japan	Hard	Sabine Appelmans	2–6, 6–2, 6–1
Loss	7–8	Jul 1991	Westchester, US	Hard	Isabelle Demongeot	4–6, 4–6
Loss	7–9	Feb 1992	Oklahoma City, US	Hard (i)	Zina Garrison	5–7, 6–3, 5–7(10)
Win	8–9	Jun 1992	Eastbourne, UK	Grass	Linda Wild	6–4, 6–4
Win	9–9	Jun 1993	Birmingham, UK	Grass	Zina Garrison	6–4, 2–6, 6–3
Win	10–9	Jun 1994	Birmingham, UK	Grass	Zina Garrison	6–2, 6–2
Loss	10–10	Jun 1995	Birmingham, UK	Grass	Zina Garrison	3–6, 3–6
Loss	10–11	Nov 1995	Philadelphia, US	Carpet (i)	Steffi Graf	1–6, 6–4, 3–6

Doubles Finals: 64 (33 Titles, 31 Runner-ups)

Lori McNeil won 33 doubles titles and was runner-up 31 times.

Result	No.	Date	Tournament	Surface	Partner	Opponents	Score
Win	1.	Sep 1983	Bakersfield	Hard	Kyle Copeland	Ann Henricksson Patricia Medrado	6–4, 6–3
Loss	1.	Apr 1985	Seabrook Island	Clay	Elise Burgin	Svetlana Parkhomenko Larisa Savchenko	1–6, 3–6
Win	2.	Oct 1985	Brighton	Carpet (i)	Catherine Suire	Barbara Potter Helena Suková	4–6, 7–6(3), 6–4
Loss	2.	Feb 1986	Memphis	Carpet (i)	Catherine Suire	Marcella Mesker Pascale Paradis	6–2, 6–7(1), 1–6
Loss	3.	Oct 1986	Zürich	Carpet (i)	Alycia Moulton	Steffi Graf Gabriela Sabatini	6–1, 4–6, 4–6
Win	3.	Oct 1986	Indianapolis	Hard (i)	Zina Garrison	Candy Reynolds Anne Smith	4–5 ret.
Win	4.	Nov 1986	San Juan	Hard	Mercedes Paz	Gigi Fernández Robin White	6–2, 3–6, 6–4
Win	5.	Dec 1986	Buenos Aires	Clay	Mercedes Paz	Manon Bollegraf Nicole Jagerman	6–1, 2–6, 6–1
Loss	4.	Jan 1987	Australian Open	Grass	Zina Garrison	Martina Navratilova Pam Shriver	1–6, 0–6
Loss	5.	Feb 1987	Memphis	Hard	Kim Sands	Svetlana Parkhomenko Larisa Savchenko	4–6, 4–6
Loss	6.	Mar 1987	Washington D.C.	Carpet (i)	Zina Garrison	Elise Burgin Pam Shriver	1–6, 6–3, 4–6
Win	6.	Mar, 1987	Piscataway	Carpet (i)	Gigi Fernández	Betsy Nagelsen Elizabeth Smylie	6–1, 6–4
Loss	7.	Apr 1987	Hilton Head	Clay	Zina Garrison	Mercedes Paz Eva Pfaff	6–7(6), 5–7
Loss	8.	Apr 1987	Houston	Clay	Zina Garrison	Kathy Jordan Martina Navratilova	2–6, 4–6
Win	7.	Jul 1987	Newport	Grass	Gigi Fernández	Anne Hobbs Kathy Jordan	7–6(5), 7–5
Loss	9.	Aug 1987	Los Angeles	Hard	Zina Garrison	Martina Navratilova Pam Shriver	3–6, 4–6
Win	8.	Aug 1987	Toronto	Hard	Zina Garrison	Claudia Kohde-Kilsch Helena Suková	6–1, 6–2
Win	9.	Aug 1987	Mahwah	Hard	Gigi Fernández	Anne Hobbs Elizabeth Smylie	6–3, 6–2
Win	10.	Sep 1987	New Orleans	Carpet (i)	Zina Garrison	Peanut Louie Harper Heather Ludloff	6–3, 6–4
Loss	10.	Oct 1987	Filderstadt	Carpet (i)	Zina Garrison	Martina Navratilova Pam Shriver	1–6, 2–6
Loss	11.	Nov 1987	Chicago	Carpet (i)	Zina Garrison	Claudia Kohde-Kilsch Helena Suková	4–6, 3–6
Win	11.	Feb 1988	Dallas	Carpet (i)	Eva Pfaff	Gigi Fernández Zina Garrison	2–6, 6–4, 7–5
Win	12.	Feb 1988	San Antonio	Hard	Helena Suková	Rosalyn Fairbank Gretchen Magers	6–3, 6–7(5), 6–2
Win	13.	Apr 1988	Hilton Head	Clay	Martina Navratilova	Claudia Kohde-Kilsch Gabriela Sabatini	6–2, 2–6, 6–3
Loss	12.	Apr 1988	Houston	Clay	Martina Navratilova	Katrina Adams Zina Garrison	7–6(4), 2–6, 4–6
Loss	13.	Jul 1988	Newport	Grass	Gigi Fernández	Rosalyn Fairbank Barbara Potter	4–6, 3–6
Loss	14.	Oct 1988	New Orleans	Hard	Betsy Nagelsen	Beth Herr Candy Reynolds	4–6, 4–6
Win	14.	Oct 1988	Brighton	Carpet (i)	Betsy Nagelsen	Isabelle Demongeot Nathalie Tauziat	7–6(5), 2–6, 7–6(4)
Win	15.	Nov 1988	Chicago	Carpet (i)	Betsy Nagelsen	Larisa Savchenko Natasha Zvereva	6–4, 3–6, 6–4
Loss	15.	Nov 1988	Adelaide	Hard	Jana Novotná	Sylvia Hanika Claudia Kohde-Kilsch	5–7, 7–6(4), 4–6
Win	16.	Feb 1989	Memphis	Hard (i)	Betsy Nagelsen	Elise Burgin Elizabeth Smylie	w/o
Loss	16.	Mar 1989	Key Biscayne	Hard	Gigi Fernández	Jana Novotná Helena Suková	6–7(5), 4–6
Loss	17.	Apr 1989	Houston	Clay	Gigi Fernández	Katrina Adams Zina Garrison	3–6, 4–6
Win	17.	May 1989	Geneva	Clay	Katrina Adams	Larisa Savchenko Natasha Zvereva	2–6, 6–3, 6–4
Win	18.	Jul 1989	Newport	Grass	Gigi Fernández	Elizabeth Smylie Wendy Turnbull	6–3, 6–7(5), 7–5
Win	19.	Oct 1989	Brighton	Carpet (i)	Katrina Adams	Hana Mandlíková Jana Novotná	4–6, 7–6(7), 6–4
Win	20.	Oct 1989	Indianapolis	Hard (i)	Katrina Adams	Claudia Porwik Larisa Savchenko	6–4, 6–4
Loss	18.	Feb 1991	Denver	Carpet (i)	Patty Fendick	Lise Gregory Gretchen Rush	4–6, 4–6
Win	21.	May 1991	Strasbourg	Clay	Stephanie Rehe	Manon Bollegraf Mercedes Paz	6–7(2), 6–4, 6–4
Loss	19.	Jul 1991	Westchester	Hard	Katrina Adams	Rosalyn Fairbank Lise Gregory	5–7, 4–6
Win	22.	Sep 1991	Milan	Carpet (i)	Sandy Collins	Sabine Appelmans Raffaella Reggi	7–6(0), 6–3
Loss	20.	Oct 1991	Zürich	Carpet (i)	Zina Garrison	Jana Novotná Andrea Strnadová	4–6, 3–6
Loss	21.	Oct 1991	Brighton	Carpet (i)	Zina Garrison	Pam Shriver Natasha Zvereva	1–6, 2–6
Win	23.	Feb 1992	Memphis	Hard (i)	Nicole Provis	Katrina Adams Manon Bollegraf	3–6, 6–4, 7–6(6)
Loss	22.	May 1992	Strasbourg	Clay	Mercedes Paz	Patty Fendick Andrea Strnadová	3–6, 4–6
Win	24.	Jun 1992	Birmingham	Grass	Rennae Stubbs	Sandy Collins Elna Reinach	5–7, 6–3, 8–6
Win	25.	Aug 1992	Montreal	Hard	Rennae Stubbs	Gigi Fernández Natasha Zvereva	3–6, 7–5, 7–5
Loss	23.	Jan 1993	Sydney	Hard	Rennae Stubbs	Pam Shriver Elizabeth Smylie	6–7(4), 2–6
Loss	24.	Feb 1993	Tokyo	Carpet (i)	Rennae Stubbs	Martina Navratilova Helena Suková	4–6, 3–6
Win	26.	Jun 1993	Birmingham	Grass	Martina Navratilova	Pam Shriver Elizabeth Smylie	6–3, 6–4
Win	27.	Mar 1994	Hilton Head	Clay	Arantxa Sánchez Vicario	Gigi Fernández Natasha Zvereva	6–4, 4–1 ret.
Win	28.	May 1994	Strasbourg	Clay	Rennae Stubbs	Patricia Tarabini Caroline Vis	6–3, 3–6, 6–2
Loss	25.	Mar 1995	Delray Beach	Hard	Larisa Neiland	Mary Joe Fernández Jana Novotná	4–6, 0–6
Loss	26.	Oct 1995	Brighton	Carpet (i)	Helena Suková	Meredith McGrath Larisa Neiland	5–7, 1–6
Win	29.	Oct 1995	Oakland	Carpet (i)	Helena Suková	Katrina Adams Zina Garrison	3–6, 6–4, 6–3
Win	30.	Nov 1995	Philadelphia	Carpet (i)	Helena Suková	Meredith McGrath Larisa Neiland	4–6, 6–3, 6–4
Loss	27.	Jan 1996	Sydney	Hard	Helena Suková	Lindsay Davenport Mary Joe Fernández	3–6, 3–6
Loss	28.	Feb 1996	Essen	Carpet (i)	Helena Suková	Meredith McGrath Larisa Neiland	6–3, 3–6, 2–6
Loss	29.	Jun 1996	Birmingham	Grass	Nathalie Tauziat	Elizabeth Smylie Linda Wild	3–6, 6–3, 1–6
Loss	30.	Nov 1996	Philadelphia	Carpet (i)	Nicole Arendt	Lisa Raymond Rennae Stubbs	4–6, 6–3, 3–6
Win	31.	Oct 1998	Quebec City	Hard (i)	Kimberly Po	Chanda Rubin Sandrine Testud	6–7(3), 7–5, 6–4
Win	32.	Feb 2001	Memphis	Hard (i)	Amanda Coetzer	Janet Lee Wynne Prakusya	6–3, 2–6, 6–0
Loss	31.	May 2001	Strasbourg	Clay	Amanda Coetzer	Silvia Farina Elia Iroda Tulyaganova	1–6, 6–7(0)
Win	33.	Sep 2001	Bahia	Hard	Amanda Coetzer	Nicole Arendt Patricia Tarabini	6–7(8), 6–2, 6–4

See also

In Spanish: Lori McNeil para niños