Alexandra Winfield Stevenson (born December 15, 1980) is an American former professionaltennis player.[1] At four years old, Alexandra began learning tennis technique from Angel Lopez at the San Diego Tennis and Racquet Club. Lopez would continue to coach Alexandra through her professional career.
Stevenson's mother is Samantha Stevenson, asports journalist.[1] Her father is formerNational Basketball Association playerJulius Erving. Erving was married when he met Samantha Stevenson, and Alexandra Stevenson was conceived as a result of an affair.[2] Alexandra Stevenson met her father for the first time October 2008 after she initiated a meeting. The meeting was documented byESPN.com's "Reaching Out".[2][3] Stevenson keeps up with her father between tournaments.
Stevenson graduated from theUniversity of Colorado in December 2007, with a Bachelor of Liberal Arts, Sociology[citation needed]. She graduated on the Dean's List and is the only final-eight member to have graduated from college while playing professional tennis. Stevenson was inducted into theLa Jolla Country Day School Hall of Fame in December 2009 – joining fellow Torrey,Rashaan Salaam, the 1994 Heisman Trophy winner.[4]
Stevenson made her professional tennis debut in 1998 as a wild card at the US Open where she lost in the first round to France'sAlexandra Fusai. In 1999 Stevenson qualified and ultimately reached the quarterfinals atBirmingham, a grass warmup toWimbledon, before withdrawing toMagüi Serna because of a stomach muscle pull. The next week, Stevenson was the number one seed during qualifying at Roehampton—and did not drop a set in three rounds as she moved into the main draw at Wimbledon.
AtWimbledon, two weeks after graduating fromLa Jolla Country Day School, she became the second woman qualifier in the tennisOpen Era to reach the semifinals. It was her second time at Wimbledon, having competed the year before in the Junior Wimbledon Championships. Stevenson beat 11th seedJulie Halard in the third round. In the fourth round, she saved one match point againstLisa Raymond in a 2–6, 7–6, 6–1 win. She then beatJelena Dokić in three sets in the quarterfinals, before losing to the eventual champion, third seedLindsay Davenport. Stevenson had 57 aces during the fortnight, her serve speed over 120mph. It was the beginning of Stevenson being known for the fastestsecond serve in the women's game.[citation needed] Stevenson's second serve was 105 mph – 115 mph.Phil Knight, the co-founder and chairman ofNike, flew to London to personally sign Stevenson to a three-year contract.
But, it was in 2002 that Stevenson moved up to No. 18 in the world. She had played during the European indoor season in 2001 and was the only American player to appear in Moscow in 2001 following theSeptember 11 terrorist attacks. In 2002, prior to the European indoors, she lost to Monica Seles in the Tokyo quarterfinals 6–7(9), 6–7(9), and there were no breaks of serve until the tiebreakers.Alan Mills, the Tokyo referee and renowned Wimbledon referee proclaimed, "This is the finest women's serving match I have ever seen."[citation needed] Soon after, Seles and Stevenson were asked to serve aces for theAmerican Heart Association, bringing awareness to heart disease. Stevenson served 100 aces in 2003.[citation needed] During the 2002 European indoors, Stevenson won her first doubles title with Serena Williams inLeipzig, Germany. She reached the quarterfinals of Filderstadt, defeating number one Jennifer Capriati. She was a finalist at Linz, beating two top ten players en route, including Capriati. Stevenson finished the year at 18, percentage points away from No. 17,Elena Dementieva.
Stevenson experienced shoulder pain in 2003 at the Wimbledon Championships. She worked on strengthening the area, but was unable to repair the tear. Stevenson went to Birmingham, Alabama, where Dr. James Andrews performed a type II labral repair on her right shoulder in September 2004. In 2006, following 18 months of shoulder strengthening, Stevenson began to mount a comeback.[citation needed]
Stevenson played in the qualifying round at2006 Wimbledon, but after defeatingJelena Dokić, a player that she had played in 1999 in the Wimbledon quarterfinals, when they were both qualifiers, she suffered a pectoral strain and fell in the second round of qualifiers. At the 2006 Cincinnati Open, she also had a successful run in the qualifying round, but continued shoulder pain caused her to fall in the final round toChan Chin-wei, in three sets. By 2009, Stevenson gained shoulder strength and posted strong results.[citation needed] In 2010, Kevin Wilk, Dr. Andrews' physical therapist, said that Stevenson's shoulder "feels like a non-surgical arm."[citation needed]
Stevenson won the Sarasota Clay Court Invitational in April 2012.[citation needed]
Stevenson joined Venus Williams, Serena Williams, Lindsay Davenport, Monica Seles, Mary Pierce and Jennifer Capriati as a premier power player on the WTA Tour in 1999.[citation needed] 6' 1" and right-handed, she plays with aone-handed backhand. Her serve, forehand, and one-handed backhand are noted weapons in Stevenson's all-court game. Her fastest serve was clocked at 125 mph.[citation needed] She had the fastest second serve in the women's game from 1999 to 2004 at 105–115 mph.[citation needed] She was the first woman to amass 57 aces during the Wimbledon fortnight in 1999.[citation needed] The power game came from years of repetitive lessons. At nine years old, Stevenson began traveling from her home in San Diego to Los Angeles to be coached by Robert Lansdorp and Pete Fischer. It was Lansdorp who developed her powerful ground game, changing her two-handed backhand to a one-handed backhand.[citation needed] Lansdorp would tie her arm with an ace bandage to work on the backhand motion.[citation needed] Fischer, who also coachedPete Sampras, developed Stevenson's service motion, often used by coaches to teach "the perfect service motion."[citation needed] Fischer designed service drills to resemble Sampras' fluid serve.[citation needed]
Starting in August 2019, Stevenson joined the ESPN tennis commentating team in their coverage of the qualifying and main draws of the2019 US Open. She also did the commentating at the 2020 and 2021 US Open for ESPN.
OnSeptember 11, 2001, Stevenson lost one of her friends – Manny Del Valle, a firefighter – in theWorld Trade Center. She wrote an article inThe New York Times about Del Valle, a driver for the players at theUS Open.[5] In 2002, the four Grand Slam tournaments allowed Stevenson to wear the patch of Del Valle's Engine Company (Engine No. 5) on her Nike cap.[citation needed]
(W) winner; (F) finalist; (SF) semifinalist; (QF) quarterfinalist; (#R) rounds 4, 3, 2, 1; (RR) round-robin stage; (Q#) qualification round; (P#) preliminary round; (DNQ) did not qualify; (A) absent; (Z#) Davis/Fed Cup Zonal Group (with number indication) or (PO) play-off; (G) gold, (S) silver or (B) bronze Olympic/Paralympic medal; (NMS) not a Masters tournament; (NTI) not a Tier I tournament; (P) postponed; (NH) not held; (SR) strike rate (events won / competed); (W–L) win–loss record.
United States
Lisa Raymond
Justine Henin
Janette Husárová
Paola Suárez
Valérie Tétreault
Angelina Gabueva
Luisa Stefani