Carling Bassett-Seguso
Bassett-Seguso in 1987
Country (sports) Canada
ResidenceBoca Raton, Florida, U.S.
Born (1967-10-09) 9 October 1967
Toronto, Ontario, Canada
Height1.68 m (5 ft 6 in)
Turned pro3 January 1983
Retired1988
PlaysRight-handed (two-handed backhand)
Prize moneyUS$ 643,347
Singles
Career record168–112 (60.0%)
Career titles2 WTA
Highest rankingNo. 8 (4 March 1985)
Grand Slam singles results
Australian OpenQF (1983)
French OpenQF (1984, 1986)
Wimbledon4R (1983, 1986)
US OpenSF (1984)
Other tournaments
Olympic Games1R (1988)
Doubles
Career record77–79 (49.4%)
Career titles2 WTA
Highest rankingNo. 51 (19 January 1987)
Grand Slam doubles results
Australian OpenQF (1984)
French Open3R (1987)
Wimbledon2R (1983, 1984, 1985, 1987)
US OpenQF (1985)
Other doubles tournaments
Olympic GamesQF (1988)
Grand Slam mixed doubles results
Australian Open2R (1987)
French OpenQF (1983)
Wimbledon3R (1984)
US Open2R (1986, 1988)

Carling Kathrin Bassett-Seguso (born 9 October 1967) is a former Canadian professional tennis player, fashion model and actress. Bassett is the daughter of John F. Bassett and Susan Carling, and the granddaughter of media baron John Bassett and politician and brewery executive John Carling. She was inducted into the Ontario Sports Hall of Fame in 2003.[1]

Tennis career

In 1981, Bassett won the Canadian junior indoor tennis title. In 1982, she was ranked No. 2 junior player in the world, after winning events in Tokyo and Taipei. That year, she also became the youngest winner of the Canadian closed championship at the age of 14. She won the title again in 1983 and in 1986. By age 16, Bassett was Canada's top tennis player. At the same time, she had a successful second career as a fashion model, working for the world-famous Ford modeling agency. She also dabbled in acting, being promoted as one of the stars of a 1982 teen comedy film Spring Fever, and later appearing in a 1984 episode of The Littlest Hobo.

In 1983, Bassett advanced to the quarter-finals of the Australian Open and won her first top-level singles titles in Pennsylvania. In 1984, she reached the quarterfinals at the French Open and, in her best performance at a Grand Slam, the semi-finals at the US Open where she defeated Elizabeth Smylie, Pascale Paradis, Mima Jaušovec, Petra Delhees and Hana Mandlíková before losing to Chris Evert. She reached the French Open quarterfinals again in 1986. Bassett won her second top-level singles title in 1987 at Strasbourg.

Bassett was named the WTA's Most Impressive Newcomer in 1983, and Canada's Female Athlete of the Year in 1983 and 1985. During her career, Bassett won a total of two top-level singles titles and two doubles titles.

Personal life

Following her tennis career, Bassett admitted she had struggled for years with the eating disorder bulimia. "It becomes part of your life, like smoking," she told People Magazine in 1992. "Or it's like being an alcoholic. It's so easy to get into and so hard to get out of. I hated myself that I couldn't stop."

Bassett married American tennis player Robert Seguso in 1987.[2] The couple have two sons and three daughters – Holden John Seguso, born 14 March 1988, daughter Carling Jr., born in 1990, Ridley Jack, born in 1993, Lennon Shy on 10 April 2010 and the youngest, Theodora. Holden has played in a handful of Futures tennis tournaments, off and on, since 2005.

On Monday, 13 August 2007, during the Canadian Open Tennis Championships at the Rexall Centre in Toronto, Bassett, along with John McEnroe, was inducted into the Canadian Tennis Hall of Fame. After the ceremony, Bassett teamed up with US tennis great Jim Courier for a friendly doubles match against McEnroe and Anna Kournikova.[3]

WTA career finals

Singles: 6 (2 titles, 4 runner-ups)

Winner – Legend
Grand Slam tournaments (0–0)
WTA Tour Championships (0–0)
Virginia Slims (2–4)
Finals by surface
Hard (0–2)
Grass (0–0)
Clay (1–1)
Carpet (1–1)
Result W/L Date Tournament Surface Opponent Score
Win 1–0 Feb 1983 Hershey, U.S. Carpet (i) United States Sandy Collins 2–6, 6–0, 6–4
Loss 1–1 Feb 1983 Palm Springs, U.S. Hard South Africa Yvonne Vermaak 3–6, 5–7
Loss 1–2 Apr 1983 Amelia Island, U.S. Clay United States Chris Evert-Lloyd 3–6, 6–2, 5–7
Loss 1–3 Nov 1983 Honolulu, U.S. Carpet (i) United States Kathleen Horvath 6–4, 2–6, 6–7(1–7)
Loss 1–4 Oct 1984 Tampa, U.S. Hard United States Michelle Torres 1–6, 6–7(4–7)
Win 2–4 May 1987 Strasbourg, France Clay Italy Sandra Cecchini 6–3, 6–4

Doubles: 3 (2 titles, 1 runner-up)

Winner – Legend
Grand Slam tournaments (0–0)
WTA Tour Championships (0–0)
Virginia Slims (2–1)
Finals by surface
Hard (2–0)
Grass (0–0)
Clay (0–1)
Carpet (0–0)
Result W/L Date Tournament Surface Partner Opponents Score
Win 1–0 Oct 1984 Tampa, U.S. Hard Australia Elizabeth Sayers United States Mary-Lou Daniels
United States Wendy White		 6–4, 6–3
Loss 1–1 Apr 1985 Amelia Island, U.S. Clay United States Chris Evert-Lloyd South Africa Rosalyn Fairbank
Czechoslovakia Hana Mandlíková		 1–6, 6–2, 2–6
Win 2–1 Nov 1985 Tampa, U.S. Hard Argentina Gabriela Sabatini United States Lisa Bonder
Peru Laura Gildemeister		 6–0, 6–0

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.
Tournament198219831984198519861987198819891990Career SR
Australian Open A QF 1R A NH 4R A A A 0 / 3
French Open A 1R QF 4R QF 3R 1R A A 0 / 6
Wimbledon A 4R 3R 2R 4R 1R 1R A A 0 / 6
US Open A 3R SF 4R 1R 2R 3R 1R A 0 / 7
SR 0 / 0 0 / 4 0 / 4 0 / 3 0 / 3 0 / 4 0 / 3 0 / 1 0 / 0 0 / 22
Year-end ranking 95 20 11 15 20 31 147 158 157

References

  1. ↑ "Carling Bassett-Seguso". oshof.ca. Ontario Sports Hall of Fame. Archived from the original on 28 December 2014. Retrieved 25 September 2014.
  2. ↑ SPORTS PEOPLE; A Tennis Wedding – New York Times
  3. ↑ "Tennis tourney serves up retro aces". Etobicoke Guardian. 14 August 2007. Retrieved 9 April 2015.
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