Wimbledon, 1988
Top seed, champion
Seeded first in the girls' singles, Schultz beat the seventh seed, Emmanuelle Derly of France, 7-6 (7-5), 6-1 in the final.
Source: Wimbledon Compendium 2025The Open Era
Brenda Schultz
Netherlands · born Haarlem, 1970 · right-handed · Wimbledon girls' champion 1988 and Birmingham champion 1992
All playersBack to the rankings
9
Career-high WTA singles ranking, May 1996
7
WTA singles titles
1988
Wimbledon girls' singles champion
QF
Wimbledon 1995, her best senior result there
130 mph
Serve in Cincinnati qualifying, July 2006, then the fastest recorded on the WTA Tour
Playing career
Brenda Schultz was born in Haarlem in 1970 and made her professional debut in September 1986, aged 15. In 1988, as top seed, she won the Wimbledon girls' singles, and that year reached the French Open mixed doubles final with Michiel Schapers.
She won her first grass title at Birmingham in 1992. After her marriage to Sean McCarthy in 1995 she played as Brenda Schultz-McCarthy, and that year reached the quarter-finals at Wimbledon and the US Open and the US Open doubles final with Rennae Stubbs. She reached No. 9 in singles in May 1996 and No. 7 in doubles in October 1995, won seven WTA singles titles and nine in doubles, and played the 1992 and 1996 Olympics, finishing fourth in the 1996 doubles with Manon Bollegraf.
Injuries ended her first career in 1999. She came back in 2005, hit a 130 mph serve in Cincinnati qualifying in July 2006, aged 35, and played on until 2008.
On grass
| Birmingham 1992 | Won the singles title, beating Jenny Byrne 6-2, 6-2 in the final |
|---|---|
| 's-Hertogenbosch 1996 | Won the first women's doubles title at Rosmalen with Larisa Neiland, beating Kristie Boogert and Helena Suková 6-4, 7-6 (9-7) |
| Wimbledon 1995 | As 15th seed reached the quarter-finals, beating Yayuk Basuki 6-3, 6-1 in the fourth round, and lost to second seed Arantxa Sánchez Vicario 6-4, 7-6 (7-4) |
| Wimbledon girls' 1988 | Top seed and champion, beating the seventh seed Emmanuelle Derly 7-6 (7-5), 6-1 in the final |
| Wimbledon doubles 1997 | With Chanda Rubin lost a third-round match to Martina Hingis and Arantxa Sánchez Vicario 7-6 (14-12), 6-7 (6-8), 13-11, played over two days |
Every grass title: 2
Show every title, tournament by tournament
| Birmingham | ||
|---|---|---|
| 1992 | Women's singles | |
| 's-Hertogenbosch (Rosmalen) | ||
| 1996 | Women's doubles Rosmalen Grass Court Championships | with Larisa Neiland |
Leading grass titles only: the grass majors, tour-level grass events since 1968 and the leading grass championships before 1968. †single source; ‡ sources disagree. Roll of champions
"A lot of people were asking me how fast I could serve now that I'm 35 years old"
Anecdotes
The person behind the player.
Wimbledon, 1991
Twenty-nine games to twenty-seven
In the first round of the mixed doubles, Schultz and Michiel Schapers beat Tom Nijssen and Andrea Temesvári 6-3, 5-7, 29-27. The match lasted 4 hours 14 minutes; its 77 games, and the 56 of its final set, are Wimbledon records for mixed doubles.
Source: Wimbledon Compendium 2025Wimbledon, 1995
Partner gone fishing
Murphy Jensen failed to turn up for their mixed doubles match, leaving Schultz-McCarthy waiting by No. 3 Court with their opponents, Kelly Jones and Katrina Adams. After 15 minutes the umpire defaulted them. Jensen later explained that he had been on a fishing trip, and apologised.
Source: Wimbledon Compendium 2025Cincinnati, July 2006
130 mph at 35
During her comeback, in a 6-2, 6-4 qualifying defeat by Julia Cohen, she served at 130 mph, faster than Venus Williams's 127 mph of 1998. "This is great, it's very exciting," she said. Because it came in qualifying, it was not a main-draw record.
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Where they won on grass
- Edgbaston Priory Club, Birmingham
- Autotron, Rosmalen ('s-Hertogenbosch)
- Find a grass court near you
Rivals and partners
On Grass Tennis Club
Elsewhere online
Sources
- Brenda Schultz-McCarthy, WTA profile
- Brenda Schultz-McCarthy, Olympedia
- Birmingham past winners, WTA
- Libéma Open, history and complete winners' list
- Wimbledon Compendium 2025 (AELTC)
- Wimbledon 1995 ladies' singles draw (AELTC)
- Schultz-McCarthy serve record report, World Tennis Magazine, 2006
- Sports Spectrum podcast page, 2021
- Brenda Schultz-McCarthy, Wikipedia
- 1995 Wimbledon Championships, women's singles, Wikipedia
- GTC roll of grass champions, checked against a second source where one exists
Page updated 4 November 2026. Spotted an error? Send a correction.
