The Open Era
United States · born Detroit, Michigan, 1978 · Wimbledon doubles champion 1999 with Lindsay Davenport · world No. 1 in doubles
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1999
Wimbledon doubles title with Lindsay Davenport
12-0
Sets won by Davenport and Morariu on the way to the 1999 title
1
World doubles ranking, reached in April 2000
2
Grass titles in 1999: Birmingham with Larisa Neiland, then Wimbledon
29
Career-high singles ranking, 1998
Morariu was born in Detroit on 26 January 1978, the daughter of two Romanian-born doctors, Albin and Rodica. Her father taught her tennis from the age of two and the family moved to Boca Raton, Florida, where her game developed. She turned professional in 1994 and reached No. 29 in singles in 1998.
Doubles was her strength. In June 1999 she won Birmingham with Larisa Neiland and then Wimbledon with her close friend Lindsay Davenport, and in April 2000 she became the world No. 1 in doubles. In January 2001 she won the Australian Open mixed doubles with Ellis Ferreira.
In May 2001 she was diagnosed with leukaemia and treated with chemotherapy. She returned to competition in the summer of 2002; the WTA created a courage award in her name and made her its first recipient, and she was also named the tour's Comeback Player of the Year. Shoulder surgery limited her to doubles, but in 2005 she and Davenport reached the Australian Open final. She retired in 2007, became a commentator for Tennis Channel and wrote a memoir, Living Through the Racket.
| Wimbledon 1999 final | Seeded seventh with Lindsay Davenport, beat Mariaan de Swardt and Elena Tatarkova 6-4, 6-4 on No. 1 Court in 82 minutes |
|---|---|
| Without a set lost | Davenport and Morariu won the 1999 title 12 sets to none and 75 games to 38, one of only a handful of pairs to win the ladies' doubles without dropping a set |
| Birmingham 1999 | With Larisa Neiland beat Alexandra Fusai and Inés Gorrochategui 6-4, 6-4 in the final, a fortnight before Wimbledon |
| Wimbledon singles | Reached the third round in 1998 and 1999 |
| Wimbledon | ||
|---|---|---|
| 1999 | Women's doubles | with Lindsay Davenport |
| Birmingham | ||
| 1999 | Women's doubles | 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
"She was like a sister to me on the road."
The person behind the player.
Wimbledon 2000
In 2000 Davenport, as the defending ladies' champion, played the traditional opening ladies' match on Centre Court. Her opponent was Morariu, her doubles partner and friend.
Source: Wimbledon Compendium 2025 (AELTC)November 1999
Morariu married her coach, Andrew Turcinovich, in November 1999, four months after her Wimbledon title. Mary Joe Fernández, Lisa Raymond and Kristina Kunce were her bridesmaids.
Source: The IndependentAustralian Open 2001
After she and Ellis Ferreira won the mixed doubles final 6-1, 6-3, Morariu said, only half joking: "He doesn't have a good reputation for putting in 100 per cent effort in mixed [doubles], so I wanted to make sure that he did this time."
Source: The IndependentRoland Garros 2001
From her hospital room in Miami, Morariu watched in tears as the 2001 French Open champion, Jennifer Capriati, held up a get-well message for her on court.
Source: Chicago Tribune, 2002Austin 2002
Speaking at Lance Armstrong's cancer survivorship weekend in 2002, she drew this from Armstrong: "Can you bet on tennis? If you can, I'd be betting on this girl."
Source: Chicago Tribune, 2002Free membership: player news, the grass court Atlas, the rankings and the grass season calendar.
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