The Open Era
United States · born Bryn Mawr, Pennsylvania, 1959 · serve-and-volleyer · three Wimbledon titles and the 1983 Australian Open singles final
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3
Wimbledon titles: doubles 1980 and 1985, mixed doubles 1986
8
Wimbledon finals: six in doubles, two in mixed
106
Matches played at Wimbledon, 1979 to 1991
2
Grass court major finals won against Martina Navratilova and Pam Shriver, 1981 and 1985
1983
Australian Open singles final, on grass at Kooyong
Kathryn Jordan was born in Bryn Mawr, Pennsylvania, on 3 December 1959 and grew up on Philadelphia's Main Line. She went to Stanford in 1978 and in 1979 won the national collegiate singles title, and the doubles with her sister Barbara, before turning professional that year.
With Anne Smith she won the French Open and Wimbledon doubles in 1980, and in 1981 the US Open and the Australian Open, on grass at Kooyong, which gave the pair all four major doubles titles. She and Smith also lost three Wimbledon finals to Martina Navratilova and Pam Shriver. In 1985 she won Wimbledon again with the Australian Elizabeth Smylie, beating Navratilova and Shriver in the final, and in 1986 she won the French and Wimbledon mixed doubles with Ken Flach.
In singles she reached the 1983 Australian Open final, losing to Navratilova 6-2, 7-6 (7-5), and earlier that year beat Chris Evert Lloyd at Wimbledon. Her best singles ranking was No. 5, in 1984. She retired in 1991, went back to Stanford to complete a degree in political science, and was elected vice-president of the WTA in 1992.
| Wimbledon doubles finals | 1980 with Anne Smith: beat Rosie Casals and Wendy Turnbull 4-6, 7-5, 6-1. 1985 with Elizabeth Smylie: beat Martina Navratilova and Pam Shriver 5-7, 6-3, 6-4. Lost to Navratilova and Shriver with Smith in 1981 (6-3, 7-6 (8-6)), 1982 (6-4, 6-1) and 1984 (6-3, 6-4), and with Smylie to Jana Novotná and Helena Suková in 1990 (6-3, 6-4) |
|---|---|
| Wimbledon mixed finals | 1984 with Steve Denton: lost to John Lloyd and Wendy Turnbull 6-3, 6-3. 1986 with Ken Flach, top seeds: beat Heinz Günthardt and Martina Navratilova 6-3, 7-6 (9-7) |
| Wimbledon 1983 | Beat Chris Evert Lloyd 6-1, 7-6 in the third round, the first time Evert had failed to reach a semi-final in 34 Grand Slam tournaments. Jordan had not taken a set from her in five earlier meetings |
| Australian Open at Kooyong | 1981 doubles with Smith: beat Navratilova and Shriver 6-2, 7-5. 1983 singles final: lost to Navratilova 6-2, 7-6 (7-5) |
| Eastbourne | Doubles champion with Smith in 1980, beating Shriver and Betty Stöve 6-4, 6-1; runner-up in 1981, 1982 and 1985 |
| Wimbledon | ||
|---|---|---|
| 1980 | Women's doubles | with Anne Smith |
| 1985 | Women's doubles | with Elizabeth Smylie |
| 1986 | Mixed doubles | with Ken Flach |
| Eastbourne | ||
| 1980 | Women's doubles | with Anne Smith |
| Australian Championships | ||
| 1981 | Women's doubles Australian Open | with Anne Smith |
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
"Look, I respect Chris so much, that's why I wasn't more emotional at the end."
The person behind the player.
Stanford, 1979
At Stanford in 1979 she won the AIAW national title in singles and in doubles with her older sister Barbara, and the Broderick Award as the best female college player. Barbara won the 1979 Australian Open singles title.
Source: Wikipedia; Australian Open honour rollWimbledon, 1983
After a four-month break to rest an injured shoulder, during which she changed her backhand grip under Robert Lansdorp, she beat Chris Evert Lloyd 6-1, 7-6 in the third round. Evert had a stomach virus; Jordan served wide to her forehand, kept coming in and won the tiebreak 7-2 after trailing 4-0. "A win is a win," she said. "I'm proud of stopping that."
Source: Sports Illustrated, 1983Wimbledon, 1983
Evert Lloyd saw it coming before the first ball: "I saw her over there, eager and jumping around. I can read body language. She wasn't intimidated."
Source: Sports Illustrated, 1983Temperament
Sports Illustrated noted that she had lost matches by losing her temper. Billie Jean King's verdict: "I've told KJ she's gonna end up like Van Gogh."
Source: Sports Illustrated, 1983Kooyong, 1981
Navratilova and Shriver first teamed up at a major at the 1981 Australian Open and lost the final to Jordan and Anne Smith 6-2, 7-5. It was one of only three major finals they lost in 23. Four years later at Wimbledon, Jordan and Elizabeth Smylie beat them again, this time from a set down.
Source: International Tennis Hall of Fame; Wimbledon Compendium 2025Free membership: player news, the grass court Atlas, the rankings and the grass season calendar.
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