Zina Garrison

Zina Lynna Garrison (born November 16, 1963) is an American former professional tennis player. Garrison was the runner-up in singles at the 1990 Wimbledon Championships, a three-time major mixed doubles champion, and an Olympic gold and bronze medalist from the women's doubles and singles events, respectively, at the 1988 Seoul Olympics. She reached a career-high singles ranking of world No. 4, on 20 November 1989.

Zina Garrison

Garrison in 2001
Country (sports)	United States
Residence	Houston, Texas, U.S.
Born	(1963-11-16) November 16, 1963 Houston, Texas, U.S.
Height	1.64 m (5 ft 5 in)
Turned pro	1982
Retired	1997
Plays	Right-handed (one handed-backhand)
Prize money	$4,590,816
Singles
Career record	587–270
Career titles	14
Highest ranking	No. 4 (November 20, 1989)
Grand Slam singles results
Australian Open	SF (1983)
French Open	QF (1982)
Wimbledon	F (1990)
US Open	SF (1988, 1989)
Other tournaments
Olympic Games	SF (1988)
Doubles
Career record	436–231
Career titles	20
Highest ranking	No. 5 (May 23, 1988)
Grand Slam doubles results
Australian Open	F (1987, 1992)
French Open	QF (1988, 1989, 1991, 1995)
Wimbledon	SF (1988, 1990, 1991, 1993)
US Open	SF (1985, 1991)
Other doubles tournaments
Olympic Games	W (1988)
Mixed doubles
Career titles	3
Grand Slam mixed doubles results
Australian Open	W (1987)
French Open	SF (1989)
Wimbledon	W (1988, 1990)
US Open	SF (1987)
Team competitions
Fed Cup	W (1989, 1990)
Hopman Cup	F (1991)
Medal record Women's tennis Representing United States Olympic Games 1988 Seoul Women's doubles 1988 Seoul Women's singles

Career

The youngest of seven children, Garrison started playing tennis at the age of 10 and entered her first tournament at the age of 12. At 14, she won the national girls' 18s title. In 1981, she won both the Wimbledon and US Open junior titles and was ranked the world No. 1 junior player. Garrison graduated from Sterling High School in Houston, Texas in 1982.

Garrison began suffering from the eating disorder bulimia when she was 19, following the death of her mother. "I had never been comfortable with my looks and felt I had lost the only person who loved me unconditionally", Garrison told the Observer Sport Monthly in 2006. "The pressure of being labeled 'the next Althea Gibson' only made things worse. I felt I was never going to be allowed to grow into just becoming me."

Garrison turned professional in 1982, and skipped her graduation at Ross Sterling High School to compete in the French Open, her first tournament as a professional, where she reached the quarterfinals. She was awarded the WTA Newcomer of the Year in 1982.

Despite battling bulimia during her first few years on the tour, Garrison enjoyed notable success on-court. She reached the Australian Open semifinals in 1983, her first full year on the tour, and finished the year ranked world No. 10. She won her first top-level singles titles in 1984 at the European Indoor Championships in Zürich. In 1985, Garrison beat world no. 3 Hana Mandlíková and world no. 2 Chris Evert on her way to winning the Amelia Island Championships. She was also a Wimbledon semifinalist in 1985, and in 1986, she won her first tour doubles at the Canadian Open (partnering Gabriela Sabatini).

At the Australian Open in 1987, Garrison won the mixed doubles (partnering Sherwood Stewart) and finished runner-up in the women's doubles (partnering Lori McNeil). A year later, Garrison and Stewart captured the mixed doubles title at Wimbledon.

At the 1988 Olympic Games in Seoul, Garrison teamed with Pam Shriver to win the women's doubles gold medal for the United States, defeating Jana Novotná and Helena Suková of Czechoslovakia in the final. Garrison defeated Shriver in the quarterfinals of the singles event, where she won a bronze medal. At the US Open, she defeated defending champion Navratilova for the first time in her career, advancing to the semifinals, where she lost to Sabatini.

In 1989, Garrison defeated Chris Evert 7–6, 6–2 in the quarterfinals of the US Open in Evert's final tournament. Garrison lost to Navratilova in the semifinals. She finished 1989 ranked at career-high No. 4 in singles.

The highlight of Garrison's career came in 1990 at Wimbledon, as she defeated Samantha Smith, Cecilia Dahlman, Andrea Leand, Helena Suková, then French Open champion Monica Seles in the quarterfinals 3–6, 6–3, 9–7, and defending Wimbledon champion and world No. 1, Steffi Graf, in the semifinals 6–3, 3–6, 6–4 to reach her only Grand Slam singles final, becoming the first African-American woman to do so since Gibson. Moreover, it ended Graf's record 13-time streak of Grand Slam finals. Then, she lost to Navratilova 4–6, 1–6, who thus won her record ninth women's singles title at Wimbledon. Garrison claimed her third mixed-doubles title at Wimbledon that year (partnering Rick Leach).

In 1992, Garrison finished runner-up in the Australian Open women's doubles (partnering Mary Joe Fernández).

At Wimbledon in 1994, Garrison beat world No. 2 Arantxa Sánchez Vicario on the way to her 15th and final Grand Slam quarterfinal appearance.

Garrison retired from professional tennis in 1996. From 1982 to 1995, she remained uninterrupted in the world's top 25. During her career, she won 14 top-level singles titles and 20 doubles titles.

Personal life and post-tennis career

Garrison married Willard Jackson in September 1989; however, the marriage ended in divorce in 1997.

Since retiring from the tour, Garrison has worked as a television commentator and maintained active roles in the community and in tennis. She founded the Zina Garrison Foundation for the Homeless in 1988, and the Zina Garrison All-Court Tennis Program, which supports inner-city tennis in Houston, in 1992. She has also served as a member of the United States President's Council on Physical Fitness and Sports. She is a member of Alpha Kappa Alpha sorority.

Garrison has maintained a presence on the professional tennis scene, and was the captain for the U.S. Federation Cup (later Fed Cup) team. Garrison also led the U.S. women's team at the 2008 Beijing Games tennis event where team members Venus and Serena Williams won a gold medal in doubles.

After "piling on weight" in her 40s, Garrison participated in season 16 of the reality TV competition The Biggest Loser, titled The Biggest Loser: Glory Days, which premiered September 11, 2014 on NBC. Despite losing 8 lbs., she was the first person eliminated from the program.

Playing style

Garrison played an attacking style. It was common for her to slice her backhand and attack the net (a chip-and-charge tactic). Garrison had excellent volleys and overheads. She was able to rally when she wanted to but her main game plan was to get to the net so she could finish with the volley.

Major finals

Grand Slam tournaments

Singles: 1 (runner–up)

Result	Year	Championship	Surface	Opponent	Score
Loss	1990	Wimbledon	Grass	Martina Navratilova	6–4, 6–1

Doubles: 2 (2 runner-ups)

Result	Year	Championship	Surface	Partner	Opponents	Score
Loss	1987	Australian Open	Grass	Lori McNeil	Martina Navratilova Pam Shriver	6–1, 6–0
Loss	1992	Australian Open	Hard	Mary Joe Fernández	Arantxa Sánchez Vicario Helena Suková	6–4, 7–6(7–3)

Mixed doubles: 6 (3 titles, 3 runner-ups)

Result	Year	Championship	Surface	Partner	Opponents	Score
Win	1987	Australian Open	Grass	Sherwood Stewart	Anne Hobbs Andrew Castle	3–6, 7–6(7–5), 6–3
Win	1988	Wimbledon	Grass	Sherwood Stewart	Gretchen Magers Kelly Jones	6–1, 7–6(7–3)
Loss	1989	Australian Open	Hard	Sherwood Stewart	Jana Novotná Jim Pugh	6–3, 6–4
Loss	1990	Australian Open	Hard	Jim Pugh	Natasha Zvereva Andrew Castle	4–6, 6–2, 6–3
Win	1990	Wimbledon (2)	Grass	Rick Leach	Elizabeth Smylie John Fitzgerald	7–5, 6–2
Loss	1993	Australian Open	Hard	Rick Leach	Arantxa Sánchez Vicario Todd Woodbridge	7–5, 6–4

Olympics

Singles: 1 (bronze medal)

Result	Year	Location	Surface	Opponent	Score
Bronze	1988	Seoul	Hard	Tied	DNP

Garrison lost in the semifinals to Steffi Graf 2–6, 0–6. In 1988, there was no bronze medal play-off match, both beaten semifinal players received bronze medals.

Doubles: 1 (gold medal)

Result	Year	Location	Surface	Partner	Opponents	Score
Gold	1988	Seoul	Hard	Pam Shriver	Jana Novotná Helena Suková	4–6, 6–2, 10–8

WTA career finals

Singles: 36 (14–22)

Winner — Legend Grand Slam tournaments (0–1) WTA Tour Championships (0–0) Tier I (0–0) Tier II (0–8) Tier III (5–2) Tier IV (3–2) Tier V (0–2) Virginia Slims (6–7)

Finals by surface Hard (3–6) Grass (4–4) Clay (1–3) Carpet (6–9)

Result	W/L	Date	Tournament	Surface	Opponent	Score
Loss	1.	Aug 1983	Indianapolis	Clay	Andrea Temesvári	2–6, 2–6
Loss	2.	Jan 1984	Washington	Carpet (i)	Hana Mandlíková	1–6, 1–6
Loss	3.	Sep 1984	New Orleans	Carpet (i)	Martina Navratilova	4–6, 3–6
Win	1.	Oct 1984	Zürich	Carpet (i)	Claudia Kohde-Kilsch	6–1, 0–6, 6–2
Loss	4.	Jan 1985	Denver	Carpet (i)	Peanut Louie	4–6, 6–4, 4–6
Win	2.	Apr 1985	Amelia Island	Clay	Chris Evert-Lloyd	6–4, 6–3
Loss	5.	Jul 1985	Indianapolis	Clay	Andrea Temesvári	6–7(0–7), 3–6
Win	3.	Oct 1985	Zürich	Carpet (i)	Hana Mandlíková	6–1, 6–3
Loss	6.	Sep 1986	Tampa	Hard	Lori McNeil	6–2, 5–7, 2–6
Win	4.	Oct 1986	Indianapolis	Hard (i)	Melissa Gurney	6–3, 6–3
Win	5.	Jan 1987	Sydney	Grass	Pam Shriver	6–2, 6–4
Win	6.	Feb 1987	San Francisco	Carpet (i)	Sylvia Hanika	7–5, 4–6, 6–3
Loss	7.	Aug 1987	Toronto	Hard	Pam Shriver	4–6, 1–6
Loss	8.	Oct 1988	Indianapolis	Hard (i)	Katerina Maleeva	3–6, 6–2, 2–6
Loss	9.	Feb 1989	Washington	Carpet (i)	Steffi Graf	1–6, 5–7
Win	7.	Feb 1989	Oakland	Carpet (i)	Larisa Savchenko	6–1, 6–1
Loss	10.	Jun 1989	Birmingham	Grass	Martina Navratilova	6–7(5–7), 3–6
Win	8.	Jul 1989	Newport	Grass	Pam Shriver	6–0, 6–1
Loss	11.	Jul 1989	San Diego	Hard	Steffi Graf	4–6, 5–7
Loss	12.	Oct 1989	Worcester	Carpet (i)	Martina Navratilova	2–6, 3–6
Win	9.	Nov 1989	Chicago	Carpet (i)	Larisa Savchenko	6–3, 2–6, 6–4
Loss	13.	Feb 1990	Washington	Carpet (i)	Martina Navratilova	1–6, 0–6
Win	10.	Jun 1990	Birmingham	Grass	Helena Suková	6–4, 6–1
Loss	14.	Jun 1990	Wimbledon	Grass	Martina Navratilova	4–6, 1–6
Loss	15.	Oct 1990	Dorado	Hard	Jennifer Capriati	7–5, 4–6, 2–6
Loss	16.	Feb 1991	Chicago	Carpet (i)	Martina Navratilova	1–6, 2–6
Loss	17.	Oct 1991	Brighton	Carpet (i)	Steffi Graf	7–5, 4–6, 1–6
Win	11.	Feb 1992	Oklahoma City	Hard (i)	Lori McNeil	7–5, 3–6, 7–6(12–10)
Loss	18.	Apr, 1992	Houston	Clay	Monica Seles	1–6, 1–6
Win	12.	Feb 1993	Oklahoma City	Hard (i)	Patty Fendick	6–2, 6–2
Loss	19.	Jun 1993	Birmingham	Grass	Lori McNeil	4–6, 6–2, 3–6
Loss	20.	Jul 1993	Stratton Mountain	Hard	Conchita Martínez	3–6, 2–6
Win	13.	Oct 1993	Budapest	Carpet (i)	Sabine Appelmans	7–5, 6–2
Loss	21.	Nov 1993	Oakland	Carpet (i)	Martina Navratilova	2–6, 6–7(1–7)
Loss	22.	Jun 1994	Birmingham	Grass	Lori McNeil	2–6, 2–6
Win	14.	Jun 1995	Birmingham	Grass	Lori McNeil	6–3, 6–3

Doubles: 45 (19–26)

Winner — Legend Grand Slam tournaments (0–2) WTA Tour Championships (0–0) Tier I (2–2) Tier II (6–11) Tier III (6–2) Tier IV (0–0) Tier V (0–1) Virginia Slims (5–8)

Finals by surface Hard (7–7) Grass (2–3) Clay (3–5) Carpet (7–11)

Result	No.	Date	Tournament	Surface	Partner	Opponents	Score
Win	1.	August 4, 1986	Montreal	Hard	Gabriela Sabatini	Pam Shriver Helena Suková	7–6(7–2), 5–7, 6–4
Loss	1.	October 13, 1986	Filderstadt	Carpet (i)	Gabriela Sabatini	Martina Navratilova Pam Shriver	6–7(5–7), 4–6
Win	2.	October 27, 1986	Indianapolis	Hard (i)	Lori McNeil	Candy Reynolds Anne Smith	4–5 ret.
Loss	2.	January 12, 1987	Australian Open	Grass	Lori McNeil	Martina Navratilova Pam Shriver	1–6, 0–6
Loss	3.	February 9, 1987	San Francisco	Carpet (i)	Gabriela Sabatini	Hana Mandlíková Wendy Turnbull	4–6, 6–7(4–7)
Loss	4.	March 23, 1987	Washington	Carpet (i)	Lori McNeil	Elise Burgin Pam Shriver	1–6, 6–3, 4–6
Loss	5.	April 6, 1987	Hilton Head Island	Clay	Lori McNeil	Mercedes Paz Eva Pfaff	6–7(6–8), 5–7
Loss	6.	April 20, 1987	Houston	Clay	Lori McNeil	Kathy Jordan Martina Navratilova	2–6, 4–6
Loss	7.	August 10, 1987	Los Angeles	Hard	Lori McNeil	Martina Navratilova Pam Shriver	3–6, 4–6
Win	3.	August 17, 1987	Toronto	Hard	Lori McNeil	Claudia Kohde-Kilsch Helena Suková	6–1, 6–2
Win	4.	September 28, 1987	New Orleans	Carpet (i)	Lori McNeil	Peanut Louie Harper Heather Ludloff	6–3, 6–4
Loss	8.	October 12, 1987	Filderstadt	Carpet (i)	Lori McNeil	Martina Navratilova Pam Shriver	1–6, 2–6
Loss	9.	November 9, 1987	Chicago	Carpet (i)	Lori McNeil	Claudia Kohde-Kilsch Helena Suková	4–6, 3–6
Loss	10.	February 8, 1988	Dallas	Carpet (i)	Gigi Fernández	Lori McNeil Eva Pfaff	6–2, 4–6, 5–7
Win	5.	March 7, 1988	Boca Raton	Hard	Katrina Adams	Claudia Kohde-Kilsch Helena Suková	4–6, 5–7, 6–4
Loss	11.	March 14, 1988	Key Biscayne	Hard	Gigi Fernández	Steffi Graf Gabriela Sabatini	6–7(3–7), 3–6
Win	6.	April 11, 1988	Amelia Island	Clay	Eva Pfaff	Katrina Adams Penny Barg	4–6, 6–2, 7–6(7–5)
Win	7.	April 18, 1988	Houston	Clay	Katrina Adams	Lori McNeil Martina Navratilova	6–7(4–7), 6–2, 6–4
Loss	12.	August 15, 1988	Montreal	Hard	Pam Shriver	Jana Novotná Helena Suková	6–7(2–7), 6–7(6–8)
Loss	13.	October 24, 1988	Indianapolis	Hard (i)	Katrina Adams	Larisa Savchenko Natalia Zvereva	2–6, 1–6
Win	8.	November 25, 1988	Tokyo	Carpet (i)	Katrina Adams	Gigi Fernández Robin White	7–5, 7–5
Win	9.	January 31, 1989	Tokyo	Carpet (i)	Katrina Adams	Mary Joe Fernández Claudia Kohde-Kilsch	6–3, 6–3, 7–6(7–5)
Win	10.	April 24, 1989	Houston	Clay	Katrina Adams	Gigi Fernández Lori McNeil	6–3, 6–4
Win	11.	June 19, 1989	Eastbourne	Grass	Katrina Adams	Jana Novotná Helena Suková	6–3, ret.
Win	12.	February 19, 1990	Washington	Carpet (i)	Martina Navratilova	Ann Henricksson Dinky van Rensburg	6–0, 6–3
Loss	14.	June 18, 1990	Eastbourne	Grass	Patty Fendick	Larisa Savchenko-Neiland Natalia Zvereva	4–6, 3–6
Win	13.	August 6, 1990	San Diego	Hard	Patty Fendick	Elise Burgin Rosalyn Fairbank	6–4, 7–6(7–5)
Win	14.	October 15, 1990	Filderstadt	Carpet (i)	Mary Joe Fernández	Mercedes Paz Arantxa Sánchez Vicario	7–5, 6–3
Win	15.	March 15, 1991	Key Biscayne	Hard	Mary Joe Fernández	Gigi Fernández Jana Novotná	7–5, 6–2
Loss	15.	October 7, 1991	Zürich	Carpet (i)	Lori McNeil	Jana Novotná Andrea Strnadová	4–6, 3–6
Loss	16.	October 22, 1991	Brighton	Carpet (i)	Lori McNeil	Pam Shriver Natasha Zvereva	1–6, 2–6
Loss	17.	November 11, 1991	Philadelphia	Carpet (i)	Mary Joe Fernández	Jana Novotná Larisa Savchenko-Neiland	2–6, 4–6
Loss	18.	January 6, 1992	Sydney	Hard	Mary Joe Fernández	Arantxa Sánchez Vicario Helena Suková	6–7(4–7), 7–6(7–4), 2–6
Loss	19.	January 13, 1992	Australian Open	Hard	Mary Joe Fernández	Arantxa Sánchez Vicario Helena Suková	4–6, 6–7(3–7)
Loss	20.	February 10, 1992	Chicago	Carpet (i)	Katrina Adams	Martina Navratilova Pam Shriver	4–6, 6–7(7–9)
Loss	21.	April 6, 1992	Amelia Island	Clay	Jana Novotná	Arantxa Sánchez Vicario Natasha Zvereva	1–6, 0–6
Loss	22.	June 15, 1992	Eastbourne	Grass	Mary Joe Fernández	Jana Novotná Larisa Savchenko-Neiland	0–6, 3–6
Loss	23.	August 10, 1992	Los Angeles	Hard	Pam Shriver	Arantxa Sánchez Vicario Helena Suková	4–6, 2–6
Win	16.	February 8, 1993	Chicago	Carpet (i)	Katrina Adams	Amy Frazier Kimberly Po	7–6(7–3), 6–3
Win	17.	February 15, 1993	Oklahoma City	Hard (i)	Patty Fendick	Katrina Adams Manon Bollegraf	6–3, 6–2
Loss	24.	May 3, 1993	Rome	Clay	Mary Joe Fernández	Jana Novotná Arantxa Sánchez Vicario	4–6, 2–6
Win	18.	October 4, 1993	Zürich	Carpet (i)	Martina Navratilova	Gigi Fernández Natasha Zvereva	6–3, 5–7, 6–3
Loss	25.	March 21, 1994	Houston	Clay	Katrina Adams	Manon Bollegraf Martina Navratilova	4–6, 2–6
Win	19.	June 6, 1994	Birmingham	Grass	Larisa Savchenko-Neiland	Catherine Barclay Kerry-Anne Guse	6–4, 6–4
Loss	26.	October 30, 1995	Oakland	Carpet (i)	Katrina Adams	Lori McNeil Helena Suková	6–3, 4–6, 3–6

Grand Slam performance timelines

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.

Singles

Tournament	1980	1981	1982	1983	1984	1985	1986	1987	1988	1989	1990	1991	1992	1993	1994	1995	1996	Career SR
Australian Open	A	A	1R	SF	1R	QF	NH	QF	2R	QF	QF	4R	4R	3R	1R	3R	A	0 / 13
French Open	A	A	QF	1R	4R	2R	3R	A	4R	3R	1R	1R	A	1R	1R	1R	A	0 / 12
Wimbledon	A	A	4R	1R	2R	SF	2R	A	QF	2R	F	QF	4R	4R	QF	3R	A	0 / 13
US Open	2R	1R	4R	4R	3R	QF	4R	4R	SF	SF	QF	4R	4R	3R	4R	4R	1R	0 / 17
SR	0 / 1	0 / 1	0 / 4	0 / 4	0 / 4	0 / 4	0 / 3	0 / 2	0 / 4	0 / 4	0 / 4	0 / 4	0 / 3	0 / 4	0 / 4	0 / 4	0 / 1	0 / 55
Year-end ranking	NR	NR	16	12	9	8	11	9	9	4	8	12	18	14	24	22	255

Doubles

Tournament	1981	1982	1983	1984	1985	1986	1987	1988	1989	1990	1991	1992	1993	1994	1995	1996	1997	Career SR
Australian Open	A	1R	2R	QF	QF	NH	F	SF	3R	1R	2R	F	QF	QF	1R	A	A	0 / 13
French Open	A	2R	1R	1R	1R	1R	A	QF	QF	1R	QF	1R	3R	3R	QF	A	A	0 / 13
Wimbledon	A	1R	2R	2R	2R	3R	A	SF	QF	SF	SF	QF	SF	1R	3R	A	A	0 / 13
US Open	2R	1R	3R	1R	SF	QF	QF	2R	3R	3R	SF	QF	A	A	3R	1R	1R	0 / 15
SR	0 / 1	0 / 4	0 / 4	0 / 4	0 / 4	0 / 3	0 / 2	0 / 4	0 / 4	0 / 4	0 / 4	0 / 4	0 / 3	0 / 3	0 / 4	0 / 1	0 / 1	0 / 54
Year-end ranking				40	44	18	7	7	9	13	12	10	13	21	27	90	NR

Mixed doubles

Tournament	1982	1983	1984	1985	1986	1987	1988	1989	1990	1991	1992	1993	1994	1995	1996	Career SR
Australian Open	NH	NH	NH	NH	NH	W	1R	F	F	1R	A	F	1R	A	A	1 / 7
French Open	A	QF	A	3R	A	A	2R	SF	2R	3R	A	2R	2R	3R	A	0 / 9
Wimbledon	A	QF	1R	2R	1R	A	W	3R	W	2R	2R	3R	1R	A	A	2 / 11
US Open	QF	2R	A	QF	2R	SF	QF	QF	QF	1R	QF	1R	2R	A	1R	0 / 13
SR	0 / 1	0 / 3	0 / 1	0 / 3	0 / 2	1 / 2	1 / 4	0 / 4	1 / 4	0 / 4	0 / 2	0 / 4	0 / 4	0 / 1	0 / 1	3 / 40

References

Bibliography

• A. P. Porter, Zina Garrison: Ace, First Ave. Editions, 1992

External links

• Zina Garrison at the Women's Tennis Association
• Zina Garrison at the International Tennis Federation
• Zina Garrison at the Billie Jean King Cup
• Zina Garrison at Olympedia (archive)
• Zina Garrison at Olympics.com
• ESPN biography
• Zina Garrison on her fight with bulimia at the Wayback Machine (archived February 28, 2007)