Kathy May

Kathy May
Full name	Kathy May Fritz
Country (sports)	United States
Born	June 18, 1956 (age 68); Beverly Hills, California, USA
Height	5 ft 8 in (1.73 m)
Plays	Right-handed
Singles
Career record	56–50
Career titles	7
Highest ranking	No. 10 (July 3, 1977)
Grand Slam singles results
French Open	QF (1977, 1978)
Wimbledon	4R (1977)
US Open	QF (1978)
Doubles
Career record	36–49
Career titles	4
Grand Slam doubles results
French Open	2R (1977)
Wimbledon	3R (1974)
US Open	QF (1978, 1979)

Kathy May Fritz (born June 18, 1956) is an American former professional tennis player.^[2] She reached three Grand Slam quarterfinals, once at the US Open in 1978 and twice at the French Open in 1977 and 1978. She won seven WTA singles titles during her career, and achieved a career-high ranking of world no. 10 in 1977.

She also competed under the names Kathy May Teacher after her marriage in 1979 to tennis player Brian Teacher, and Kathy May-Paben. Her son Taylor Fritz is also a professional tennis player, and he was the 2015 ITF Junior World Champion.

Early and personal life

May was born and grew up in Beverly Hills, California.^[3] She is the great-granddaughter of David May, founder of The May Department Stores Company^[3] (now Macy's).

In 1979, she married fellow Californian player Brian Teacher, also a top 10 tennis player and the 1980 Australian Open champion; they subsequently divorced.^[4] She married fireman Donn Paben in 1981 with whom she had two sons, and subsequently divorced.^[5]^[6] She later married Guy Fritz (brother of Harry Fritz), her third husband, and had her third son Taylor Fritz but she and Guy have since divorced.^[7]^[8]^[9]

Tennis career

She reached three Grand Slam quarterfinals, once at the US Open in 1978 and twice at the French Open in 1977 and 1978. She won seven WTA singles titles during her career, and achieved a career-high ranking of world no. 10 in 1977.

She was coached by Tony Trabert.^[10]

WTA Tour finals

Singles: 7 (7–0)

Winner - Legend
Grand Slam tournaments (0–0)
WTA Tour Championships (0–0)
Virginia Slims, Avon, Other (7–0)

Titles by surface
Hard (3–0)
Grass (1–0)
Clay (3–0)
Carpet (0–0)

Outcome	No.	Date	Tournament	Surface	Opponent	Score
Winner	1.	September 17, 1973	Los Angeles	Hard	Lea Antonoplis	5–7, 6–1, 6–2
Winner	2.	April 22, 1974	Ojai Tennis Tournament	Hard	Susan Hagey	2–6, 6–0, 6–1
Winner	3.	May 6, 1974	Los Angeles	Hard	Lindsay Morse	6–4, 7–6
Winner	4.	August 19, 1974	Haverford	Grass	Barbara Jordan	6–3, 7–5
Winner	5.	March 17, 1975	Pensacola, Florida	Clay	Ilana Kloss	5–7, 6–4, 7–6
Winner	6.	January 19, 1976	Fort Myers, Florida	Clay	Ann Kiyomura	5–7, 6–3, 6–1
Winner	7.	September 8, 1976	Indianapolis	Clay	Brigitte Cuypers	6–4, 4–6, 6–2

Doubles: 7 (4–3)

Winner - Legend
Grand Slam tournaments (0–0)
WTA Tour Championships (0–0)
Virginia Slims, Avon, Other (4–3)

Titles by surface
Hard (3–2)
Grass (0–0)
Clay (1–1)
Carpet (0–0)

Outcome	No.	Date	Tournament	Surface	Partner	Opponents	Score
Winner	1.	May 7, 1973	Los Angeles	Hard	Marita Redondo	Lindsay Morse Jean Nachand	6–4, 6–0
Winner	2.	September 17, 1973	Los Angeles	Hard	Marita Redondo	Laurie Tenney Robin Tenney	6–3, 7–5
Runner-up	1.	May 6, 1974	Los Angeles	Hard	Maricaye Christenson	Lea Antonoplis Susan Hagey	6–3, 6–4
Winner	3.	July 8, 1974	Raleigh, North Carolina	Clay	Rayni Fox	Lindsay Morse JoAnne Russell	5–7, 6–4, 6–2
Winner	4.	September 16, 1974	Los Angeles	Hard	Susan Hagey	Dodo Cheney Cynthia-Ann Thomas	6–2, 6–4
Runner-up	2.	August 18, 1975	South Orange	Clay	Kathleen Harter	Kristien Shaw Greer Stevens	w/o
Runner-up	3.	November 21, 1978	Tokyo	Hard (i)	Tracy Austin	Martina Navratilova Betty Stöve	6–4, 6–7, 3–6

Grand Slam singles tournament 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.

Tournament	1973	1974	1975	1976	1977		1978	1979	1980	Career SR
Australian Open	A	A	A	A	A	A	A	A	A	0 / 0
French Open	A	A	A	3R	QF		QF	2R	A	0 / 4
Wimbledon	A	2R	3R	2R	4R		3R	3R	2R	0 / 7
US Open	1R	A	3R	2R	1R		QF	4R	2R	0 / 7
SR	0 / 1	0 / 1	0 / 2	0 / 3	0 / 3		0 / 3	0 / 3	0 / 2	0 / 18
Year-end ranking			57	19	21		15	19	130

Note: The Australian Open was held twice in 1977, in January and December.

References

^ ^a ^b Bostic, Stephanie, ed. (1979). USTA Player Records 1978. United States Tennis Association (USTA). p. 220.
^ Jim Bainbridge (1978). 1978 Colgate Series Media Guide. New York: H.O. Zimman Inc. p. 88.
^ ^a ^b The Making of America's Next Great Tennis Talent
^ "The Australian Open Champion Who Almost Wasn't - Book Excerpt From 'The Greatest Jewish Tennis Players of All Time,'" World Tennis Magazine.
^ Katherine May - Free Marriage & Vital Records
^ World Tennis
^ "Dad at 19: A young tennis star turning heads, raising eyebrows," The Economic Times.
^ Is Taylor Fritz The Next American Tennis Star?
^ https://www.desertsun.com/story/sports/tennis/bnp/2023/03/03/bnp-paribas-open-taylor-fritz-returns-to-indian-wells-as-top-5-player/69928658007/ ^{[bare URL]}
^ "Kathy May Hands Wade Upset Loss". Spokane Daily Chronicle. AP. January 5, 1978. p. 34.

External links

Kathy May at the Women's Tennis Association
Kathy May at the International Tennis Federation

[usta-1] Bostic, Stephanie, ed. (1979). USTA Player Records 1978. United States Tennis Association (USTA). p. 220.

[1978colgate-2] Jim Bainbridge (1978). 1978 Colgate Series Media Guide. New York: H.O. Zimman Inc. p. 88.

[autogenerated1-3] The Making of America's Next Great Tennis Talent

[4] "The Australian Open Champion Who Almost Wasn't - Book Excerpt From 'The Greatest Jewish Tennis Players of All Time,'" World Tennis Magazine.

[5] Katherine May - Free Marriage & Vital Records

[6] World Tennis

[7] "Dad at 19: A young tennis star turning heads, raising eyebrows," The Economic Times.

[8] Is Taylor Fritz The Next American Tennis Star?

[9] ttps://www.desertsun.com/story/sports/tennis/bnp/2023/03/03/bnp-paribas-open-taylor-fritz-returns-to-indian-wells-as-top-5-player/69928658007/ ^{[bare URL]}

[10] "Kathy May Hands Wade Upset Loss". Spokane Daily Chronicle. AP. January 5, 1978. p. 34.

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