Julie Heldman

Tennis career

The daughter of junior champion and leading amateur player Julius Heldman and World Tennis Magazine founder and publisher Gladys Heldman, she was born in Berkeley, California. She started playing tennis when she was eight, and won her first national title (the Canadian 18 and under singles) at age 12, in 1958. Heldman won the U.S. Girls Junior Singles Title in 1960 (in the 15s) and 1963 (in the 18s). Her elder sister Carrie was also a competitive tennis player.

Heldman was Cincinnati Singles Champion in 1962. While a student at Stanford University in 1964, Heldman reached the national collegiate singles and doubles finals. She received her B.A. from Stanford in 1966, and went on to earn her J.D. from UCLA Law School in 1981, where she was a Law Review editor and was Law School Graduate of the Year, as well as UCLA Graduate Woman of the Year.

Heldman won the Canadian Open singles title in 1965. She won three medals (gold in mixed doubles, silver in women's doubles and bronze in women's singles) at the Olympic demonstration tournament in 1968. In 1969, she won the Italian Open, beating Kerry Melville Reid in the final. Also in 1969, at the Curaçao International, she defeated the world no.1 Margaret Court in the semifinal and world no. 2 Nancy Richey in the final to win the singles title. Heldman reached the semifinals of three Grand Slam singles tournaments: the 1970 French Open, the 1974 Australian Open, and the 1974 US Open. She won the doubles title at the US Women's Clay Court Championships and at the Canadian Open in 1974.

Federation Cup

Heldman played on the US Federation Cup teams that captured the championship in 1966 and 1969. She also played on the U.S. Federation Cup teams in 1970, 1974, and 1975. She was the captain of the team in 1975. Her career win-loss record in Federation Cup competition was 21–9.

Olympics

Heldman won a gold, silver, and bronze medal in the 1968 Olympic Games in Mexico City when tennis was a demonstration sport.

Maccabiah Games

In 1969, Heldman, who is Jewish, won events at the Maccabiah Games, competing in singles, doubles, and mixed doubles.

Other career highlights

Halls of Fame

Heldman was inducted into the:

Personal life

She married Bernie Weiss in 1981, and her daughter Amy Rebecca was born in 1987. In 1985 Heldman became President & Co-Chairman of Signature Eyewear. Heldman retired in 2000. After ending her playing career she worked as a television color commentator and journalist, with CBS, NBC, PBS, and HBO at the U.S. Open and Wimbledon, 1973–78. She published articles about tennis in various magazines, including World Tennis. She was the first woman to cover a men's tennis event (the 1976 Avis Challenge Cup).