Barbara Potter is a former tennis player from the United States

United States

The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...

, who competed professionally on the Sony Ericsson WTA Tour, winning five singles titles and eighteen doubles titles.

Career

Potter turned professional in 1978. A left-hander, she reached the semifinals at the U.S. Open

U.S. Open (tennis)

The US Open, formally the United States Open Tennis Championships, is a hardcourt tennis tournament which is the modern iteration of one of the oldest tennis championships in the world, the U.S. National Championship, which for men's singles was first contested in 1881...

 in 1981, and the quarterfinals at the Australian Open

Australian Open

The Australian Open is the only Grand Slam tennis tournament held in the southern hemisphere. The tournament was held for the first time in 1905 and was last contested on grass in 1987. Since 1972 the Australian Open has been held in Melbourne, Victoria. In 1988, the tournament became a hard court...

 in 1984, and Wimbledon

The Championships, Wimbledon

The Championships, Wimbledon, or simply Wimbledon , is the oldest tennis tournament in the world, considered by many to be the most prestigious. It has been held at the All England Club in Wimbledon, London since 1877. It is one of the four Grand Slam tennis tournaments, the other three Majors...

 in 1985, 1983 & 1982. At the WTA Tour Championships, she reached the semifinals in singles in 1984 and in doubles in 1985 and 1982.

Potter reached a career high ranking of #7 in 1982. She also played in three Grand Slam finals, the 1982 US Open women's doubles, and the 1982 and 1983 US Open mixed doubles. She lost all three, the women's doubles with Sharon Walsh

Sharon Walsh

Sharon Walsh-Arnold is a former professional tennis player from the United States.Walsh enjoyed a long career by modern standards, playing her first Grand Slam singles event in 1969 and her last Grand Slam doubles match in 1990. She was a finalist at the 1979 Australian Open where she lost to...

 and both mixed doubles with Ferdi Taygan

Ferdi Taygan

Ferdi Taygan , is a former professional tennis player from the United States.Taygan enjoyed most of his tennis success while playing doubles. During his career he won 19 doubles titles and finished runner-up an additional 19 times. Partnering Sherwood Stewart, Taygan won the 1982 French Open...

.

In 1986, Potter suffered two herniated disks in her back at a tournament in England and was forced off the tour several times, but after a grueling exercise and fitness program, successfully returned to the tour.

She was a member of the 1982 and 1984 USA Wightman Cup

Wightman Cup

The Wightman Cup was a team tennis competition for women contested from 1923 through 1989 between teams from the United States and Great Britain. U.S. player Hazel Hotchkiss Wightman wanted to generate international interest in women's tennis the way Davis Cup did for men's...

 teams and the 1988 United States Fed Cup team

United States Fed Cup team

The United States Fed Cup team is the most successful national team in Fed Cup competition. The team has won 17 titles and finished second a further 9 times, out of 44 participations.-History:...

. In 1989, she re-aggravated a persistent back condition at the beginning season when she was involved in an automobile accident. She retired in November 1989 due to deteriorating hip cartilage.

Potter currently resides in Harlem, Georgia

Harlem, Georgia

Harlem is a city in Columbia County, Georgia and is part of the Augusta, Georgia metropolitan area. The population was 1,814 at the 2000 census...

.

Women's doubles: 1 final (0 titles, 1 runner-up)

Outcome	Year	Championship	Surface	Partner	Opponents in the final	Score in the final
Runner-up	1982 1982 US Open – Women's Doubles Kathy Jordan and Anne Smith were the defending champions but lost in the quarterfinals to Bettina Bunge and Claudia Kohde-Kilsch.Rosemary Casals and Wendy Turnbull won in the final 6–4, 6–4 against Barbara Potter and Sharon Walsh.- Seeds :...	US Open U.S. Open (tennis) The US Open, formally the United States Open Tennis Championships, is a hardcourt tennis tournament which is the modern iteration of one of the oldest tennis championships in the world, the U.S. National Championship, which for men's singles was first contested in 1881...	Hard	Sharon Walsh Sharon Walsh Sharon Walsh-Arnold is a former professional tennis player from the United States.Walsh enjoyed a long career by modern standards, playing her first Grand Slam singles event in 1969 and her last Grand Slam doubles match in 1990. She was a finalist at the 1979 Australian Open where she lost to...	Kathy Jordan Kathy Jordan Kathryn "Kathy" Jordan is a former American tennis player. During her career, she won 7 Grand Slam titles, 5 of them in women's doubles and 2 of them in mixed doubles...   Anne Smith Anne Smith Anne Smith is a female former professional tennis player from the United States. Smith's highest women's doubles ranking was World No. 1 in 1980 and 1981. Her highest singles ranking was World No. 12 in 1982...	6–4, 6–4

Mixed doubles: 2 (0 titles, 2 runner-ups)

Outcome	Year	Championship	Surface	Partner	Opponents in the final	Score in the final
Runner-up	1982 1982 US Open – Mixed Doubles Anne Smith and Kevin Curren were the defending champions and won in the final 6–7, 7–6 , 7–6 against Barbara Potter and Ferdi Taygan.-Seeds:...	US Open U.S. Open (tennis) The US Open, formally the United States Open Tennis Championships, is a hardcourt tennis tournament which is the modern iteration of one of the oldest tennis championships in the world, the U.S. National Championship, which for men's singles was first contested in 1881...	Hard	Ferdi Taygan Ferdi Taygan Ferdi Taygan , is a former professional tennis player from the United States.Taygan enjoyed most of his tennis success while playing doubles. During his career he won 19 doubles titles and finished runner-up an additional 19 times. Partnering Sherwood Stewart, Taygan won the 1982 French Open...	Anne Smith Anne Smith Anne Smith is a female former professional tennis player from the United States. Smith's highest women's doubles ranking was World No. 1 in 1980 and 1981. Her highest singles ranking was World No. 12 in 1982...   Kevin Curren Kevin Curren ----Kevin Melvyn Curren is a former professional tennis player. He played in two Grand Slam singles finals and won four Grand Slam doubles titles.-Career:...	6–7, 7–6(4), 7–6(5)
Runner-up	1983 1983 US Open – Mixed Doubles Anne Smith and Kevin Curren were the defending champions but did not compete that year.Elizabeth Sayers and John Fitzgerald won in the final 3–6, 6–3, 6–4 against Barbara Potter and Ferdi Taygan.-Seeds:...	US Open U.S. Open (tennis) The US Open, formally the United States Open Tennis Championships, is a hardcourt tennis tournament which is the modern iteration of one of the oldest tennis championships in the world, the U.S. National Championship, which for men's singles was first contested in 1881...	Hard	Ferdi Taygan	Elizabeth Smylie Elizabeth Smylie Elizabeth Smylie is an Australian former tennis player.She won the Western Australian Sports Star of the Year award in 1985.She won the Comeback Player of the Year award in 1990 and 1993....   John Fitzgerald	3–6, 6–3, 6–4

Singles (5)

Legend (Singles)
Grand Slam (0)
WTA Championship (0)
Tier I (0)
Tier II (0)
Tier III (1)
Tier IV (0)
Tier V (0)
VS (4)

No.	Date	Tournament	Surface	Opponent in Final	Score in Final
1.	January 11, 1982	Cincinnati, USA	Carpet (i)	Bettina Bunge Bettina Bunge Bettina Bunge is a retired German tennis player. She was born in Adliswil, Switzerland. She was part of a large group of successful German players in the 1980s, which also included Steffi Graf, Claudia Kohde-Kilsch, Sylvia Hanika, and Eva Pfaff.-Career:With German nationality as the daughter of a...	6–4, 7–6(3)
2.	September 27, 1982	Philadelphia, USA US Indoors The US Indoors, known formally as the U.S. Indoor Championships, was a national tennis championship for women that was sanctioned by the United States Tennis Association and held 79 times from 1907 through 2001 at various locations and on various surfaces. The event was affiliated with the WTA...	Carpet (i)	Pam Shriver Pam Shriver Pamela Howard Shriver Lazenby , is a former professional tennis player and is currently a sports broadcaster from the United States for ESPN2. During the 1980s and 1990s, she won 133 top-level titles, including 21 women's doubles titles and one mixed doubles title at Grand Slam tournaments...	6–4, 6–2
3.	August 19, 1985	Monticello, USA	Hard	Helen Kelesi Helen Kelesi Helen Kelesi is a former tour professional tennis player. She has been coached by her father, Milan Kelesi, throughout her tennis career....	4–6, 6–3, 6–2
4.	February 2, 1987	Wichita, USA	Carpet (i)	Larisa Savchenko Larisa Neiland Larisa Savchenko Neiland is a former tennis player who represented Latvia. A former number-one ranked doubles player, Neiland won two women's doubles Grand Slam titles. She also won two singles titles and sixty-five doubles titles.-Career:Neiland turned professional in 1983...	7–6(6), 7–6(5)
5.	August 1, 1988	Cincinnati, USA	Hard	Helen Kelesi	6–2, 6–2

Doubles (18)

• 1980: Atlanta (with Sharon Walsh
  Sharon Walsh
  Sharon Walsh-Arnold is a former professional tennis player from the United States.Walsh enjoyed a long career by modern standards, playing her first Grand Slam singles event in 1969 and her last Grand Slam doubles match in 1990. She was a finalist at the 1979 Australian Open where she lost to...
  
  )
• 1980: Tucson (with Leslie Allen
  Leslie Allen (tennis)
  Leslie Allen is a retired American professional tennis player.Allen was a member of the University of Southern California national championship team and graduated magna cum laude with a Bachelor of Arts in speech communications...
  
  )
• 1981: Kansas City (with Sharon Walsh)
• 1981: Boston (with Sharon Walsh)
• 1981: Brighton (with Anne Smith
  Anne Smith
  Anne Smith is a female former professional tennis player from the United States. Smith's highest women's doubles ranking was World No. 1 in 1980 and 1981. Her highest singles ranking was World No. 12 in 1982...
  
  )
• 1981: Perth (with Sharon Walsh)
• 1982: Kansas City (with Sharon Walsh)
• 1982: Oakland (with Sharon Walsh)
• 1982: Mahwah (with Sharon Walsh)

• 1982: Deerfield Beach (with Sharon Walsh)
• 1983: Palm Beach Gardens (with Sharon Walsh)
• 1983: Newport (with Pam Shriver
  Pam Shriver
  Pamela Howard Shriver Lazenby , is a former professional tennis player and is currently a sports broadcaster from the United States for ESPN2. During the 1980s and 1990s, she won 133 top-level titles, including 21 women's doubles titles and one mixed doubles title at Grand Slam tournaments...
  
  )
• 1983: Detroit (with Kathy Jordan
  Kathy Jordan
  Kathryn "Kathy" Jordan is a former American tennis player. During her career, she won 7 Grand Slam titles, 5 of them in women's doubles and 2 of them in mixed doubles...
  
  )
• 1984: Washington, D.C. (with Sharon Walsh)
• 1984: Boston (with Sharon Walsh)
• 1985: Dallas (with Sharon Walsh)
• 1986: Nashville (with Pam Shriver)
• 1988: Newport (with Rosalyn Fairbank
  Rosalyn Fairbank
  Rosalyn Doris Fairbank-Nideffer is a former professional tennis player from South Africa. She played her first grand slam in 1979, with her last appearance coming as late as 1997...
  
  )

Grand Slam singles performance timeline

Tournament	1978	1979	1980	1981	1982	1983	1984	1985	1986	1987	1988	1989	Career SR
Australian Open Australian Open The Australian Open is the only Grand Slam tennis tournament held in the southern hemisphere. The tournament was held for the first time in 1905 and was last contested on grass in 1987. Since 1972 the Australian Open has been held in Melbourne, Victoria. In 1988, the tournament became a hard court...	A	A	A	2R	3R	3R	QF	2R	NH	A	4R	1R	0 / 7
French Open	A	A	A	A	A	A	A	1R	A	A	A	A	0 / 1
Wimbledon	2R	1R	3R	4R	QF	QF	4R	QF	A	2R	4R	A	0 / 10
U.S. Open U.S. Open (tennis) The US Open, formally the United States Open Tennis Championships, is a hardcourt tennis tournament which is the modern iteration of one of the oldest tennis championships in the world, the U.S. National Championship, which for men's singles was first contested in 1881...	2R	3R	3R	SF	2R	2R	4R	2R	A	1R	4R	A	0 / 10
SR	0 / 2	0 / 2	0 / 2	0 / 3	0 / 3	0 / 3	0 / 3	0 / 4	0 / 0	0 / 2	0 / 3	0 / 1	0 / 28

• NH = tournament not held.
• A = did not participate in the tournament.
• SR = the ratio of the number of Grand Slam singles tournaments won to the number of those tournaments played.

External links