Jessica Lehnhoff Explained

Jessica Lehnhoff
Fullname:Jessica Lehnhoff
Country Represented:
Birth Date:15 March 1980
Birth Place:Guatemala City, Guatemala
Plays:Right-handed
Careerprizemoney:$87,911
Singlestitles:2 ITF
Highestsinglesranking:No. 166 (June 14, 2004)
Doublestitles:10 ITF
Highestdoublesranking:No. 105 (July 12, 2004)
Frenchopendoublesresult:1R (2004)
Wimbledondoublesresult:2R (2004)
Usopendoublesresult:3R (2001)

Jessica Lehnhoff (born 15 March 1980) is a Guatemalan born former professional tennis player from the United States.

Biography

Lehnhoff grew up in Guatemala City, the youngest in a family of four siblings, who moved to Florida when she was aged 11. She holds citizenship in 3 countries (Sweden, Guatemala & USA). Growing up in Guatemala, she attended the "Colegio Austriaco" (Austrian school), where she and her brothers all learned how to speak German. One of her brothers, Alexander, played Davis Cup for Guatemala. Their mother, Anne-Marie is Swedish and their father Guatemalan/German. Their father Walter died in 1999, while Lehnhoff was a freshman at the University of Florida .[1]

A right-handed player, she was highly rated as a junior.[2] Lehnhoff was the top ranked player in the country (USA) for her age group in 1995, the year she won a doubles title at the Orange Bowl. Lehnhoff also won the singles titles at the Eddie Herr International tournament as well as the Orange Bowl under 14's, making her the top 14 and under junior player in the world. She ended her junior tennis career having been ranked No. 1 in the US in the 14's, 16's and 18's divisions having won numerous national titles including hard court nationals, clay court nationals and indoor nationals. She was also ranked top 10 under 18's division, having won Grade A and Grade 1 tournaments. After graduating from Cooper City High School and later on, American Heritage in Delray Beach, she played collegiate tennis for the University of Florida Gators. Partnering Whitney Laiho, she won the doubles title at the 2001 NCAA Division I Women's Tennis Championships after being undefeated all year. The pair subsequently were given a wildcard into the women's doubles at the US Open and reached the third round. That year, she and Laiho received the National doubles team of the year award. She captained the Gators in her senior year (having been ranked No. 1 in the nation in both singles and doubles in division 1 tennis) and graduated in 2002 with a degree in TV and Film production, after which she turned professional.[1] During her senior year at UF, Lehnhoff won the All-American titles in both singles and doubles for only the third time in collegiate history. She was an NCAA singles finalist that year.[3]

As a professional, Lehnhoff reached a singles ranking of 166 in the world and won two ITF singles titles after only two years on tour. In 2004, she featured in the main draw of the French Open, Wimbledon Championships and US Open. At Wimbledon she partnered with Bethanie Mattek to reach the second round and as a result, made it to her best doubles ranking of 105.[4] She was a quarterfinalist in doubles at the 2004 Challenge Bell, a WTA Tour tournament held in Quebec City, and won ten doubles titles on the pro circuit.

By 2007 she was retired from the tour (after undergoing two right wrist surgeries) but began playing Fed Cup tennis for her native Guatemala.[5] Over two years she appeared in a total of eight ties and finished with an 8–5 overall record.

Lehnhoff owns and runs Lehnhoff Tennis International, a college placement company, assisting junior tennis players from Sweden to be recruited by American colleges.[6] She has also coached top Swedish junior players as well as ATP and WTA players. She was inducted into the UF athletic hall of fame in 2016, alongside basketball player David Lee and olympian swimmer Ryan Lochte.

ITF finals

Legend
$50,000 tournaments
$25,000 tournaments
$10,000 tournaments

Singles (2–0)

OutcomeNo.DateLocationSurfaceOpponentScore
Winner1.23 June 2002Dallas, United StatesHard Wukirasih Sawondari6–2, 6–1
Winner2.23 November 2003Nuriootpa, AustraliaHard Aiko Nakamura7–6(2), 7–6(2)

Doubles (10–5)

OutcomeNo.DateLocationSurfacePartnerOpponentsScore
Winner1.8 January 2002Tallahassee, United StatesHard Vanessa Webb Ivana Abramović
Jacqueline Trail
6–4, 6–3
Winner2.16 June 2002Allentown, United StatesHard Jennifer Russell Tanner Cochran
Kristen Schlukebir
6–4, 6–7(4), 7–6(4)
Winner3.23 June 2002Dallas, United StatesHard Julie Rotondi Liza Andriyani
Wukirasih Sawondari
6–1, 6–1
Winner4.21 July 2002Oyster Bay, United StatesHard Jennifer Russell Irina Selyutina
Nana Smith
4–6, 6–4, 6–3
Winner5. 5 May 2003 Sea Island, United StatesClay Jennifer Russell Lisa McShea
Christina Wheeler
6–3, 6–4
Winner6.14 July 2003Oyster Bay, United StatesHard Jennifer Russell Ansley Cargill
Kelly Liggan
6–2, 6–3
Winner7.22 July 2003Lexington, United StatesHard Janet Lee Bryanne Stewart
Christina Wheeler
6–3, 6–4
Winner8.14 September 2003Peachtree, United StatesHard Lauren Kalvaria Amanda Augustus
Mélanie Marois
4–6, 6–3, 6–1
Winner9.24 November 2003Mount Gambier, AustraliaHard Christina Wheeler Bryanne Stewart
Samantha Stosur
7–5, 6–2
Runner-up1.28 February 2004St. Paul, United StatesHard (i) Trudi Musgrave Leanne Baker
Francesca Lubiani
7–6(3), 3–2 ret.
Runner-up2.4 April 2004Augusta, United StatesHard Julie Ditty Francesca Lubiani
Mashona Washington
1–6, 3–6
Winner10.16 May 2004Charlottesville, United StatesClay Erica Krauth Vilmarie Castellvi
Sunitha Rao
6–0, 6–1
Runner-up3.17 August 2004Bronx Open, United StatesHard Christina Wheeler Li Na
Liu Nannan
7–5, 3–6, 3–6
Runner-up4.18 February 2007Montechoro, PortugalHard Robin Stephenson Marrit Boonstra
Nicole Thyssen
3–6, 6–3, 2–6
Runner-up5.26 February 2007Portimão, PortugalHard Robin Stephenson Neuza Silva
Nicole Thyssen
4–6, 2–6

Notes and References

  1. News: Parental Guidance - tribunedigital-sunsentinel. Presgraves. Daryl. June 3, 2001. Sun-Sentinel. 5 January 2018.
  2. Web site: Jessica Lehnhoff's Profile. College Tennis Online .
  3. Web site: Jessica Lehnhoff - Women's Tennis . 2022-06-23 . Florida Gators . en.
  4. News: Sugiyama-Huber doubles team advances. June 29, 2004. The Japan Times. 6 January 2018.
  5. News: TT quartet for Fed Cup. April 17, 2007. Newsday. 6 January 2018.
  6. Web site: Lehnhoff Tennis International - Jessica Lehnhoff. lehnhofftennisinternational.com. 6 January 2018.