Tina Samara Explained

Tina Samara
Country Represented:
Birth Date:26 July 1974
Birth Place:Oslo, Norway
Careerprizemoney:$11,944
Singlestitles:0
Highestsinglesranking:No. 572 (August 11, 1997)
Usopenresult:Q1 (1994, 1995)
Doublestitles:1 ITF
Highestdoublesranking:No. 223 (September 28, 1998)

Tina Samara (born July 26, 1974) is an American former professional tennis player.

Biography

Samara was born in Oslo, to a Norwegian mother and Sri Lankan father, before later settling in Laurel Hollow, New York.[1]

From 1992 to 1996, Samara attended the University of Georgia, where she was a two-time All-American in tennis. She was a member of Georgia's NCAA championship winning team in 1994, partnering with Stacy Sheppard to win the title deciding doubles match.[2] She and Sheppard became college tennis' top ranked doubles pairing in 1995.[3]

Samara represented her birth country Norway in the Fed Cup, appearing in a total of 12 ties between 1996 and 1998. As a professional player she was most successful in doubles, with a best ranking of 223 and one ITF title. She twice featured in the singles qualifying draw for the US Open.

An experienced coach in college tennis, since 2008 she has been a head coach at the University of Louisiana at Lafayette, West Virginia University, University of Wisconsin-Madison and the University of the Pacific.[4]

ITF finals

$25,000 tournaments
$10,000 tournaments

Doubles: 7 (1–6)

ResultNo.DateTournamentSurfacePartnerOpponentsScore
Loss1.February 10, 1992Swindon, Great BritainCarpet Jacqueline Geller Lorna Woodroffe
Julie Pullin
4–6, 4–6
Loss2.June 19, 1995Peachtree, United StatesHard Stacy Sheppard Melissa Beadman
Nicole Oomens
6–7(7), 1–6
Loss3.June 26, 1995Hilton Head, United StatesHard Stacy Sheppard Jane Chi
Stephanie Chi
3–6, 6–7(5)
Win1.April 14, 1997Elvas, PortugalHard Aneta Soukup Miriam D'Agostini
Alicia Ortuño
6–4, 7–5
Loss4.June 8, 1997Little Rock, United StatesHard Erica Adams Amy Jensen
Samantha Reeves
0–6, 4–6
Loss5.June 16, 1997Mount Pleasant, United StatesHard Amanda Augustus Keirsten Alley
Liza Andriyani
6–2, 3–6, 4–6
Loss6.June 23, 1997Greenwood, United StatesHard Keirsten Alley Melissa Beadman
Amy Jensen
6–4, 2–6, 4–6

Notes and References

  1. Web site: Badger Women's Tennis full of international flavor . WISC . September 11, 2013.
  2. News: Sport. Panama City News . May 18, 1994 . 20.
  3. News: Tribe Believes, Achieves in Tennis . . April 16, 1995.
  4. Web site: Tina Samara Named Pacific Women's Tennis Coach . wccsports.com . June 17, 2016.