Helen Kelesi
# Helen Kelesi

Helen Kelesi (born 15 November 1969) is a former professional tennis player from Canada. She was coached by her father Milan Kelesi.

## Career

"Hurricane Helen", as the Canadian press dubbed her for her fiery demeanour, achieved a career-high ranking of world No. 13 (November 1989), and was a regular fixture in the top 25 from 1986 to 1991. She won singles titles at two tour events, the 1986 Japan Open and the 1988 Citta de Taranto, and at the French Open, she was a quarterfinalist in 1988 (losing to Gabriela Sabatini) and 1989 (losing to Mary Joe Fernández). During her time on the WTA Tour, Kelesi recorded wins over Arantxa Sánchez Vicario, Conchita Martínez, Jana Novotná, Manuela Maleeva-Fragnière, Helena Suková and Pam Shriver.

Kelesi's game was characterized by aggressive baseline play, with a powerful top-spin forehand and two-handed backhand. She also retrieved well and could play defensively when needed. These skills meant that Kelesi was particularly good on clay and hardcourt surfaces.

Kelesi was a Canadian Federation Cup team member from 1986 to 1993. She was Tennis Canada Singles Player of the Year four times (1986, 1987, 1989, and 1990).

Her professional career came to an end in 1995 when a brain tumour the size of a tennis ball was discovered following months of headaches, dizziness and vision problems. Numerous operations followed over the years. Kelesi successfully recovered and began coaching young children in Canada in the late 1990s. She also became a part-time tennis journalist and commentator.

## WTA career finals

### Singles: 9 (2 titles, 7 runner-ups)

* Legend
* Grand Slam tournaments (0–0)
* Tier I (0–0)
* Tier II (0–0)
* Tier III (0–1)
* Tier IV (0–3)
* Tier V (1–2)
* Virginia Slims (1–1)
* Finals by surface
* Hard (1–3)
* Grass (0–0)
* Clay (1–4)
* Carpet (0–0)

| Result | W/L | Date | Tournament | Surface | Opponent | Score |
| - | - | - | - | - | - | - |
| Loss | 0–1 | Aug 1985 | VS Monticello, U.S. | Hard | Barbara Potter | 6–4, 3–6, 2–6 |
| Win | 1–1 | Oct 1986 | Japan Open | Hard | Bettina Fulco | 6–2, 6–2 |
| Win | 2–1 | May 1988 | Ilva Trophy, Italy | Clay | Laura Garrone | 6–1, 6–0 |
| Loss | 2–2 | May 1988 | Italian Open | Clay | Gabriela Sabatini | 1–6, $7–6^{(4)},$ 1–6 |
| Loss | 2–3 | Aug 1988 | Cincinnati Masters, U.S. | Hard | Barbara Potter | 2–6, 2–6 |
| Loss | 2–4 | Apr 1989 | Barcelona Open, Spain | Clay | Arantxa Sánchez Vicario | 2–6, 7–5, 1–6 |
| Loss | 2–5 | Nov 1989 | VS Nashville, U.S. | Hard (I) | Leila Meskhi | 2–6, 3–6 |
| Loss | 2–6 | May 1990 | Geneva, Switzerland | Clay | Barbara Paulus | 6–2, 5–7, $6–7^{(3)}$ |
| Loss | 2–7 | May 1991 | Geneva, Switzerland | Clay | Manuela Maleeva-Fragnière | 3–6, 6–3, 3–6 |

### Doubles: 5 (2 titles, 3 runner-ups)

* Legend
* Grand Slam tournaments (0–0)
* Tier I (1–1)
* Tier II (0–0)
* Tier III (0–1)
* Tier IV (1–0)
* Tier V (0–1)
* Finals by surface
* Hard (1–2)
* Grass (0–0)
* Clay (1–1)
* Carpet (0–0)

| Result | W/L | Date | Tournament | Surface | Partner | Opponents | Score |
| - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - |
| Loss | 0–1 | May 1988 | Ilva Trophy, Italy | Clay | Laura Garrone | Andrea Betzner Claudia Porwik | 1–6, 2–6 |
| Loss | 0–2 | Aug 1988 | Cincinnati Masters, U.S. | Hard | Lindsay Bartlett | Beth Herr Candy Reynolds | 6–4, $6–7^{(9)},$ 1–6 |
| Win | 1–2 | May 1990 | Italian Open | Clay | Monica Seles | Laura Garrone Laura Golarsa | 6–3, 6–4 |
| Loss | 1–3 | Aug 1990 | Canadian Open | Hard | Raffaella Reggi | Betsy Nagelsen Gabriela Sabatini | 6–3, 2–6, 2–6 |
| Win | 2–3 | Oct 1990 | VS Scottsdale, U.S. | Hard | Elise Burgin | Sandy Collins Ronni Reis | 6–4, 6–2 |

## ITF finals

* $100,000 tournaments
* $75,000 tournaments
* $50,000 tournaments
* $25,000 tournaments
* $10,000 tournaments

### Singles (3–0)

| Outcome | Date | Tournament | Surface | Opponent | Score |
| - | - | - | - | - | - |
| Winner | 3 February 1991 | ITF Midland, United States | Hard (i) | Meredith McGrath | 6–2, 6–2 |
| Winner | 27 January 1992 | ITF Midland, United States | Hard (i) | Claire Wegink | $7–6^{(2)},$ $7–6^{(8)}$ |
| Winner | 25 January 1993 | ITF Austin, United States | Hard | Elly Hakami | 6–4, 3–6, 6–2 |

### Doubles (0–2)

| Outcome | Date | Tournament | Surface | Partner | Opponents | Score |
| - | - | - | - | - | - | - |
| Runner-up | 3 February 1991 | ITF Midland, United States | Hard (i) | Katrina Adams | Anne Smith Meredith McGrath | 5–7, 5–7 |
| Runner-up | 27 January 1992 | ITF Midland, United States | Hard (i) | Caroline Vis | Manon Bollegraf Meredith McGrath | 3–6, 1–6 |

## Grand Slam singles performance timeline

Key :

| W | F | SF | QF | #R | RR | Q# | DNQ | A | NH |
| - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - |
| Tournament | 1985 | 1986 | 1987 | 1988 | 1989 | 1990 | 1991 | 1992 | 1993 | 1994 | 1995 | 1996 | 1997 | Career SR |
| Australian Open | A | NH | 2R | A | A | 3R | A | 1R | A | 2R | A | A | A | 0 / 4 |
| French Open | 1R | 1R | 4R | QF | QF | 2R | 3R | A | 1R | 1R | A | A | A | 0 / 9 |
| Wimbledon | 1R | 2R | 1R | 1R | 1R | 1R | 1R | A | 3R | 1R | A | A | A | 0 / 9 |
| US Open | 1R | 3R | 3R | 2R | 1R | 2R | 2R | 1R | 1R | 1R | A | A | A | 0 / 10 |
| SR | 0 / 3 | 0 / 3 | 0 / 4 | 0 / 3 | 0 / 3 | 0 / 4 | 0 / 3 | 0 / 2 | 0 / 3 | 0 / 4 | 0 / 0 | 0 / 0 | 0 / 0 | 0 / 32 |
| Year-end ranking | 48 | 39 | 32 | 19 | 13 | 25 | 29 | 128 | 49 | 124 | NR | NR | 763 |
