Lindsay Ann Davenport Leach (born June 8, 1976) is an American former professional tennis player. She was ranked as the world No. 1 in women's singles by the Women's Tennis Association (WTA) for 98 weeks (including as the year-end No. 1 four times), and as the world No. 1 in women's doubles for 32 weeks. Davenport won 55 WTA Tour-level singles titles, including three majors (the 1998 US Open, 1999 Wimbledon Championships, and 2000 Australian Open), the gold medal at the 1996 Atlanta Olympics, and the 1999 Tour Finals. She also won 38 doubles titles, including three majors (the 1996 French Open, 1997 US Open, and the 1999 Wimbledon Championships) and three consecutive Tour Finals.
In 2005, TENNIS Magazine ranked Davenport as the 29th-greatest player (male or female) of the preceding 40 years. She amassed career-earnings of US$22,166,338; formerly first in the all-time rankings. Davenport was inducted into the International Tennis Hall of Fame in 2014.
Lindsay Davenport is the daughter of Wink Davenport, who was a member of the U.S. volleyball team at the 1968 Summer Olympics in Mexico City, and Ann L. Davenport, the president of the Southern California Volleyball Association. Davenport was born to an athletic family. While her two older sisters, Leiann and Shannon, played volleyball, Lindsay began playing tennis at age six. She was coached by Robert Lansdorp, who had previously coached Tracy Austin. She attended Chadwick School in Palos Verdes Peninsula, California. At age 16, her family moved to Murrieta, California, where she attended and graduated from Murrieta Valley High School, and she began to work with, among others, Robert Van't Hof. At age 16, Davenport joined the United States Tennis Association junior national team. She had a rapid growth spurt — about six inches in two years — which affected her coordination, but did not hinder her performance. She excelled at junior level competitions and swept the singles and doubles titles at the National Girls' 18s and Clay Court Championships in 1991 and won the Junior U.S. Open in 1992.
She won the girls' 16s singles at the prestigious Ojai Tennis Tournament in 1990.
While Davenport's first play dated back to 1991, she officially became a professional two years after her first professional-level matches. Davenport's doubles success in 1993 was a 17–16 record while she reached the top 100 in doubles rankings. She reached the third round at the 1993 Australian Open doubles competition with Chanda Rubin. Davenport entered the top 20, despite coming into her first tournament that year ranked no. 162. She qualified for the 1993 Australian Open, reaching the third round before falling to Mary Pierce.
At the Indian Wells Masters, Davenport reached the quarterfinals ranked no. 99, but lost to 7th-ranked and future doubles partner Mary Joe Fernández. Later that year, Davenport won her first Tier III title at the WTA Swiss Open where she beat Nicole Bradtke in three sets in the finals. She reached the third round at the 1993 Wimbledon Championships, and at the 1993 US Open, the American reached the fourth round ranked no. 24. 1993 is also notable because it was the one time she faced Martina Navratilova, falling in three sets, 6–1, 3–6, 5–7, in the Oakland semifinals.
Davenport won the first professional tournament she entered in Brisbane, Australia. At the Australian Open, she reached her first Grand Slam quarterfinal, defeating no. 5 Mary Joe Fernández in the fourth round, before losing in the quarterfinals to top-ranked Steffi Graf. Davenport then reached the semifinals at Indian Wells, California and Miami and won the title in Lucerne. At Wimbledon, Davenport reached her second Grand Slam quarterfinal. Ranked ninth, Davenport defeated tenth ranked Gabriela Sabatini, before losing to third ranked Conchita Martínez, who went on to win the tournament. In November, she reached her first WTA Tour Championship final, losing to Sabatini.
In doubles, Davenport won Indian Wells with Lisa Raymond and reached the French Open doubles final with Raymond, where they lost to Gigi Fernández and Natasha Zvereva. Davenport teamed with Arantxa Sánchez Vicario to win the title in Oakland, defeating Gigi Fernández and Martina Navratilova in the final.
In December 1994, Davenport hired Craig Kardon as her coach.
Davenport started the year by reaching the final of the tournament in Sydney, where she lost to Gabriela Sabatini. Davenport again reached the Australian Open quarterfinals and the following week, lost to Kimiko Date in the final of the tournament in Tokyo.
On clay, Davenport won the tournament in Strasbourg on her first attempt, defeating Kimiko Date in the final. Date, however, turned the tables at the French Open, defeating Davenport in the fourth round.
At Wimbledon, Davenport was upset in the fourth round by Mary Joe Fernández. At the final Grand Slam tournament of the year, the US Open, Davenport was again upset, this time in the second round by Zina Garrison Jackson.
In doubles, Davenport and Jana Novotná started the year by winning the tournament in Sydney. Davenport and Lisa Raymond then lost in the Australian Open semifinals to the top seeded team of Gigi Fernández and Natasha Zvereva. Davenport teamed with Nicole Arendt to reach the French Open semifinals, where they lost to the top seeded team of Novotná and Arantxa Sánchez Vicario. At Wimbledon, Davenport and Raymond, the fourth seeded team, were upset in the first round. At the US Open, Davenport and Raymond were again the fourth seeded team and were upset in the third round by fifteenth seeded Lori McNeil and Helena Suková. In other tournaments, Davenport and Raymond won in Indian Wells, and Davenport and Mary Joe Fernández won in Tokyo (the non-Tier I tournament) and Strasbourg.
After her one-year contract with Kardon had ended, Davenport hired Robert Van't Hof as her full-time coach.
Davenport's year began with a runner-up finish in Sydney. She was a quarterfinalist at the Australian Open. Davenport then reached the semifinals of the tournament in Indian Wells, California, where she lost to Steffi Graf.
On clay, Davenport won the Strasbourg tournament and reached the French Open quarterfinals, losing to Conchita Martínez.
During the summer, Davenport won the tournament in Los Angeles, defeating Graf for the first time in her career in the semifinals, before defeating Anke Huber in the final. Davenport then won the gold medal at the Summer Olympics, defeating Mary Joe Fernández in the semifinal and Arantxa Sánchez Vicario in the final.
In doubles, Davenport teamed with Mary Joe Fernández to win the tournament in Sydney, before losing in the final of the Australian Open to Chanda Rubin and Sánchez Vicario. Davenport and Fernandez then won the French Open doubles title, defeating Gigi Fernández and Natasha Zvereva in the final. The two also won the tournament in Oakland and the year-end Chase Championships together. Davenport partnered with Zvereva to win the tournament in Los Angeles.