Dana Gilbert (born November 26, 1959) is an American former professional tennis player.

Dana Gilbert
Full nameDana Gilbert Heinemann
Country (sports) United States
Born (1959-11-26) November 26, 1959 (age 64)
Singles
Career titles2
Highest rankingNo. 46 (January 17, 1983)
Grand Slam singles results
French Open4R (1982)
Wimbledon1R (1979, 1980)
US Open3R (1982)
Doubles
Career titles1
Grand Slam doubles results
French Open2R (1980, 1981)
Wimbledon2R (1979)
US Open1R (1978, 1979, 1981, 1982, 1983)
Medal record
Maccabiah Games
Gold medal – first place 1977 Israel Women's singles
Gold medal – first place 1981 Israel Women's doubles

Biography

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Gilbert was raised in California, one of three siblings. Her youngest brother is Brad Gilbert, who also played tennis professionally, and made it to four in the world.[1]

She attended Piedmont High School, and then UCLA on a tennis scholarship and played number one singles.[2][3]

At the age of 17 she won a gold medal at the 1977 Maccabiah Games in Israel, a competition for Israeli and Jewish athletes, defeating Stacy Margolin, the number 8 under-18 player in the U.S.[4] At the 1981 Maccabiah Games, she and Donna Rubin won a gold medal in the women's doubles.[5]

Playing as a wildcard, she was a surprise winner of the 1978 U.S. Clay Court Championships, on her professional debut. En route to the final, which she won over Viviana González, she had a win against second seed Virginia Ruzici, who two-months earlier had won the French Open.[6] In October, 1980 she won her second WTA singles title at Nagoya and also won the Japan Open doubles title in the same month. She made the fourth round of the 1982 French Open as a lucky loser.[7] In early 1983 she was ranked a career best 46 in the world, before retiring from professional tennis at the end of the year.

She now lives in San Anselmo, California and is married to Geoffrey Heinemann.[8]

In 1994 she was inducted into the Southern California Jewish Sports Hall of Fame.[9]

WTA Tour finals

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Singles (2-0)

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Result    Date    Tournament Tier Surface Opponent Score
Win Aug 1978 Indianapolis, U.S. $35,000 (Colgate) Clay   Viviana González 6–2, 6–3
Win Oct 1980 Nagoya, Japan $50,000 (Colgate) Hard   Barbara Jordan 5–1 ret

Doubles (1-0)

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Result    Date    Tournament Tier Surface Partner Opponents Score
Win Oct 1980 Tokyo, Japan $50,000 (Colgate) Hard   Mareen Louie   Nerida Gregory
  Marie Pinterová
7–5, 7–6

References

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  1. ^ "Big sister, look what you've done". East Bay Times. January 9, 2008. Retrieved January 26, 2018.
  2. ^ "USTA: Find a Tennis Tournament & Play Tennis Near You". www.usta.com.
  3. ^ "Who's best? Courts hand down split decision". The Stanford Daily. May 14, 1979. Retrieved January 26, 2018.
  4. ^ "U.S. Wins Maccabiah Games". Jewish Post. Hoosier State Chronicles. August 5, 1988. Retrieved January 26, 2018.
  5. ^ "U.S. Five Captures Maccabiah Crown". The New York Times. July 16, 1981 – via NYTimes.com.
  6. ^ "Wild Card Dana Trumps Match In Clay Courts Title". The Indianapolis Star. August 13, 1978. p. 29. Retrieved January 26, 2018.
  7. ^ "Hooper Shows Power in French Victory". The New York Times. May 30, 1982. Retrieved January 26, 2018.
  8. ^ "Dana Gilbert (Heinemann)". Southern California Jewish Sports Hall of Fame. Retrieved January 26, 2018.
  9. ^ "Southern California Jewish Sports Hall of Fame Home".
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