Who is Alexandra Stevenson?
Alexandra Stevenson is a former professional tennis player who finished her career with a career-best high ranking at No. 18 on the Women’s Tennis Association table. Since her retirement, she’s worked as a television broadcaster for ESPN, covering tennis matches at the US Open.
Alexandra Stevenson Wiki: Age, Childhood, and Education
Alexandra Stevenson was born on 15 December 1980, in La Jolla, California, USA. She is the daughter of Samantha Stevenson, while her father is none other than Julius Erving, also known as Dr. J., a former professional basketball player who won the NBA Championship in 1983.
However, Alexandra is a product of an affair, and Erving didn’t know of her existence until 2008, when she initiated the meeting between the two, documented by ESPN.Com on the show “Reaching Out”. The father-daughter relationship is still on, despite not talking for the better part of Alexandra’s life.
At just six months old, Alexandra began swimming lessons, starting her sports story before she was even a year old, as she was swimming several feet in the pool, and half a year later, she was able to do multiple flips underwater.
Alexandra began participating in competitive swimming races when she was two years old, then as she grew older, she started doing gymnastics, ballet and other dance lessons.
Her after-school activities included ballet, ice skating, but also tennis. She took the racket at three and a half, and attended tennis lessons two times a week, slowly increasing her training regime as she became older.
After matriculating from La Jolla Country Day School, Alexandra enrolled at the University of Colorado, graduating in 2007 with a Bachelor of Liberal Arts in Sociology.
https://www.facebook.com/tenndeavor/photos/a.429341743828290/1091667184262406/
Career Beginnings
After years of hard training and going through youth selections, Alexandra became a professional tennis player in 1998. One of her first tournaments was none other than the US Open, receiving a wild card for the tournament. In the first round she faced France’s Alexandra Fusai, but unfortunately, she lost the match.
The following year she reached the quarterfinals at Birmingham, which served as a warm-up tournament for the grand slam at Wimbledon.
After a quarterfinal at Birmingham, Alexandra was named the first seed for the qualifier at Roehampton; she didn’t lose a single set in three matches and entered the main draw of Wimbledon.
Wimbledon Debut and Stardom
Alexandra made a fantastic debut at her senior Wimbledon, defeating the 11th seed Julie Halard in the third round, and continued successfully into the second week of the tournament by defeating Lisa Raymond and then Jelena Dokic in the quarterfinals. By doing so, she became only the second women qualifier to reach the semifinals in the tennis Open Era.
In the semifinals, Stevenson faced legendary Lindsay Davenport. She had no luck and lost 6-1, 6-1 in straight sets. However, Alexandra served the fastest second serve at 120mph, which is the fastest second serve in the women’s game.
She signed an exclusive three-year contract with Nike after Phil Knight, the co-founder and chairman of the American apparel and footwear magnate flew to London.
Great to see my client and friend #AlexandraStevenson, former @Wimbledon Semifinalist and current @ESPN Tennis Host/Analyst. “The comeback is always GREATER than the setback.” #NeverGiveUp #DreamBig #TheBestIsYetToCome pic.twitter.com/H1QHWeUQ5R
— Matthew Kingsley (@3kingsley) November 11, 2019
Alexandra earned the Rookie of the Year award from Tennis Magazine, and was named the Most Fascinating player by People Magazine.
Unfortunately, she failed to move forward in the next couple of years, finishing away from the top 100 on the WTA list in the upcoming years.
She had a rather unsuccessful year in 2000, which she finished with a 10/25 score. Nevertheless, she made progress in 2001 with a 35/24 record, which earned her No. 60 in the standings.
She continued well in 2002, reaching the finals of the Memphis Cup, a WTA tournament in the USA, where she played a Lisa Raymond but lost in three sets. The same year, she was a finalist at Generali Ladies Linz, Austria WTA tournament against Justine Henin, but lost 6-0, 6-3.
However, her first and only title came the same year at the ITF tournament held in the USA, defeating Samantha Reeves 7-6, 6-1, which helped Alexandra finish 2002 at No. 18, a few points short of No. 17, held by Elena Dementieva.
Shoulder Injury and Later Career
The following year, Stevenson started complaining of shoulder pain at the Wimbledon Championships. She tried to repair the tear without surgery but was forced to a type II labral repair on her right shoulder in September 2006.
She returned to competitive tennis in 2007, but had no significant results post-2008. She made a resurgence in 2013 with a 24/19 overall score during the season, followed by 20/17 in 2014. Alexandra played tennis professionally until 2018 and had other positive scores in 2016 and ‘17.
Overall, Stevenson ended her career with 427 wins, and 448 losses, earning $1.4 million in the process. She was inducted into the La Jolla Country Day School Hall of Fame in December 2009.
https://www.instagram.com/p/CTNNCfEAp0a/
Retirement
After retiring from tennis, Alexandra was recruited by the ESPN tennis commentary team. She covered the qualifying and main draws of the 2019 US Open, and returned for the 2020 and 2021 US Open coverage on ESPN.
Net Worth
According to sources, Alexandra Stevenson’s net worth has been estimated at $1.5 million as of mid-2022, earned during her active tennis career, and as a TV sports broadcaster.
Personal Life, Dating, Married, Husband, Children
Alexandra hasn’t talked about her private life much. As a result, there is no information about her relationships. According to some reports, she might be single, but nothing has been confirmed.
Although she’s stopped playing tennis on a competitive level, she still practices on the court, and plays on an amateur level, spreading the message that it’s essential to always be ready.
Back in 2001, she lost one of her friends in the 11 September attacks on the Twin Towers.
Appearance and Vital Statistics
The former actress has black hair and green eyes. She’s 6ft 1in (1.85m) tall, while she weighs approximately 155lbs (71kgs). Her vital statistics are 34-25-36, and her bra size is 34B.
Leave a Comment