Lisa Raymond won back-to-back NCAA singles titles with the Gators and went on to win 11 Grand Slams.
Lisa Raymond Featured on International Tennis Hall of Fame Ballot
Tuesday, October 13, 2020 | Women's Tennis
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Former women’s tennis standout among those up for enshrinement; Fan voting continues up until Oct. 25.
By: Sam Stolte
GAINESVILLE, Fla. – One of the most decorated and dominant Florida student-athletes of all time, Lisa Raymond, is on the ballot for next year's class in the International Tennis Hall of Fame as she looks to earn her spot among the game's elite.
Fan voting, which kicked off Oct. 1, plays a crucial role in a nominee's chances. Candidates that finish in the top three of the fan vote will receive percentage points towards their affirmative vote score. Individuals must garner at least 75 percent affirmative votes to be elected to the Hall of Fame.
The individual with the highest fan vote earns three additional percentage points and the second and third place candidates collect two and one additional points, respectively. Fans are allowed to just one vote.
"Lisa Raymond is probably the greatest collegiate tennis player that ever went through. When you think about her success in college and professionally, you don't find many that can really match those achievements to that extent. She brought talent and basically the young players always looked up to her. The fact that she dominated at No. 1 gave everybody confidence that we had one point on the board when she walked on the court," former Gator head coach Andy Brandi said in an interview for the A-May-Zing Gators: A Look Back at Florida's Seven National Titles piece published earlier this spring on FloridaGators.com.
The inductees will be announced in early 2021.
Raymond played just two seasons with the Gators but her time spent in Gainesville can be categorized as nothing less than dominant. Raymond's freshman campaign was in fact prolific, she became the first player in NCAA history to win three collegiate Grand Slam championships in a season, winning the singles titles at the ITCA National Clay Championships and the ROLEX National Indoor and NCAA Championship.
Raymond's magnificence was a key cog in Florida's first-ever National Championship in 1992. She recorded a program-best 50 wins while dropping just four results.
From 1991 to 1993 Raymond collected a program-record 44-straight wins.
Known to not waste any time dispatching her opponent, Raymond won nine of her 10 NCAA matches (in 1992 team & singles) in straight sets and the bouts expired less than one hour following first serve.
Boasting an 84-4 all-time singles record with the Gators, Raymond's .954 winning percentage is tops in program history.
Come tournament time, Raymond rose to the occasion; she notched a program-best 12 victories in NCAA postseason play.
In 1992 Raymond was tabbed the ITCA Rookie of the Year, the Tennis Magazine's Collegiate Player of the Year and she collected All-American honors.
Raymond became just the second player in NCAA history to claim back-to-back singles titles.
In 2003, Raymond was a first-ballot inductee into the University of Florida Athletic Hall of Fame. Vote Today!
Following her impressive run at UF, Raymond joined the WTA Tour, where she achieved tremendous success. Raymond broke through for 11 Grand Slam titles with six coming in doubles and five in mixed doubles.
Spending 652 weeks ranked top 10 in the World Doubles rankings, Raymond sustained excellence and longevity. She rose to as a high as No. 1 and spent the majority of the 2001 and 2002 seasons at the top spot.
All told, she played nearly 20 years on the professional circuit, registering 97 career WTA doubles titles and spent 137 weeks as the World No. 1 in doubles.
Alongside Rennae Stubbs Raymond claimed her first Grand Slam title in 2000 at the Australian Open. The pair went on to win three Grand Slams from 2000-05 including Wimbledon in 2001. Before breaking through in Melbourne, Raymond posted runner-up finishes in the doubles championships at the French Open on two occasions and the Australian Open.
Following her run with Stubbs, Raymond and Samantha Stosur came together to win the 2005 US Open and 2006 French Open. After runner-up finishes at Wimbledon and the US Open in 2008 with Stosur, Raymond and Leizel Huber joined forces to nab the 2011 US Open title.
Raymond surpassed Billie Jean King as the oldest woman ever to win a Grand Slam doubles championship.
In mixed doubles, Raymond was also a force to be reckoned with. In 1996 Raymond and teammate Patrick Galbraith won the US Open. Raymond and Leander Paes claimed the title at Wimbledon in 1999. After a brief run with Galbraith, Raymond and Mike Bryan united to win the 2002 US Open and the 2003 French Open.
After several years and time competing with other partners, Raymond and Bryan again paired up to win Wimbledon in 2012.
Raymond retired from professional tennis in 2015.
Joining Raymond on the ballot are Lleyton Hewitt of Australia; Juan Carlos Ferrero of Spain; Jonas Bjorkman of Sweden, Sergi Bruguera of Spain and the legendary Original 9, and coach Dennis Van der Meer. Lisa Raymond was one of the most dominant women's tennis players in NCAA history.
