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{{Infobox player
|image = HelenKelesi.png
|birthdate = November 15, 1969
|birthplace = Victoria, British Columbia, Canada
|dateofdeath =
|placeofdeath =
|from = Richmond, British Columbia, Canada
|residence =
|height = 5’5” (1,65m)
|styleofplay = Right-handed (two-handed backhand)
|turnedpro = 1985
|retired = 1995
|bestwtasinglesranking = No. 13 (November 20, 1989)
|bestwtadoublesranking = No. 26 (April 22, 1991)
|bestitfjuniorranking =
|canadiantennishalloffame =
|cdntennisprofile = [http://www.cdntennis.ca/helenkelesi Profile on CdnTennis.ca]
}}
 
==Biography==
'''Helen Kelesi''' (born November 15, 1969 in Victoria, British Columbia, Canada) is a Canadian former professional tennis player. She achievedreached a career-high WTA singles ranking of world No. 13 on November 20, 1989 and a career-high WTA doubles ranking of No. 26 on April 22, 1991. She was a regular fixture in the top 25 from 1986 to 1991. She won singles titles in 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, Helena Suková and Pam Shriver. She was Tennis Canada singles player of the year four times (1986, 1987, 1989, and 1990). She was inducted into the Canadian Tennis Hall of Fame in 2002.
 
Kelesi was a regular fixture in the top 25 from 1986 to 1991. She won singles titles in 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, Helena Suková and Pam Shriver. Kelesi's 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. She won the Bobbie Rosenfeld Award as Canada's Female Athlete of the Year in 1989 and 1990, and was named Tennis Canada female player of the year four times (1986, 1987, 1989, and 1990).
 
Kelesi's 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. She was inducted into the Canadian Tennis Hall of Fame in 2002.
 
==Significant finals==
Line 18 ⟶ 39:
|style="background:#98fb98;"|Win||1990||Rome||Clay||Monica Seles (YUG)||Laura Garrone (ITA) <br /> Laura Golarsa (ITA)||6–3, 6–4
|- style="background:#ccccff;"
|style="background:#ffa07a;"|Loss||1990||[[RogersCanadian CupOpen|Montréal]]||Hard||Raffaella Reggi (ITA)||Betsy Nagelsen (USA) <br /> Gabriela Sabatini (ARG)||6–3, 2–6, 2–6
|}
 
Line 30 ⟶ 51:
|- style="background:#f3e6d7;"
|Grand Slam tournaments (0–0)
|- style="background:#ffea5c;"
|Olympic Games (0–0)
|- style="background:#ffffcc;"
|WTA Tour Championships (0–0)
|- style="background:#e9e9e9;"
|WTA Tier I (0–0)
|- style="background:#d4f1c5;"
|WTA Tier II (0–0)
|-
|Virginia Slims / WTA Tier III, IV & V (2–7)
|}
|
Line 153 ⟶ 176:
|- style="background:#f3e6d7;"
|Grand Slam tournaments (0–0)
|- style="background:#ffea5c;"
|Olympic Games (0–0)
|- style="background:#ffffcc;"
|WTA Tour Championships (0–0)
|- style="background:#e9e9e9;"
|WTA Tier I (1–1)
|- style="background:#d4f1c5;"
|WTA Tier II (0–0)
|-
|Virginia Slims / WTA Tier III, IV & V (1–2)
|}
|
Line 220 ⟶ 245:
|<small>1–3</small>
|Aug 1990
|style="background:#e9e9e9;"|[[Rogers Cup|Canadian Open]], Canada
|style="background:#e9e9e9;"|Tier I
|Hard
Line 240 ⟶ 265:
==ITF Circuit finals==
===Singles: 3 (3 titles)===
{|
|- valign="top"
|
{|class="wikitable"
!Legend
|- style="background:#f88379;"
|ITF $100,000 tournaments (0–0)
|- style="background:#f7e98e;"
|ITF $75,000 tournaments (0–0)
|- style="background:#addfad;"
|ITF $50,000 tournaments (0–0)
|- style="background:lightblue;"
|ITF $25,000 tournaments (2–0)
|- style="background:#f0f8ff;"
|ITF $10,000 tournaments (1–0)
|}
|
{|class="wikitable"
!Titles by surface
|-
|Hard (3–0)
|-
|Clay (0–0)
|-
|Grass (0–0)
|-
|Carpet (0–0)
|}
|}
 
Line 268 ⟶ 309:
|Jan 1991
|style="background:lightblue;"|Midland, United States
|style="background:lightblue;"|$25,000
|Hard (i)
|Meredith McGrath (USA)
Line 277 ⟶ 318:
|Jan 1992
|style="background:lightblue;"|Midland, United States <small>(2)</small>
|style="background:lightblue;"|$25,000
|Hard (i)
|Claire Wegink (NED)
Line 286 ⟶ 327:
|Jan 1993
|style="background:#f0f8ff;"|Austin, United States
|style="background:#f0f8ff;"|$10,000
|Hard
|Elly Hakami (USA)
Line 293 ⟶ 334:
 
===Doubles: 2 (2 runners-up)===
{|
|- valign="top"
|
{|class="wikitable"
!Legend
|- style="background:#f88379;"
|ITF $100,000 tournaments (0–0)
|- style="background:#f7e98e;"
|ITF $75,000 tournaments (0–0)
|- style="background:#addfad;"
|ITF $50,000 tournaments (0–0)
|- style="background:lightblue;"
|ITF $25,000 tournaments (0–2)
|- style="background:#f0f8ff;"
|ITF $10,000 tournaments (0–0)
|}
|
{|class="wikitable"
!Titles by surface
|-
|Hard (0–2)
|-
|Clay (0–0)
|-
|Grass (0–0)
|-
|Carpet (0–0)
|}
|}
 
Line 322 ⟶ 379:
|Jan 1991
|style="background:lightblue;"|Midland, United States
|style="background:lightblue;"|$25,000
|Hard (i)
|Katrina Adams (USA)
Line 332 ⟶ 389:
|Jan 1992
|style="background:lightblue;"|Midland, United States
|style="background:lightblue;"|$25,000
|Hard (i)
|Caroline Vis (NED)
Line 338 ⟶ 395:
|3–6, 1–6
|}
 
==Singles performance timeline==
{|class="wikitable" style="text-align:center;"
!Tournament!!1985!!1986!!1987!!1988!!1989!!1990!!1991!!1992!!1993!!1994!!SR!!W–L!!Win %
|-
|colspan=14 style="text-align:left;"|'''Grand Slam tournaments'''
|-
|style="text-align:left;"|Australian Open
|A
|style="color:#ccc;"|NH
|style="background:#afeeee;"|2R
|A
|A
|style="background:#afeeee;"|3R
|A
|style="background:#afeeee;"|1R
|A
|style="background:#afeeee;"|2R
|0 / 4
|4–4
|50%
|-
|style="text-align:left;"|French Open
|style="background:#afeeee;"|1R
|style="background:#afeeee;"|1R
|style="background:#afeeee;"|4R
|style="background:#ffebcd;"|QF
|style="background:#ffebcd;"|QF
|style="background:#afeeee;"|2R
|style="background:#afeeee;"|3R
|A
|style="background:#afeeee;"|1R
|style="background:#afeeee;"|1R
|0 / 9
|14–9
|61%
|-
|style="text-align:left;"|Wimbledon
|style="background:#afeeee;"|1R
|style="background:#afeeee;"|2R
|style="background:#afeeee;"|1R
|style="background:#afeeee;"|1R
|style="background:#afeeee;"|1R
|style="background:#afeeee;"|1R
|style="background:#afeeee;"|1R
|A
|style="background:#afeeee;"|3R
|style="background:#afeeee;"|1R
|0 / 9
|3–9
|25%
|-
|style="text-align:left;"|US Open
|style="background:#afeeee;"|1R
|style="background:#afeeee;"|3R
|style="background:#afeeee;"|3R
|style="background:#afeeee;"|2R
|style="background:#afeeee;"|1R
|style="background:#afeeee;"|2R
|style="background:#afeeee;"|2R
|style="background:#afeeee;"|1R
|style="background:#afeeee;"|1R
|style="background:#afeeee;"|1R
|0 / 10
|7–10
|41%
|- style="font-weight:bold; background:#efefef;"
|style="text-align:left;"|Win–Loss
|0–3
|3–3
|6–4
|5–3
|4–3
|4–4
|3–3
|0–2
|2–3
|1–4
|0 / 32
|28–32
|47%
|}
 
==Doubles performance timeline==
{|class="wikitable" style="text-align:center;"
!Tournament!!1987!!1988!!1989!!1990!!1991!!1992!!SR!!W–L!!Win %
|-
|colspan=10 style="text-align:left;"|'''Grand Slam tournaments'''
|-
|style="text-align:left;"|Australian Open
|style="background:#afeeee;"|1R
|A
|A
|A
|A
|style="background:#afeeee;"|2R
|0 / 2
|1–2
|33%
|-
|style="text-align:left;"|French Open
|style="background:#afeeee;"|1R
|style="background:#afeeee;"|2R
|style="background:#ffebcd;"|QF
|A
|style="background:#afeeee;"|1R
|A
|0 / 4
|4–4
|50%
|-
|style="text-align:left;"|Wimbledon
|style="background:#afeeee;"|2R
|style="background:#afeeee;"|2R
|style="background:#afeeee;"|1R
|style="background:#afeeee;"|1R
|style="background:#afeeee;"|1R
|A
|0 / 5
|2–5
|29%
|-
|style="text-align:left;"|US Open
|style="background:#afeeee;"|1R
|style="background:#afeeee;"|1R
|A
|style="background:#afeeee;"|2R
|style="background:#afeeee;"|2R
|A
|0 / 4
|2–4
|33%
|- style="font-weight:bold; background:#efefef;"
|style="text-align:left;"|Win–Loss
|1–4
|2–3
|3–2
|1–2
|1–3
|1–1
|0 / 15
|9–15
|38%
|}
 
==Mixed doubles performance timeline==
{|class="wikitable" style="text-align:center;"
!Tournament!!1986!!1987!!1988!!SR!!W–L!!Win %
|-
|colspan=7 style="text-align:left;"|'''Grand Slam tournaments'''
|-
|style="text-align:left;"|Australian Open
|style="color:#ccc;"|NH
|A
|A
|0 / 0
|0–0
|–
|-
|style="text-align:left;"|French Open
|A
|A
|style="background:#afeeee;"|2R
|0 / 1
|1–1
|50%
|-
|style="text-align:left;"|Wimbledon
|style="background:#afeeee;"|2R
|style="background:#afeeee;"|2R
|style="background:#afeeee;"|1R
|0 / 3
|2–3
|40%
|-
|style="text-align:left;"|US Open
|A
|A
|A
|0 / 0
|0–0
|–
|- style="font-weight:bold; background:#efefef;"
|style="text-align:left;"|Win–Loss
|1–1
|1–1
|1–2
|0 / 4
|3–4
|43%
|}
 
==Wins over top-10 opponents==
Kelesi has a 10–46 (18%) record against players who were, at the time the match was played, ranked in the top 10.
{|class="wikitable sortable"
|+ Wins over top-10 opponents per season
|-
|Season||1985||1986||1987||1988||1989||1990||1991||1992||1993||1994||1995||'''Total'''
|- style="text-align:center;"
|Wins||0||1||3||3||0||0||2||1||0||0||0||'''10'''
|}
 
{|class="wikitable"
!No.
!Opponent
!Rank
!Event
!Surface
!Round
!class="unsortable"|Score
!Kelesi<br />Rank
|-
|colspan=9 style="text-align:center;"|'''1986'''
|-
|1.
|Hana Mandlíková (TCH)
|style="background:#99ccff;"|3
|VS of Washington, United States
|style="background:thistle;"|Carpet (i)
|style="background:#afeeee;"|2R
|6–3, 6–1
|46
|-
|colspan=9 style="text-align:center;"|'''1987'''
|-
|2.
|Claudia Kohde-Kilsch (FRG)
|style="background:#eee8aa;"|9
|style="background:#e9e9e9;"|Amelia Island Championships, United States
|style="background:#ebc2af;"|Clay
|style="background:#afeeee;"|2R
|6–3, 6–4
|37
|-
|3.
|Helena Suková (TCH)
|style="background:#eee8aa;"|6
|style="background:#ecf2ff;"|Fed Cup, Vancouver, Canada
|style="background:#ccccff;"|Hard
|style="background:#ffebcd;"|QF
|4–6, 6–1, 6–2
|36
|-
|4.
|Claudia Kohde-Kilsch (FRG)
|style="background:#eee8aa;"|9
|style="background:#e9e9e9;"|[[Canadian Open]], Canada
|style="background:#ccccff;"|Hard
|style="background:#afeeee;"|3R
|6–2, 6–3
|32
|-
|colspan=9 style="text-align:center;"|'''1988'''
|-
|5.
|Claudia Kohde-Kilsch (FRG)
|style="background:#eee8aa;"|9
|style="background:#e9e9e9;"|Hilton Head Island Open, United States
|style="background:#ebc2af;"|Clay
|style="background:#afeeee;"|3R
|6–4, 7–5
|35
|-
|6.
|Manuela Maleeva (BUL)
|style="background:#eee8aa;"|6
|style="background:#f3e6d7;"|French Open, France
|style="background:#ebc2af;"|Clay
|style="background:#afeeee;"|3R
|6–4, 6–2
|25
|-
|7.
|Manuela Maleeva (BUL)
|style="background:#eee8aa;"|6
|Cincinnati Open, United States
|style="background:#ccccff;"|Hard
|style="background:yellow;"|SF
|6–0, 6–3
|23
|-
|colspan=9 style="text-align:center;"|'''1991'''
|-
|8.
|Jana Novotná (TCH)
|style="background:#eee8aa;"|8
|style="background:#d4f1c5;"|VS of Chicago, United States
|style="background:thistle;"|Carpet (i)
|style="background:#afeeee;"|2R
|2–6, 7–6<sup>(7–5)</sup>, 7–6<sup>(7–1)</sup>
|24
|-
|9.
|Conchita Martínez (ESP)
|style="background:#eee8aa;"|8
|WTA Swiss Open, Switzerland
|style="background:#ebc2af;"|Clay
|style="background:yellow;"|SF
|6–4, 6–7<sup>(5–7)</sup>, 6–2
|24
|-
|colspan=9 style="text-align:center;"|'''1992'''
|-
|10.
|Conchita Martínez (ESP)
|style="background:#eee8aa;"|8
|style="background:#ecf2ff;"|Fed Cup, Frankfurt, Germany
|style="background:#ebc2af;"|Clay
|style="background:#afeeee;"|2R
|7–6<sup>(7–4)</sup>, 6–2
|136
|}
 
==Titles won with partners==
{|class="wikitable" style="font-size:90%; text-align:center;"
!style="width:180px; background:#efefef;"|Partner
!style="width:80px; background:#f3e6d7;"|Grand <br /> Slams
!style="width:80px; background:#ffea5c;"|Olympic <br /> Games
!style="width:80px; background:#ffffcc;"|WTA <br /> Championships
!style="width:80px; background:#e9e9e9;"|WTA <br /> Tier I
!style="width:80px; background:#d4f1c5;"|WTA <br /> Tier II
!style="width:80px; background:#ffffff;"|WTA <br /> Tier III/IV/V
!style="width:80px; background:#efefef;"|Total
|-
|style="text-align:left;"|Monica Seles (YUG)
|0
|0
|0
|1
|0
|0
|1
|-
|style="text-align:left;"|Elise Burgin (USA)
|0
|0
|0
|0
|0
|1
|1
|- style="font-weight:bold; background:#efefef;"
|style="text-align:left;"|Overall Total
|0
|0
|0
|1
|0
|1
|2
|}
 
==External links==
*[http://www.cdntennis.ca/helenkelesi Profile on CdnTennis.ca]
 
{{DEFAULTSORT:Kelesi, Helen}}
[[Category:Canadian female tennis players]]
[[Category:Canadian retired tennis players]]
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