New Zealand tennis player
Kelly Graeme Evernden (born 21 September 1961) is a former professional
tennis player from New Zealand.
Evernden turned professional in 1985 and won his first tour doubles title in 1986 at
Cologne. His first top-level singles title came in 1987 at
Bristol. His best singles performance at a
Grand Slam event came at the 1987 Australian Open, where he reached the quarter-finals by defeating
Jonathan Canter,
Johan Kriek,
Brad Pearce and
Derrick Rostagno before being knocked-out by
Wally Masur. Evernden represented New Zealand at the
1988 Olympic Games in
Seoul.
Over the course of his career, Evernden won three top-level singles titles, the last of which was won in 1989 at
Wellington. He also won five tour doubles titles (the most significant of which was the
Canadian Open in 1989). Evernden's career-high rankings were world No. 31 in singles and world No. 19 in doubles. He retired from the professional tour in 1994.
Evernden played pro tennis with only one lung, having had a lung removed as the result of an injury sustained in an accident at the age of 16. He was hit by a motorist and his heart stopped twice in five days (once for one minute and once for 45 seconds). In addition to puncturing a lung which had to be removed, he also had a broken arm, leg and ribs, however he recovered fully from the accident.
[1]
He lives on Mercer Island with his wife and two sons.
Prior to turning professional, Evernden played tennis for the
University of Arkansas (where he studied business management and psychology) and was an
All-American in 1984.
Evernden is a quarter
Ngāti Porou
Māori, and his Māori name "Te Rangai" means "Young Warrior". His Irish name, Kelly, means "War".
Kelly is now the Davis Cup Captain for the country of New Zealand(2021-?)
ATP career finals
Singles: 7 (3 titles, 4 runner-ups)
Legend
|
Grand Slam Tournaments (0–0)
|
ATP World Tour Finals (0–0)
|
ATP Masters 1000 Series (0–0)
|
ATP 500 Series (0–0)
|
ATP 250 Series (3–4)
|
|
Finals by surface
|
Hard (2–1)
|
Clay (0–0)
|
Grass (1–1)
|
Carpet (0–2)
|
|
Finals by setting
|
Outdoors (2–2)
|
Indoors (1–2)
|
|
Result
|
W–L
|
Date
|
Tournament
|
Tier
|
Surface
|
Opponent
|
Score
|
Loss
|
0–1
|
Oct 1985
|
Brisbane, Australia
|
Grand Prix
|
Carpet
|
Paul Annacone
|
3–6, 3–6
|
Loss
|
0–2
|
Dec 1985
|
Sydney, Australia
|
Grand Prix
|
Grass
|
Henri Leconte
|
7–6(8–6), 2–6, 3–6
|
Win
|
1–2
|
Jun 1987
|
Bristol, United Kingdom
|
Grand Prix
|
Grass
|
Tim Wilkison
|
6–4, 7–6
|
Win
|
2–2
|
Oct 1987
|
Brisbane, Australia
|
Grand Prix
|
Hard
|
Eric Jelen
|
3–6, 6–1, 6–1
|
Win
|
3–2
|
Jan 1989
|
Wellington, New Zealand
|
Grand Prix
|
Hard
|
Shuzo Matsuoka
|
7–5, 6–1, 6–4
|
Loss
|
3–3
|
Oct 1989
|
Vienna, Austria
|
Grand Prix
|
Carpet
|
Paul Annacone
|
7–6(7–5), 4–6, 1–6, 6–2, 3–6
|
Loss
|
3–4
|
Aug 1990
|
Schenectady, United States
|
World Series
|
Hard
|
Ramesh Krishnan
|
1–6, 1–6
|
Doubles: 8 (5 titles, 3 runner-ups)
Legend
|
Grand Slam Tournaments (0–0)
|
ATP World Tour Finals (0–0)
|
ATP Masters 1000 Series (1–0)
|
ATP 500 Series (0–0)
|
ATP 250 Series (4–3)
|
|
Finals by surface
|
Hard (4–2)
|
Clay (0–0)
|
Grass (0–0)
|
Carpet (1–1)
|
|
Finals by setting
|
Outdoors (2–1)
|
Indoors (3–1)
|
|
Result
|
W–L
|
Date
|
Tournament
|
Tier
|
Surface
|
Partner
|
Opponents
|
Score
|
Win
|
1–0
|
Apr 1986
|
Cologne, West Germany
|
Grand Prix
|
Hard
|
Chip Hooper
|
Jan Gunnarsson
Peter Lundgren
|
6–4, 6–7, 6–3
|
Win
|
2–0
|
Oct 1987
|
Brisbane, Australia
|
Grand Prix
|
Hard
|
Matt Anger
|
Broderick Dyke
Wally Masur
|
7–6, 6–2
|
Win
|
3–0
|
Feb 1988
|
Philadelphia, United States
|
Grand Prix
|
Carpet
|
Johan Kriek
|
Kevin Curren
Danie Visser
|
7–6, 6–3
|
Loss
|
3–1
|
Aug 1989
|
Livingston, United States
|
Grand Prix
|
Hard
|
Sammy Giammalva Jr.
|
Tim Pawsat
Tim Wilkison
|
5–7, 3–6
|
Win
|
4–1
|
Aug 1989
|
Montreal, Canada
|
Grand Prix
|
Hard
|
Todd Witsken
|
Charles Beckman
Shelby Cannon
|
6–3, 6–3
|
Loss
|
4–2
|
Oct 1989
|
Vienna, Austria
|
Grand Prix
|
Carpet
|
Paul Annacone
|
Jan Gunnarsson
Anders Järryd
|
2–6, 3–6
|
Win
|
5–2
|
Jan 1989
|
Wellington, New Zealand
|
Grand Prix
|
Hard
|
Nicolás Pereira
|
Sergio Casal
Emilio Sánchez Vicario
|
6–4, 7–6
|
Loss
|
5–3
|
Apr 1992
|
Seoul, South Korea
|
World Series
|
Hard
|
Brad Pearce
|
Kevin Curren
Gary Muller
|
6–7, 4–6
|
ATP Challenger and ITF Futures finals
Singles: 1 (0–1)
Legend
|
ATP Challenger (0–1)
|
ITF Futures (0–0)
|
|
Finals by surface
|
Hard (0–1)
|
Clay (0–0)
|
Grass (0–0)
|
Carpet (0–0)
|
|
Result
|
W–L
|
Date
|
Tournament
|
Tier
|
Surface
|
Opponent
|
Score
|
Loss
|
0–1
|
Oct 1991
|
Ponte Vedra, United States
|
Challenger
|
Hard
|
Jonathan Stark
|
3–6, 1–6
|
Doubles: 1 (0–1)
Legend
|
ATP Challenger (0–1)
|
ITF Futures (0–0)
|
|
Finals by surface
|
Hard (0–0)
|
Clay (0–1)
|
Grass (0–0)
|
Carpet (0–0)
|
|
Performance timelines
Key
W
|
F
|
SF
|
QF
|
#R
|
RR
|
Q#
|
DNQ
|
A
|
NH
|
(W) winner; (F) finalist; (SF) semifinalist; (QF) quarterfinalist; (#R) rounds 4, 3, 2, 1; (RR) round-robin stage; (Q#) qualification round; (DNQ) did not qualify; (A) absent; (NH) not held; (SR) strike rate (events won / competed); (W–L) win–loss record.
Singles
Doubles
Mixed Doubles
References
External links