Chanda Rubin (born February 18, 1976) is an American former top-10 professional tennis player. During her career, she reached the semifinals at the 1996 Australian Open, the quarterfinals of the French Open three times, and had wins over world No. 1s Serena Williams and Martina Hingis. In doubles, she won the 1996 Australian Open with Arantxa Sánchez Vicario and alongside Sandrine Testud, were runners-up at the 1999 US Open.

Early life and family

Rubin was born to Edward D. Rubin, a state judge in Louisiana, and Bernadette Fontenot Rubin. She was the middle child of three siblings. As a child, she was taught the sport of tennis by Nehemiah Atkinson. She married Mireyou Hollier in April 2015, and their daughter was born in October 2016. In early 2016, her younger brother, Edward Rubin Jr., died aged 38 at his home in Lafayette, Louisiana.

Tennis career

In 1992, Rubin won the girls' singles title at Wimbledon, and reached a peak ranking of world No. 2 in the ITF Junior rankings. Rubin's breakthrough season on the professional tour was 1995. In the third round of the French Open, she made a comeback from 0–5, 0–40 down in the third set against 5th seed Jana Novotná, saving nine match points before eventually winning 8–6. She went on to reach her maiden Grand Slam quarterfinal, losing to world No. 1 Arantxa Sánchez Vicario, the tournament's defending champion and eventual runner-up. In the second round of Wimbledon, Rubin defeated Patricia Hy-Boulais 7–6, 6–7, 17–15, the longest women's match in Wimbledon history. At the LA Tennis Championships in August, she defeated world No. 8 Gabriela Sabatini and world No. 2 Sánchez Vicario, on her way to the final, where she lost to world No. 3 Conchita Martínez in three sets. In 1996, Rubin reached the Australian Open semifinals, defeating Sabatini in the fourth round and Sánchez Vicario 6–4, 2–6, 16–14 in the quarterfinals. The 48 games played in their quarterfinal were the most for a women's match at the Australian Open, a record which would be tied by Lauren Davis and Simona Halep in 2018. Rubin lost in the semifinals to eventual champion Monica Seles 6–7, 6–1, 7–5, despite holding a 5–2 lead in the third set. A few days later, she and Sánchez Vicario won the doubles title, defeating third-seeded Lindsay Davenport and Mary Joe Fernández in the final. Rubin rose to a career-high singles ranking of No. 6 after reaching the final of the 1996 Miami Open where she lost to world No. 1 Steffi Graf. During the tournament, Rubin fractured a bone in her right hand. She eventually underwent surgery in August and missed the majority of the rest of the season. Representing the United States, Rubin won the 1997 Hopman Cup alongside Justin Gimelstob. She remained undefeated through three ties and the final in her singles matches. At the Linz Open, Rubin defeated world No. 4 Jana Novotná on the way to her first singles title. In Indian Wells in 1999, Rubin defeated both Amanda Coetzer and world No. 1, Martina Hingis, in straight sets on her way to the semifinals. She also won her second career title at the Hobart International. Rubin underwent arthroscopic surgery on her left knee in 2001 after the Australian Open, and then suffered a left Achilles tendon injury in April, thereby missing the majority of the season. In 2002, Rubin underwent surgery on her left knee again, missing the first half of the season. In August, she defeated Lindsay Davenport, Jelena Dokic and world No. 1 Serena Williams on her way to the title in Los Angeles. Her upset of Williams ended the top-ranked player's winning streak of 21 matches, a stretch that had carried Williams through titles at the French Open and Wimbledon. At the 2003 Miami Open, Rubin defeated Amélie Mauresmo and Justine Henin in straight sets en route to the semifinals, after which she peaked again at No. 6 in the rankings. She reached her third and final French Open quarterfinal and also won the Eastbourne International title for a second time, defeating Jennifer Capriati in the semifinals and Conchita Martínez in the final. It would be Rubin's last career title. Rubin missed the majority of the 2004–2006 seasons due to the persistent knee injury. Her last professional match was in October 2006 in Quebec City. Rubin was inducted into the Southern Tennis Hall of Fame in 2009 and the Louisiana Sports Hall of Fame in 2013.

Post-retirement

In 2013, Rubin completed a four-year Bachelor of Liberal Arts in Extension Studies with a concentration in Economics at Harvard Extension School, graduating cum laude. In recent years, she has developed a career in broadcasting, working for Tennis Channel as a presenter and commentator.

Awards

Grand Slam tournament finals

Doubles: 2 (1 title, 1 runner-up)

WTA Tour finals

Singles: 19 (7 titles, 12 runner-ups)

Doubles: 17 (10 titles, 7 runner-ups)

Singles performance timeline

Wins over top 10 players