Carling Kathrin Bassett-Seguso

Bassett-Seguso, Carling Kathrin

Carling Kathrin Bassett-Seguso, tennis player (b at Toronto 9 Oct 1967), daughter of broadcasting executive John Bassett. In 1981 she won the Canadian junior indoor title and in 1982 was ranked first among world juniors after wins in Tokyo and Taipei. Also in 1982, at age 14, she became the youngest winner of the Canadian closed championship, winning the title again in 1983, the year in which she turned professional, and in 1986.

By age 16 she had emerged as Canada's premier tennis player, scoring several victories over top international players and winning the Gunze Invitational at Osaka, Japan. She lost to Chris Evert in the final of a World Tennis Assn championship and in 1983 advanced to the quarterfinals of the French Open, Australian Open and Wimbledon. She was a semifinalist in the 1984 US Open, and in 1985 she reached the semifinals of 5 Women's International Tennis Association tournaments. In 1986 Bassett was again a quarterfinalist in the French Open, losing once more to Chris Evert, and in 1987 she won her first Grand Prix tournament - the $75 000 Strasbourg Grand Prix at Strasbourg, France. Known as "Darling Carling" in the press, Bassett-Seguso was also chosen to star in two acting roles during this time, an independent Canadian movie, Spring Fever, in 1982 and a 1984 episode of The Littlest Hobo. In 1987 she married US Olympic tennis champion Robert Seguso, later settling in the United States. She effectively retired from competitive tennis in 1991.

Following her professional career as a player, she continued her involvement in tennis as a commentator and as a coach to her own 3 children. Her oldest son, Holden, was accepted into UCLA in the United States on a full tennis scholarship and her other 2 children have reached competitive levels. In 1998 she was inducted to the Canadian Tennis Hall of Fame, and in 2001 she became the first female tennis player to be inducted into CANADA'S SPORTS HALL OF FAME.