Article

Jill Hetherington-Hultquist

Published Online October 16, 2008

Last Edited December 12, 2013

Gillian "Jill" Hetherington-Hultquist, tennis player (b at Brampton, Ont 27 Oct 1964). Jill Hetherington-Hultquist is one of Canada's most accomplished female TENNIS players. She began playing tennis in her teens, winning 7 national junior titles in both singles and doubles competition.

Hetherington-Hultquist, Gillian

Gillian "Jill" Hetherington-Hultquist, tennis player (b at Brampton, Ont 27 Oct 1964). Jill Hetherington-Hultquist is one of Canada's most accomplished female TENNIS players. She began playing tennis in her teens, winning 7 national junior titles in both singles and doubles competition. Later, at the University of Florida (1983-87), she earned 4 All-American titles while pursuing her degree in psychology.

Following graduation Jill Hetherington-Hultquist joined the WTA professional tour, specializing in doubles. She amassed 14 professional doubles titles and was consistently in the top-20 pro-rankings at the peak of her career from 1988-1994. She also pursued a brief career in singles during that time, ultimately raking as high as 64th in the world and capturing 3 singles titles.

Throughout her career Jill Hetherington-Hultquist was known as a trailblazer for women's tennis in Canada, becoming the first Canadian player to reach the semifinals and finals in Grand Slam tournaments, the semifinals of Wimbledon in 1996 and finals at the US Open in 1988. She also represented Canada at 3 Olympic Games. Nationally, Hetherington-Hultquist was consistently ranked in the top 10 every year from 1981-1991, winning 9 Canadian Women's Doubles Championships (a Canadian record). She was also named to 13 consecutive FEDERATION CUP teams.

In recognition of Jill Hetherington-Hultquist's accomplishments, she was named to the University of Florida Hall of Fame in 1999, and she was inducted into the Canadian Tennis Hall of Fame in 2001. Heathering-Hultquist continues her involvement in tennis as head coach of the Washington Huskies tennis team at the University of Washington.