What happened to Andrea Jaeger

[kiki]

I know she went though a religious crisis that turned her into a noon and separated from her father, longtime mentor and coach.

When she first came on tour I thought " hey, this kid is real special, fresh air".She had great footwork and was exceptionally good tactically, although she had no dominant shot, but her top spin Fh and Bh were as good as any other shot around.She was far more talented than Austin but possibly less competitive.I thought the future would her´s and mandlikova´s, but that was never to happen.In a way, Jaegger was a pre Martina Hingis or Martina was a post Jaegger, with their sensational anticipation and moving, great tactical sense and great two handed backhand.But Martina was specially competitive and Andrea never reached the heghts I thought she would.Any recall of her?

[vegasgt3]

Wimbledon finalist, nun. Enough said.

[robow7]

Kiki,
I was playing collegiate tennis at the time she turned pro. On one occasion I happened to be playing in a tourney up in the Chicago land area when the rains came and forced us inside. They set me off to play my next round at an indoor facility called the "Courts at 22" which happened to be her home courts and where her manic father Roland used to teach. We pulled into the parking lot and there were all these TV crews and cameras there. When I walked in, there's Roland talking to all the reporters and explaining to them why he's turning his daughter pro at such an early age, 14?, he was stating that he had invested so much in his daughter already and now he wanted a return on his investment. Well anyway, I got a chance to warm up with her for just a few minutes and she was one sweet kid. Now mind you I'm 22 at the time and playing the best tennis of my life and therefor my serve and volley were much stronger than hers. I also hit with more pace on the forehand but hers was probably more consistent but.... I have to admit that little thing's two fister put my back hand to shame. She could crack it when given time to wind up. It was embarrassing to say the least. Her court coverage and movement was also very good for her gender and age. Anyway, such a sweet kid but after viewing her father that one afternoon providing that interview and then watching him later on give a group lesson told me everything I needed to know in understanding why she was injured so frequently and burned out so quickly.

[kiki]

jaeger and mandlikova were the next two big things

[suwanee4712]

kiki, you will enjoy this if you haven't read it already. in the sports illustrated vault there is an article chronicling the demise of Andrea late 1983/1984. It mentions how Andrea took a walk on the beach with Hana at Marco Island and talked to her about her father, Roland. Neither Hana nor Andrea were in a habit of opening up to their competitors on the tour but they felt a kinship with one another and even played doubles together at Eastbourne.

Roland was a complex man. Very hard on Andrea, but he loved Andrea dearly. He took a boxer's mentality to coaching her which didn't help the father/daughter dynamic. As flawed as each of them were they were fiercely loyal to each other.

Another tidbit about Hana and Andrea is that Hana respected her game as much as anyone's. She actually predicted that Andrea would surpass Tracy. She had the game to di it, but Andrea really didn't care about being #1 and often played like it. Once money came into the equation, I'm not sure that Andrea's heart was really ever in it. She played to please her father, not herself.

I believe Andrea when she says she didn't burn out. She didn't want to be there in the first place.

It's a shame because Andrea had some of the best hands - ever.

[kiki]

Originally Posted by suwanee4712

kiki, you will enjoy this if you haven't read it already. in the sports illustrated vault there is an article chronicling the demise of Andrea late 1983/1984. It mentions how Andrea took a walk on the beach with Hana at Marco Island and talked to her about her father, Roland. Neither Hana nor Andrea were in a habit of opening up to their competitors on the tour but they felt a kinship with one another and even played doubles together at Eastbourne.

Roland was a complex man. Very hard on Andrea, but he loved Andrea dearly. He took a boxer's mentality to coaching her which didn't help the father/daughter dynamic. As flawed as each of them were they were fiercely loyal to each other.

Another tidbit about Hana and Andrea is that Hana respected her game as much as anyone's. She actually predicted that Andrea would surpass Tracy. She had the game to di it, but Andrea really didn't care about being #1 and often played like it. Once money came into the equation, I'm not sure that Andrea's heart was really ever in it. She played to please her father, not herself.

I believe Andrea when she says she didn't burn out. She didn't want to be there in the first place.

It's a shame because Andrea had some of the best hands - ever.

Great post, Swanee.I always thought Andrea was a kind of Martina Hingis but without hingis tremendous fighting spirit.She and Hana were clearly the two most talented players on tour, more even than Austin,Evert,Navratilvoa and maybe Goolagong, before Steffi graf joined the pro ranks in the second part of the decade.Both underachievers, both delightful to watch.Both loyal to each other, as you relate.

[BTURNER]

Sometimes if you take the fun out of tennis in the pro ranks, you loose the essence of the inspiration that puts people like Goolagong and Jaeger out there. If Goolagong had come along a generation later like jaeger, she wouldn't have lasted either. Killer instinct does not do the tour much good if it kills the player wh it is supposed to help.

[tennytive]

Her older sister Suzy was a much stronger player, so I was surprised when Andrea was the one to turn pro.

[borg number one]

She had a lot of talent. Remember how she would wield that Wilson Ultra? Robow7, great post and story. That is very interesting. You're right about that nice two handed backhand! Andrea Jaeger was a prodigy that definitely did burn out. She did have great hands and was extremely talented.

[millicurie999]

Apparently after she became a nun, she went to Scotland to visit Andy Murray's school after the shooting to help the community cope with the tragedy. Talk about tennis full circle. Not sure if they've ever met though.

[robow7]

Originally Posted by tennytive

Her older sister Suzy was a much stronger player, so I was surprised when Andrea was the one to turn pro.

Yea, her taller sister was hitting right next to us that day and I didn't see a lot of difference in their groundies. I was told that day that the older sister would follow Andrea into the big leagues shortly but never heard whether she did or not.

[kiki]

Suzy, yes, she was a tennis promise.did both Jaeger´s ever meet on tour?

BTW, I loved when she and Jimmy Arias won the mixed titles at Roland Garros in 81.They were both around 16.

[Rule62]

I grew up in the Chicago area playing junior tennis in the 70s, and was in a group with both Andrea and Susie. Andrea was a few years younger than me, Suzy and I were the same age. Both great, really nice and I always enjoyed playing with them and talking with them. Their dad could act insane, my dad wouldn't stand next to him for any length of time, he was volatile and would give his opinion whether you wanted it or not. Although I must say the two girls seemed fiercely loyal to him.

As for hitting and playing, Andrea had this ability and I still don't know how, but the ball felt heavy from her, like it was three times the normal weight. She had amazing ground strokes, you couldn't believe such a little package could hit like that, especially backhand side.

Susie went to Stanford, don't think she ever turned pro.

[kiki]

Right before Graf came in, Hana and Andrea were the two most talented players since Evonne Cawyley.