Chanda Rubin

Whirlwind doesn't begin to describe Chanda Rubin's summer. Other 19-year-old Americans in Europe are sleeping on their backpacks in train stations. Rubin was busy plying her trade--tennis--and getting involved in two of the most memorable and talked-about matches on the women's tour this summer. The first came at the French Open earlier this month, the second at Wimbledon earlier this week. Her 6-2, 6-4 loss Friday in the third round to ninth-seeded Anke Huber sends Rubin home to Lafayette, La.

Justine Henin tuned up for Wimbledon by beating Germany's Andrea Petkovic , 3-6, 6-3, 6-4, to win the UNICEF Open on Saturday at Den Bosch, Netherlands, for her first grass-court title in three years. Petkovic broke the top-seeded Belgian in the second game of the final set before holding serve for a comfortable 3-0 lead. But Henin held serve and blasted a forehand winner on her way to breaking the German in the fifth game. Henin, who did not drop a set or face a tiebreak heading into the final, completed a stunning rally by breaking Petkovic in the ninth game.

Chanda Rubin, taking a week off from high school, upset 13th-seeded Natalia Zvereva, 1-6, 6-4, 6-0, at the Virginia Slims of Florida at Boca Raton. Rubin, 16, turned pro in August.

There will be no repeat gold medal -- or any medal -- for Venus Williams in Olympic doubles, a result that left her not only beaten but testy Monday night. The title she won with her sister, Serena, in Sydney will go to another doubles team after she and Chanda Rubin, a late substitute for the injured Serena, lost in the first round to Li Ting and Sun Tian Tian of China, 7-5, 1-6, 6-3.

There will be no repeat gold medal -- or any medal -- for Venus Williams in Olympic doubles, a result that left her not only beaten but testy Monday night. The title she won with her sister, Serena, in Sydney will go to another doubles team after she and Chanda Rubin, a late substitute for the injured Serena, lost in the first round to Li Ting and Sun Tian Tian of China, 7-5, 1-6, 6-3.

Corina Morariu's comeback continued Sunday with her first singles match in over a year. The 24-year-old was encouraged despite dropping a 4-1 lead in the third set as Marie-Gaianeh Mikaelian of Switzerland rallied to win, 3-6, 6-3, 7-5, in the first round of the JPMorgan Chase Open tennis tournament Sunday at Manhattan Country Club in Manhattan Beach. Before returning to the tour two weeks ago, Morariu had spent 15 months laid up either in a hospital or at home in Boca Raton, Fla.

Chanda Rubin wasn't nervous about facing Gabriela Sabatini. Maybe she should have been. Sabatini eliminated the promising 16-year-old in 69 minutes Thursday with a 6-2, 6-2 third-round victory in a Virginia Slims tournament at Boca Raton, Fla. "She's not that intimidating," said Rubin, a high school junior from Lafayette, La. "She's just another player. That's how I wanted to think about her." Sabatini is the seeded second and is a two-time defending champion in the tournament.

The State Farm Evert Cup limped out of the gate Friday, with the day's most promising matchup bringing to a thudding halt any momentum generated during the tournament's first day. In 2 hours 32 minutes of grueling tennis--for spectators--15th-seeded Chanda Rubin outlasted Amy Frazier, 6-3, 4-6, 7-6 (8-6), in a match that each player made valiant efforts to throw away. Rubin, the winner, committed 70 unforced errors. Frazier had 67.

Against Steffi Graf, long-match specialist Chanda Rubin lasted less than an hour. Graf played nearly flawless tennis and won the Lipton Championships for the fifth time Saturday by defeating Rubin, 6-1, 6-3, in 55 minutes. Rubin, the winner of two record-length Grand Slam matches in the past year, fell shy in a bid for her first tournament title. In her four matches against Graf, Rubin, 20, has won a total of 14 games. "I'd like to congratulate Steffi," Rubin said during the award ceremony.

Ready for the next Jennifer Capriati? Sixteen years old, a month older than reigning teen queen Capriati, Chanda Rubin of Lafayette, La., zoomed into the fourth round of the U.S. Open on Saturday, where quite unexpectedly, it looks as if it actually might be time for a new sensation. Then again, maybe not. The future is not always clear when you're talking teen-age tennis stars. But Rubin appears to be the real thing, or at least close to it.

Assist, Venus Williams. Chanda Rubin needed a bit of extra help to reach Los Angeles for the tour finale, and she got it in the form of her colleague, Venus Williams, who withdrew from the event over the weekend because of a chronic abdominal strain. Her absence enabled Rubin to grab the last spot in the season-ending Bank of America WTA Tour Championships. And so, the last player in was the first to win here.

She was there before Martina Hingis, Venus and Serena Williams and found herself in the same age group as Grand Slam winners Jennifer Capriati, Monica Seles and Lindsay Davenport. It may seem a distant memory, but Chanda Rubin was once considered the logical successor to Zina Garrison as the next great African American star. Her story certainly isn't as drama-filled as Capriati's trip through the wilderness years; nor is she as recognized by one name, like Serena or Venus.

Chanda Rubin was good enough three years ago to defeat the world's No. 1-ranked player, Martina Hingis, at Indian Wells, but that probably seemed like a lifetime ago as she lay in a hospital bed in Vail, Colo., in January. Rubin, once considered the heir apparent to Zina Garrison as the next great African American women's tennis player but later eclipsed by the Williams sisters, had just had surgery on her left knee for the second time in 13 months.

Corina Morariu's comeback continued Sunday with her first singles match in over a year. The 24-year-old was encouraged despite dropping a 4-1 lead in the third set as Marie-Gaianeh Mikaelian of Switzerland rallied to win, 3-6, 6-3, 7-5, in the first round of the JPMorgan Chase Open tennis tournament Sunday at Manhattan Country Club in Manhattan Beach. Before returning to the tour two weeks ago, Morariu had spent 15 months laid up either in a hospital or at home in Boca Raton, Fla.

It took three sets and three hours, but for a day at least, Chanda Rubin made people forget about Lindsay Davenport in the first round of the Fed Cup on Saturday. Filling in for the injured Davenport, Rubin defeated Iva Majoli, 7-6 (7-5), 4-6, 10-8, and joined teammate Monica Seles in victory to give the United States a 2-0 lead over Croatia at Raleigh, N.C. Seles needed only 63 minutes to defeat Silvija Talaja, 6-3, 6-1.

The State Farm Evert Cup limped out of the gate Friday, with the day's most promising matchup bringing to a thudding halt any momentum generated during the tournament's first day. In 2 hours 32 minutes of grueling tennis--for spectators--15th-seeded Chanda Rubin outlasted Amy Frazier, 6-3, 4-6, 7-6 (8-6), in a match that each player made valiant efforts to throw away. Rubin, the winner, committed 70 unforced errors. Frazier had 67.

Justine Henin tuned up for Wimbledon by beating Germany's Andrea Petkovic , 3-6, 6-3, 6-4, to win the UNICEF Open on Saturday at Den Bosch, Netherlands, for her first grass-court title in three years. Petkovic broke the top-seeded Belgian in the second game of the final set before holding serve for a comfortable 3-0 lead. But Henin held serve and blasted a forehand winner on her way to breaking the German in the fifth game. Henin, who did not drop a set or face a tiebreak heading into the final, completed a stunning rally by breaking Petkovic in the ninth game.

Chanda Rubin, a teenager already famous for winning marathon matches, outlasted Arantxa Sanchez Vicario, 6-4, 2-6, 16-14, Tuesday in the longest women's match in the Australian Open. Rubin, who advanced to a semifinal match with Monica Seles, let two match points slip away at 4-5 in the final set and another two at 13-14--one on a controversial line call. The American led, 0-40, lead at 14-15 and won on her sixth match point with a stretched forehand cross-court volley.

Chanda Rubin came from a set behind Saturday to beat Brenda Schultz-McCarthy, 4-6, 6-4, 6-3, and leave the defending champion United States tied, 1-1, with the Netherlands in a Fed Cup match at Haarlem, Netherlands. Miriam Oremans of the Netherlands served 13 aces to upset Mary Joe Fernandez, 6-1, 6-4. Schultz-McCarthy's serve dominated the first set, but Rubin, ranked 25th in the world, gradually gained control.

Against Steffi Graf, long-match specialist Chanda Rubin lasted less than an hour. Graf played nearly flawless tennis and won the Lipton Championships for the fifth time Saturday by defeating Rubin, 6-1, 6-3, in 55 minutes. Rubin, the winner of two record-length Grand Slam matches in the past year, fell shy in a bid for her first tournament title. In her four matches against Graf, Rubin, 20, has won a total of 14 games. "I'd like to congratulate Steffi," Rubin said during the award ceremony.