Tennis Career
Helgeson-Nielsen was born in St. Cloud, Minnesota, before moving to Edina after seventh grade. She was coached by her brother, Brace, throughout juniors and high school. She attended Edina High School and became a three-time consecutive Minnesota state singles champion, and was ranked No. 1 by the USTA Northern at all levels.
Helgeson-Nielsen then received a scholarship to attend Pepperdine University in Malibu, California. Whilst there, she was a four-year letter winner and a three-time All American, and holds the all-time best career winning percentage.
She played professionally from 1987, spending her first few years on the ITF Women's Circuit. Her best season was in 1994, winning her first WTA title in Auckland and reaching the fourth round of the Australian and U.S. Opens. At the latter event, she beat reigning Wimbledon champion Conchita Martínez for her biggest career victory. Her ranking hit the top 30 as a result of her breakthrough season. She reached the final of Auckland again in 1995, but an injury (wrist tendinitis) at a tournament in Amelia Island put her out for the rest of the 1995 season. She returned in March 1996, but failed to make it back into the top 100. She played her last match at the U.S. Open qualifying tournament in 1998, where she lost in the second round.
In addition to her win over Martínez, she also recorded victories over Helena Suková, Mary Joe Fernández, Gigi Fernández, Anke Huber, Lori McNeil, Sabine Appelmans, Sabine Hack and Natasha Zvereva.
In 2009, she was inducted into the USTA Northern Hall of Fame, having already been inducted into the Pepperdine Athletic Hall of Fame in 2008. Helgeson-Nielsen now lives in Alpine, California, with her husband Todd Nielsen, whom she married in September 1994, and her two children. She works as a part-time teaching professional.
Read more about this topic: Ginger Helgeson
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