Hana Mandlíková (born 19 February 1962) is a former professional tennis player from Czechoslovakia who later obtained Australian citizenship. During her career, she won four Grand Slam singles titles - the 1980 Australian Open, 1981 French Open, 1985 US Open and 1987 Australian Open. She was also runner-up in four Grand Slam singles events - twice at Wimbledon and twice at the US Open. The graceful right-hander secured one Grand Slam women's doubles title, at the 1989 US Open with Martina Navratilova. Inducted into the International Tennis Hall of Fame in 1994, Mandlíková was one of the brightest stars of her generation and is considered one of the greatest female players of the Open Era.[1][2]
Mandlíková had a career-high singles ranking of No. 3, and was ranked in the top 50 for 12 consecutive seasons (1978–89), including seven in the top 10. She led Czechoslovakia to three consecutive Federation Cup victories from 1983 to 1985, and was only the third woman to win Grand Slam titles on grass, clay and hard court, joining Chris Evert and Martina Navratilova. She defeated both Evert and Navratilova on consecutive days to accomplish this feat at the 1985 US Open. She retired in 1990, and went on to coach Jana Novotná to the Wimbledon singles title and a career-high ranking of world No. 2. She also served as the Czech Republic's Olympic and Fed Cup coach.
Personal life
Born in Prague, Mandlíková is the daughter of Vilém Mandlík, who was an Olympic 200-metre semi-finalist for Czechoslovakia at the 1956 Olympic Games in Melbourne.[3] He also ran in the 1960 Rome Olympics. She married Czech-born Australian restaurateur Jan Sedlak at the Old Town Hall in Prague during 1986 Federation Cup. The couple divorced two years later, shortly after Mandlíková obtained Australian citizenship.[4] In May 2001, she gave birth to twins Mark Vilém and Elizabeth Hana.[5] Their father was a friend who was to have no role in their upbringing. Mandlíková is raising her two children with her partner, Sydney Biller, in Bradenton, Florida. Both children are tennis players.
