Beth Herr (born 28 May 1964) is an American tennis player from Centerville, Ohio, who won four Junior Grand Slam titles, the NCAA singles and team titles and one professional tennis tournament. In her home state of Ohio, she was a two-time high school singles state champion (1980-1981). Her NCAA singles title came in 1983.[2]
Herr became the number-one junior tennis player in the world at the age of 16. Upon graduation from Centerville High School, she was the No. 1 college recruit in 1982 and played for the University of Southern California, where she won the NCAA singles title and team title in her first year. She beat Clemson University's Gigi Fernández in the third-set tiebreak, having faced a match point, to win the NCAA singles final.[3]
In 1982, Herr won the 1982 French Open girls' doubles championship with Janet Lagasse,[4] Herr also won the Wimbledon girls' doubles and US Open girls' doubles with Penny Barg and won the US Open girls' singles in the same year.
Herr cut short college and went directly into professional tennis after the NCAA Championship, and played on tour for 11 years, with wins over Pam Shriver, Hana Mandlíková, Martina Navratilova, Virginia Wade, and Mary Joe Fernández. In 1983, she lost a second-round singles match to Billie Jean King at Wimbledon, 6–8 in the third set.[5] Commentators on HBO mentioned her ability to hit numerous swinging volleys for winners, something for which no female had previously been noted.
| Legend | ||
|---|---|---|
| Grand Slam | 0–0 | 0–0 |
| Tier I | 0–0 | 0–0 |
| Tier II | 0–0 | 0–0 |
| Tier III | 0–0 | 2–0 |
| Tier IV & V | 1–0 | 0–3 |
| Result | W-L | Date | Tournament | Surface | Opponent | Score |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Win | 1–0 | Mar 1986 | Phoenix, US | Clay |  Ann Henricksson
|
6–0, 3–6, 7–5 |
| Result | W-L | Date | Tournament | Surface | Partner | Opponents | Score |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Loss | 0–1 | Aug 1983 | Indianapolis, U.S. | Clay | Gigi Fernández
|
Kathleen Horvath Virginia Ruzici
|
5–7, 4–6 |
| Loss | 0–2 | Oct 1985 | Tokyo, Japan | Hard |  Laura Arraya
|
 Belinda Cordwell Julie Richardson
|
4–6, 4–6 |
| Win | 1–2 | Jul 1986 | Berkeley, U.S. | Hard | Alycia Moulton
|
Amy Holton  Elna Reinach
|
6–1, 6–2 |
| Win | 2–2 | Jul 1986 | San Diego, U.S. | Hard | Alycia Moulton
|
Elise Burgin Rosalyn Fairbank
|
5–7, 6–2, 6–4 |
| Win | 3–2 | Mar 1987 | Phoenix, U.S. | Hard | Penny Barg
|
Mary-Lou Piatek Anne White
|
2–6, 6–2, 7–6(7–2) |
| Win | 4–2 | Aug 1988 | Cincinnati, US | Hard | Candy Reynolds
|
Lindsay Bartlett  Helen Kelesi
|
4–6, 7–6, 6–1 |
| Win | 5–2 | Oct 1988 | New Orleans, US | Hard | Candy Reynolds
|
Lori McNeil Betsy Nagelsen
|
6–4, 6–4 |
Beth was the winningest player in paddle tennis history winning virtually every event she ever played including the US Open and World Championships of paddle tennis With teammate, Scotty Freedman to become the greatest mixed-doubles team in the sports' history, as they were undefeated as a team from 2000 to 2007.[citation needed]
In her 2022 season, Beth finished #1 in singles, gender doubles and mixed doubles and won a gold medal in all 27 events that she played.[citation needed]
After tennis, she finished her undergraduate degree at UCLA and then went to law school at UCLA. She married Tennis Channel founder Steve Bellamy[6] and after a short stint as a lawyer at Manatt, Phelps and Phillips.
