Audra Cohen

Audra Marie Cohen (born April 21, 1986) is a former American professional tennis player. From Plantation, Florida, she was the # 1 collegiate female tennis player in the United States in 2007. She is currently the head women's tennis coach at the University of Oklahoma.[1]

Audra Cohen
Full nameAudra Marie Cohen
Country (sports) United States
ResidencePlantation, United States
Born (1986-04-21) April 21, 1986
California, United States
Height5 ft 9 in (1.75 m)
Turned pro2003
Retired2011
PlaysRight-handed (two-handed backhand)
CollegeNorthwestern
Miami
Prize money$ 72,967
Singles
Career record59–63
Career titles0 WTA, 1 ITF
Highest rankingNo. 229 (03 November 2009)
Grand Slam Singles results
US Open1R (2007)
Doubles
Career record25–23
Career titles0 WTA, 2 ITF
Highest rankingNo. 271 (27 April 2009)
Grand Slam Doubles results
US Open2R (2004)
Last updated on: 20 April 2011.

Her career-high world rank was 229 in singles and 271 in doubles.[2]

Early life

Cohen was born in California, and is Jewish.[3] When Cohen was a child, she first excelled at swimming, but she picked up a tennis racquet at the age of nine, and became a self-described “club rat,” who would hit as much as possible – first at her local club in California, and then in Florida, where she relocated with her family when she was 12. She learned tennis at Bill Clark's Tennis Academy.

She attended St. Thomas Aquinas High School in Fort Lauderdale, Florida.[4] She won the Florida state championship in singles and doubles as a junior and a senior, and was undefeated during both her junior and senior seasons.[4]

She attended Northwestern University in the Fall of 2004, and won her first 23 singles matches.[4] She then won the ITA National Singles Title and the ITA Midwest Championships.[4]

She later attended the University of Miami and played tennis for the Hurricanes.[4] In 2006 she was the ITA National Player of the Year, the ACC Player of the Year, and the National Indoor Champion.[4]

College

While at Miami, she won the Honda Sports Award as the nation's best female tennis player in 2007.[5][6]

Junior tennis career

In 2001 Cohen won the girls' 18 singles title at the November USTA National Open Championships. In 2002, she won the girls' 18 singles titles at the Florence Tennis Association (FTA) designated #6 and the Florida Bush Open, and was a member of the Junior Fed Cup team.

In 2003 Cohen won the doubles title (with Sierra Poske) at the girls' 18 USTA Super National Winter Championships, and the singles and doubles titles (with Kristi Kay Miller) at the girls' 18 USTA Super National Clay Court Championships. She was again a member of the U.S. Junior Fed Cup team. In 2004, she won the doubles title (with Lindsay Burdette) at the girls' 18 Easter Bowl, USTA National Spring Championships.

Pro tournaments

She was one of 12 collegiate players to be named to the 2006 USTA Summer Collegiate Team, an elite training program designed to give college's top players exposure to professional tennis by competing on the USTA Pro Circuit. Cohen played in four USTA Circuit events, and reached the semifinals or better in three, including the $10,000 event in Evansville, Indiana, where she captured her first professional title.

She defeated world No. 92 Olga Savchuk, in August 2006 in New Haven, Connecticut. She defeated world No 93 Varvara Lepchenko in a three-set match, in October 2006 in Augusta, Georgia.

In August 2007 in Forest Hills, New York, in her greatest upset to date, she defeated world No. 59 Elena Likhovtseva of Russia. At the 2007 US Open, she entered as a wild card and was defeated in the first round by Andrea Petkovic of Germany. In April 2008 in Amelia Island she beat world No. 89 Galina Voskoboeva. In May 2008, partnering with Heidi El Tabakh, she won the Landisville doubles.

In September 2008 in Beijing she defeated world No. 84 Anne Keothavong of Great Britain in straight sets. Her season-ending rankings were No. 579 in 2006, No. 384 in 2007, and No. 230 in 2008. In 2011, she retired from tennis.

ITF finals

Singles: 2 (1–1)
Legend
$100,000 tournaments
$75,000 tournaments
$50,000 tournaments
$25,000 tournaments
$15,000 tournaments
$10,000 tournaments
Finals by surface
Hard (1–1)
Clay (0–0)
Grass (0–0)
Carpet (0–0)
Outcome No. Date Tournament Surface Opponent Score
Winner 1. July 25, 2006 Evansville, United States Hard Lauren Albanese 2–6, 6–2, 6–1
Runner-up 2. January 13, 2008 St. Leo, United States Hard Anastasia Pivovarova 4–6, 0–6

Doubles: 2 (2–0)
$100,000 tournaments
$75,000 tournaments
$50,000 tournaments
$25,000 tournaments
$10,000 tournaments
Outcome No. Date Tournament Surface Partner Opponents in the final Score
Winner 1. May 25, 2008 Landisville, United States Hard Heidi El Tabakh Stefania Boffa
Anna Fitzpatrick		 6–3, 7–6(7–3)
Winner 2. November 18, 2008 Puebla, Mexico Hard Megan Moulton-Levy María Fernanda Álvarez Terán
Veronica Spiegel		 6–2, 6–4

Coaching

In five seasons as coach of the UNF women's tennis team, she led it to a 77-27 record and four NCAA Tournament appearances and four Atlantic Sun Tournament titles.[7] She was three-time Atlantic Sun Coach of the Year.[7] She left in 2016 to be head coach at the University of Oklahoma.[7]

See also

References
  1. Audra Cohen Bio - The Official Site of Oklahoma Sooner Sports
  2. Audra Cohen at the Women's Tennis Association
  3. Day by Day in Jewish Sports History - Bob Wechsler
  4. University of Miami Hurricanes Official Athletic Site
  5. "Audra Cohen Voted Top Collegiate Female Tennis Player and Will Receive Honda Sports Award". University of Miami Athletics. Retrieved 2020-03-25.
  6. "Tennis". CWSA. Retrieved 2020-03-25.
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