Janet Hopps Adkisson
Seattle University
|
1999
A superb athlete who played baseball and football as a girl, Janet Hopps Adkisson (b.1934) picked up a tennis racket at age 12 and three years later, claimed the California state singles and doubles titles.
When her family moved to Seattle in 1953, Adkisson became a top student at Seattle University while playing No. 1 on the men’s tennis team. She also pioneered national intercollegiate play for women, sweeping the All-College Girls’ Championships three years in a row.Dominating Northwest tennis, Adkisson broke into the national Top 10 in 1956 and enjoyed great success on the international circuit.
In 1962 she married university administrator William Adkisson, with whom she raised seven children. Described as ‘unselfishly devoted to the sport 100 percent,’ Adkisson has worked tirelessly as a professional, including a 10-year term as coach of the Seattle University tennis teams. In 1998, marking a half-century of service to tennis, she was inducted into the Washington State Sports Hall of Fame.
Career Highlights
- Ranked in the USTA Top 10 1956-60
No.1 in Doubles 1960
World Top 15 Rankings in Singles
Top 5 in Doubles 1958-60
No.2 in Mixed Doubles 1959-60
California State Singles and Doubles Champion 1950
USTA/Northern California Section Sportsmanship Award 1951
National College Girls’ Tennis Tournament Singles Champion 1954-1956
Doubles Champion 1955-56
No. 1 Player on Seattle University men’s tennis team 1954-1956
U.S. Clay Court Doubles Champion 1955
South American Singles Champion 1958
U.S. Mixed Doubles Finalist 1959
Wimbledon Semifinalist Doubles, Mixed Doubles 1960
U.S. Indoor Triple Crown (Singles, Doubles, Mixed Doubles) 1961
U.S. Hard Court Doubles Champion 1962
U.S. Junior Wightman Cup Team Member 1954-56 Team Captain 1956
U.S. Wightman Cup Team Member 1958-1960
Team Captain 1959-1960
U.S. Senior Indoor Singles and U.S. Hard Court Doubles Champion 1974
Director, Nordstrom-Kodel Cup (national mixed doubles competition) 1974 -1978
President, USPTA/Pacific Northwest Section 1977-1978
Director, Avon Championships of Seattle 1980-1982
USPTA Master Professional 1989
Coach, Seattle University men’s and women’s tennis teams 1983-1994
5-time NAIA Division Coach of the Year; competed in nationals 1991-1994
Captain, U.S. Alice Marble Cup Team 1996 – present
Pacific Northwest Tennis Pro of the Year 1978
Centennial Alumni Award, Seattle University 1991
Member, Seattle University Sports Hall of Fame
Inducted into the Northwest Sports Foundation Hall of Fame 1981
State of Washington Sports Hall of Fame 1998
