'''Lindsay Ann Davenport''' (born June 8, 1976 in Palos Verdes, California) is an American professional female tennis player. She has won three Grand Slam singles tournaments: the 1998 U.S. Open, 1999 Wimbledon, and the 2000 Australian Open. She also won the Olympic gold medal in 1996. Davenport was ranked as the #1 women singles and doubles player several times between 1998 and 2001 and twice again in 2004. She was ranked number one in singles throughout most of the 2005 season, being briefly overtaken by Maria Sharapova for two weeks before the US Open. She was the year-end #1 player in 1998, 2001, 2004, and 2005. Only three other women have finished number 1 at least four times since the computer singles rankings were established in 1975: Steffi Graf (eight times), Martina Navratilova (seven), and Chris Evert (six). Her father, Wink Davenport, was a member of the US Olympic volleyball team in 1968.
She announced at the end of the 2005 season that she would not play as many events in 2006. As a result of this schedule, and her inactivity due to a lower back injury, her ranking fell to #11, marking the first time since the computer singles rankings were established in 1975 that no American had been ranked in the top 10.
Playing Style
Her game is built largely around her groundstrokes, which are considered to be among the most powerful and cleanly struck in the history of women's tennis. Lack of court speed is perhaps her greatest weakness, mainly because of her size. At slightly over 6 ft 2 in (1.89 m), she is the tallest woman ever to win a Grand Slam singles title. However, she has worked to overcome this by losing weight, overhauling her conditioning program, and becoming mentally stronger. She is an advocate for the mental game, as evidenced by her comments on the cover of "Smart Tennis: How to Play and Win the Mental Game."
Reputation
She has a reputation among the tennis media and much of the tennis watching public of being thoughtful, polite, and balanced, unlike some of her contemporaries. She is also known among fans and tennis experts to be a good autograph signer. However, she made some unpolite remarks on Amélie Mauresmo's playing style after their semifinal at the 1999 Australian Open. She quickly apologized and wrote Mauresmo a heart felt note. Her relative lack of mainstream glamour and "star power" has resulted in less attention being paid her than some contemporaries with inferior results (see Anna Kournikova).
Personal life
Davenport married investment banker and former All-American tennis player Jon Leach, brother of tennis
