Former college tennis stars Hayley Carter and Luisa Stefani are three wins away from a Grand Slam title, as the unseeded pairing finds themselves into the quarterfinals at the 2020 US Open.
Originally from Sao Paulo, Brazil, Stefani is a former world No. 10 junior who played four seasons at Pepperdine. Carter is a Tennessee native who had a stellar college career at the University of North Carolina.
Stefani and Carter take on No. 3-seeds Yifan Xu and Nicole Melichar on Sunday in the final eight. They have a pair of three-set wins over Ukrainian sisters Nadiia and Lyudmyla Kichenok in the first round, and on Friday beat No. 6 Ena Shibahara and Shuko Aoyama, despite losing the second set, 6-0.
Get to know more on Stefani-Carter here.
This pairing is comfortable with each other after almost one year together as partners.
It all started last September when Stefani-Carter reached their first WTA doubles final at the Korea Open then, the following week, won their first WTA title at the Tashkent Open. At the Australian Open, the duo reached the third round, then won the Oracle Challenger Series in Newport Beach, Calif., and reached the Dubai quarterfinals in February. Then came the tour shutdown—but the two were back together, winning the first event back at Lexington, Ky., for their second WTA title.
Stefani was an accomplished college player once ranked as high as No. 2 in the Intercollegiate Tennis Association rankings.
Often deferring the top spot to No. 1 singles player Ashley Lahey, Stefani reached the semifinals of the 2015 NCAA Singles Championships, where, as a freshman, she lost to eventual champion Danielle Collins. She also was named the 2015 ITA National Rookie of the Year and compiled a 40-6 record in her freshman season.
Here is more on Stefani from the WTA bio sheet….
Brother Arthur played D1 collegiate tennis for Florida Atlantic University and is now a coach … Started playing tennis aged 10 … Graduated from Saddlebrook Preparatory School in Wesley Chapel, Fla. ... Majored in advertising at Pepperdine … Tennis idols growing up were Roger Federer and Kim Clijsters ... Favorite book is “The Alchemist” by Paulo Coelho … Fan of Brazilian football team Corinthians … Hobbies include music (all kinds), playing guitar, food, fitness, hiking and nature adventures as well as traveling ... Speaks Portuguese, Spanish, English and some Italian.
Carter’s WTA bio lists her favorite player growing up as Australian Sam Stosur. And there’s more....
Favorite tournament is the Korean Open … Enjoys the outdoors and hopes to one day visit all the U.S. National Parks … Also enjoys reading, writing and computer programming … Favorite movie is “The Greatest Showman” … Favorite celebrities are Taylor Swift and Lebron James … Favorite musician is Dean Lewis.
Like Stefani, Carter had an equally impressive college tennis career at North Carolina.
Carter earned All-American honors each of the four years she competed, and is the Atlantic Coast Conference's all-time leader in women's tennis singles victories with 168. Carter has the distinction of being the only women’s tennis player in ACC history to be named the Scholar-Athlete of the Year, ACC Player of the Year and Tournament Most Valuable Player in back-to-back years. She led the Tar Heels to four regular-season ACC titles, two ACC Tournament championships, and three NCAA Championship top-eight finishes, including second in 2014-15 ITA Indoor National Championship.
Carter honed her skills as a junior at an academy in South Carolina and played high school tennis.
Carter was born in Chattanooga, Tenn., and trained at Stan Smith’s Smith Stearns Academy on Hilton Head Island, S.C., as a junior. She won four USTA National Championship Gold Balls with three coming in singles and one in doubles, as well as four bronze balls. She also won a record 14 South Carolina state championships.
Give them a follow.
There is no verified check mark and only 422 followers on Twitter for Stefani @Luisa_Stefani. Carter boasts twice as many, but is still sitting at just a meager 959 followers @_hayleycarter_. The verified check mark is there on Instagram for Stefani @luisastefani, as well as Carter @hayleyncarter.
