Carling Kathrin Bassett-Seguso (born October 9, 1967 in Toronto, Canada) is a former professional tennis player from Canada.

Bassett is the daughter of John F. Bassett, who was an executive for his father John Bassett's company Baton Broadcasting, and Susan Carling, the granddaughter of politician and brewery executive John Carling.

Tennis career

In 1981, Bassett won the Canadian junior indoor tennis title. In 1982, she was ranked No. 2 junior player in the world after winning events in Tokyo and Taipei. That year she also became the youngest winner of the Canadian closed championship at the age of 14. She won the title again in 1983 and 1986. By age 16, Bassett was Canada's top tennis player. At the same time, she had a successful second career as a fashion model, working for the world-famous Ford modeling agency. She also dabbled in acting, being promoted as one of the stars of a 1982 teen comedy film, Spring Fever, and later appearing in a 1984 episode of The Littlest Hobo.

In 1983, Bassett advanced to the quarter-finals of the Australian Open and won her first top-level singles titles in Pennsylvania. In 1984, she reached the quarter-finals at the French Open and the semi-finals at the US Open. She reached the French Open quarter-finals again in 1986. Bassett won her second top-level singles title in 1987 at Strasbourg.

Bassett named the WTA's Most Impressive Newcomer in 1983, and Canada's Female Athlete of the Year in 1983 and 1985. During her career, Bassett won a total of two top-level singles titles and two doubles titles.

Personal life

Following her tennis career, Bassett admitted she had struggled for years with the eating disorder bulimia. "It becomes part of your life, like smoking," She told People Magazine in 1992. "Or it's like being an alcoholic. It's so easy to get into and so hard to get out of. I hated myself that I couldn't stop."

Bassett married the American tennis player Robert Seguso in 1987. The couple have a son named Holden John Seguso, who was born in March 14, 1988. They have another son, Ridley Jack (1993) and a daughter Carling Jr. (1990). She currently operates a tennis academy with her husband, and Chris Evert.

On Monday, August 13th, 2007, during the Canadian Open Tennis Championships at the Rexall Centre in Toronto, Bassett, along with John McEnroe, was inducted into the Canadian Tennis Hall of Fame. After the ceremony, Bassett teamed up with US tennis great Jim Courier, for a friendly doubles match against John McEnroe and Anna Kournikova.

References

External links

• Carling Bassett at the Internet Movie Database
• Carling Bessett Article
• ITF Tennis Profile
• CNN Transcript
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• Fed Cup Profile