Tennis professional and Olympian Chanda Rubin attended the Episcopal School of Acadiana in Cade, Louisiana. She began learning the game of tennis when she was only five years old, and at age 11, she won the 12-and-under National Championship in 1988. The following year, she captured the 14-and-under title. At 14, Rubin was chosen for the national team by the United States Tennis Association, becoming the youngest player ever selected.

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She also became the only player without a National Championship win to be granted a U.S. Open wild-card draw. A year later, at age 15, Rubin won the Wimbledon Girls’ Singles Championship and turned professional. In 1995, she was named Athlete of the Year by the American Tennis Association, Female Athlete of the Year by the USTA, and was honored with her own day when Lafayette, Louisiana, declared September 12, 1995, “Chanda Rubin Day.”

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Rubin reached her highest singles ranking of No. 6 on April 8, 1996, after advancing to the semifinals of the Australian Open. In doubles, she won her only Grand Slam title alongside Arantxa Sánchez Vicario, defeating Lindsay Davenport and Mary Joe Fernández in the finals.

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Multiple injuries slowed Rubin’s career, but after her second knee surgery in 2002, she returned with her strongest performances to date, making deep runs at Wimbledon and the U.S. Open, where she defeated top players Lindsay Davenport, Jelena Dokić, and Serena Williams. Rubin also represented the United States in the 2004 Olympic Games, reaching the third round.

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A three-time Grand Slam singles quarterfinalist — at the French Open in 1995, 2000, and 2003 — Rubin earned more than $4.5 million in career prize money and captured seven Women’s Tennis Association (WTA) singles titles and two International Tennis Federation (ITF) titles.

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Known as a generous and community-minded athlete, Rubin remains active in numerous charitable efforts, including her own Chanda Rubin Tennis Foundation, which supports tennis programs in several Louisiana schools.