Gator Made: From Raymond to Kessler, A Look At Two Florida Alums and the US Open

TEMPE, Ariz. – It’s been a decade since Lisa Raymond last suited up at the US Open, a tournament the ITA Women’s Hall of Famer and former Florida Gator routinely made a living at throughout her career.

At the final Grand Slam event of the season, Raymond garnered a trio of titles over the course of her storied career at the USTA Billie Jean King National Tennis Center in Flushing Meadows.

Raymond won a pair of mixed doubles championships at the US Open with Patrick Galbraith (1996) and Mike Bryan (2002) before becoming the oldest woman at age 38 to win a Grand Slam Women’s doubles title alongside Liezel Huber in 2011.

Raymond and Huber, seeded at No. 4 in the 2011 US Open, dethroned the reigning champions in Vania King and Yaroslava Shvedova (4-6, 7-6, 7-6).

Before she was the No. 1 doubles player in the world, a title first earned in 2000, Raymond steered the Gators to their first NCAA team title in 1992 under head coach Andy Brandi at Florida. She also won the singles championships in both 1992 and 1993 to close out her collegiate career.

Raymond, who won all four doubles grand slams over the course of her career, was inducted into the ITA Women’s Hall of Fame in 2012.

Lisa Raymond’s ITA Hall of Fame bio

Decades later, Florida alum McCartney Kessler is aiming to make a splash of her own in New York and replicate the success of her fellow Gator in Raymond. A star for the Gators from 2018-22, Kessler has since emerged as one of the top singles players in the world, soaring to a career-best No. 30 in the rankings this season.

Kessler is in the midst of a transformative 2025 season in which she’s won a pair of singles titles and one doubles crown, teaming up with Coco Gauff to win the Women’s Doubles title at the National Bank Open in Toronto in early August.

Prior to a professional career, Kessler cemented herself as one of the top collegians in the country throughout an impressive four-year stretch in Gainesville. Named the SEC Player of the Year in 2022, Kessler finished her Gator career with 106 singles wins, three selections to the All-SEC First-Team and three ITA All-American honors.

The 26-year-old Kessler, one of many former star collegians in this year’s tournament, will open her third trip to the US Open with a first-round matchup against Magda Linette on Sunday, August 24.

Former collegians in the main draw at the US Open

Men – Ben Shelton (Florida), Francisco Cerundolo (South Carolina), Brandon Nakashima (Virginia), Nuno Borges (Mississippi State), Gabriel Diallo (Kentucky), Cameron Norrie (TCU), Marcos Giron (UCLA), Jacob Fearnley (TCU), Arthur Rinderknech (Texas A&M), Learner Tien (USC), Aleksandar Kovacevic (Illinois), Rinky Hijikata (North Carolina), Ethan Quinn (Georgia), Mackenzie McDonald (UCLA), Aleksandar Vukic (Illinois), Adam Walton (Tennessee), Brandon Holt (USC), Eliot Spizzirri (Texas), Nishesh Basavareddy (Stanford), Tristan Boyer (Stanford), Stefan Dostanic (USC, Wake Forest)

Women – Emma Navarro (Virginia), Diana Shnaider (NC State), McCartney Kessler (Florida), Peyton Stearns (Texas), Danielle Collins (Florida, Virginia), Yuliia Starodubtseva (Old Dominion), Lulu Sun (Texas), Mayar Sherif (Fresno State, Pepperdine), Leolia Jeanjean (Arkansas, Baylor, Lynn), Valerie Glozman (Stanford)

About the US Open The 2025 US Open will be held from August 24-September 7 at the USTA Billie Jean King National Tennis Center in New York. Play begins daily at 11 a.m. ET, with evening sessions scheduled to start at 7 p.m. ET in Arthur Ashe Stadium.

For schedules, results, draws and more, visit USOpen.org.

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