Inducted February 15th, 1996

Almost from the the time Werdel Witmeyer first picked up a tennis racket at age 4, her natural affinity for that sport was evident. And that early harbinger of something special soon took on official documentation in her dominance of age-group competition- despite the fact that she was often playing "up" against older players. Werdel Witmeyer amassed 19 national junior titles and was in seven other finals with her power and consistency. She followed her sister, Alyce, to Stanford, but left to join the pro tour after one year, rate as one of the most promising newcomers. Werdel Witmeyer persevered through a down period in her career in 1990 and started a steady climb up the ranking ladder in January of last year, she reached the semifinals of the Australian Open by defeating Gabriela Sabatini and two months later, defeated Arantxa Sanchez Vacario, when the later was No.1 ranked, in the Lipton Championship in Key Biscayne, Flordia, which helped improve her ranking to 21st in the world.