A Comeback at the Age of 17 : Once the World’s Best in Her Age Group, Porter Works to Regain Tennis Standing

At the age of 12, when her friends were still playing with dolls, Noelle Porter was flirting with fame. She was the top-ranked girls’ tennis player in the world in her age group. And, even headier for a youngster, local newspapers were comparing her to Chris Evert.

“It was unreal,” says Porter, now 17 and a freshman at Pepperdine. “They’d run my picture next to hers--we even looked a little alike. I thought it was neat, but to compare someone to Chris Evert, well, there’s only one Chrissy.”

For a while, however, the comparisons were not without merit. At 14, Porter won a national title in her age group. But a year later she decided to play in the 18-and-under division, and that is when she discovered she was mortal after all. Although ranked in the division’s top 10 and a member of the U.S. Wightman Cup squad, Porter did not light up the courts the way she used to.

“I peaked early,” she says with a laugh, “but I kept plugging away.”

Enter Gualberto Escudero, the women’s tennis coach at Pepperdine. About 2 years ago, Escudero was scouting a potential recruit at a tournament in Long Beach. The recruit got to the final but lost to Porter. Right then, “I decided not to recruit the other girl,” he says, “and go after Noelle.”

Porter, who grew up in Tustin, was then living in San Juan Capistrano, trying to be a normal high school student. But she was spending so much time on her tennis, she needed to take correspondence courses to continue her education. When Escudero approached her about going to Pepperdine on a full scholarship, she looked at it as an opportunity to be “a more well-rounded person,” Escudero says.

“Tennis and college is a nice balance,” Porter says. “My focus is on tennis and the team, but I’m also learning the responsibility and independence I’ve always heard about.”

After a few weeks of practice, Escudero considers Porter his third- or fourth-ranked player behind Ginger Helgeson and Janna Kovacevich. But he likes her attitude and desire.

“She can make an impact in college tennis and maybe in the pros,” he says. “She knows she really hasn’t improved much since she was 14, but when a player is that good at that age, and people compare her to Chris Evert, it puts a lot of big ideas in her head.

“Now she’s mature enough not to let things like that influence her.”

The influence on Porter now is Steffi Graf. At the U. S. Open last year, Porter watched Graf prepare for matches and took note of the West German’s lengthy practice sessions. “I really admire her,” Porter says. “Even before a match she practices 1 1/2 to 2 hours. Then she works out afterward. Her drive is incredible.”

But perhaps a bit too intense? “She’s obsessive all the way to the bank,” Porter says with a laugh.

A traditional baseline player, Porter realizes that she also has to work on becoming more well-rounded on the court. At the All-American Championships--a major collegiate event--last month at the Riviera Country Club, she faced opponents with a bigger arsenal of weapons but still managed to advance as far as the round of 16.

“The other girls are a little ahead of me in variety of shots,” she says. “But being here in college is really going to help out my game. If I do eventually turn pro, I want to be fully prepared to have a successful career.”

Instead of living on campus, Porter decided to move in with her grandmother and two uncles in Northridge. One of her uncles, Dr. Steve Majdick, is a chiropractor who helps her with nutrition and eases her back problems.

“Having him is really a luxury,” she says. “Not every player has a personal trainer.”

Only ones such as Chris Evert.