[Editor’s note: This article is from The Spun’s “Then and Now” magazine, featuring interviews with more than 50 sports stars of yesteryear. Order your copy online today, or pick one up at retail racks and newsstands nationwide.]

Tracy Austin is a lot like any other tennis mom.

Except she also is an International Tennis Hall of Famer who won her first pro title at 14, became the youngest U.S. Open champion at 16 and later rose to No. 1 in the world. In the tennis boom days of the late ’70s and early ’80s, the Southern Californian was a kid superstar, her suburban-schoolgirl smile splashed across the covers of Sports Illustrated (“A Star Is Born”) and Seventeen, wooden racket in hand.

If John McEnroe was the Super Brat and Chris Evert the Girl Next Door, Austin was the Assassin in Pigtails and Pinafore; a tireless baseliner who made up for a lack of power with steely steadiness and an uncanny court sense. Raised in a family of tennis players, she hated to lose, and it didn’t take long for her to start beating the established names in Evert, Billie Jean King and Martina Navratilova.

“I think about how different everything is now,” said Austin at this summer’s Cincinnati Open, where each player has a Cadillac Escalade at their disposal throughout the tournament. “My mom had to drop me off at Forest Hills (Stadium in Queens, New York, the former site of the U.S. Open) and go find a lawn to pay 20 bucks to park on. I mean, it’s crazy. Now these guys get a car when they arrive, and not just any car. They have no idea how nice they have it.”

Austin and husband Scott Holt have three sons: Sean, Brandon and Dylan. Brandon Holt, a former USC standout, was competing in the main draw in Cincinnati, though Austin didn’t catch him in action, not at least in person. Given her fame, it can be difficult to watch his matches courtside, so she often ends up tracking them on a monitor in the player lounge.

“People will come up to me in the middle of a match, ‘Are you nervous?’ They try to talk to you, and it’s like, I just want to watch the match,” said Austin, now 62. “And I don’t want the camera on me. I don’t want to take it from Brandon. I don’t want to be a distraction.”

A 1989 car accident hastened the end of Austin’s playing career, a near-fatal collision that left her with a broken leg.

“He ran a red light at 65 mph and hit my wheel well. I was half a second from being gone. That changes your perspective – that everything else is a bonus,” she said. “In one respect, you feel like it stopped your career; but the other case is that you’re not around at all. I’m very lucky to be here.”

She eventually transitioned into broadcasting, and has since become one of the most insightful voices in the sport.

“I enjoy staying busy,” said Austin, who has served as an on-air analyst for everyone from the BBC to Channel Seven Australia to Tennis Channel, whose Santa Monica, California, studios are only a 45-minute drive from her Rolling Hills home. “At the same time, when I raised my three kids, I wasn’t gone all the time. I was home a lot. I think I found a nice balance, still working, keeping my foot in the door. I feel fortunate; I love what I do, I love tennis, I love analyzing the game.”

Brandon, 27, would drop his first-round match in Cincinnati to fellow Californian Tristan Boyer 6-3, 7-6(3). But Austin, the proud tennis mom, couldn’t hide her smile.

“I know the work that he’s put in,” she said. “Of course, I get nervous. You want more for your kids than you want for yourself. But he’s worked so hard. He started the year around 200, then broke into the Top 100 at Wimbledon. He somehow finds a balance, probably better than I ever did. He’s upset if he loses, but he gets over it and bounces back the next day. He’s got a really good perspective.”

Related: ‘Then and Now’ Magazine: Catch Up With 50 Sports Stars of Yesteryear

Related: How Tennis Legend Pam Shriver is Helping Recovery Efforts after Los Angeles Wildfires

Related: Former MLB Star Bobby Bonilla Doesn’t Mind Being Known for Shrewd Deferred Contract

This story was originally published by The Spun on Dec 31, 2025, where it first appeared in the Tennis section. Add The Spun as a Preferred Source by clicking here.