Cal State Fullerton Titans tennis Eagle Tina Watanabe their Number 1 player on the team and a 1973 NCAA National Collegiate Singles Tournament finalists that was held in Auburn, Alabama Watanabe had victories on the Women's Pro Circuit over Tracy Austin, Steffi Graf and Monica Seles and had a World Singles Ranking of 79th at one point in her professional career. Another standout Titan tennis player on that 1973 team is Michelle Rauland who after competing on that '73 team in January 1974 competed with the professional women tennis players at one of the circuit stops for the Virginia Slims Tour in Mission Viejo, California
Steffi Graf to wear a back brace and was unsure about playing the US Open but elected to play while receiving treatment and stretching for two hours before each match. She made it to the final and took the first set against Sánchez Vicario but lost the next two sets — Sanchez Vicario's last victory over Graf. In the middle of the second set, Graf suffered back spasms while reaching for a ball in the ad court. She took the following nine weeks off, returning only for the Virginia Slims Championships where she lost in straight sets to Pierce in the quarterfinal.