Björn Borg

Full name	Björn Rune Borg
Country	Sweden
Residence	Stockholm
Born	(1956-06-06) 6 June 1956 (age 56) Södertälje, Stockholm County, Sweden
Height	180 cm (5 ft 11 in)
Weight	72 kg (160 lb)
Turned pro	1973 (international debut in 1971)
Retired	4 April 1983[1] (comeback from 1991 to 1993)
Plays	Right-handed (two-handed backhand)
Career prize money	US$3,655,751
Int. Tennis HOF	1987 (member page)
Singles
Career record	608–127 (82.7%)
Career titles	101 (including 64 listed by the ATP)
Highest ranking	No. 1 (23 August 1977)
Grand Slam Singles results
Australian Open	3R (1974)
French Open	W (1974, 1975, 1978, 1979, 1980, 1981)
Wimbledon	W (1976, 1977, 1978, 1979, 1980)
US Open	F (1976, 1978, 1980, 1981)
Other tournaments
Tour Finals	W Masters (1979, 1980) W WCT (1976)
Doubles
Career record	86–81 (51.2%)
Career titles	4
Highest ranking	890 (22 March 1993)
Last updated on: 24 March 2007.

Björn Rune Borg (Swedish pronunciation: [bjœːɳ bɔrj] ( listen); born 6 June 1956) is a former world no. 1 tennis player from Sweden. Between 1974 and 1981 he won 11 Grand Slam singles titles. He won five consecutive Wimbledon singles titles (a record shared with Roger Federer)^[3] and six French Open singles titles (a record shared with Rafael Nadal).^[4][5] He is considered by many to be one of the greatest tennis players of all time.^[6][7][8]

During his relatively brief pro career, Borg won 41% of the Grand Slam singles tournaments he entered (11 of 27) and 89.81% (141–16) of the Grand Slam singles matches he played. His winning rate across all surfaces (carpet, clay, hard, and grass) was 82.72% (608-127), and his winning percentage at Wimbledon was 92.73% (51–4); both are records for an entire career. He is one of four players in the open era to win both Wimbledon and the French Open in the same year and the only player to do so for three consecutive years. He is the first player to win two Grand Slams without dropping a set (a record shared with Rafael Nadal). He also won three year-end championship titles, including two Masters Grand Prix titles and one WCT Final title. In addition, he won 15 Championship Series titles (1974–1980) the precursors to the current Masters 1000.

Borg was the first "rock star" of professional tennis^[2] and first player to earn more than one million dollars in prize money in a single season (1979).

Life and career[link]

Borg was born in Södertälje, Sweden. As a child, Borg became fascinated with a golden tennis racquet that his father won at a table-tennis tournament. His father gave him the racquet, beginning his tennis career.^[9]

A player of great athleticism and endurance, he had a distinctive style and appearance—bowlegged, yet very fast. His muscularity allowed him to put heavy topspin on both his forehand and two-handed backhand. He was perhaps the first top professional to use the two-handed backhand. By the time he was 13 he was beating the best of Sweden's under-18 players, and Davis Cup captain Lennart Bergelin cautioned against anyone trying to change Borg's rough-looking, jerky strokes. They were effective.^{[citation needed]}

Borg joined the professional circuit at age 14. In 1972, at the age of 15, Borg became one of the youngest players ever to represent his country in the Davis Cup and won his debut singles rubber in five sets against seasoned professional Onny Parun of New Zealand. Later that year, he won the Wimbledon junior singles title, recovering from a 5–2 deficit in the final set to overcome Britain's Buster Mottram.

In 1973, Borg reached the Wimbledon main draw quarterfinals in his first attempt. Just before his 18th birthday in 1974, Borg won his first top-level singles title at the Italian Open, becoming its youngest winner. Two weeks later he became the then-youngest winner of the French Open defeating Manuel Orantes in the final, 2–6, 6–7, 6–0, 6–1, 6–1. Barely 18 at the time, Borg was the youngest-ever male French Open champion (the record has since been lowered by Mats Wilander in 1982 and Michael Chang in 1989).

In early 1975, Borg defeated the great Rod Laver, then 36 years old, in a semifinal of the World Championship Tennis (WCT) finals in Dallas, Texas, 7–6, 3–6, 5–7, 7–6, 6–2. Borg subsequently lost to Arthur Ashe in the final.

Borg retained his French Open title in 1975, beating Guillermo Vilas in the final in straight sets. Borg then reached the Wimbledon quarterfinals, where he lost to eventual champion Ashe, 6–2, 4–6, 6–8, 1–6. Borg did not lose another match at Wimbledon until 1981.

Borg won two singles and one doubles rubber in the 1975 Davis Cup final, as Sweden beat Czechoslovakia 3–2. With these singles wins, Borg had won 19 consecutive Davis Cup singles rubbers since 1973. That was already a record at the time. However, Borg never lost another Davis Cup singles rubber, and, by the end of his career, he had stretched that winning streak to 33—a Davis Cup record that still stands.^[10]

In early 1976, Borg won the World Championship Tennis year-end WCT Finals in Dallas, Texas with a four-set victory over Guillermo Vilas in the final.

At the 1976 French Open, Borg lost to the Italian Adriano Panatta, who remains the only player to defeat Borg at this tournament. Panatta did it twice: in the fourth round in 1973 (7–6, 2–6, 7–5, 7–6), and in the 1976 quarterfinals (6–3, 6–3, 2–6, 7–6).

Borg won Wimbledon in 1976 without losing a set, defeating the favored Ilie Năstase in the final. Borg became the youngest male Wimbledon champion of the modern era at 20 years and 1 month (a record subsequently broken by Boris Becker, who won Wimbledon aged 17 in 1985). It would be the last time Borg played Wimbledon as an underdog. Năstase later exclaimed, "We're playing tennis, he's [Borg] playing something else."

Borg also reached the final of the 1976 US Open, which was then being played on clay courts. Borg lost in four sets to world no. 1 Jimmy Connors.

Borg skipped the French Open in 1977 because he was under contract with WTT, but he repeated his Wimbledon triumph, although this time he was pushed much harder. He defeated his good friend Vitas Gerulaitis in a semifinal, 6–4, 3–6, 6–3, 3–6, 8–6.^[11] In the final, Borg was pushed to five sets for the third time in the tournament, this time by Connors. The win propelled Borg to the no. 1 ranking on the computer, albeit for just one week in August.

Through 1977, he had never lost to a player younger than himself.

Borg was at the height of his career from 1978 through 1980, completing the difficult French Open-Wimbledon double all three years.

In 1978, Borg won the French Open with a win over Vilas in the final. Borg did not drop a set during the tournament, a feat only he, Năstase (in 1973), and Rafael Nadal (in 2008 and 2010) have accomplished at the French Open during the open era.

Borg defeated Connors in straight sets at the 1978 Wimbledon. At the US Open, now held on hard courts in Flushing Meadow, New York, he lost the final in straight sets to Connors. That autumn, Borg faced John McEnroe for the first time in a semifinal of the Stockholm Open and was upset, 3–6, 4–6.

Borg lost to McEnroe again in four sets in the final of the 1979 WCT Finals but was now overtaking Connors for the top ranking. Borg established himself firmly in the top spot with his fourth French Open singles title and fourth straight Wimbledon singles title, defeating Connors in a straight-set semifinal at the latter tournament. At the French Open, Borg defeated big-serving Victor Pecci in a four-set final, and at Wimbledon, Borg took five sets to overcome an even bigger server, Roscoe Tanner. Borg was upset by Tanner at the US Open, in a four-set quarterfinal played under the lights.

At the season-ending Masters tournament in January 1980, Borg survived a close semifinal against McEnroe, 6–7, 6–3, 7–6(1). He then beat Gerulaitis in straight sets, winning his first Masters and first title in New York. In June, he overcame Gerulaitis, again in straight sets, for his fifth French Open title. Again, he did not drop a set.

Borg won his fifth consecutive Wimbledon singles title, the 1980 Wimbledon Men's Singles final, by defeating McEnroe in a five-set match, often cited as the best Wimbledon final ever played. Having lost the opening set 6–1 to an all-out McEnroe assault, Borg took the next two 7–5, 6–3 and had two championship points at 5–4 in the fourth. However, McEnroe averted disaster and went on to level the match in Wimbledon's most memorable 34-point tiebreaker, which he won 18–16. In the fourth-set tiebreak, McEnroe saved five match points, and Borg six set points, before McEnroe won the set. Bjorn served first to begin the 5th set and fell behind 15–40. Borg then won 19 straight points on serve in the deciding set and prevailed after 3 hours, 53 minutes. Borg himself commented years later that this was the first time that he was afraid that he would lose, as well as feeling that it was the beginning of the end of his dominance.^[12]

Borg married Romanian tennis pro Mariana Simionescu in Bucharest on 24 July 1980.

He defeated McEnroe in the final of the 1980 Stockholm Open, 6–3, 6–4, and faced him one more time that year, in the round-robin portion of the year-end Masters, played in January 1981. With 19,103 fans in attendance, Borg won a deciding third-set tie-break for the second year in a row, 6–4, 6–7, 7–6(2). Borg then defeated Ivan Lendl for his second Masters title, 6–4, 6–2, 6–2.

Borg won his last Grand Slam title at the French Open in 1981, defeating Lendl in a five-set final. Borg has a six French Open Grand Slam titles record equaled only by Rafael Nadal in 2011.

In reaching the Wimbledon final in 1981, Borg stretched his winning streak at the All England Club to a record 41 matches. In a semifinal, Borg was down to Connors by two sets to love, before coming back to win the match, 0–6, 4–6, 6–3, 6–0, 6–4. However, Borg's streak was brought to an end by McEnroe, who defeated him in four sets, 6–4, 6–7, 6–7, 4–6.

Borg went on to lose to McEnroe at the 1981 US Open, 6–4, 2–6, 4–6, 3–6. After that defeat, Borg walked off the court and out of the stadium before the ceremonies and press conference had begun. There are reports that Borg received threats after his semifinal win over Connors. In later years, Borg apologized to McEnroe. The 1981 US Open would be the Swede's last Grand Slam final. Major tournaments and tour organizers were enforcing a new rule by 1982, that players had to play at least 10 official tournaments per year. However, Borg wanted to curtail his schedule after many years of winning so often. Although he felt in good condition physically, he recognized that the relentless drive to win and defy tour organizers had begun to fade.^[12]

Borg failed to win the US Open in 10 tries, losing four finals, 1976 and 1978 to Jimmy Connors, and 1980 and 1981 to McEnroe. He played on hard courts at the US Open from 1978–1981 and reached the final there on three occasions, in 1978, 1980, and 1981. He led 3–2 in the fifth set of the 1980 final, before losing. That match followed Borg's classic encounter with McEnroe at the 1980 Wimbledon. In 1978, 1979 and 1980, Borg was halfway to a Grand Slam after victories at the French and Wimbledon (the Australian Open being the last Grand Slam tournament of each year at the time) only to falter at Flushing Meadow, lefty Tanner his conqueror in 1979.

He appeared only once at the Australian Open, at the age of 17, at which he lost in an early round.

In 1982, Borg played only one tournament, losing to Yannick Noah in the quarterfinals of Monte Carlo in April. Nevertheless, Borg's announcement in January 1983 that he was retiring from the game at the age of 26 was a shock to the tennis world. McEnroe tried unsuccessfully to persuade Borg to continue. (He did, however, play Monte Carlo again in March 1983, reaching the second round, and Stuttgart in July 1984.)

Retirement[link]

When he retired, Borg had a choice of homes, a penthouse in Monte Carlo, not far from his successful pro shop, and a small island off the Swedish coast. His marriage to the tennis player Mariana Simionescu ended in divorce, he fathered a child by the Swedish model Jannike Björling, and he was briefly married to the Italian singer Loredana Bertè.^[12] There were rumours of a drug overdose and an attempted suicide, yet Borg laughs them off as silly rumours. He states that he only took sleeping pills, yet the Italian press reported it as a suicide attempt,^[12] and he narrowly avoided personal bankruptcy due to bad business partners.^[13][14]

Borg later bounced back as the owner of the Björn Borg fashion label, whose most noted advertising campaigns asked Swedes (from the pages of a leading national newspaper) to "F*ck for the Future." His label has since become extremely successful second only to Calvin Klein in his home country.^[12][15]

Attempted comeback[link]

In the early-1990s, Borg attempted a comeback on the men's professional tennis tour. In doing so, he grew his hair out as it had been when he retired and returned to using a wooden racket; he had kept his hair cut and used modern graphite rackets in exhibitions he played during the later 1980s. This time around, however, he was completely unsuccessful. In fact, Borg failed to win a single match. He faced Jordi Arrese in his first match back, again at Monte Carlo, and fell 2–6, 3–6. In his first nine matches, played in 1991 and 92, Borg failed to win a single set. He fared slightly better in 1993, taking a set off his opponent in each of the three matches he played. He came closest to getting a win in what turned out to be his final tour match, falling 6–4, 3–6, 6–7 to Alexander Volkov.

In 1992, Borg, 35, using a Donnay Graphite Midsize racket strung at 85 lbs. tension defeated John Lloyd, 37, at the Inglewood Forum Tennis Challenge 6–4, 6–3.

Borg later joined the champions tour, returning to shorter hair and using modern racquets.

Memorabilia preserved[link]

In March 2006, Bonhams Auction House in London announced that it would auction Borg's Wimbledon trophies and two of his winning rackets on 21 June 2006.^[16] Several players then called Borg wondering what he was thinking, but only McEnroe was able to make Borg reconsider. According to Dagens Nyheter – who had talked to Borg – McEnroe called from New York and asked, "What's up? Have you gone mad?"^[17] The conversation apparently persuaded Borg to buy out the trophies from Bonhams at an undisclosed amount.

Distinctions and honors[link]

• Borg was ranked by the ATP rankings world no. 1 in six different stretches between 1977 and 1981, totaling 109 weeks.
• During his career, he won a total of 77 (61 listed on the Association of Tennis Professionals website) top-level singles and four doubles titles.
• Borg won the BBC Sports Personality of the Year Overseas Personality Award in 1979.
• Borg was inducted into the International Tennis Hall of Fame in 1987.
• On 10 December 2006, the British Broadcasting Corporation gave Borg a Lifetime Achievement Award, which was presented by Boris Becker.^[18]
• Borg was named one of the 10 Most Superstitious Athletes by Men's Fitness^[19]

Place among the all-time greats[link]

With Grand Slam 11 titles, Borg ranks fourth in the list of male tennis players who have won the most Grand Slam singles titles behind Roger Federer (16), Pete Sampras (14), and Roy Emerson (12). The French Open—Wimbledon double he achieved three times consecutively was called by Wimbledon officials "the most difficult double in tennis"^[20] and "a feat considered impossible among today's players."^[21] Only Rafael Nadal (in 2008 and 2010) and Roger Federer (in 2009) have managed to achieve this double since, and Rafael Nadal, Andre Agassi, Roger Federer and are the only male players since Borg to have won the French Open and Wimbledon men's singles titles over their career. Ilie Năstase once said about Borg, "We're playing tennis, and he's playing something else".

In his 1979 autobiography, Jack Kramer, the long-time tennis promoter and great player himself, had already included Borg in his list of the 21 greatest players of all time. And in 2003, Bud Collins chose Borg as one of his top-five male players of all time.^[22]

In 2008, ESPN.com asked tennis analysts, writers, and former players to build the perfect open era player. Borg was the only player mentioned in four categories—defense, footwork, intangibles, and mental toughness—with his mental game and footwork singled-out as the best in open era history.^[23]

Borg never won the US Open or the Australian Open, losing in the final at the US Open four times. The only players to defeat Borg in a Grand Slam final were fellow world no. 1 tennis players John McEnroe and Jimmy Connors. Even though it was then played on grass, a surface where he enjoyed much success, Borg chose to play the Australian Open only once, in 1974, where he lost in the third round. Phil Dent, a contemporary of Borg, has pointed out that skipping Grand Slam tournaments—especially the Australian Open—was not unusual then, before counting Grand Slam titles became the norm.^[24] Additionally, another contemporary Arthur Ashe told Sports Illustrated, "I think Bjorn could have won the U.S. Open. I think he could have won the Grand Slam. But by the time he left, the historical challenge didn't mean anything. He was bigger than the game. He was like Elvis or Liz Taylor or somebody."^[25]

Playing style[link]

This section needs additional citations for verification. Please help improve this article by adding citations to reliable sources. Unsourced material may be challenged and removed. (February 2009)

Borg had one of the most distinctive playing styles in the open era. Borg played from the baseline, with powerful ground-strokes and a double-handed backhand (very rare at the time and unorthodox). He hit the ball hard and high from the back of the court and brought it down with considerable topspin, which made his ground strokes very consistent.^[26] There had been other players, particularly Rod Laver and Arthur Ashe, who played with topspin on both the forehand and backhand. Yet Laver and Ashe used topspin only as a way to mix up their shots and pass their opponents at the net easily. Borg was one of the first top players to use heavy topspin on his shots consistently.

Complementing his consistent ground-strokes was his fitness. Both of these factors allowed Borg to be dominant at the French Open.

One of the factors that made Borg unique was his dominance on the grass courts of Wimbledon, where baseliners since World War II did not usually succeed. Some experts attributed his dominance on this surface to his consistency, an underrated serve, and his adaptation to grass courts. Against the best players, he almost always served-and-volleyed on his first serves (but he naturally played from the baseline after his second serves).

Another trait usually associated with Borg is his grace under pressure. His calm court demeanor earned him the nickname of the "Ice Man" or "Ice-Borg."^[2]

Borg's physical conditioning was legendary and unrivalled. He could outlast most of his opponents under the most grueling conditions. Contrary to popular belief, however, this wasn't due to his exceptionally low resting heart rate, often reported to be near 35 beats per minute. In his introduction to Borg's autobiography My Life and Game, Eugene Scott relates that this rumor arose from a medical exam the 18-year-old Borg once took for military service, where his pulse was recorded as 38. Scott goes on to reveal Borg's true pulse rate as "about 50 when he wakes up and around 60 in the afternoon."^[27] Borg is credited with helping to develop the style of play that has come to dominate the game today.^{[citation needed]}

Career statistics[link]

Grand Slam and Masters Performance timeline[link]

Records[link]

• These records were attained in the Open Era of tennis.
• Records in bold indicate peer-less achievements.
• ^ Denotes consecutive streak.

Professional Awards[link]

• ITF World Champion: 1978, 1979, 1980
• ATP Player of the Year: 1976, 1977, 1978, 1979, 1980

Footnotes[link]

• ^a The Masters tournaments for 1977, 1979 and 1980 were actually held in January of the following year. In this table, however, the year of the tournament is listed for the preceding year.
• ^b The finals Borg reached without losing a set were the 1976 Wimbledon Championships and the 1978, 1980 & 1981 French Open.
• ^c The existing Grand Slam champions Borg defeated were Guillermo Vilas (1978 French Open), Ilie Nastase (1976 Wimbledon), Jimmy Connors (1977 & 1978 Wimbledon), Roscoe Tanner (1979 Wimbledon), Vitas Gerulaitis (1980 French Open) and John McEnroe (1980 Wimbledon).

See also[link]

Tennis portal

• Borg-McEnroe rivalry
• Borg-Connors rivalry
• List of Grand Slam Men's Singles champions
• List of Swedish sportspeople
• Tennis male players statistics
• World number one male tennis player rankings

References[link]

Bibliography[link]

• Borg, Björn (1975). The Björn Borg Story. Chicago: H. Regnery Co. ISBN 0-8092-8184-8. 
• Borg, Björn; Eugene L. Scott (1980). My Life and Game. New York: Simon and Schuster. ISBN 0-283-98663-8. 
• John Barrett, editor, World of Tennis Yearbooks, London, from 1976 through 1983.
• Michel Sutter, Vainqueurs Winners 1946–2003, Paris, 2003. Sutter has attempted to list all tournaments meeting his criteria for selection beginning with 1946 and ending in the fall of 1991. For each tournament, he has indicated the city, the date of the final, the winner, the runner-up, and the score of the final. A tournament is included in his list if: (1) the draw for the tournament included at least eight players (with a few exceptions, such as the Pepsi Grand Slam tournaments in the second half of the 1970s which included only players that had won a Grand Slam tournament); and (2) the level of the tournaments was at least equal to the present day challenger tournaments. Sutter's book is probably the most exhaustive source of tennis tournament information since World War II, even though some professional tournaments held before the start of the open era are missing. Later, Sutter issued a second edition of his book, with only the players, their wins, and years for the 1946 through 27 April 2003, period.

Video[link]

• The Wimbledon Collection – Legends of Wimbledon – Bjorn Borg Standing Room Only, DVD Release Date: 21 September 2004, Run Time: 52 minutes, ASIN: B0002HODA4.
• The Wimbledon Collection – The Classic Match – Borg vs. McEnroe 1981 Final Standing Room Only, DVD Release Date: 21 September 2004, Run Time: 210 minutes, ASIN: B0002HODAE.
• The Wimbledon Collection – The Classic Match – Borg vs. McEnroe 1980 Final Standing Room Only, DVD Release Date: 21 September 2004, Run Time: 240 minutes; ASIN: B0002HOEK8.
• Wimbledon Classic Match: Gerulaitis vs Borg Standing Room Only, DVD Release Date: 31 October 2006, Run Time: 180 minutes, ASIN: B000ICLR8O.

External links[link]

Wikimedia Commons has media related to: Björn Borg

• Björn Borg at the Association of Tennis Professionals
• Björn Borg at the Davis Cup
• Björn Borg at the International Tennis Federation
• Björn Borg at the International Tennis Hall of Fame
• Official Wimbledon website profile
• BBC profile
• Sunday Times article 5 July 2009
• On-line video interview for Czech TV (9. 1. 2011)

Jimmy Connors

Country	United States
Residence	Santa Barbara, California
Born	(1952-09-02) September 2, 1952 (age 59) East St. Louis, Illinois
Height	5 ft 9 1⁄2 in (1.77 m)
Weight	150 lb (68 kg; 11 st)
Turned pro	1972, international debut in 1970
Retired	1996
Plays	Left-handed (two-handed backhand)
Career prize money	US$8,641,040
Int. Tennis HOF	1998 (member page)
Singles
Career record	1241–277 (81.75% at ATP Tour, Grand Prix tour, WCT tour, and Grand Slam level, and in Davis Cup)
Career titles	148 including 109 listed by the ATP Players' Guide
Highest ranking	No. 1 (July 29, 1974)
Grand Slam Singles results
Australian Open	W (1974)
French Open	SF (1979, 1980, 1984, 1985)
Wimbledon	W (1974, 1982)
US Open	W (1974, 1976, 1978, 1982, 1983)
Other tournaments
Tour Finals	W (1977) WCT Finals (1977,1980)
Doubles
Career record	173–78 (68.9% at ATP Tour, Grand Prix tour, WCT tour, and Grand Slam level, and in Davis Cup)
Career titles	15
Highest ranking	No. 370 (March 1, 1993)
Grand Slam Doubles results
French Open	F (1973)
Wimbledon	W (1973)
US Open	W (1975)
Last updated on: August 28, 2007.

James Scott "Jimmy" Connors (born September 2, 1952, in East St. Louis, Illinois)^[1] is a former world no. 1 tennis player from the United States. He is regarded as one of the greatest tennis players of all time.^[2][3]

Connors won eight Grand Slam singles titles and two Grand Slam doubles titles with Ilie Năstase. He was also a runner-up seven times in Grand Slam singles, a doubles runner-up with Năstase at the 1973 French Open, and a mixed doubles runner-up with Chris Evert at the 1974 US Open. He held the top ranking for a then-record 160 consecutive weeks from July 29, 1974 to August 22, 1977 and an additional eight times during his career for a total of 268 weeks

In 1974, Connors became the second male in the open era to win three or more Grand Slam singles titles in a calendar year (Rod Laver being the first in 1969 and having been joined since by Mats Wilander, Roger Federer, Rafael Nadal, and Novak Djokovic). Connors is also the only man to win U.S. Open singles championships on grass, clay, and hard courts.

Connors' career win-loss record of 1241-277 (81.75%) is third after Björn Borg (82.7%) and Ivan Lendl (81.8%), and he holds the record for total number of wins for a male player.

Connors won three year-end championship titles, including two WCT Finals and one Masters Grand Prix. He also won 18 Championship Series titles (1973–1984). He was the first male player to rank no. 1 for more than 200 weeks in total and the first male player to be no. 1 for more than five years in total. He is the only male player to win more than 100 singles titles during his career. He also holds the records for the most Grand Slam semifinals (31) and most Grand Slam quarterfinals (41) reached.

Career[link]

Early years[link]

Connors grew up in Belleville, Illinois, across the Mississippi River from St. Louis. He played in his first U.S. Championship, the U.S. boys' 11-and-under of 1961, when he was only eight years old. Connors' mother, Gloria, took him to Southern California to be coached by Pancho Segura, starting at age 16, in 1968.^[4]

In 1970, Connors recorded his first significant victory in the first round of the Pacific Southwest Open in Los Angeles, defeating Roy Emerson.

In 1971, Connors won the NCAA singles title while attending the University of California, Los Angeles and attaining All-American status. He turned professional in 1972 and won his first tournament at Jacksonville.

Connors was acquiring a reputation as a maverick in 1972 when he refused to join the newly formed Association of Tennis Professionals (ATP), the union that was embraced by most male professional players, in order to play in and dominate a series of smaller tournaments organized by Bill Riordan, his manager and a clever promoter. However, Connors played in other tournaments and made his first big splash by winning the 1973 U.S. Pro Singles, his first significant title, toppling Arthur Ashe in a five-set final, 6-3, 4-6, 6-4, 3-6. 6-2.

Peak years[link]

Connors won eight Grand Slam singles championships: five U.S. Opens, two Wimbledons, one Australian Open. He did not participate in the French Open during his peak years (1974–78) only played in two Australian Opens in his entire career, winning it in 1974 and reaching the final in 1975.

Connors reached the final of the US Open in five straight years from 1974 through 1978, winning three times with each win being on a different surface (1974 on grass, 1976 on clay and 1978 on hard). He reached the final of Wimbledon four out of five years during his peak (1974, 1975, 1977 and 1978). Despite not being allowed to play in the French Open in his prime, he was still able to reach the semifinals four times in his later years.

In 1974, Connors was by far the most dominant player. He had a stunning 99-4 record that year and won 15 tournaments, including all the Grand Slam singles titles except the French Open. The French Open did not allow Connors to participate due to his association with World Team Tennis (WTT). However, he won the Australian Open, defeating Phil Dent in four sets. He also beat Ken Rosewall in straight sets in the finals of both Wimbledon and the US Open. His exclusion from the French Open may have prevented him from becoming the first man player since Rod Laver to win all four Major singles titles in a calendar year.

In the open era, Connors is one of only six men to win three or more Grand Slam singles titles in a calendar year. Others include: Rod Laver who won the Grand Slam in 1969; Mats Wilander won the Australian, French and US Open in 1988; Roger Federer won the Australian, Wimbledon and US Open in 2004, 2006 and 2007; Rafael Nadal won the French, Wimbledon, and US Open in 2010; and Novak Djokovic won the Australian, Wimbledon, and US Open in 2011.

Connors reached the world no. 1 ranking on July 29, 1974 and held it for 160 consecutive weeks (a record until it was surpassed by Roger Federer on February 26, 2007). He was considered the year-end no. 1 player from 1974 through 1978 and held the world no. 1 ranking for a total of 268 weeks during his career.

Contemporaries and rivalries[link]

Contemporaries included Eddie Dibbs, Brian Gottfried, Raúl Ramírez, Harold Solomon, Dick Stockton, Roscoe Tanner, and Guillermo Vilas. Older rivals included Arthur Ashe, Phil Dent, Rod Laver, Ilie Năstase, John Newcombe, Manuel Orantes, Ken Rosewall, and Stan Smith. Younger opponents included Björn Borg, Vitas Gerulaitis, Ivan Lendl, and John McEnroe.

Björn Borg[link]

During his best years of 1974 through 1978, Connors was challenged the most by Borg, with twelve matches on tour during that timeframe. Borg won only four of those meetings, but two of those wins were in the Wimbledon finals of 1977 and 1978. Connors lost his stranglehold on the top ranking to Borg in early 1979 and eventually ended up with a tour record of 8-15 against Borg. However, Borg is four years younger than Connors and had a losing record against Connors until Borg won the last ten times they met. Head to head in major championship finals, they split their four meetings, Borg winning two Wimbledons (1977 & 1978) and Connors winning two US Opens {(1976 & 1978).

Ilie Năstase[link]

Nastase was another rival in Connors' prime, with Connors winning five of their eight meetings from 1974 through 1978. Interestingly, they only met once in 1974, which was Connors' best year. The two would team up to win the doubles championships at the 1973 Wimbledon and the 1975 US Open.

Manuel Orantes and Guillermo Vilas[link]

As the world no. 1, Connors went 7-2 against Orantes, but Orantes beat Connors in the final of the 1975 US Open. Connors was 2-2 against Vilas during those years, but Vilas won the 1977 US Open final against Connors.

Rod Laver and John Newcombe[link]

In 1975, Connors won two highly-touted "Challenge Matches", both arranged by Riordan and televised nationally by CBS Sports from Caesars Palace in Las Vegas. The first match, in February and billed as $100,000 ($431,911 today) winner-takes-all, was against Laver. Connors won that match, 6–4, 6–2, 3–6, 7–5. In April, Connors met Newcombe in a match billed as a $250,000 winner-takes-all. Connors won the match, 6–3, 4–6, 6–2, 6–4. Connors would end his business relationship with Riordan later in 1975.

Connors played Newcombe in only two tour events from 1974 to 1978, with Newcombe winning the 1975 Australian Open and Connors taking the 1978 Sydney Indoor. Connors won all three meetings with Rod Laver in tour events.

Maverick[link]

In 1974, Connors and Riordan began filing lawsuits, amounting to $10 million, against the ATP and its president, Arthur Ashe, for allegedly restricting his freedom in the game. The lawsuits stemmed from the French Open banning Connors in 1974 after he had signed a contract to play World Team Tennis (WTT) for the Baltimore Banners. Connors was seeking to enter the French Open, but the ATP and French officials opposed WTT because of scheduling conflicts, so the entries of WTT players were refused between 1974 and 1978. Connors dropped Riordan and the lawsuits shortly thereafter^[when?].

Despite this turnabout, Connors remained an independent character. At Wimbledon in 1977, he refused to participate in a parade of former champions to celebrate the tournament's centenary and was booed when he played in the final the following day. He lost in five sets to Borg, who a month later was able briefly to interrupt Connors's long hold on the world no. 1 ranking. Connors also irritated sponsors and tennis officials by shunning the end-of-year Masters championship from 1974 through 1976. However, he entered this round-robin competition in 1977 when it moved to New York City. Although Connors lost a celebrated late-night match to Vilas, 4-6, 6-3, 5-7, he took the title by defeating Borg in the final, 6–4, 1–6, 6–4.

Later years[link]

Connors had shining moments against John McEnroe and Ivan Lendl, both of whom rose to prominence after Connors peaked in the mid-1970s. He would continue to compete against much younger players and had one of the most remarkable comebacks for any athlete when he reached the semifinals of the 1991 US Open at the age of 39.

John McEnroe[link]

Connors' best win during 1979-81 was the 1980 WCT Finals, when he defeated the defending champion, John McEnroe. McEnroe and Borg were battling for the top spot in those years, while Connors played the role of the spoiler. However, in 1982, at age 29, Connors was back in the Wimbledon singles final, where he faced McEnroe, who by then was established firmly as the world's top player. Connors recovered from being three points away from defeat in a fourth-set tie-break (at 3–4) to win the match, 3–6, 6–3, 6–7(2), 7–6(5), 6–4, and claim his second Wimbledon title, eight years after his first. Although Connors' tour record against McEnroe is 14-20, McEnroe is six years younger than Connors and had a losing record against Connors until he won 12 out of their last 14 meetings. Head to head in major championship finals, they split their two meetings, Connors winning the 1982 Wimbledon and McEnroe winning the 1984 Wimbledon.

Ivan Lendl[link]

Connors defeated another of the next generation of tennis stars, Ivan Lendl, in the 1982 U.S. Open final and soon regained the world no. 1 ranking. Connors has a tour record of 13-22 against Lendl, but Lendl is seven years younger than Connors and had a losing record against Connors until he won their last seventeen matches from 1984 through 1992, well after Connors' prime. Head to head in major championship finals, Connors took both meetings, winning the 1982 and 1983 U.S. Opens.

A low point in Connors' career occurred on February 21, 1986, when he was defaulted in the fifth set of a semifinal match against Lendl at the Lipton International Players Championships in Boca Raton, Florida after being angered by the officiating. He paid a $20,000 fine and accepted a ten-week suspension from the professional tour, starting March 30. He was forced to miss the French Open. He subsequently lost in the first round at Wimbledon and the third round at the US Open, a tournament where he had reached at least the semifinals for twelve consecutive years.

Respected elder[link]

Connors gradually transformed himself into a respected elder of the tennis world in the later years of his career. He continued to compete forcefully against much younger men until he was well into his 41st year.

In the fourth round of the 1987 Wimbledon Championships, Connors defeated Mikael Pernfors, ten years his junior, 1–6, 1–6, 7–5, 6–4, 6–2, after having trailed 4–1 in the third set and 3–0 in the fourth set. In July 1988, Connors ended a four-year title drought by winning the Sovran Bank Tennis Classic in Washington, D.C. It was the 106th title of his career. Connors had played in 56 tournaments and 12 finals since his previous victory in the Tokyo Indoors against Lendl in October 1984.

At the 1989 US Open, Connors defeated the third seed (and future two-time champion), Stefan Edberg, in straight sets in the fourth round and pushed sixth-seeded Andre Agassi to five sets in a quarterfinal.

His career seemed to be at an end in 1990, when he played only three tournament matches (and lost all three), dropping to no. 936 in the world rankings. However, after surgery on his deteriorating left wrist, he came back to play 14 tournaments in 1991. An ailing back forced him to retire from a five-sets match in the third round of the French Open against Michael Chang, the 1989 champion. Ironically, Connors walked off the court after hitting a winner against Chang.

The defining moment of Connors' later career came when he made an improbable run to the 1991 US Open semifinals at the age of 39. On his birthday, he defeated 24-year-old Aaron Krickstein, 3–6, 7–6(8), 1–6, 6–3, 7–6(4), in 4 hours and 41 minutes, coming back from a 2–5 deficit in the final set. Connors then defeated Paul Haarhuis in the quarterfinals before suffering a defeat to Jim Courier.

Connors participated in his last major tournament in the 1992 US Open, where he beat Jaime Oncins, 6–1, 6–2, 6–3, in the first round, before losing to Lendl (then ranked no. 7), 6–3, 3–6, 2–6, 0–6, in the second round.

In September 1992, Connors played Martina Navratilova in the third Battle of the Sexes tennis match at Caesars Palace in Las Vegas, Nevada. Connors was allowed only one serve per point and Navratilova was allowed to hit into half the doubles court. Connors won, 7–5, 6–2.

However, this would not be the end of his playing career. As late as June 1995, three months shy of his 43rd birthday Connors beat Sébastien Lareau, 6–4, 7–6, and Martin Sinner, 7–6, 6–0, to progress to the quarterfinals of the Halle event in Germany. Connors lost this quarterfinal, 6–7, 3–6 to Marc Rosset. Connors' last match on the main ATP tour came in April 1996, when he lost, 2–6, 6–3, 1–6, to Richey Reneberg in Atlanta.^[5]

Distinctions and honors[link]

Connors won a male record 109 singles titles.^[6] He also won 15 doubles titles (including the men's doubles titles at Wimbledon in 1973 and the US Open in 1975).

In his 1979 autobiography, Jack Kramer, the long-time tennis promoter and great player himself, ranked Connors as one of the 21 best players of all time.^[7]

Connors won more matches (1,337) than any other male professional tennis player in the open era. His career win-loss record was 1,337–285 for a winning percentage of 82.4. He played 401 tournaments and through many years it was a record until Fabrice Santoro overcame it in 2008.^[8]

Connors was the only player to win the US Open on three different surfaces: grass, clay, and hard. Connors was also the first male tennis player to win Grand Slam singles titles on three different surfaces: grass (1974), clay (1976), and hard (1978).

Connors reached the semifinals or better of Grand Slam Men's Singles events a total of 31 times, an all time record. This achievement is particularly remarkable considering that he entered the Australian Open Men's Singles only twice and that he did not enter the French Open Men's Singles for five of his peak career years. Roger Federer holds the record for most consecutive semifinal appearances at these events and is one semifinal away from equalling Connors' total career number in this category.

Connors was inducted into the International Tennis Hall of Fame in 1998 and Intercollegiate Tennis Association (ITA) Hall of Fame in 1986.

Playing style[link]

Larry Schwartz on ESPN.com said about Connors, "His biggest weapons were an indomitable spirit, a two-handed backhand and the best service return in the game. It is difficult to say which was more instrumental in Connors becoming a champion. ... Though smaller than most of his competitors, Connors didn't let it bother him, making up for a lack of size with determination."^[9] Of his own competitive nature Connors has said, "[T]here's always somebody out there who's willing to push it that extra inch, or mile, and that was me. (Laughter) I didn't care if it took me 30 minutes or five hours. If you beat me, you had to be the best, or the best you had that day. But that was my passion for the game. If I won, I won, and if I lost, well, I didn't take it so well."^[1]

His on-court antics, designed to get the crowd involved, both helped and hurt his play. Schwartz said, "While tennis fans enjoyed Connors' gritty style and his never-say-die attitude, they often were shocked by his antics. His sometimes vulgar on-court behavior—like giving the finger to a linesman after disagreeing with a call or strutting about the court with the tennis racket handle between his legs; sometimes he would yank on the handle in a grotesque manner and his fans would go wild or groan in disapproval—did not help his approval rating. During the early part of his career, Connors frequently argued with umpires, linesmen, the players union, Davis Cup officials and other players. He was even booed at Wimbledon – a rare show of disapproval there—for snubbing the Parade of Champions on the first day of the Centenary in 1977."^[9] His brash behavior both on and off the court earned him a reputation as the brat of the tennis world. Tennis commentator Bud Collins nicknamed Connors the "Brash Basher of Belleville" after the St Louis suburb where he grew up.^[10] But Connors himself thrived on the energy of the crowd, positive or negative, and manipulated and exploited it to his advantage in many of the greatest matches of his career.

Connors was taught to hit the ball on the rise by his teaching-pro mother, Gloria Connors, a technique he used to defeat the opposition in the early years of his career. Gloria sent her son to Southern California to work with Pancho Segura at age 16. Segura advanced Connors' game of hitting the ball on the rise which enabled Connors to reflect the power and velocity of his opponents back at them. Segura was the master strategist in developing Jimmy's complete game. In the 1975 Wimbledon final, Arthur Ashe countered this strategy by taking the pace off the ball, giving Connors only soft junk shots (dinks, drop shots, and lobs) to hit.

Ashe and Connors did not get along, as Ashe frequently criticized Connors for playing in lucrative exhibitions instead of representing his country in Davis Cup competition.^{[citation needed]} Connors' racial insensitivity also played a role; while playing Ashe in an exhibition in South Africa, he derisively complained that the pro-Ashe crowd reminded him of Harlem.^{[citation needed]} He was denied the opportunity to play the French Open and sued Ashe, et al., due to Ashe's role in the ban.^{[citation needed]} They settled out of court after Ashe defeated Connors in the 1975 Wimbledon final. The enmity Connors held for Ashe continued even after Ashe's death, as Connors refused to attend the US Open Champions Ceremony during the christening of Arthur Ashe Stadium in 1997.^{[citation needed]}

In an era where serve and volley was the norm, Björn Borg excepted, Connors was one of the few players to hit the ball flat, low, and predominantly from the baseline. Connors hit his forehand with a continental grip and with little net clearance. Some^[who?] considered his forehand to be his greatest weakness, especially on extreme pressure points, as it lacked the safety margin of hard forehands hit with topspin. His serve, while accurate and capable, was never a great weapon for him as it did not reach the velocity and power of his opponents.

His lack of a dominating serve and net game, combined with his individualist style and maverick tendencies, meant that he was not as successful in doubles as he was in singles, although he did win Grand Slam titles with Ilie Năstase and Chris Evert and amassed 15 doubles titles during his career.

Racket evolution[link]

At a time when most other tennis pros played with wooden rackets, Connors pioneered the Wilson T2000 steel racket, which utilized a method for stringing devised and patented by Lacoste in 1953.^[11] "The T2000 set the wood racquet traditionalists on their ears with its lightweight steel construction. It didn't need a racket-press (it didn't warp), and its slender framework meant less wind resistance."^[12]

He played with this chrome tubular steel racket until 1984, when most other pros had shifted to new racket technologies, materials, and designs. The T2000 in the eighties "had the aura of a dinosaur – it had been introduced in 1968."^[12]

In 1984, Connors switched to the new Wilson ProStaff that had been designed especially for him. But 1985 again found Connors playing with the T2000. Not until 1987 did he finally switch to a graphite racket when he contracted with Slazenger to play their Panther Pro Ceramic. In 1990 Connors signed with Estusa.^[12]

Connors used lead tape which he would wind around the racquet head to provide the proper "feel" for his style of game.

Commentating[link]

Connors did commentary with NBC in 1990 and 1991, during their coverage of the French Open and Wimbledon tournaments. During the Wimbledon tournaments of 2005, 2006 and 2007, Connors commentated for the BBC alongside John McEnroe (among others), providing moments of heated discussion between two former arch-rivals. Connors has also served as a commentator and analyst for the Tennis Channel since the 2009 US Open tournament.^[13]

Coaching[link]

On July 24, 2006, at the start of the Countrywide Classic tournament in Los Angeles, American tennis player Andy Roddick formally announced his partnership with Connors as his coach. On March 6, 2008, Roddick announced the end of that 19-month relationship.

Personal life[link]

In 1968, Connors' mother Gloria sent her son to work with Pancho Segura in Southern California. Segura refined his game, mentored him, and provided the court strategy that made Jimmy great.

In 1979, Connors married Playboy model Patti McGuire. They have two children and live in the Santa Barbara, California area.^[14]

In the 1990s he joined his brother John Connors as investors in the Argosy Gaming Company which owned riverboat casinos on the Mississippi River. The two owned 19 percent of the company which was headquartered in the St. Louis metropolitan area of East Alton, Illinois.^[15] Argosy narrowly averted bankruptcy in the late 1990s and Jimmy's brother John personally sought Chapter 7 bankruptcy. In the liquidation, Jimmy, through his company, Smooth Swing, acquired the Alystra Casino in Henderson, Nevada, for $1.9 million from Union Planters Bank, which had foreclosed on John. John had opened the casino in 1995 with announced plans to include a Jimmy Connors theme area.^[16] It was shuttered in 1998 and became a magnet for homeless and thieves who stripped its copper piping. The casino never reopened under Jimmy's ownership and it was destroyed in a May 2008 fire.^[17]

In October 2005, Connors had successful hip-replacement surgery at Cedars-Sinai Medical Center in Los Angeles.

On January 8, 2007, Connors's mother and long-time coach, Gloria, died at the age of 82.^[18]

On November 21, 2008, Connors was arrested outside an NCAA Basketball game between the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill and University of California at Santa Barbara after refusing to comply with an order to leave an area near the entrance to the stadium.^[19] The charges were dismissed by a judge on February 10, 2009.^[20][21]

In December 2010, Douglas Henderson Jr., a long-time Connors associate and close friend, published Endeavor to Persevere, his book detailing his relationship with Connors and Arthur Ashe.[1]

Career statistics[link]

Singles performance timeline[link]

Key

Won tournament, or reached Final, Semifinal, Quarterfinal, Round 4, 3, 2, 1, played in Round Robin or lost in Qualification Round 3, Round 2, Round 1, Absent from a tournament or Participated in a team event, played in a Davis Cup Zonal Group (with its number indication) or Play-off, won a bronze or silver match at the Olympics. The last is for a Masters Series/1000 tournament that was relegated (Not a Masters Series).

Records[link]

• These records were attained in Open Era of tennis.
• Combined tours included Association of Tennis Professionals, Grand Prix Circuit, World Championship Tennis.
• Records in bold indicate peer-less achievements.
• ^ Denotes consecutive streak.

Professional awards[link]

• ITF World Champion: 1982
• ATP Player of the Year: 1982
• ATP Comeback Player of the Year: 1991

See also[link]

Tennis portal

• List of open era tennis records
• List of Grand Slam related tennis records
• ATP World Tour records
• Tennis male players statistics
• World number one male tennis player rankings
• Borg-Connors rivalry
• Connors–McEnroe rivalry

References[link]

Further reading[link]

• Sabin, Francene (1978). Jimmy Connors, King of the Courts. New York: Putnam. ISBN 0-399-61115-0. 
• Henderson Jr., Douglas (2010). Endeavor to Persevere: A Memoir on Jimmy Connors, Arthur Ashe, Tennis and Life. Untreed Reads. ASIN B004EYTBHG. 
• Seebohm, Caroline, (2009), Little Pancho

Video[link]

• Charlie Rose with Jimmy Connors (August 7, 1995) Studio: Charlie Rose, DVD Release Date: October 5, 2006, ASIN: B000JCF3S8
• BIOGRAPHY: Jimmy Connors DVD A&E 2002.
• JIMMY CONNORS PRESENTS TENNIS FUNDAMENTALS: Comprehensive, Starring: Jimmy Connors; Chris Evert, Foundation Sports, DVD Release Date: May 1, 2006, Run Time: 172 minutes, ASIN: B000FVQWCY.
• Wimbledon 1975 Final: Ashe vs. Connors Standing Room Only, DVD Release Date: October 30, 2007, Run Time: 120 minutes, ASIN: B000V02CTQ.

External links[link]

Wikimedia Commons has media related to: Jimmy Connors

• Jimmy Connors at the Association of Tennis Professionals
• Jimmy Connors at the International Tennis Federation
• Jimmy Connors at the Davis Cup
• Jimmy Connors at the International Tennis Hall of Fame
• Official Wimbledon website profile
• BBC profile

Jim Courier

Country	United States
Residence	New York City, United States
Born	(1970-08-17) August 17, 1970 (age 41) Sanford, Florida, United States
Height	6 ft 1 in (1.85 m)
Weight	182 lb (83 kg; 13.0 st)
Turned pro	1988
Retired	2000
Plays	Right-handed (two-handed backhand)
Career prize money	$14,034,132
Int. Tennis HOF	2005 (member page)
Singles
Career record	506–237 (at ATP Tour, Grand Prix tour and Grand Slam level, and in Davis Cup)
Career titles	23 (27th in overall rankings)
Highest ranking	No. 1 (February 20, 1992)
Grand Slam Singles results
Australian Open	W (1992, 1993)
French Open	W (1991, 1992)
Wimbledon	F (1993)
US Open	F (1991)
Doubles
Career record	124–97 (at ATP Tour, Grand Prix tour and Grand Slam level, and in Davis Cup)
Career titles	6
Highest ranking	No. 20 (October 9, 1989)

James Spencer "Jim" Courier, Jr. (born August 17, 1970) is a former world no. 1 professional tennis player from the United States. During his career, he won four Grand Slam singles titles, two at the French Open and two at the Australian Open. He holds the record for being the youngest man to have reached the finals of all four Grand Slam singles tournaments, at the age of 22 years and 11 months. He also won five Masters 1000 series titles.

Tennis career[link]

Jim was raised in Dade City, Florida and though he excelled at youth sports in general, after a certain point it became clear that tennis was where his true talent lay.^[1] As a junior player in the 1980s, Courier attended the Nick Bollettieri Tennis Academy and won the prestigious Orange Bowl in 1986 and 1987, as well as the French Open junior doubles title in 1987.

Courier turned professional in 1988 and made his Grand Slam breakthrough at the 1991 French Open when he defeated Stefan Edberg and Michael Stich to reach his first Grand Slam final. In the final, he defeated his former Bollettieri Academy roommate Andre Agassi in five sets to win his first Slam. He made the quarterfinals of Wimbledon before losing to eventual champion Stich. At the US Open, he defeated defending champion Pete Sampras in the quarterfinals and then Jimmy Connors in the semifinals before losing the final to Edberg.

1992 saw Courier defeat Edberg to win the Australian Open; he then followed this result by defeating future Grand Slam champions Thomas Muster, Goran Ivanišević, Agassi and Petr Korda to successfully defend his French Open title. Afterward, Courier charmed the Parisian crowd by delivering a victory speech in French.^[2] Courier also enjoyed a 25-match winning streak during the season. In February of that year, he became the tenth player to reach the world no. 1 ranking since the ranking system was implemented in 1973, and first American since John McEnroe; he finished 1992 as the world no. 1 ranked player. Courier also was a member of the US team that won the 1992 Davis Cup. In 1992, Courier was the top seeded player at the Olympics in Barcelona where he lost in the third round to eventual gold medalist Marc Rosset from Switzerland.^[3]

In 1993, Courier again won the Australian Open, defeating Edberg in the final for the second consecutive year. He reached his third consecutive French Open final, which he lost to Sergi Bruguera in five sets. He also reached the 1993 Wimbledon final, defeating Edberg in the semifinals, and lost to Sampras in four sets. By reaching the Wimbledon final, Courier had reached the finals of all four Grand Slams at the age of 22, a record which still stands. Courier also became the first player since Rod Laver to reach the finals of the Australian, French and Wimbledon in the same season; the feat was not matched until 2006 by Roger Federer. Courier again was part of the US team that won the 1995 Davis Cup.

Courier captured a total of 23 singles titles and 6 doubles titles during his career. He spent a total of 58 weeks ranked as the World No. 1 in 1992 and 1993. He reached the finals of all four major championships during his career, a feat accomplished by only seven other players in the Open Era. Courier retired from the ATP tour in 2000. He was inducted into the International Tennis Hall of Fame in 2005.

After retirement from top-level tennis[link]

Since his retirement as a top-level player, Courier has served as a tennis analyst and commentator for the USA Network, NBC Sports, TNT, ITV and the Seven Network. Since 2005 Courier has headed the commentary for the host broadcaster of the Australian Open, The Seven Network. Courier calls all centre court men's singles matches for the network. He also conducts the post match on-court interviews with the winning player. Courier will start working with ITV for the French Open in 2012. The Jim Courier Club House now stands on the grounds of the Dade City Little League complex in John S. Burks Memorial Park in Dade City, Florida. Courier is an alumnus of that Little League program.

In 2004, Courier founded InsideOut Sport & Entertainment, a New York-based event production company that owns and operates the Champions Series, Legendary Nights exhibitions as well as private corporate events.

He also founded Courier's Kids, a non-profit organization that supports tennis programs in the inner city of St. Petersburg, Florida.

Courier currently competes on the Champions Series and in various charity exhibition matches.

Jim Courier was married to Susanna Lingman in 2010.

On October 27, 2010, Courier was named captain of the United States Davis Cup team team, replacing Patrick McEnroe.

Grand Slam finals[link]

Singles: 7 finals (4 titles, 3 runner-ups)[link]

Outcome	Year	Championship	Surface	Opponent	Score
Winner	1991	French Open	Clay	Andre Agassi	3–6, 6–4, 2–6, 6–1, 6–4
Runner-up	1991	US Open	Hard	Stefan Edberg	2–6, 4–6, 0–6
Winner	1992	Australian Open	Hard	Stefan Edberg	6–3, 3–6, 6–4, 6–2
Winner	1992	French Open (2)	Clay	Petr Korda	7–5, 6–2, 6–1
Winner	1993	Australian Open (2)	Hard	Stefan Edberg	6–2, 6–1, 2–6, 7–5
Runner-up	1993	French Open	Clay	Sergi Bruguera	4–6, 6–2, 2–6, 6–3, 3–6
Runner-up	1993	Wimbledon	Grass	Pete Sampras	6–7(3–7), 6–7(6–8), 6–3, 3–6

ATP Tour Championships finals[link]

Singles: 2 finals (2 runner-ups)[link]

Outcome	Year	Championship	Surface	Opponent	Score
Runner-up	1991	Frankfurt	Hard (i)	Pete Sampras	6–3, 6–7(5–7), 3–6, 4–6
Runner-up	1992	Frankfurt	Hard (i)	Boris Becker	4–6, 3–6, 5–7

Masters Series finals[link]

Singles: 5 finals (5 titles)[link]

Outcome	Year	Championship	Surface	Opponent	Score
Winner	1991	Indian Wells	Hard	Guy Forget	4–6, 6–3, 4–6, 6–3, 7–6(7–4)
Winner	1991	Key Biscayne	Hard	David Wheaton	4–6, 6–3, 6–4
Winner	1992	Rome	Clay	Carlos Costa	7–6(7–3), 6–0, 6–4
Winner	1993	Indian Wells (2)	Hard	Wayne Ferreira	6–3, 6–3, 6–1
Winner	1993	Rome (2)	Clay	Goran Ivanišević	6–1, 6–2, 6–2

Grand Slam, ATP Tour, and Grand Prix circuit career finals[link]

Singles (36)[link]

Wins (23–13)[link]

Outcome	No.	Date	Championship	Surface	Opponent	Score
Winner	1.	October 9, 1989	Basel, Switzerland	Hard (i)	Stefan Edberg	7–6(8–6), 3–6, 2–6, 6–0, 7–5
Winner	2.	March 11, 1991	Indian Wells, USA	Hard	Guy Forget	4–6, 6–3, 4–6, 6–3, 7–6(7–4)
Winner	3.	March 25, 1991	Key Biscayne, USA	Hard	David Wheaton	4–6, 6–3, 6–4
Winner	4.	June 10, 1991	French Open, Paris, France	Clay	Andre Agassi	3–6, 6–4, 2–6, 6–1, 6–4
Runner-up	1.	September 9, 1991	US Open, New York City, USA	Hard	Stefan Edberg	2–6, 4–6, 0–6
Runner-up	2.	November 18, 1991	ATP Championships, Frankfurt, Germany	Carpet	Pete Sampras	6–3, 6–7(5–7), 3–6, 4–6
Winner	5.	January 27, 1992	Australian Open, Melbourne, Australia	Hard	Stefan Edberg	6–3, 3–6, 6–4, 6–2
Runner-up	3.	February 10, 1992	San Francisco, USA	Hard (i)	Michael Chang	3–6, 3–6
Runner-up	4.	February 17, 1992	Brussels, Belgium	Carpet	Boris Becker	7–6(7–5), 6–2, 6–7(10–12), 6–7(5–7), 5–7
Winner	6.	April 13, 1992	Tokyo, Japan	Hard	Richard Krajicek	6–4, 6–4, 7–6(7–3)
Winner	7.	April 20, 1992	Hong Kong, UK	Hard	Michael Chang	7–5, 6–3
Winner	8.	May 18, 1992	Rome, Italy	Clay	Carlos Costa	7–6(7–3), 6–0, 6–4
Winner	9.	June 8, 1992	French Open, Paris, France	Clay	Petr Korda	7–5, 6–2, 6–1
Runner-up	5.	August 24, 1992	Indianapolis, USA	Hard	Pete Sampras	4–6, 4–6
Runner-up	6.	November 23, 1992	ATP Championships, Frankfurt, Germany	Carpet	Boris Becker	4–6, 3–6, 5–7
Winner	10.	February 1, 1993	Australian Open, Melbourne, Australia	Hard	Stefan Edberg	6–2, 6–1, 2–6, 7–5
Winner	11.	February 15, 1993	Memphis, USA	Hard (i)	Todd Martin	5–7, 7–6(7–4), 7–6(7–4)
Winner	12.	March 8, 1993	Indian Wells, USA	Hard	Wayne Ferreira	6–3, 6–3, 6–1
Runner-up	7.	April 19, 1993	Hong Kong, UK	Hard	Pete Sampras	3–6, 7–6(7–1), 6–7(2–7)
Winner	13.	May 17, 1993	Rome, Italy	Clay	Goran Ivanišević	6–1, 6–2, 6–2
Runner-up	8.	June 7, 1993	French Open, Paris, France	Clay	Sergi Bruguera	4–6, 6–2, 2–6, 6–3, 3–6
Runner-up	9.	July 5, 1993	Wimbledon, London, UK	Grass	Pete Sampras	6–7(3–7), 6–7(6–8), 6–3, 3–6
Winner	14.	August 23, 1993	Indianapolis, USA	Hard	Boris Becker	7–5, 6–3
Runner-up	10.	April 18, 1994	Nice, France	Clay	Alberto Berasategui	4–6, 2–6
Runner-up	11.	October 24, 1994	Lyon, France	Carpet	Marc Rosset	4–6, 6–7(2–7)
Winner	15.	January 9, 1995	Adelaide, Australia	Hard	Arnaud Boetsch	6–2, 7–5
Winner	16.	March 6, 1995	Scottsdale, USA	Hard	Mark Philippoussis	7–6(7–2), 6–4
Winner	17.	April 17, 1995	Tokyo, Japan	Hard	Andre Agassi	6–4, 6–3
Winner	18.	October 2, 1995	Basel, Switzerland	Hard (i)	Jan Siemerink	6–7(2–7), 7–6(7–5), 5–7, 6–2, 7–5
Runner-up	12.	October 9, 1995	Toulouse, France	Hard (i)	Arnaud Boetsch	4–6, 7–6(7–5), 0–6
Winner	19.	March 4, 1996	Philadelphia, USA	Carpet	Chris Woodruff	6–4, 6–3
Winner	20.	January 6, 1997	Qatar, Doha	Hard	Tim Henman	7–5, 6–7(5–7), 6–2
Winner	21.	July 28, 1997	Los Angeles, USA	Hard	Thomas Enqvist	6–4, 6–4
Winner	22.	October 6, 1997	Beijing, China	Hard (i)	Magnus Gustafsson	7–6(12–10), 3–6, 6–3
Winner	23.	April 27, 1998	Orlando, USA	Clay	Michael Chang	7–5, 3–6, 7–5
Runner-up	13.	February 26, 1999	Memphis, USA	Hard (i)	Tommy Haas	4–6, 1–6