Jim Courier
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| Country |  United States |
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| Residence | New York, U.S. | |
| Date of birth | August 17, 1970 | |
| Place of birth | Sanford, U.S. | |
| 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 | |
| Singles | ||
| Career record: | 506–237 | |
| Career titles: | 23 (27th in overall rankings) | |
| Highest ranking: | No. 1 (20 February 1992) | |
| Grand Slam results | ||
| Australian Open | W (1992, 1993) | |
| French Open | W (1991, 1992) | |
| Wimbledon | F (1993) | |
| US Open | F (1991) | |
| Doubles | ||
| Career record: | 124–97 | |
| Career titles: | 6 | |
| Highest ranking: | No. 20 (9 October 1989) | |
James Spencer "Jim" Courier, Jr. (born August 17, 1970, in Sanford, Florida) is a former world number one professional tennis player from the United States. During his ATP career, he won four Grand Slam singles titles – two at the French Open and two at the Australian Open. In 2004, he co-founded InsideOut Sports & Entertainment, a New York City based sports event company. He also co-founded Courier's Kids, a non-profit organization that supports after school tennis and education programs. Courier continues to compete today on the Outback Champions Series and in select exhibitions and events worldwide. He is on the board of directors of the International Tennis Hall of Fame, Courier's Kids, First Serve, and The Gullikson Foundation.
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[edit] Tennis career
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.
Courier turned professional in 1988 and made his Grand Slam breakthrough in 1991 when he won the French Open singles title, defeating his former Bollettieri Academy-mate Andre Agassi in five sets. He also reached the final of the US Open that year, where he lost to Stefan Edberg.
1992 saw Courier win both the Australian Open and French Open titles and enjoy a 25 match winning streak. 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. 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 1993, Courier again won the Australian Open. He reached his third consecutive French Open final, which he lost to Sergi Bruguera. He also reached the 1993 Wimbledon final, which he lost to Pete Sampras.
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.
In the 1990s Courier popularized wearing a baseball cap while on court.
Courier retired from the ATP tour in 2000. He was inducted into the International Tennis Hall of Fame in 2005.
[edit] Playing style
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Opponents who have beaten Courier often found the results to be a pyrrhic victory - a victory earned at a significant expenditure of energy. Courier preferred wars of attrition and long exchanges without a decrease in his energy level. Courier's reliance on his physical conditioning to win matches is reflected in his nickname, "The Rock." Courier often had training sessions immediately following his matches.
The prototypical baseliner, he utilized his western grip forehand with great effect and often dictated play against more well-rounded opponents. His physical, "grinding" style of play, however, often overshadowed an excellent sense of court positioning. Not characteristically described as a defensive player despite his success on clay, Courier often toed the baseline, and at the correct moment, pounced on balls with his visually unconventional and powerfully compact forehand.
His forehand was an effective weapon on a multitude of surfaces as demonstrated by his two French Open and Australian Open titles and by his runner-up finish at Wimbledon. He also possessed one of the best returns-of-serve in the game, as well as a servicable backhand and serve. He was not comfortable volleying, however, rarely venturing to net except to finish off points set up with his big forehand.
His signature shot was the "inside-out" forehand, which often enabled him to circumvent or at least minimize the usage of his weaker backhand wing. With the emergence of a new generation of players who possessed groundstrokes that often matched, and eventually surpassed Courier's forehand, he faced a steady decline in results despite his physical conditioning.
[edit] After retirement from ATP tennis
Since his retirement as an ATP player, Courier has served as a tennis analyst and commentator for the USA Network, NBC Sports, TNT and the Seven Network. He is a frequent commentator for Australian Open matches on the Seven Network.
In 2004, Courier founded InsideOut Sport & Entertainment, a New York based event promotion company that owns and operates the Outback Champions Series, the Ultimate Fantasy Camp, and the Legendary Nights exhibition series. He also has founded Courier's Kids, a non-profit organization that supports tennis in the inner city of St. Petersburg, Florida.
He currently competes on the BlackRock Tour of Champions and the Outback Champions Series and in various charity exhibition matches.
In 2004, Courier won three of the six BlackRock tournaments he played. In 2005, Courier finished #1 on that tour with two more tournament wins.
In March 2006, Courier won the Outback tournament in Naples, Florida, defeating Pat Cash in the final, and in Charlotte, North Carolina, defeating Todd Martin in the final. Courier finished the year #1 in the Outback series.
Courier is currently scheduled to play in 2007 Outback Champions Series tournaments in Naples, Boston, Newport, Charlotte, Dallas, and Houston as well as select exhibitions and events worldwide.
[edit] Grand Slam singles finals
[edit] Wins (4)
| Year | Championship | Opponent in Final | Score in Final |
| 1991 | French Open | Andre Agassi |
3–6, 6–4, 2–6, 6–1, 6–4 |
| 1992 | Australian Open |  Stefan Edberg |
6–3, 3–6, 6–4, 6–2 |
| 1992 | French Open (2) |  Petr Korda |
7–5, 6–2, 6–1 |
| 1993 | Australian Open (2) | Stefan Edberg |
6–2, 6–1, 2–6, 7–5 |
[edit] Runner-ups (3)
| Year | Championship | Opponent in Final | Score in Final |
| 1991 | U.S. Open | Stefan Edberg |
6–2, 6–4, 6–0 |
| 1993 | French Open |  Sergi Bruguera |
6–4, 2–6, 6–2, 3–6, 6–3 |
| 1993 | Wimbledon | Pete Sampras |
7–6, 7–6, 3–6, 6–3 |
[edit] Tennis Masters Cup singles finals
[edit] Runner-ups (2)
| Year | Championship | Opponent in Final | Score in Final |
| 1991 | Frankfurt | Pete Sampras |
3–6, 7–6(5), 6–3, 6–4 |
| 1992 | Frankfurt |  Boris Becker |
6–4, 6–3, 7–5 |
[edit] Masters Series singles finals
[edit] Wins (5)
| Year | Championship | Opponent in Final | Score in Final |
| 1991 | Indian Wells |  Guy Forget |
4–6, 6–3, 4–6, 6–3, 7–6(4) |
| 1991 | Key Biscayne | David Wheaton |
4–6, 6–3, 6–4 |
| 1992 | Rome | Carlos Costa |
7–6(3), 6–0, 6–4 |
| 1993 | Indian Wells (2) |  Wayne Ferreira |
6–3, 6–3, 6–1 |
| 1993 | Rome (2) |  Goran Ivanišević |
6–1, 6–2, 6–2 |
[edit] Career finals
[edit] Singles wins (23)
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[edit] Singles runner-ups (13)
| No. | Date | Tournament | Surface | Opponent in the final | Score |
| 1. | 9 September 1991 | U.S. Open, New York | Hard | Stefan Edberg |
6–2, 6–4, 6–0 |
| 2. | 18 November 1991 | Singles Championships, Frankfurt | Carpet | Pete Sampras |
3–6, 7–6, 6–3, 6–4 |
| 3. | 10 February 1992 | San Francisco, U.S. | Hard (i) | Michael Chang |
6–3, 6–3 |
| 4. | 17 February 1992 | Brussels, Belgium | Carpet | Boris Becker |
6–7(5), 2–6, 7–6(10), 7–6(5), 7–5 |
| 5. | 24 August 1992 | Indianapolis, U.S. | Hard | Pete Sampras |
6–4, 6–4 |
| 6. | 23 November 1992 | Singles Championships, Frankfurt | Carpet | Boris Becker |
6–4, 6–3, 7–5 |
| 7. | 19 April 1993 | Hong Kong | Hard | Pete Sampras |
6–3, 6–7(1), 7–6(2) |
| 8. | 7 June 1993 | French Open, Paris | Clay | Sergi Bruguera |
6–4, 2–6, 6–2, 3–6, 6–3 |
| 9. | 5 July 1993 | Wimbledon, London | Grass | Pete Sampras |
7–6(3), 7–6(6), 3–6, 6–3 |
| 10. | 18 April 1994 | Nice, France | Clay | Alberto Berasategui |
6–4, 6–2 |
| 11. | 24 October 1994 | Lyon, France | Carpet |  Marc Rosset |
6–4, 7–6(2) |
| 12. | 9 October 1995 | Toulouse, France | Hard (i) | Arnaud Boetsch |
6–4, 6–7(5), 6–0 |
| 13. | 26 February 1999 | Memphis, U.S. | Hard (i) | Tommy Haas |
6–4, 6–1 |
[edit] Doubles wins (6)
| No. | Date | Tournament | Surface | Partnering | Opponent in the final | Score |
| 1. | 22 May 1989 | Rome, Italy | Clay | Pete Sampras |
.svg/22px-Flag_of_Brazil_(1968-1992).svg.png){kind=small} Danilo Marcelino Mauro Menezes |
6–4, 6–3 |
| 2. | 14 May 1990 | Hamburg, Germany | Clay | Sergi Bruguera |
Udo Riglewski Michael Stich |
7–6, 6–2 |
| 3. | 11 March 1991 | Indian Wells, U.S. | Hard | Javier Sánchez |
Guy Forget Henri Leconte |
7–6, 3–6, 6–3 |
| 4. | 19 April 1993 | Montreal, Canada | Hard |  Mark Knowles |
 Glenn Michibata David Pate |
6–4, 7–6 |
| 5. | 9 January 1995 | Adelaide, Australia | Hard |  Patrick Rafter |
 Byron Black Grant Connell |
7–6, 6–4 |
| 6. | 26 April 1999 | Orlando, U.S. | Clay | Todd Woodbridge |
Bob Bryan Mike Bryan |
7–6(4), 6–4 |
[edit] Doubles runner-ups (5)
| No. | Date | Tournament | Surface | Partnering | Opponent in the final | Score |
| 1. | 8 May 1989 | Forest Hills, U.S. | Clay | Pete Sampras |
Rick Leach Jim Pugh |
6–4, 6–2 |
| 2. | 21 May 1990 | Rome, Italy | Clay | Marty Davis |
Sergio Casal Emilio Sánchez |
7–6, 7–5 |
| 3. | 11 April 1994 | Barcelona, Spain | Clay | Javier Sánchez |
 Yevgeny Kafelnikov David Rikl |
5–7, 6–1, 6–4 |
| 4. | 6 October 1997 | Beijing, China | Hard (i) | Alex O'Brien |
 Mahesh Bhupathi Leander Paes |
7–5, 7–6 |
| 5. | 11 January 1999 | Adelaide, Australia | Hard | Patrick Galbraith |
 Gustavo Kuerten Nicolás Lapentti |
6–4, 6–4 |
[edit] Major tournament singles performance timeline
| Tournament | 1988 | 1989 | 1990 | 1991 | 1992 | 1993 | 1994 | 1995 | 1996 | 1997 | 1998 | 1999 | 2000 | Career SR |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Australian Open | A | A | 2R | 4R | W | W | SF | QF | QF | 4R | A | 3R | 1R | 2 / 10 |
| French Open | A | 4R | 4R | W | W | F | SF | 4R | QF | 1R | 2R | 2R | A | 2 / 11 |
| Wimbledon | A | 1R | 3R | QF | 3R | F | 2R | 2R | 1R | 1R | 1R | 4R | A | 0 / 11 |
| U.S. Open | 2R | 3R | 2R | F | SF | 4R | 2R | SF | A | 1R | A | 1R | A | 0 / 10 |
| Grand Slam SR | 0 / 1 | 0 / 3 | 0 / 4 | 1 / 4 | 2 / 4 | 1 / 4 | 0 / 4 | 0 / 4 | 0 / 3 | 0 / 4 | 0 / 2 | 0 / 4 | 0 / 1 | 4 / 42 |
| ATP Tour World Championships | A | A | A | F | F | RR | A | RR | A | A | A | A | A | 0 / 4 |
| Year End Ranking | 43 | 24 | 25 | 2 | 1 | 3 | 13 | 8 | 26 | 21 | 77 | 34 | 290 | N/A |
A = did not participate in the tournament
SR = the ratio of the number of singles tournaments won to the number of those tournaments played
[edit] Senior tour titles
- 2005: Stanford Cup Houston - defeated Todd Martin 6-2, 6-3
- 2006: Champions Cup Naples - defeated Pat Cash 6-4, 7-6(8)
- 2006: The Championships at the Palisades - defeated Martin 5-7, 7-6(6), 10-4 (tiebreaker)
- 2008: The Residences at the Ritz-Carlton Grand Cayman Legends Championship - defeated Wayne Ferreira 7-6(3), 7-6(1)
[edit] External links
- ATP Tour profile for Jim Courier
- ITF profile for Jim Courier
- Davis Cup profile for Jim Courier
- International Tennis Hall of Fame Profile
| Sporting positions | ||
|---|---|---|
| Preceded by Stefan Edberg Stefan Edberg Stefan Edberg |
World No. 1 February 10, 1992 - March 22, 1992 April 13, 1992 - September 13, 1992 October 5, 1992 - April 11, 1993 |
Succeeded by Stefan Edberg Stefan Edberg Pete Sampras |
| Awards | ||
| Preceded by Stefan Edberg |
ITF World Champion 1992 |
Succeeded by Pete Sampras |
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