Yannick Noah

Yannick Noah
Country	France
Residence	-
Date of birth	May 18, 1960 (1960-05-18) (age 49)
Place of birth	Sedan, France
Height	6 ft 4 in (193 cm)
Weight	180 lbs (81 kg)
Turned pro	1977
Retired	1996
Plays	Right-handed
Career prize money	US$3,440,660
Singles
Career record:	476–210
Career titles:	23
Highest ranking:	3 (7-Jul-86)
Grand Slam results
Australian Open	SF (1990)
French Open	W (1983)
Wimbledon	3R (1979, 1985)
US Open	QF (1983, 1985, 1989)
Doubles
Career record:	213–109
Career titles:	16
Highest ranking:	1 (25-Aug-86)
Mixed Doubles
Career record:	{{{mixedrecord}}}
Career titles:	{{{mixedtitles}}}
Highest ranking:	{{{highestmixedranking}}}
Infobox last updated on: January 23, 2007.

Yannick Noah (born May 18, 1960, Sedan, Ardennes, France) is a former professional tennis player from France. He is best remembered for winning the men's singles title at the French Open in 1983, and as a highly-successful captain of France's Davis Cup and Fed Cup teams. Since his retirement from the game, Noah has remained in the public eye as a popular music performer and as the co-founder of a charity organization for underprivileged children with his mother.

Tennis career

Noah turned professional in 1977, and won his first top-level singles title in 1978 in Manila.

Noah became France's most prominent tennis hero in 1983, becoming the first Frenchman in 37 years to win the French Open. He dropped only one set during the two-week long tournament, and defeated the defending-champion Mats Wilander in straight sets in the final 6–2, 7–5, 7–6. Noah also became only the second black male to win a Grand Slam singles event (after Arthur Ashe). He remains the last native to have won the French Open men's singles title; this title also represents the last time a wooden tennis racket (in this case the Le coq Sportif TCO, a fiberglass-wood composite) was used to win a grand slam.

Especially endearing to French (and indeed many other) spectators was Noah's penchant for one particular tactic: when he was at the net and a lob was hit over his head, he would turn his back to the net, race back and attempt – often successfully – to hit the ball between his legs with his back still towards the net. Even today, when a player attempts such a move in a televised tournament, commentators often mention Noah's name.

During his career, which spanned almost two decades, Noah captured a total of 23 singles titles and 16 doubles titles. His highest singles ranking was third in the world, in 1986.

Noah won the French Open men's doubles title in 1984 (with compatriot and best friend Henri Leconte). He was also the men's doubles runner-up at the 1985 U.S. Open (with Leconte), and the 1987 French Open (with compatriot Guy Forget). In August 1986, Noah attained the World No. 1 doubles ranking, which he would hold for a total of 19 weeks.

Noah played on France's Davis Cup team for eleven years, with an overall win-loss record of 39-22 (26-15 in singles, and in 13-7 doubles). In 1982, he was part of the French team which reached the Davis Cup final, where they were defeated 4–1 by the United States.

Nine years later, in 1991, Noah captained the French team which won the Davis Cup for first time in 59 years, defeating a heavily-favoured US team 3–1 in the final. This feat was repeated in 1996, when France defeated Sweden 3–2 in the final held in Malmö.

In 1997, Noah captained France's Fed Cup team to its first-ever victory in that competition.

He notably admitted using marijuana prior to matches in 1981,^[1] saying that amphetamines were the real problem in tennis as they were performance enhancing drugs.

Noah was inducted into the International Tennis Hall of Fame in 2005.

Post-tennis career

Since retiring from playing tennis, Noah has developed a career as a popular singer, performing throughout Europe. He began his music career in 1991 with the album Black or What, featuring the popular track "Saga Africa" which he made the stadium sing with his players after the famous Davis Cup final win.

Noah made music news in the summer of 1997 with a new single entitled "Aux Rêves". His adaptation of "La Marseillaise" – originally written by Rouget de Lisle in 1792 and adopted as the French national anthem – succeeded in stirring controversy. The pacifist reworking of the strongly patriotic message of "La Marseillaise" led to protests from several war veterans' associations. However, it is now largely accepted, if not loved, as is Serge Gainsbourg's own take on the anthem.

In collaboration with Jean-Jacques Goldman, Noah released a second album in 2000 entitled simply Yannick Noah, and in October 2006, scored a major French radio airplay hit with the single Donne-moi une vie from a new album entitled Charango.

In 2005, Noah performed at Bob Geldof's Live 8 concert – a fundraiser aimed at alleviating poverty in Africa.

Noah is very active in charity work. He supports 'Enfants de la Terre', a charity run by his mother, Marie-Claire, and founded 'Fête le Mur' in 1996, a tennis charity for underprivileged children.

He is also the owner of a restaurant in Saint Barthelemy in the French West Indies called Do Brazil.

In his later years, Yannick has earned the nickname "Tonton Yannick" (Uncle Yannick) from his French fans.

Family

Yannick is the son of Zacharie Noah, a former Cameroonian football star who played professionally for Sedan-Torcy (France) in the 1960s and became a hero by leading the side to the French Cup, and Marie-Claire Perrier, a former school teacher.

From his former marriage to Cécilia Rhode (Miss Sweden 1978), Yannick has two children, Joakim and Yélena. The 6'11" Joakim played college basketball for the 2006 and 2007 NCAA Men's Division I Basketball National Champions the University of Florida Gators, and was drafted by the Chicago Bulls of the NBA as the 9th overall pick.

From his former marriage to model Heather Stewart-Whyte, Noah has two children named Elijah and Jénayé. He has also a son, Joalukas, with French producer Isabelle Camus who is currently his wife.

Grand Slam singles final

Win (1)

Year	Championship	Opponent in Final	Score in Final
1983	French Open	Mats Wilander	6–2, 7–5, 7–6

Grand Slam doubles finals

Win (1)

Year	Championship	Partnering	Opponents in Final	Score in Final
1984	French Open	Henri Leconte	Pavel Složil Tomáš Šmíd	6–4, 2–6, 3–6, 6–3, 6–2

Runner-ups (2)

Year	Championship	Partnering	Opponents in Final	Score in Final
1985	U.S. Open	Henri Leconte	Ken Flach Robert Seguso	6–7, 7–6, 7–6, 6–0
1987	French Open	Guy Forget	Anders Järryd Robert Seguso	6–7, 6–7, 6–3, 6–4, 6–2

Singles finals (36)

Wins (23)

No.	Date	Tournament	Surface	Opponent in the final	Score
1.	1978	Manila, Philippines	Clay	Peter Feigl	7–6, 6–0
2.	1978	Calcutta, India	Clay	Pascal Portes	6–3, 6–2
3.	1979	Nancy, France	Hard (i)	Jean-Louis Haillet	6–2, 5–7, 6–1, 7–5
4.	1979	Madrid, Spain	Clay	Manuel Orantes	6–3, 6–7, 6–3, 6–2
5.	1979	Bordeaux, France	Clay	Harold Solomon	6–0, 6–7, 6–1, 1–6, 6–4
6.	1981	Richmond WCT, United States	Carpet	Ivan Lendl	6–1, 3–1, ret.
7.	1981	Nice, France	Clay	Mario Martinez	6–4, 6–2
8.	1982	La Quinta, United States	Hard	Ivan Lendl	6–3, 2–6, 7–5
9.	1982	South Orange, United States	Clay	Raúl Ramírez	6–3, 7–6
10.	1982	Basel, Switzerland	Hard (i)	Mats Wilander	6–4, 6–2, 6–3
11.	1982	Toulouse, France	Hard (i)	Tomáš Šmíd	6–3, 6–2
12.	1983	Madrid, Spain	Clay	Henrik Sundström	3–6, 6–0, 6–2, 6–4
13.	1983	Hamburg, Germany	Clay	José Higueras	3–6, 7–5, 6–2, 6–0
14.	1983	French Open, Paris	Clay	Mats Wilander	6–2, 7–5, 7–6
15.	1985	Rome, Italy	Clay	Miloslav Mečíř	6–3, 3–6, 6–2, 7–6
16.	1985	Washington D.C., United States	Clay	Martín Jaite	6–4, 6–3
17.	1985	Toulouse, France	Hard (i)	Tomáš Šmíd	6–4, 6–4
18.	1986	Forest Hills, United States	Clay	Guillermo Vilas	7–6, 6–0
19.	1986	Wembley, England	Carpet	Jonas Svensson	6–2, 6–3, 6–7, 4–6, 7–5
20.	1987	Lyon, France	Carpet	Joakim Nyström	7–6, 4–6, 7–6
21.	1987	Basel, Switzerland	Hard (i)	Ronald Agenor	7–6, 6–4, 6–4
22.	1988	Milan, Italy	Carpet	Jimmy Connors	4–4, ret.
23.	1990	Sydney Outdoor, Australia	Hard	Carl-Uwe Steeb	5–7, 6–3, 6–4

Runner-ups (13)

No.	Date	Tournament	Surface	Opponent in the final	Score
1.	1978	Nice, France	Clay	José Higueras	6–3, 6–4, 6–4
2.	1980	Rome, Italy	Clay	Guillermo Vilas	6–0, 6–4, 6–4
3.	1981	Gstaad, Switzerland	Clay	Wojtek Fibak	6–1, 7–6
4.	1982	Nice, France	Clay	Balázs Taróczy	6–2, 3–6, 13–11
5.	1983	Lisbon, Portugal	Clay	Mats Wilander	2–6, 7–6, 6–4
6.	1984	La Quinta, U.S.	Hard	Jimmy Connors	6–2, 6–7, 6–3
7.	1985	Memphis, U.S.	Carpet	Stefan Edberg	6–1, 6–0
8.	1985	Basel, Switzerland	Hard (i)	Stefan Edberg	6–7, 6–4, 7–6, 6–1
9.	1986	La Quinta, U.S.	Hard	Joakim Nyström	6–1, 6–3, 6–2
10.	1986	Monte Carlo, Monaco	Clay	Joakim Nyström	6–3, 6–2
11.	1986	Basel, Switzerland	Hard (i)	Stefan Edberg	7–6, 6–2, 6–7, 7–6
12.	1987	Forest Hills, U.S.	Clay	Andrés Gómez	6–4, 7–6, 7–6
13.	1989	Indian Wells, U.S.	Hard	Miloslav Mečíř	3–6, 2–6, 6–1, 6–2, 6–3

Doubles titles (16)

No.	Date	Tournament	Surface	Partnering	Opponent in the final	Score
1.	1981	Nice, France	Clay	Pascal Portes	Chris Lewis Pavel Složil	4–6, 6–3, 6–4
2.	1981	Paris, France	Hard (i)	Ilie Năstase	Andrew Jarrett Jonathan Smith	6–4, 6–4
3.	1982	Nice, France	Clay	Henri Leconte	Paul McNamee Balázs Taróczy	5–7, 6–4, 6–3
4.	1982	Basel, Switzerland	Hard (i)	Henri Leconte	Fritz Buehning Pavel Složil	6–2, 6–2
5.	1984	French Open, Paris	Clay	Henri Leconte	Pavel Složil Tomáš Šmíd	6–4, 2–6, 3–6, 6–3, 6–2
6.	1985	Chicago, United States	Carpet	Johan Kriek	Ken Flach Robert Seguso	3–6, 4–6, 7–5, 6–1, 6–4
7.	1986	Monte Carlo, Monaco	Clay	Guy Forget	Joakim Nyström Mats Wilander	6–4, 3–6, 6–4
8.	1986	Rome, Italy	Clay	Guy Forget	Mark Edmondson Sherwood Stewart	7–6, 6–2
9.	1986	Basel, Switzerland	Hard (i)	Guy Forget	Jan Gunnarsson Tomáš Šmíd	7–6, 6–4
10.	1987	Lyon, France	Carpet	Guy Forget	Kelly Jones David Pate	4–6, 6–3, 6–4
11.	1987	Indian Wells, United States	Hard	Guy Forget	Boris Becker Eric Jelen	6–4, 7–6
12.	1987	Forest Hills, United States	Clay	Guy Forget	Gary Donnelly Peter Fleming	4–6, 6–4, 6–1
13.	1987	Rome, Italy	Clay	Guy Forget	Miloslav Mečíř Tomáš Šmíd	6–2, 6–7, 6–3
14.	1987	London/Queen's Club, England	Grass	Guy Forget	Rick Leach Tim Pawsat	6–4, 6–4
15.	1988	Orlando, United States	Hard	Guy Forget	Sherwood Stewart Kim Warwick	6–4, 6–4
16.	1990	Nice, France	Clay	Alberto Mancini	Marcelo Filippini Horst Skoff	6–4, 7–6

Runner-ups (9)

No.	Date	Tournament	Surface	Partnering	Opponent in the final	Score
1.	1978	Calcutta, India	Clay	Gilles Moretton	Sashi Menon Sherwood Stewart	7–6, 6–4
2.	1982	Toulouse, France	Hard (i)	Jean-Louis Haillet	Pavel Složil Tomáš Šmíd	6–4, 6–4
3.	1983	Monte Carlo, Monaco	Clay	Henri Leconte	Heinz Günthardt Balázs Taróczy	6–2, 6–4
4.	1984	Philadelphia, U.S.	Carpet	Henri Leconte	Peter Fleming John McEnroe	6–2, 6–3
5.	1985	U.S. Open, New York	Hard	Henri Leconte	Ken Flach Robert Seguso	6–7, 7–6, 7–6, 6–0
6.	1986	La Quinta, U.S.	Hard	Sherwood Stewart	Guy Forget Peter Fleming	6–4, 6–3
7.	1986	Masters Doubles, London	Carpet	Guy Forget	Stefan Edberg Anders Järryd	6–3, 7–6, 6–3
8.	1987	French Open, Paris	Clay	Guy Forget	Anders Järryd Robert Seguso	6–7, 6–7, 6–3, 6–4, 6–2
9.	1990	Bordeaux, France	Clay	Mansour Bahrami	Tomás Carbonell Libor Pimek	6–3, 6–7, 6–2

Discography

• 1990 Saga Africa
• 1991 Black & What
• 1993 Urban Tribu
• 1998 Zam Zam
• 2000 Yannick Noah
• 2003 Pokhara
• 2004 La Voix des sages
• 2005 Métisse
• 2006 Charango

References

1. ↑ Revelations uncover a father's anguish

External links

• Yannick Noah at the Association of Tennis Professionals
• Official Site
• International Tennis Hall of Fame profile
• tenniscorner.net profile
• Biography as pop musician, from Radio France Internationale