Jimmy Connors

About

Jimmy is a former world no. 1 tennis player from the United States and the only man to win U.S. Open singles championships on grass, clay, and hard courts. He is considered by many to be one of the greatest tennis players of all time.

Jimmy Connors won eight Grand Slam singles titles and two Grand Slam doubles titles. He was also a runner-up seven times in Grand Slam singles, a doubles runner-up 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.

Connors’ career win-loss record of 1241-277 (81.75%) is third after Bjorn 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 and most Grand Slam quarterfinals reached.

Jimmy established himself as a commentator 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.

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.

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.

Connors has also served as a commentator and analyst for the Tennis Channel since the 2009 US Open tournament.

One of the most respected figures in Grand Slam history, Jimmy Connors is in demand as an after dinner speaker and event host.