Jim Courier

Infobox Tennis player
playername = Jim Courier


country = flag|United States
residence = New York, U.S.
datebirth = birth date and age|mf=yes|1970|8|17
placebirth = Sanford, U.S.
height = height|ft=6|in=1
weight = convert|182|lb|kg st|abbr=on|lk=on
turnedpro = 1988
retired= 2000
plays = Right-handed; two-handed backhand
careerprizemoney = $14,034,132
singlesrecord= 506–237
singlestitles = 23 (27th in overall rankings)
highestsinglesranking = No. 1 (February 20, 1992)
AustralianOpenresult = W (1992, 1993)
FrenchOpenresult = W (1991, 1992)
Wimbledonresult = F (1993)
USOpenresult = F (1991)
doublesrecord= 124–97
doublestitles = 6
highestdoublesranking = No. 20 (October 9, 1989)
updated = June 29, 2006

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.

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 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. [David Wallechinsky and Jaime Louky, "The Complete Book of the Olympics," 2008 edition. (London: Aurum, 2008), p. 1022.]

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.

Playing style

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 and the US Open. 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.

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.

Grand Slam singles finals

Wins (4)

Masters Series singles finals

Wins (5)

Doubles runner-ups (5)

Major tournament singles performance timeline

A = did not participate in the tournament

SR = the ratio of the number of singles tournaments won to the number of those tournaments played

enior 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)

External links

*ATP|id=C243
*ITF male profile|number=10000303
*DavisCupplayerlink|id=10000303
* [http://www.tennisfame.com/famer.aspx?pgID=867&hof_id=80 International Tennis Hall of Fame Profile]