Frederick V. McNair IV (born July 22, 1950) is an American former professional

tennis Tennis is a racket sport that is played either individually against a single opponent ( singles) or between two teams of two players each ( doubles). Each player uses a tennis racket that is strung with cord to strike a hollow rubber ball ...

player who reached the world No. 1 doubles ranking in 1976. That year, he teamed up with

Sherwood Stewart Sherwood Stewart (born June 6, 1946) is a former professional tennis player who was active in the 1970s and 1980s. Stewart was ranked as high as No. 60 in the world in singles on the ATP Rankings on December 31, 1978, and No. 4 in doubles on J ...

to capture the men's doubles titles at

French Open The French Open (french: Internationaux de France de tennis), also known as Roland-Garros (), is a major tennis tournament held over two weeks at the Stade Roland Garros in Paris, France, beginning in late May each year. The tournament and ven ...

, the German Open and the Masters. McNair was also a mixed doubles runner-up at the French Open in 1981, partnering

Betty Stöve Betty Flippina Stöve (born 24 June 1945) is a Dutch former professional tennis player. She is best remembered for reaching the ladies' singles final, the ladies' doubles final and the mixed doubles final during the same year at Wimbledon in 19 ...

. In 1978, he was a member of the U.S. team that won the

Davis Cup The Davis Cup is the premier international team event in men's tennis. It is run by the International Tennis Federation (ITF) and is contested annually between teams from competing countries in a knock-out format. It is described by the organis ...

. In nine years on the professional tour, McNair won 16 doubles titles. His career-high singles ranking was world No. 67.

History

Before turning professional, McNair played tennis for the

University of North Carolina The University of North Carolina is the multi-campus public university system for the state of North Carolina. Overseeing the state's 16 public universities and the NC School of Science and Mathematics, it is commonly referred to as the UNC Sy ...

, where he was a four-time All-American and an

NCAA The National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) is a nonprofit organization that regulates student athletics among about 1,100 schools in the United States, Canada, and Puerto Rico. It also organizes the athletic programs of colleges an ...

doubles finalist in 1973. McNair comes from a tennis playing family. His grandfather,

Frederick V. McNair Jr. Frederick Vallette McNair Jr. (March 13, 1882 – September 2, 1962) was an officer of the United States Navy and a recipient of the Medal of Honor for his actions at the beginning of the U.S. occupation of Veracruz, Mexico. McNair was a gra ...

, and father, Fred III, both played in the U.S. Championships (now known as the US Open). Fred III and Fred IV formed a father-son doubles team which won six U.S. national father and son doubles championship titles. Since retiring from the tennis tour, McNair has become the president of McNair & Company Inc., a family practice founded by his grandfather in 1931 which uses life insurance in estate planning and executive benefits arena. He won the

United States Tennis Association The United States Tennis Association (USTA) is the national governing body for tennis in the United States. A not-for-profit organization with more than 700,000 members, it invests 100% of its proceeds to promote and develop the growth of tennis, ...

35-over tennis title in 1989 and 40-over title in 1995. McNair's father Frederick V. McNair III, grandfather Frederick V. McNair Jr., and great-grandfather Frederick V. McNair Sr., all graduated from the

United States Naval Academy The United States Naval Academy (US Naval Academy, USNA, or Navy) is a federal service academy in Annapolis, Maryland. It was established on 10 October 1845 during the tenure of George Bancroft as Secretary of the Navy. The Naval Academy ...

. His uncle Jamshidi "Jim" Bakhtiar worked as a psychiatrist and he was a fullback/

placekicker Placekicker, or simply kicker (PK or K), is the player in gridiron football who is responsible for the kicking duties of field goals and extra points. In many cases, the placekicker also serves as the team's kickoff specialist or punter. Spe ...

at the

University of Virginia The University of Virginia (UVA) is a Public university#United States, public research university in Charlottesville, Virginia. Founded in 1819 by Thomas Jefferson, the university is ranked among the top academic institutions in the United S ...

. Jim was selected by the

Football Writers Association of America The Football Writers Association of America (FWAA) is an organization of college football media members in the United States founded in 1941. It is composed of approximately 1,200 professional sports writers from both print and Internet media out ...

as a first-team back on its 1957 College Football All-America Team. His sister

Lailee Bakhtiar Lailee Inez Bakhtiar (née McNair, formerly van Dillen; born June 10, 1951), is an American poet and novelist. Published in 2021, ''Esther Entering Your Destiny'' is the author's new non-fiction book about the historical and Biblical figure of ''E ...

, née McNair, is a writer and a niece of

Laleh Bakhtiar Laleh Mehree Bakhtiar (born Mary Nell Bakhtiar; July 29, 1938 – October 18, 2020) was an Iranian-American Islamic and Sufi scholar, author, translator, and clinical psychologist. Bakhtiar was the first American woman to translate the Quran i ...

, who was an author and psychologist. The McNair siblings' other aunt was also Lailee. His maternal cousin is journalist

Davar Ardalan Iran Davar Ardalan (born April 1, 1964) is a tech entrepreneur, journalist, and author based in Washington, D.C. Known as Davar Ardalan, she is the Executive Producer of Audio at National Geographic and has served as co-chair of the Cultural Her ...

. McNair is of Iranian descent on his maternal side.

Career finals

Doubles (16 titles, 22 runner-ups)

References

External links

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Mid Atlantic Tennis Foundation Hall of Fame profileMcNair & Company Inc.
{{DEFAULTSORT:McNair, Fred American male tennis players French Open champions North Carolina Tar Heels men's tennis players People from Washington, D.C. Tennis players from Washington, D.C. 1950 births Living people Grand Slam (tennis) champions in men's doubles Universiade medalists in tennis Universiade bronze medalists for the United States Medalists at the 1970 Summer Universiade American people of Iranian descent Sportspeople of Iranian descent