Glenn Michibata (born 13 June 1962) is a 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 and former head coach of the
Princeton University Tigers tennis team.
Playing career
Collegiate career
Before turning pro, Michibata was an All-American player at Pepperdine University in the 1981, 1982 and 1983 seasons.
Professional career – singles
An
ATP touring professional from 1983 to 1993, Michibata earned a career-high singles ranking of World No. 48 in April 1986. His best results were the semifinals at the 1985 outdoor Tokyo, 1989 Wellington, and 1989 Schenectady Grand Prix events.
Michibata reached the second round in all four
Grand Slam
Grand Slam most often refers to:
* Grand Slam (tennis), one player or pair winning all four major annual tournaments, or the tournaments themselves
Grand Slam or Grand slam may also refer to:
Games and sports
* Grand slam, winning category te ...
tournaments, but never further. His first Grand Slam appearance was at the
1983 US Open, when he lost in the second round to
Pat Cash
Patrick Hart Cash (born 27 May 1965) is an Australian former professional tennis player. He reached a career-high ATP singles ranking of world No. 4 in May 1988 and a career-high ATP doubles ranking of world No. 6 in August 1988. Upon winning ...
. His last was also at the US Open in
1991
File:1991 Events Collage.png, From left, clockwise: Boris Yeltsin, elected as Russia's first president, waves the new flag of Russia after the 1991 Soviet coup d'état attempt, orchestrated by Soviet hardliners; Mount Pinatubo erupts in the Phi ...
, when he lost in the first round to
Nuno Marques
Nuno Miguel Bacelar de Vasconcelos Marques (born 9 April 1970) is a Portuguese former tennis player. He was the first Portuguese to reach the top 100 ATP rankings and held the record of highest ranked Portuguese player in history until Frederico ...
. Michibata only played all four Grand Slams in the same year in 1989, reaching the second round at the
French Open and
US Open and losing in the first round at the
Australian Open and
Wimbledon.
Professional career – doubles
Michibata had more success as a doubles player. Much of this success came with fellow Canadian
Grant Connell
Grant Connell (Pronounced: KAHN-nell) (born November 17, 1965) is a former professional tennis player from Canada, and has been a real estate agent for the past 14 years in Vancouver. He specializes in West Vancouver North Vancouver and Downtow ...
, including four titles. In 1990, Michibata and Connell were finalists at the
Australian Open. Michibata's highest doubles ranking was #5 on 8 July 1991 after he and Connell reached the semifinals of both the
French Open and
Wimbledon. Coincidentally, they lost both of these semifinals to
John Fitzgerald and
Anders Järryd
Anders Per Järryd (; born 13 July 1961) is a former professional tennis player from Sweden. During his career he won eight Grand Slam doubles titles (three French Open, two Wimbledon, two US Open, one Australian Open), reached the world No ...
.
Davis Cup and Olympics
Michibata competed for 14 Canadian Davis Cup teams between 1982 and 1992. He went 4 and 10 in singles and 7 and 8 in doubles. The Connell-Michibata pair won a crucial match in a 1990 tie against the Dutchmen
Paul Haarhuis
Paul Vincent Nicholas Haarhuis (born 19 February 1966) is a Dutch former professional tennis player. He is a former world No. 1 doubles player, having reached a career-high singles ranking of world No. 18 in November 1995. He won six Grand Sl ...
and
Mark Koevermans
Mark Koevermans (born 3 February 1968) is a former tennis player from the Netherlands, who turned professional in 1987. He represented his native country as a lucky loser at the 1992 Summer Olympics in Barcelona, where he was defeated in the th ...
7–6
(5), 7–6
(5), 6–2, as Canada defeated the Netherlands 3–2 in the qualifying round for the 1991 World Group. Unfortunately the Canadian team as well as the Connell-Michibata pairing lost in the first round of the World Group in 1991 as well as the following year, two of the only three times Canada has competed in the World Group since its inception in 1981.
Michibata also competed in
Men's Doubles with
Grant Connell
Grant Connell (Pronounced: KAHN-nell) (born November 17, 1965) is a former professional tennis player from Canada, and has been a real estate agent for the past 14 years in Vancouver. He specializes in West Vancouver North Vancouver and Downtow ...
at the
1988 Olympics in Seoul. They were seeded 6th, but lost in the first round to
Moreten Christensen and
Michael Tauson of Denmark.
Coaching career
After retiring as a player, Michibata became the director of tennis at Whistler Racquet and Golf Resort in Whistler, British Columbia. Also, Michibata coached the doubles team of fellow Canadian
Daniel Nestor and
Mark Knowles
Mark Knowles (born 4 September 1971) is a Bahamian professional tennis coach and former professional tennis player, becoming the former number 1 in world as a specialist in doubles tennis. He won three of the four Grand Slam tournaments in ...
for two years (1995–1997).
In 1997, Michibata became an assistant tennis coach at the University of Southern California, staying there until 2000, when he moved to Princeton University to become the head coach of its tennis program. He remained at Princeton for 12 years during which time he had a 145–121 record, including winning records in seven Ivy League seasons, and three Ivy League Players of the Year.
Michibata has remained in the Princeton area, and he is currently director of elite and tournament training for the Princeton Tennis Program, where he coaches many nationally ranked players.
Personal life
Michibata is married and has a son and a daughter. In 1999, he was inducted into both the Canadian Tennis Hall of Fame in 1999. and the Etobicoke Sports Hall of Fame. Michibata and Grant Connell were inducted into the Rogers Cup Hall of Fame in 2010.
ATP career finals
Doubles: 27 (4 titles, 23 runner-ups)
Performance timelines
Singles
Doubles
Mixed Doubles
References
External links
*
*
*
Etobicoke Sports Hall of Fame Inductee '99 Video for Michibata
{{DEFAULTSORT:Michibata, Glenn
1962 births
Living people
Canadian expatriate sportspeople in the United States
Canadian male tennis players
Canadian tennis coaches
People from West Windsor, New Jersey
Pepperdine Waves men's tennis players
Princeton Tigers men's tennis coaches
Tennis players from Toronto
Canadian sportspeople of Japanese descent