James Spencer "Jim" Courier (born August 17, 1970) is an American former world No. 1

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. He won four major singles titles, two at the French Open and two at the Australian Open. He was the youngest man to reach the singles finals of all four majors, at the age of 22 years and 11 months. He also won five Masters titles. Since 2005 he has worked as a tennis commentator, notably for the host broadcaster of the Australian Open,

Nine 9 is a number, numeral, and glyph. 9 or nine may also refer to: Dates * AD 9, the ninth year of the AD era * 9 BC, the ninth year before the AD era * 9, numerical symbol for the month of September Places * Nine, Portugal, a parish in the ...

(for which he also commentates and co-hosts

Australian Ninja Warrior ''Australian Ninja Warrior'' is a sports entertainment competition spin-off of the Japanese television series '' Sasuke'' which premiered on 9 July 2017 on the Nine Network. It features hundreds of competitors attempting to complete series of ...

), and as an analyst for

Tennis Channel Tennis Channel is an American sports-oriented digital cable and satellite television network owned by the Sinclair Television Group subsidiary of the Sinclair Broadcast Group. It is devoted to events and other programming related to the game of ...

and Prime Video Sport.

Tennis career

Courier was raised in

Dade City, Florida Dade City is a city in and the county seat of Pasco County, Florida, United States. It is located in the Tampa Bay Area. The population was 6,437 at the 2010 census. Dade City is popular with tourists for its antique stores, restaurants, and ...

, and though he excelled at youth sports in general, after a certain point it became clear that tennis was where his true talent lay. As a junior player in the 1980s, Courier attended the

Nick Bollettieri Tennis Academy IMG Academy is a preparatory boarding school and sports training destination in Bradenton, Florida, United States. IMG Academy is set across over 600 acres and features programs consisting of sport camps for youth athletes, adult camps, a board ...

and won the prestigious

Orange Bowl The Orange Bowl is an annual American college football bowl game played in the Miami metropolitan area. It has been played annually since January 1, 1935, making it, along with the Sugar Bowl and the Sun Bowl, the second-oldest bowl game ...

in 1986 and 1987 (the first to win back-to-back titles since

Ivan Lendl Ivan Lendl (; born March 7, 1960) is a Czech–American former professional tennis player. He is widely regarded as one of the greatest tennis players of all time. Lendl was ranked world No. 1 in singles for 270 weeks and won 94 singles titles. ...

), as well as the French Open junior doubles title in 1987. Courier turned professional in 1988 and made his Grand Slam breakthrough at the

1991 French Open The 1991 French Open was a tennis tournament that took place on the outdoor clay courts at the Stade Roland Garros in Paris, France. The tournament was held from 27 May until 9 June. It was the 95th staging of the French Open, and the second Gra ...

when he defeated Stefan Edberg and

Michael Stich Michael Detlef Stich (, ; born 18 October 1968) is a German former professional tennis player. He won the men's singles title at Wimbledon in 1991, the men's doubles titles at both Wimbledon and the Olympic Games in 1992, and was a singles r ...

to reach his first Grand Slam final. In the final he defeated his former Bollettieri Academy roommate

Andre Agassi Andre Kirk Agassi ( ; born April 29, 1970) is an American former world No. 1 tennis player. He is an eight-time major champion and an Olympic gold medalist, as well as a runner-up in seven other majors. Agassi is the second of five men to ac ...

in five sets to win his first Slam. He made the quarterfinals of

Wimbledon Wimbledon most often refers to: * Wimbledon, London, a district of southwest London * Wimbledon Championships, the oldest tennis tournament in the world and one of the four Grand Slam championships Wimbledon may also refer to: Places London * ...

before losing to eventual champion Stich. At the US Open he defeated defending champion

Pete Sampras Petros "Pete" Sampras ( el, Πέτρος Σάμπρας; born August 12, 1971) is an American former world No. 1 tennis player. His professional career began in 1988 and ended at the 2002 US Open, which he won, defeating longtime rival Andre ...

in the quarterfinals and then Jimmy Connors in the semifinals, before losing the final to Edberg. 1992 saw Courier defeat Edberg to win the Australian Open, and he celebrated by jumping into the nearby

Yarra River The Yarra River or historically, the Yarra Yarra River, ( Kulin languages: ''Berrern'', ''Birr-arrung'', ''Bay-ray-rung'', ''Birarang'', ''Birrarung'', and ''Wongete'') is a perennial river in south-central Victoria, Australia. The lower s ...

. He then followed this result by defeating future Grand Slam champions

Thomas Muster Thomas Muster (born 2 October 1967) is an Austrian former world No. 1 tennis player. One of the world's leading clay court players in the 1990s, he won the 1995 French Open and at his peak was called "The King of Clay". In addition, he won eig ...

Goran Ivanišević Goran Ivanišević (; born 13 September 1971) is a Croatian former professional tennis player and current coach. He is the only player to win a Wimbledon singles title as a wildcard. He achieved this in 2001 while ranked world No. 125, after ...

, Agassi and

Petr Korda Petr Korda (born 23 January 1968) is a Czech former professional tennis player. He won the 1998 Australian Open and was runner-up at the 1992 French Open, reaching a career-high ranking of No. 2 in February 1998. Korda tested positive for dopin ...

to successfully defend his French Open title. Afterward, Courier charmed the Parisian crowd by delivering a victory speech in French. Courier also enjoyed a 25-match winning streak during the season. In February of that year, following the San Francisco tournament, he became the tenth player to reach the world no. 1 ranking since the ranking system was implemented in 1973, and the first American since

John McEnroe John Patrick McEnroe Jr. (born February 16, 1959) is an American former professional tennis player. He was known for his shot-making and volleying skills, his rivalries with Björn Borg and Jimmy Connors, and his confrontational on-court beha ...

; 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 he was the top-seeded player at the Olympics in Barcelona, where he lost in the third round to eventual gold medalist

Marc Rosset Marc Rosset (born 7 November 1970) is a Swiss former professional tennis player. He is best known for winning the men's singles gold medal at the 1992 Summer Olympics. He also won a major doubles title, at the French Open in 1992 partnering com ...

from Switzerland. In 1993, Courier again won the Australian Open, defeating Edberg in the final for the second consecutive year, and jumped into the Yarra a second time, but it was to be his last such celebration after contracting a stomach bug from the muddy and polluted river. He reached his third consecutive French Open final, which he lost to

Sergi Bruguera Sergi Bruguera i Torner (; born 16 January 1971) is a former professional tennis player from Spain. He won consecutive men's singles titles at the French Open in 1993 and 1994, a silver medal at the 1996 Olympic Games in men's singles and reache ...

in five sets. He also reached the 1993

final, defeating Edberg in the semifinals, and lost to Sampras in four sets. By reaching the Wimbledon final, Courier had reached the finals of all four Grand Slams at the age of 22, a record which still stands in men's singles. Courier also became the first player since Rod Laver to reach the finals of the Australian, French and Wimbledon in the same season; the feat was not matched until 2006 by

Roger Federer Roger Federer (; born 8 August 1981) is a Swiss former professional tennis player. He was ranked List of ATP number 1 ranked singles tennis players#Weeks at No. 1, world No. 1 by the Association of Tennis Professionals (ATP) for 310 weeks, in ...

. 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, a feat accomplished by only seven other male players in the Open Era. Courier retired from the ATP tour in 2000. He was inducted into the

International Tennis Hall of Fame The International Tennis Hall of Fame is located in Newport, Rhode Island, United States. It honors both players and other contributors to the sport of tennis. The complex, the former Newport Casino, includes a museum, grass tennis courts, an indo ...

in 2005. Courier returned to the tour at the

2005 U.S. Men's Clay Court Championships The 2005 U.S. Men's Clay Court Championships was an Association of Tennis Professionals men's tennis tournament held in Houston, Texas in the United States. The event was played on outdoor clay courts and was part of the International Series of ...

when he received a wildcard into the doubles draw partnering

. The pair lost in the first round to eventual finalists Martín García and

Luis Horna Luis Horna Biscari (; born 14 September 1980, in Lima) is a former tour professional tennis player from Peru, who turned professional in 1998. Known by his nickname "Lucho", he won 2 career singles titles, reached the quarterfinals of the 2004 ...

in three sets. It would be the last match of Courier's career.

After retirement from top-level tennis

Since his retirement as a top-level player, Courier has served as a tennis analyst and commentator for the

USA Network USA Network (simply USA) is an American basic cable television channel owned by the NBCUniversal Television and Streaming division of Comcast's NBCUniversal through NBCUniversal Cable Entertainment. It was originally launched in 1977 as Madison ...

NBC Sports NBC Sports is an American programming division of the broadcast network NBC, owned and operated by NBC Sports Group division of NBCUniversal and subsidiary of Comcast. The division is responsible for sports broadcasts on the network, and its d ...

TNT Trinitrotoluene (), more commonly known as TNT, more specifically 2,4,6-trinitrotoluene, and by its preferred IUPAC name 2-methyl-1,3,5-trinitrobenzene, is a chemical compound with the formula C6H2(NO2)3CH3. TNT is occasionally used as a reagen ...

ITV ITV or iTV may refer to: ITV *Independent Television (ITV), a British television network, consisting of: ** ITV (TV network), a free-to-air national commercial television network covering the United Kingdom, the Isle of Man, and the Channel Islan ...

Sky Sports Sky Sports is a group of British subscription sports channels operated by the satellite pay television company Sky Group (a division of Comcast), and is the dominant subscription television sports brand in the United Kingdom and Ireland. It ...

and the

Seven 7 is a number, numeral, and glyph. 7 or seven may also refer to: * AD 7, the seventh year of the AD era * 7 BC, the seventh year before the AD era * The month of July Music Artists * Seven (Swiss singer) (born 1978), a Swiss recording artist ...

and

Nine Network The Nine Network (stylised 9Network, commonly known as Channel Nine or simply Nine) is an Australian commercial free-to-air television network. It is owned by parent company Nine Entertainment and is one of five main free-to-air television netw ...

. Since 2005 Courier has headed the commentary for the host broadcaster of the Australian Open, which was Seven from 2005 to 2018 and Nine since 2019. Courier calls many centre court men's singles matches for the network and often conducts the post-match on-court interviews with the winning player. He has also provided special comments on the network's

coverage since 2013. Courier started working with the British channel

for the French Open in 2012. In 2015, Courier worked with the British channel

for their US Open coverage. The Jim Courier Club House now stands on the grounds of the Dade City

Little League Little League Baseball and Softball (officially, Little League Baseball Inc) is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization Dade City, Florida Dade City is a city in and the county seat of Pasco County, Florida, United States. It is located in the Tampa Bay Area. The population was 6,437 at the 2010 census. Dade City is popular with tourists for its antique stores, restaurants, and ...

. Courier is an alumnus of that Little League program. In 2004, Courier founded InsideOut Sport & Entertainment, a New York-based event production company that owns and operates the Champions Series, Legendary Nights exhibitions as well as private corporate events. He also founded Courier's Kids, a non-profit organization that supports tennis programs in the inner city of

St. Petersburg, Florida St. Petersburg is a city in Pinellas County, Florida, United States. As of the 2020 census, the population was 258,308, making it the fifth-most populous city in Florida and the second-largest city in the Tampa Bay Area, after Tampa. It is the ...

. Courier currently competes on the Champions Series and in various charity exhibition matches. Courier married Susanna Lingman in 2010. On October 27, 2010, Courier was named captain of the

United States Davis Cup team The United States men's national tennis team represents the United States in Davis Cup tennis competition, and is governed by the United States Tennis Association. The U.S. competed in the first Davis Cup in 1900, when a group of Harvard Univer ...

, replacing

Patrick McEnroe Patrick William McEnroe (born July 1, 1966) is an American former professional tennis player, broadcaster, and former captain of the United States Davis Cup team. Born in Manhasset, New York, he is John McEnroe's youngest brother. He won one ...

. Courier stepped down from the role after the 2018 semi-final defeat to Croatia. Courier led his country with a 10-8 record and two semi-final appearances during his captaincy. In August 2019, Courier was working for Prime Video UK, for their exclusive coverage of the US Open.

Career statistics

Grand Slam finals

Singles finals: 7 (4 titles, 3 runner-ups)

Year-end championship

Singles finals: 2 (2 runner-ups)

ATP Super 9 / ATP Masters Series finals

Singles finals: 5 (5 titles)

Doubles finals: 5 (4 titles, 1 runner up)

Records

*These records were attained in

Open Era The racket sport traditionally named lawn tennis, invented in Birmingham, England now commonly known simply as tennis, is the direct descendant of what is now denoted real tennis or royal tennis, which continues to be played today as a separate sp ...

of tennis.

ATP career finals

Singles: 36 (23 titles, 13 runner-ups)

Doubles: 11 (6–5)

Singles performance timeline

Professional Awards

ITF World Champion The International Tennis Federation (ITF) designates a World Champion each year based on performances throughout the year, emphasising the Grand Slam tournaments,ITF Constitution, p.26, Rule 2.2(a)(iii) and also considering team events such as the ...

: 1992. * ATP Player of the Year: 1992.

Head-to-head

Courier has the following head-to-head records against the listed opponents (No. 1 ranked players in boldface): *

Michael Chang Michael Te-pei Chang (born February 22, 1972) is an American former professional tennis player and coach. He is the youngest man in history to win a singles major, winning the 1989 French Open at 17 years and 109 days old. Chang won a total of ...

(12–12) *

Wayne Ferreira Wayne Richard Ferreira (born 15 September 1971) is a South African former professional tennis player and current tennis coach. Career As a junior player, Ferreira was ranked world no. 1 junior doubles player and no. 6 junior singles player. He ...

(9–2) *

(8–3) *

Guy Forget Guy Forget (; born 4 January 1965) is a French tennis administrator and retired professional player. During his career, he helped France win the Davis Cup in both 1991 and 1996. Since retiring as a player, he has served as France's Davis Cup te ...

(7–1) * Richard Krajicek (7–1) *

(7–4) *

(7–5) *

Todd Martin Todd Martin (born July 8, 1970) is an American retired tennis player. He reached the men's singles final at the 1994 Australian Open and the 1999 US Open and achieved a career-high singles ranking of world No. 4. Playing career Martin was born ...

(6–1) *

Thomas Enqvist Thomas Karl Johan Enqvist (born 13 March 1974) is a Swedish former professional tennis player. He reached the final of the 1999 Australian Open and won a total of 19 singles titles, including three Masters titles. He has a career high ATP world ...

(6–2) * Stefan Edberg (6–4) *

(5–2) * Cédric Pioline (5–4) *

(5–7) *

Greg Rusedski Gregory Rusedski (born 6 September 1973) is a British and Canadian former tennis player. He was the British No. 1 in 1997, 1999 and 2006, and reached the ATP ranking of world No. 4 for periods from 6 October 1997 to 12 October 1997 and from 25 ...

(4–0) *

Andrei Chesnokov Andrei Eduardovich Chesnokov (russian: Андрей Эдуардович Чесноков, links=no; born 2 February 1966) is a former professional tennis player from Russia. Career Chesnokov's highest singles ranking was World No. 9 in 1991. ...

(4–6) *

(4–16) * Jimmy Connors (3–0) *

Tim Henman Timothy Henry Henman (born 6 September 1974) is a British former professional tennis player. Henman played a serve-and-volley style of tennis. He was the first British man to reach the singles semifinals of Wimbledon since Roger Taylor in th ...

(3–1) *

Karol Kučera Karol Kučera (born 4 March 1974) is a retired ATP professional male tennis player from Slovakia. He achieved a career-high singles ranking of World No. 6 in September 1998, reaching the semi-finals of the Australian Open the same year. In 2 ...

(3–1) *

Sjeng Schalken Sjeng Schalken (; born 8 September 1976) is a former professional tennis player from the Netherlands. Playing style A right-handed baseliner with a single-handed backhand, Schalken's game is characterised by his consistency of both wings and his ...

(3–1) *

David Wheaton David Wheaton (born June 2, 1969) is an American author, radio host, columnist, and former professional tennis player. Personal Born in Minneapolis as the youngest of four children. In his tennis carrier, he dated tennis star Mary Joe Fernández ...

(3–3) * Carlos Costa (2–1) *

Andrés Gómez Andrés Gómez Santos (; born 27 February 1960) is an Ecuadorian former professional tennis player. He won the men's singles title at the French Open in 1990. His son, Emilio Gómez, is a professional tennis player. His nephew Nicolás Lapent ...

(2–1) *

Carlos Moyá Carlos Moyá Llompart (; born 27 August 1976) is a Spanish former world No. 1 tennis player. He was the French Open singles champion in 1998 and was the singles runner-up at the 1997 Australian Open. In 2004, he was part of his country's succ ...

(2–1) *

Andrei Cherkasov Andrei Gennadievich Cherkasov (; born 4 July 1970) is a former professional tennis player from Russia. Career Born in Ufa, Soviet Union, Cherkasov first came to the tennis world's attention as an outstanding junior player. In 1987, he was ranke ...

(2–2) *

Albert Costa Albert Costa i Casals (; born 25 June 1975) is a Spanish former professional tennis player. He is best remembered for winning the Men's Singles title at the French Open in 2002. Tennis career Costa began playing tennis at the age of five. H ...

(2–2) * Brad Gilbert (2–2) *

Magnus Larsson Per Henrik ''Magnus'' Larsson (born 25 March 1970) is a former professional tennis player from Sweden. Playing career Larsson turned professional in 1989 and won his first top-level singles title at Florence in 1990. His first doubles title ...

(2–2) * Andrei Medvedev (2–2) * Jonathan Stark (2–2) *

Gustavo Kuerten Gustavo "Guga" Kuerten (; born 10 September 1976) is a Brazilian former world No. 1 tennis player. He won the French Open singles title three times (1997, 2000, and 2001), and was the Tennis Masters Cup champion in 2000. During his career he ...

(1–0) *

David Nalbandian David Pablo Nalbandian (; born 1 January 1982) is an Argentine retired professional tennis player who played on the ATP Tour from 2000 until his retirement in 2013. He reached the highest ranking in singles of world No. 3 in March 2006. Nalban ...

(1–0) *

Marat Safin Marat Mubinovich Safin ( rus, Мара́т Муби́нович Са́фин, , mɐˈrat ˈsafʲɪn, Ru-Marat-Safin.ogg; tt-Cyrl, Марат Мөбин улы Сафин; born 27 January 1980) is a Russian retired world No. 1 tennis player an ...

(1–1) *

Andrei Olhovskiy Andrei Stanislavovich Olhovskiy (russian: Андре́й Станисла́вович Ольхо́вский; ; born 15 April 1966) is a former tennis player from Russia, who turned professional in 1989. Career Olhovskiy represented the Sovie ...

(1–1) *

Slava Doseděl Slava may refer to: Ships * ''Slava'' class cruiser, a modern Russian warship ** Soviet cruiser Slava (1979), now Russian cruiser ''Moskva'', a ''Slava'' class guided missile cruiser sunk during the 2022 Russian invasion of Ukraine * Russian ba ...

(1–4) *

Yevgeny Kafelnikov Yevgeny Aleksandrovich Kafelnikov ( rus, Евгений Александрович Кафельников, , jɪvˈɡʲenʲɪj ˈkafʲɪlʲnʲɪkəf, a=Ru-Yevgeny-Kafelnikov.ogg; born 18 February 1974) is a Russian former world No. 1 tennis p ...

(1–5) * Boris Becker (1–6) *

Alberto Berasategui Alberto Berasategui Salazar (born 28 June 1973) is a former top-10 professional tennis player from Spain. He was a Grand Slam finalist at the 1994 French Open, and won a total of 14 ATP singles titles, achieving a career-high singles ranking ...

(0–2) *

Patrick Rafter Patrick Michael Rafter (born 28 December 1972) is an Australian former world No. 1 tennis player. He reached the top Association of Tennis Professionals (ATP) singles ranking on 26 July 1999. His career highlights include consecutive US Open ...

(0–3) *

Marcelo Ríos Marcelo Andrés Ríos Mayorga (; born 26 December 1975) is a Chilean former world No. 1 tennis player. Nicknamed ''"El Chino"'' ("The Chinese") and ''"El zurdo de Vitacura"'' ("The Lefty from Vitacura"), he became the first Latin American play ...

(0–3) *

Àlex Corretja Àlex Corretja i Verdegay (; born 11 April 1974) is a Spanish former professional tennis player. During his career, he was twice a major runner-up at the French Open (in 1998 and 2001), won the Tour Finals in 1998, reached a career-high single ...

(0–4) *

(0–4)

Top 10 wins

Champions Series titles

*2005:

Stanford Cup Houston Since 2006, the Champions Series is a series of tennis tournaments designed for former champion members of the ATP Tour. The Champions Series consists of tournaments played in select markets where top players of the sport compete in one-night, four- ...

– defeated

6–2, 6–3 *2006: Champions Cup Naples – defeated

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 ...

6–4, 7–6(8) *2006:

The Championships at the Palisades The Championships at the Palisades is an event in the Outback Champions Series for senior tennis players. It was held from 2006 through 2009 in Charlotte, North Carolina Charlotte ( ) is the most populous city in the U.S. state of North Carol ...

– defeated Martin 5–7, 7–6(6), 0–4*2008:

The Residences at the Ritz-Carlton Grand Cayman Legends Championship The Residences at the Ritz-Carlton Grand Cayman Legends Championship is an event in the Outback Champions Series for senior tennis players. It is held each year in Grand Cayman. Finals results 2008 Jim Courier defeated Wayne Ferreira Wayne ...

– defeated

7–6(3), 7–6(1) NOTE: In Champions Series tournaments, there are only two sets. A tiebreaker to ten is held instead of a third set.

References

External links

* * * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Courier, Jim 1970 births Living people American male tennis players American tennis coaches Australian Open (tennis) champions Australian television presenters French Open champions French Open junior champions Olympic tennis players of the United States People from Dade City, Florida Sportspeople from New York City Sportspeople from Sanford, Florida Tennis commentators International Tennis Hall of Fame inductees Tennis people from Florida Tennis people from New York (state) Tennis players at the 1992 Summer Olympics Grand Slam (tennis) champions in men's singles Grand Slam (tennis) champions in boys' doubles Masters tennis players Pasco High School (Florida) alumni ATP number 1 ranked singles tennis players ITF World Champions