Joel Bailey (born April 25, 1951) 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 from the United States.

Biography

Bailey was born in Florida but based in Memphis, Tennessee. An

All-America The All-America designation is an annual honor bestowed upon an amateur sports person from the United States who is considered to be one of the best amateurs in their sport. Individuals receiving this distinction are typically added to an All-Am ...

n varsity tennis player at

Samford University Samford University is a private Christian university in Homewood, Alabama. In 1841, the university was founded as Howard College by Baptists. Samford University describes itself as the 87th oldest institution of higher learning in the United Sta ...

, Bailey began competing internationally in the late 1970s. He won a

Grand Prix Grand Prix ( , meaning ''Grand Prize''; plural Grands Prix), is a name sometimes used for competitions or sport events, alluding to the winner receiving a prize, trophy or honour Grand Prix or grand prix may refer to: Arts and entertainment ...

doubles title in

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, Nigeria with

Bruce Kleege Robert Bruce Kleege (born November 1, 1954), known as Bruce Kleege, is a former professional tennis player from the United States. Biography Early years and college Kleege grew up in La Jolla, California, but was born in Frankfurt, West Germany. ...

in 1979. In singles, he had his first big match win at Sarasota in 1980 when he saved triple match points to upset

Steve Krulevitz Steve "Lightning" Krulevitz (born May 30, 1951) is an American-Israeli former professional tennis player, and current coach. Playing for UCLA, he was an All-American. He won gold medals for the United States in singles and doubles at the 1977 M ...

, from a set and 2–5 down. He had only entered the tournament as a wild card, which was awarded as he was the son of Mack Bailey, who owned the company that sponsored the tournament. At the

Tulsa Tulsa () is the second-largest city in the U.S. state, state of Oklahoma and List of United States cities by population, 47th-most populous city in the United States. The population was 413,066 as of the 2020 United States census, 2020 census. ...

that year he made the quarter-finals, his best performance in a Grand Prix tournament. He competed in the main draw of the

1981 Wimbledon Championships The 1981 Wimbledon Championships was a tennis tournament that took place on the outdoor grass courts at the All England Lawn Tennis and Croquet Club in Wimbledon, London, United Kingdom. The tournament ran from 22 June until 4 July. It was the 95 ...

and had a two set lead over Kevin Curren in their first round encounter, but lost in five. From the 1980s he lived in Japan and appeared in many tournaments in that country, as well as earning a living teaching tennis. He twice won the doubles title at the

ATP Challenger The ATP Challenger Tour, known until the end of 2008 as the ATP Challenger Series, is a series of international men's professional tennis tournaments. The Challenger Tour events are the second-highest tier of tennis competition, behind the ATP T ...

event in

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Grand Prix career finals

Doubles: 1 (1–0)

Challenger titles

Doubles: (3)

References

External links

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Bailey, Joel 1951 births Living people American male tennis players Samford University alumni Tennis players from Florida Sportspeople from West Palm Beach, Florida American expatriate sportspeople in Japan College men's tennis players in the United States