Steve Johnson (tennis)
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Steve "Stevie" Johnson Jr. (born December 24, 1989) is an American 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. For one week in August 2016 he was the top-ranked
American American(s) may refer to: * American, something of, from, or related to the United States of America, commonly known as the "United States" or "America" ** Americans, citizens and nationals of the United States of America ** American ancestry, pe ...
in men's singles. He has a career-high singles ranking of world No. 21 achieved on July 25, 2016 and a doubles ranking of world No. 39 achieved on May 23, 2016. He has won four
ATP Challenger Tour 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 ...
titles and four ATP Tour 250 titles, one at Nottingham on grass, twice at Houston on clay and most recently at Newport on grass. He won a bronze medal in men's doubles at the
2016 Olympics ) , nations = 207 (including IOA and EOR teams) , athletes = 11,238 , events = 306 in 28 sports (41 disciplines) , opening = 5 August 2016 , closing = 21 August 2016 , opened_by = Vice President Michel Temer , cauldron = Vanderlei Cordeiro ...
with fellow American
Jack Sock Jack Sock (born September 24, 1992) is an American professional tennis player. He has won four career ATP singles titles and 17 doubles titles, and has career-high rankings of world No. 8 in singles (on 20 November 2017) and world No. 2 in dou ...
. Johnson played
college tennis The Intercollegiate Tennis Association (ITA) is the governing body and coaches association of college tennis, both an advocate and authority, overseeing men’s and women’s varsity tennis at all levels – NCAA Division I, NCAA Division II, NC ...
for the
USC Trojans The USC Trojans are the College athletics in the United States, intercollegiate athletic teams that represent the University of Southern California (USC), located in Los Angeles, Los Angeles, California. While the men's teams are nicknamed the ' ...
. He won the NCAA Men's Singles Championship in his junior and senior seasons (2011–2012), and he was a part of a Trojan team that won four consecutive NCAA Championships.


Personal life

His father, Steve Johnson Sr. (died May 11, 2017, aged 58), was a tennis coach at the Rancho
San Clemente San Clemente (; Spanish for " St. Clement") is a city in Orange County, California. Located in the Orange Coast region of the South Coast of California, San Clemente's population was 64,293 in at the 2020 census. Situated roughly midway betwee ...
Tennis and Fitness Club, and his mother, Michelle, is a mathematics professor. His older sister, Alison, is a graduate of
Sonoma State University Sonoma State University (SSU, Sonoma State, or Sonoma) is a public university in Rohnert Park in Sonoma County, California, US. It is one of the smallest members of the California State University (CSU) system. Sonoma State offers 92 Bachelor's d ...
. Johnson has credited his father with his success in tennis: "He taught me pretty much everything I know. Since I can remember, it's always been me and him out there hitting balls, having a blast. It's really been amazing. I wouldn't change anything." Growing up, he idolized
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 ...
and
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 ach ...
. At
USC USC most often refers to: * University of South Carolina, a public research university ** University of South Carolina System, the main university and its satellite campuses **South Carolina Gamecocks, the school athletic program * University of ...
, Johnson was coached by Peter Smith and majored in Human Performance, but left when he was three classes short of attaining his degree. Johnson hopes to complete his degree after his tennis career. In July 2012, Johnson signed a clothing deal with Asics America and is represented by Sam Duvall at Lagardere Unlimited. He currently trains at the USTA Player Development Center West in
Carson, California Carson is a city in Los Angeles County, California, United States, in the South Bay region of Los Angeles, located south of downtown Los Angeles and approximately away from Los Angeles International Airport. Incorporated on February 20, 1968, ...
. Johnson is currently working with the
USTA 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, ...
and travels with other Americans. His personal coach is Craig Boynton, who is a USTA national coach for men's tennis. The team of Dustin Taylor and Rodney Marshall also help Steve hone his skills at the development center. Johnson is a fan of the
Anaheim Ducks The Anaheim Ducks are a professional ice hockey team based in Anaheim, California. The Ducks compete in the Western Conference of the National Hockey League (NHL) as a member of the Pacific Division, and play their home games at Honda Center. ...
. Steve Johnson married Kendall Bateman at Maravilla Gardens in
Camarillo Camarillo ( ) is a city in Ventura County in the U.S. state of California. As of the 2020 United States Census, the population was 70,741, an increase of 5,540 from the 65,201 counted in the 2010 Census. Camarillo is named for brothers Juan an ...
,
Ventura County Ventura County () is a county in the southern part of the U.S. state of California. As of the 2020 census, the population was 843,843. The largest city is Oxnard, and the county seat is the city of Ventura. Ventura County comprises the Oxnar ...
in
Southern California Southern California (commonly shortened to SoCal) is a geographic and Cultural area, cultural region that generally comprises the southern portion of the U.S. state of California. It includes the Los Angeles metropolitan area, the second most po ...
on April 21, 2018. Kendall is a former Trojan volleyball player.


Junior tennis

Johnson's dad served as his coach in his early career. Johnson won four consecutive 18-under national team titles, becoming the first player in tournament history to be a member of four championship teams. Johnson contributed to a 6–1 victory over Texas in the 2005 final, a 6–1 triumph over Southern in 2006 and clinched Southern California's 4–3 win the next year over Southern. Some of Johnson's junior accomplishments include being the 2008 Kalamazoo Doubles finalist and winning the 2008 Southern California Sectional Boys 18 championship in straight sets over
JT Sundling John Tyler Sundling (born January 18, 1991) is an American former tennis player. Sundling was raised in Thousand Oaks, California and earned a top five national ranking in junior tennis. He and Daniel Nguyen won the doubles title at the USTA na ...
. This marked his fourth Sectionals title and near a clean sweep of all age divisions having won the 12s, 14s and 16s. He also has the distinction of being the only player to win the Triple Crown, singles and two doubles—twice. He also won nine Gold Balls. He was ranked the third-rated California senior tennis recruit (7th overall) in the country according to TennisRecruiting.net. Johnson clinched the title for Southern California at the 2007 Junior Davis Cup.


High school tennis

Johnson is a 2008 graduate of Orange High School in
Orange, California Orange is a city located in North Orange County, California. It is approximately north of the county seat, Santa Ana, California, Santa Ana. Orange is unusual in this region because many of the homes in its Old Town District were built before ...
and was coached by Pete Tavoularis. He won CIF singles championships in 2006 and 2007 and was named the Orange County and Los Angeles Player of the Year in both seasons. He is the only Southern Section tennis champion in the school's history. Johnson also made it a priority to play in as many team matches as possible. He missed just two because of junior tennis events and did not lose a set in team competition on his way to winning his second consecutive Golden West League title. Johnson beat future Stanford Cardinal Ryan Thacher of Harvard-Westlake High to win the Southern Section Individual Tournament when both were high school sophomores in 2006. His only high school loss of 2006 was a three-set defeat in the semifinals of the
Ojai Tennis Tournament The Ojai Tennis Tournament, often shortened to The Ojai, is an annual tennis tournament in Ventura County, California, headquartered at Libbey Park in downtown Ojai, about north of Los Angeles. The event, first held in 1896, is the oldest and l ...
to eventual champion Jason Jung of West Torrance. He then defended his title by beating future UCLA Bruin Alex Brigham of Pacifica Christian High. The victories made Johnson the first back-to-back singles winner since Tom Leonard of Arcadia in 1965 and 1966. He also became the eighth player to repeat as champion and the fourth to win the title after losing the first set at love (Leonard in 1965, Barry Buss in 1982, and Phil Sheng in 1999 each won titles after losing the first set at love). Johnson was the Orange County boys tennis player of the year as a sophomore and junior at Orange, but opted to not play high school tennis his senior year.


College tennis

Johnson chose to play college tennis for the
University of Southern California The University of Southern California (USC, SC, or Southern Cal) is a Private university, private research university in Los Angeles, California, United States. Founded in 1880 by Robert M. Widney, it is the oldest private research university in C ...
. Johnson said of his decision, "I chose USC because I felt like I had a great relationship with Peter Smith, USC Tennis Coach, and I got along with the team really well." As a freshman, Johnson was selected to All-Pac-10 First Team, as well as being named the Pac-10 Doubles Team of the Year with Robert Farah. He also reached the final of the Pac-10 singles championship match and he won the ITA Regionals Doubles Championship with Farah. As a sophomore, he was selected to represent the United States in the fourth annual Master'U BNP Paribas, an intercollegiate competition in which eight countries from around the world play for the title. He was also selected to the All-Pac-10 First Team and was the named the Pac-10 Doubles Team of the Year with Farah once again as well as winning the ITA Southwest Regionals doubles championship with Farah. As a sophomore, he won the ITA National Indoor championship. As a junior, he captured the 2010–11 NCAA Singles Championship, defeating
Rhyne Williams Robert Rhyne Williams (born March 22, 1991) is an American tennis player. He has not played on the ATP Tour since 2018 and is currently a tennis coach at the University of Tennessee. Williams first played on the professional circuit in 2006, bu ...
in the final. He also won the 2011 Pac-10 Singles and Doubles Title with
Raymond Sarmiento Raymond Sarmiento (born July 24, 1992) is an American professional tennis player. Sarmiento has a career high ATP singles ranking of 287 achieved on September 11, 2017. He also has a career high ATP doubles ranking of 386 achieved on March 7, ...
. In addition, he was selected as the NCAA Tournament Most Outstanding Player and to the NCAA All-Tournament Team for singles. In his senior season, he captured the 2011–2012 NCAA Singles Championship, defeating Kentucky's Eric Quigley in the final, overcoming a strained abdomen and
shin splints A shin splint, also known as medial tibial stress syndrome, is pain along the inside edge of the shinbone (tibia) due to inflammation of tissue in the area. Generally this is between the middle of the lower leg and the ankle. The pain may be dull ...
and a bout of food poisoning to retain his title. Johnson was named the
Intercollegiate Tennis Association The Intercollegiate Tennis Association (ITA) is the governing body and coaches association of college tennis, both an advocate and authority, overseeing men’s and women’s varsity tennis at all levels – NCAA Division I, NCAA Division II, NC ...
Player of the Year for the 2010–11 and 2011–2012 seasons, as well as the 2010–2011 and 2011–2012 Pac-12 Men's Player of the Year. In his college career, he became a seven-time
Intercollegiate Tennis Association The Intercollegiate Tennis Association (ITA) is the governing body and coaches association of college tennis, both an advocate and authority, overseeing men’s and women’s varsity tennis at all levels – NCAA Division I, NCAA Division II, NC ...
(ITA) All-American, two-time NCAA Singles Champion, and he captured the team title for the Trojans in all four of his years there. Furthermore, he ended his college career with an unprecedented 72 match win streak. He has said that "the biggest thing that I have learned from college tennis is to play aggressive while playing within myself and to never give up, because every dual match could end up being decided on your court." These exploits led to Johnson's becoming the most decorated college player of all time.


ITF Futures Circuit

Johnson has competed in 12 Futures tournaments in his career for singles, all of them being in the United States. He has been in 3 finals, winning two of them. He lost the 2011 Sacramento Futures tournament to
Daniel Kosakowski Daniel Kosakowski (born February 21, 1992) is a retired professional American tennis player. He played for the University of California, Los Angeles and was named Pacific-10 Conference 2011 Freshman Player of the Year. He resides in Downey, CA. ...
in 3 sets. Later that same year, Johnson won consecutive tournaments in the Claremont and Costa Mesa futures tournaments respectively beating Darian King and
Artem Sitak Artem Yurievich Sitak ( ; russian: Артём Юрьевич Ситак, Artyom Sitak; born 8 February 1986) is a Russian-born New Zealand professional tennis player. On 11 August 2008, he reached his highest ATP singles ranking of Wor ...
in straight sets. Johnson has competed in various Futures tournaments since 2006 as a high schooler, and he won his first match and earned his first point the following year. He has compiled an overall record of 23 wins and 10 losses on the Futures Tour.


ATP Challenger Tour

Johnson has competed in 27 Challenger tournaments in his career for singles in the United States, Turkey, Canada, and France. He won his first challenger tournament in the
Comerica Bank Challenger The Nordic Naturals Challenger (formerly Comerica Bank Challenger) is a professional tennis tournament played on outdoor hard courts. It is currently part of the ATP Challenger Tour The ATP Challenger Tour, known until the end of 2008 as the A ...
played in Aptos, California. He won it in the summer of 2012, before the 2012 U.S. Open. In the finals, he defeated Robert Farah in straight sets, 6–3, 6–3, gaining 100 points, as well as A month after his win in Aptos, Stevie competed in 2 challenger tournaments in Turkey and France. He reached the semifinals in Izmir, Turkey, winning three matches along the way. In Orléans, France, Stevie reached the second round and lost to the no.2 seed
David Goffin David Goffin (; born 7 December 1990) is a Belgian professional tennis player. His career-high singles ranking is world No. 7. He is currently the Belgian No. 1, and the first Belgian man to be ranked in the top 10. Goffin has won six ATP titles ...
of Belgium. in a tightly contested match, with the final score being 7–5, 6–4. A couple of weeks later in the 2012
Tiburon Challenger The Tiburon Challenger is a professional tennis tournament played on outdoor hard courts. It is currently part of the ATP Challenger Tour. It has been held annually at the Tiburon Peninsula Club in Tiburon, California Tiburon (; es, Tiburón ...
, Stevie was ousted in the semifinals by Jack Sock 4–6, 6–7(4). Johnson competed in the 2012 Charlottesville Challenger but fell to Rhyne Williams in the Round of 16. Johnson planned on playing in the
Knoxville Challenger The Knoxville Challenger is a professional tennis tournament played on indoor hard courts. It is currently part of the ATP Challenger Tour. It is held annually in Knoxville, Tennessee, United States, since 2000. The Knoxville Challenger is held at ...
as well as the
JSM Challenger of Champaign–Urbana JSM may refer to: Media and publications * Joseph Smith—Matthew, a book of the ''Pearl of Great Price'' of the Latter Day Saint movement * ''Journal for the Academic Study of Magic'' * ''Journal of Sexual Medicine,'' a peer-reviewed academic jour ...
to finish the year, but a shoulder injury forced him to pull out. The shoulder injury also forced him to miss the Australian Open Wild Card Playoffs. Stevie has compiled an overall record of 32 wins and 18 losses on the Challenger Tour and has earned In doubles, Stevie has had equal success on the Challenger Tour, compiling an overall record of 13 wins and 8 losses including a title in Knoxville, Tennessee with
Austin Krajicek Austin Krajicek (born June 16, 1990) is an American professional tennis player. He has a career-high ATP ranking in doubles of World No. 9 achieved on 7 November 2022 and in singles of World No. 94 achieved on October 26, 2015. He is a distant co ...
in 2011. He also made it to the finals in the 2011 Tiburon challenger with
Sam Querrey Samuel Austin Querrey (; born October 7, 1987) is an American former professional tennis player. He reached a career-high singles ranking of world No. 11 achieved on February 26, 2018, and won ten ATP singles titles. Known for his powerful serve ...
, but they lost 6–10 in the 3rd set super tie-breaker. In 2012, Stevie reached the semifinals in Tiburon partnered with Robert Farah, as the #1 seeds. Johnson played doubles in the 2013 Maui Challenger being seeded no.2 and reached the semifinals with his partner
Alex Bogomolov, Jr. Aleksandr Aleksandrovich Bogomolov Jr. (russian: Александр Александрович «Алекс» Богомолов; born April 23, 1983), nicknamed Bogie, is a Russian-American retired professional tennis player. Tennis caree ...
Johnson played singles and doubles in the 2013
Sarasota Open The Sarasota Open is a professional tennis tournament played on outdoor green clay courts. It is currently part of the Association of Tennis Professionals (ATP) Challenger Tour. From 2022, the event is held at the Payne Park Tennis Center in Sara ...
. In singles, he lost in the quarter-finals to the eventual champion,
Alex Kuznetsov Alex Kuznetsov (born February 5, 1987) is a retired American professional tennis player. He is a former hitting partner of Maria Sharapova Personal life Kuznetsov was born in Ukraine. His family moved to the United States when he was 3 years o ...
, 2–6, 6–3, 1–6. In doubles, he partnered with Bradley Klahn, and they won three matches to reach the finals but lost 7–6(5), 6–7(3), 9–11. Johnson played three more clay challengers before the French Open and lost in the first round in each. After a successful
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 ...
, Johnson won his second career challenger at the Aegon Nottingham Challenge defeating
Ruben Bemelmans Ruben Bemelmans (; born 14 January 1988) is a Belgian former professional tennis player. He has a career-high ATP ranking of world No. 84 in singles, achieved on 28 September 2015, and world No. 128 in doubles, achieved on 1 October 2012. Beme ...
in the finals. Winning this tournament helped grant him a wild-card into Wimbledon. Johnson finished the 2013 Challenger Tour season 1-5. In his second challenger event of the 2014 season, Johnson won the 2014 Challenger of Dallas, dropping only one set throughout the tournament. He defeated fellow American
Ryan Harrison Ryan Harrison (born May 7, 1992) is an American professional tennis player. Harrison has won one career ATP title in singles at the 2017 Memphis Open to go along with four in doubles, including the 2017 French Open. Before turning 16, Harriso ...
along the way and Tunisian
Malek Jaziri Malek Jaziri ( ar, مالك الجزيري, Mālik al-Jazīrī; born January 20, 1984) is a Tunisian professional tennis player. Jaziri reached his highest singles ranking on the ATP Tour of World 42 in January 2019. He reached the final of 2 ...
in the finals. After the match, he stated, "I was struggling with confidence a little before the start to this year, and to come out and win the tournament here makes it more special." One month later in the
2014 Irving Tennis Classic The 2014 Irving Tennis Classic was a professional tennis tournament played on hard courts. It was the third edition of the tournament which will be part of the 2014 ATP Challenger Tour. It took place in Irving, United States between 10 and 16 Ma ...
, Johnson beat three top-100 players along the way to reach the finals, where he lost to
Lukáš Rosol Lukáš Rosol (; born 24 July 1985) is a Czech professional tennis player. He competes on the ATP Challenger Tour and the ATP Tour, both in singles and doubles. Rosol was coached by former Czech player, 1999 US Open quarterfinalist Ctislav Dosed ...
. A win at the 2014 Open Guadeloupe Challenger Tour tournament boosted Johnson's singles ranking to a career-high No. 69 and gave him his fourth career challenger title. After taking a month off from competing in tournaments, Johnson's next challenger tournament was the BNP Paribas Primrose Bordeaux where he was the number two seed. He lost in the finals to number one seed
Julien Benneteau Julien Henry Guy Benneteau-Desgrois (; born 20 December 1981) is a French retired professional tennis player. His career-high singles ranking is ATP world no. 25, which he reached in November 2014. He formerly resided in Boulogne-Billancourt and ...
. Johnson kicked off his grass court season as the number two seed in the 2014
Aegon Trophy The Nottingham Trophy (formerly known as the Aegon Trophy) was an annual tennis tournament played in Nottingham, England. The tournament was part of the ATP Challenger Tour and the International Tennis Federation (ITF Women's Circuit) as a $75,000 ...
where fell in the quarterfinals to
Gilles Müller Gilles Müller (; born 9 May 1983) is a former professional tennis player from Luxembourg. He is a two-time Grand Slam quarterfinalist and the most successful male tennis player in the history of his country. Müller won two titles on the ATP Wo ...
.


ATP World Tour


2011

Johnson started the year in Indian Wells where he lost in the first round of qualifying in three tight sets to
Frank Dancevic Frank Russell Dancevic ( ; sr, Френк Расел Данчевић, Frenk Rasel Dančević, ; born September 26, 1984) is a retired Canadian professional tennis player. He first became the country's top singles tennis, singles player, accord ...
. Shortly after his college season, Johnson received a wild card into the 2011 Farmers Classic, where he lost in the first round to
Gilles Müller Gilles Müller (; born 9 May 1983) is a former professional tennis player from Luxembourg. He is a two-time Grand Slam quarterfinalist and the most successful male tennis player in the history of his country. Müller won two titles on the ATP Wo ...
in three sets. Johnson then competed in qualifying of the 2011 Western & Southern Open. After scoring his first win over a top 100 player in the first round,
Jérémy Chardy Jérémy Chardy (; born 12 February 1987) is a French inactive professional tennis player. He has won one ATP Tour singles title, in Stuttgart in 2009. His best Grand Slam performance in singles was reaching the quarterfinals of the 2013 Austra ...
, he lost in the following round to
Édouard Roger-Vasselin Édouard Roger-Vasselin (; born 28 November 1983) is a French professional tennis player who primarily specialises in doubles. He won his first Grand Slam title at the 2014 French Open, winning the men's doubles partnering Julien Benneteau, a ...
. Winning the 2011 individual NCAA championships, Johnson received a wild card to the main draw of the 2011 US Open. He played his first career grand slam match against
Alex Bogomolov, Jr. Aleksandr Aleksandrovich Bogomolov Jr. (russian: Александр Александрович «Алекс» Богомолов; born April 23, 1983), nicknamed Bogie, is a Russian-American retired professional tennis player. Tennis caree ...
and lost in five tight sets where he had a two sets to love lead. In the 2011 Western & Southern Open, Johnson reached the quarterfinals partnered with
Alex Bogomolov, Jr. Aleksandr Aleksandrovich Bogomolov Jr. (russian: Александр Александрович «Алекс» Богомолов; born April 23, 1983), nicknamed Bogie, is a Russian-American retired professional tennis player. Tennis caree ...
, and along the way defeated the no. 2 doubles team of Mirnyi/Nestor, subsequently gaining 180 points. At the 2011 US Open, Johnson partnered with
Denis Kudla Denis Kudla ( ; born August 17, 1992) is an American professional tennis player. A product of the Junior Tennis Champions Center, he has won eight Challenger singles titles and nine Challenger doubles titles in his career. His career-high ATP ...
but they lost in straight sets to
Marcelo Melo Marcelo is a given name, the Spanish and Portuguese form of Marcellus. The Italian version of the name is Marcello, differing in having an additional "l". Marcelo may refer to: * Marcelo Costa de Andrade (born 1967), Brazilian serial killer, rapi ...
and
Bruno Soares Bruno Fraga Soares (; born 27 February 1982) is a Brazilian former professional tennis player who specialises in doubles. A doubles specialist, Soares won six major titles, the Australian Open and US Open in 2016 alongside Jamie Murray, and ...
. In the 2012 Farmers Classic, Johnson partnered up with
Sam Querrey Samuel Austin Querrey (; born October 7, 1987) is an American former professional tennis player. He reached a career-high singles ranking of world No. 11 achieved on February 26, 2018, and won ten ATP singles titles. Known for his powerful serve ...
, reaching the semifinals. In the 2012 Citi Open, Johnson reached the semifinals once again, partnered with
Drew Courtney Andrew Courtney (born February 3, 1990) is a former professional tennis player from the United States. Biography Born in Clifton, Virginia, Courtney played high school tennis at Robinson Secondary. In 2008 he started his collegiate tennis car ...
.


2012

Johnson received a wild card into the 2012 SAP Open but lost in two tie-breakers to
Steve Darcis Steve Darcis (, born 13 March 1984) is a Belgium, Belgian retired professional tennis player. In his career, he won two ATP titles and achieved a career-high singles ranking of world No. 38 on 22 May 2017. Personal life Steve Darcis was born in ...
. Johnson registered his first ATP win in a main draw against Donald Young in the 2012 BB&T Atlanta Open before losing to Sock in the second round. He received a wild card into the 2012 Farmers Classic, but lost to
Igor Sijsling Igor Sijsling (; born 18 August 1987) is a Dutch former professional tennis player. Sijsling reached his career-high ATP singles ranking of World No. 52 on 17 February 2014. His biggest accomplishment is reaching the final of Australian Open Do ...
in straight sets. Johnson received another wild card into the 2012 Citi Open, but lost to
Benjamin Becker Benjamin Becker (born 16 June 1981) is a German retired professional tennis player who is known for defeating former world No. 1 Andre Agassi in the third round at the 2006 US Open in what was Agassi's last match as a professional player. Bec ...
in straight sets. Johnson reached the third round of the 2012 US Open, where he had received a wild card for winning the individual NCAA championships once again. In the first round, Johnson beat
Rajeev Ram Rajeev Ram ( ; born March 18, 1984) is an American professional tennis player who is a former world No. 1 in doubles. Ram is a five-time major champion, having won the 2020 Australian Open, the 2021 US Open, and the 2022 US Open in men's d ...
and in the second round, Johnson advanced by defeating
Ernests Gulbis Ernests Gulbis (, born 30 August 1988, nicknamed "Lord", "The Gull" or "Ernie") is a Latvian professional tennis player. In 2008, Gulbis won his first ATP Tour doubles title at the U.S. Men's Clay Court Championships, teaming with Rainer Schütt ...
. In the third round, Johnson lost to 13th seeded
Richard Gasquet Richard Gabriel Cyr Gasquet (; born 18 June 1986) is a French professional tennis player. His career-high ATP singles ranking is world No. 7, attained on 9 July 2007. He has won a total of 15 singles titles on the ATP Tour. His best performances ...
. In the 2012 Campbell's Hall of Fame Tennis Championships, Johnson partnered with
Denis Kudla Denis Kudla ( ; born August 17, 1992) is an American professional tennis player. A product of the Junior Tennis Champions Center, he has won eight Challenger singles titles and nine Challenger doubles titles in his career. His career-high ATP ...
, but they lost in the first round. Competing in the 2012 BB&T Atlanta Open, Johnson partnered with Sock, but they lost in a super tie-breaker in the first round. In the 2012 Farmers Classic, Johnson partnered up with Querrey, and they reached the semifinals. Next, in the 2012 Citi Open, Johnson reached the semifinals once again, partnered with
Drew Courtney Andrew Courtney (born February 3, 1990) is a former professional tennis player from the United States. Biography Born in Clifton, Virginia, Courtney played high school tennis at Robinson Secondary. In 2008 he started his collegiate tennis car ...
. In the 2012 US Open, Johnson received a wild card to the main draw and partnered with Sock. In the first round they defeated the No. 1 doubles team of Mirnyi/Nestor. However they lost in the second round to
František Čermák František Čermák (born 14 November 1976) is a Czech retired tennis player. Career In his career, Čermák won 31 doubles titles on the ATP Tour and he was a finalist 24 times. He achieved a career-high doubles ranking of world No. 14 in Fe ...
and
Michal Mertiňák Michal Mertiňák (born 11 October 1979) is a retired professional tennis player from Slovakia. He turned professional in 1999, and has won six doubles titles in his career on the ATP Tour. He reached his career high doubles ranking of World No. ...
.


2013

In the 2013 Australian Open, Johnson won three qualifying matches to reach the main draw. In the first round of the main draw, he took tenth seed
Nicolás Almagro Nicolás Almagro Sánchez (; born 21 August 1985 in Murcia, Spain) is a Spanish former professional tennis player. He reached the quarterfinals of the French Open in 2008, 2010 and 2012 (losing each time to Rafael Nadal, the eventual ...
the distance, but lost. Next, in the 2013 SAP Open, Johnson received a wild card to the main draw. In the first round, he defeated former top-20 player
Ivo Karlović Ivo Karlović (; born 28 February 1979) is a former Croatian professional tennis player. His height of 211 cm (6 ft 11 in) makes him the joint tallest ranked tennis player in history, along with Reilly Opelka. He has won eight ATP sin ...
. In the second round, Johnson defeated
Tim Smyczek Timothy Smyczek ( ; ; born December 30, 1987) is an American former professional tennis player. He made three quarterfinals on the main tour as well as the semi-finals of Newport in 2018. Additionally he won seven Challenger titles. He achieved ...
, reaching his first quarterfinal. However, in the quarterfinals, Johnson lost to eventual finalist
Tommy Haas Thomas Mario Haas (; born 3 April 1978) is a German former professional tennis player. He competed on the ATP Tour from 1996 to 2017. After breaking into the world top 100 in 1997, and reaching a career-high singles ranking of world No. 2 in May ...
. Overall, Johnson compiled a 5–13 record in singles. In doubles, Johnson attained a career-high ranking of No. 126. Johnson partnered with Sock in the 2013 SAP Open, but they lost to the No. 1 doubles team of Mike and Bob Bryan. Johnson once again partnered with Sock in the
U.S. Men's Clay Court Championships The U.S. Men's Clay Court Championships is an annual ATP Tour tennis tournament that started in 1910. It is the last remaining ATP World Tour-level tournament in the United States to be played on clay courts. The tournament began in 1910 when the ...
, and they reached the round of 16. Johnson went to the
2013 French Open The 2013 French Open was a tennis tournament played on outdoor clay courts. It was the 117th edition of the French Open and the second Grand Slam event of the year. It took place at the Stade Roland Garros from 26 May to 9 June. It consisted of e ...
, qualifying for the first time and made it through to the main draw before losing in the first round to
Albert Montañés Albert Montañés Roca (; born 26 November 1980) is a retired professional tennis player from Spain. He first entered the top 100 in 2001. He achieved a career-high singles ranking of world No. 22 in 2010 and has won six singles titles and two ...
, who had just won
Nice Nice ( , ; Niçard: , classical norm, or , nonstandard, ; it, Nizza ; lij, Nissa; grc, Νίκαια; la, Nicaea) is the prefecture of the Alpes-Maritimes department in France. The Nice agglomeration extends far beyond the administrative c ...
the previous week. Receiving a wildcard into the maindraw of Wimbledon, Johnson lost a tight first round match to fellow American
Bobby Reynolds Robert Thomas "Bobby" Reynolds (born July 17, 1982) is an American retired professional tennis player who resides in Auburn, Alabama. He was named head men's tennis coach at Auburn University in June 2016. Professional career Reynolds, a nativ ...
. In the 2013 Citi Open, Johnson lost in the first round to
Radek Štěpánek Radek Štěpánek (; born 27 November 1978) is a Czech former professional tennis player. His career-high singles ranking was world No. 8 and best doubles ranking was world No. 4. Štěpánek's biggest achievements are reaching two Masters 1000 ...
in straight sets. In the 2013 Winston-Salem Open, Johnson won three qualifying matches to reach the main draw and have a rematch with
Bobby Reynolds Robert Thomas "Bobby" Reynolds (born July 17, 1982) is an American retired professional tennis player who resides in Auburn, Alabama. He was named head men's tennis coach at Auburn University in June 2016. Professional career Reynolds, a nativ ...
. In the 2013 US Open, Johnson lost in the first round to German
Tobias Kamke Tobias Kamke (born 21 May 1986) is a German former professional tennis player. He was ranked as high as world No. 64 in singles by the Association of Tennis Professionals (ATP), which he first achieved in January 2011. In 2010, Kamke was awarde ...
, failing to reach the third round as he had the previous year. Johnson and fellow American Michael Russell received a wild card in doubles, but fell in the first round.


2014

Steve kicked off the 2014 season by reaching the main draw of the
2014 Heineken Open The 2014 Heineken Open was a tennis tournament played on outdoor hard courts. It was the 39th edition of the Heineken Open, and was part of the ATP World Tour 250 series of the 2014 ATP World Tour. It took place at the ASB Tennis Centre in Auckl ...
as a lucky loser and beat former
Australian Open The Australian Open is a tennis tournament held annually at Melbourne Park in Melbourne, Australia. The tournament is the first of the four Grand Slam tennis events held each year, preceding the French Open, Wimbledon, and the US Open. Th ...
runner up
Marcos Baghdatis Marcos Baghdatis ( el, Μάρκος Παγδατής, ar, ماركوس بغداتيس; ; born 17 June 1985) is a Cypriot former professional tennis player. He was the runner-up at the 2006 Australian Open and a semifinalist at the 2006 Wimbledo ...
, and also defeated #4 seed Kevin Anderson to reach his second quarterfinal on tour. By winning the Australian Open Wildcard Playoffs a few weeks back, Johnson received a wildcard into the main draw of
2014 Australian Open The 2014 Australian Open was a tennis tournament that took place at Melbourne Park between 13 and 26 January 2014. It was the 102nd edition of the Australian Open, and the first Grand Slam tournament of the year. The tournament consisted of event ...
. However, he lost in the first round to Frenchman
Adrian Mannarino Adrian Mannarino (born 29 June 1988) is a French professional tennis player. He has a career-high ATP singles ranking of world No. 22, attained on 19 March 2018. He won his first ATP Tour singles title at the 2019 Rosmalen Open on grass. He is c ...
in five sets. In the 2014 Delray Beach International Tennis Championships Johnson qualified for the main draw and beat
Mikhail Kukushkin Mikhail Aleksandrovich Kukushkin (russian: link=no, Михаил Александрович Кукушкин; born 26 December 1987) is a Russian-born Kazakhstani professional tennis player. Before 2008, he played for his country of birth, Russ ...
, #1 seed
Tommy Haas Thomas Mario Haas (; born 3 April 1978) is a German former professional tennis player. He competed on the ATP Tour from 1996 to 2017. After breaking into the world top 100 in 1997, and reaching a career-high singles ranking of world No. 2 in May ...
in a third-set tie-breaker, and #6 seed
Feliciano López Feliciano López Díaz-Guerra (; born 20 September 1981) is a Spanish professional tennis player. He achieved his career-high singles ranking of world No. 12 in March 2015 and doubles ranking of world No. 9 in November 2016.In 2005, López was t ...
to reach his first semi-finals. After he beat Haas, Johnson said that "Tommy is an unbelievable player and this is a win I won't forget." Haas later said, "I hate to lose, but I'm happy for him. He served well and competed hard." South African Kevin Anderson got revenge on Johnson in the semi-finals as he beat him in straight sets to reach the finals. Johnson received a wildcard into the maindraw of the 2014 BNP Paribas Open, but fell to the red-hot Spaniard
Roberto Bautista Agut Roberto Bautista Agut (; born 14 April 1988) is a Spanish professional tennis player. He has been ranked as high as world No. 9 by the Association of Tennis Professionals (ATP) in singles, which he first achieved on 4 November 2019. Bautista A ...
in straight sets, who knocked out #4 seed
Tomáš Berdych Tomáš Berdych (; born 17 September 1985) is a Czech former professional tennis player. His most notable achievement was reaching the final of the 2010 Wimbledon Championships, causing consecutive upsets by defeating top seed and six-time champ ...
in the next round. Johnson got a rematch with Bautista Agut just a couple weeks later in the
2014 Sony Open Tennis The 2014 Sony Open Tennis (also known as 2014 Miami Masters) was a professional men and women's tennis tournament played on outdoor hard courts. It was the 30th edition of the Miami Masters, and was part of the Masters 1000 category on the 2014 AT ...
, this time falling in three sets. In his first clay court tournament of the year, Johnson received a wild card into the
U.S. Men's Clay Court Championships The U.S. Men's Clay Court Championships is an annual ATP Tour tennis tournament that started in 1910. It is the last remaining ATP World Tour-level tournament in the United States to be played on clay courts. The tournament began in 1910 when the ...
where he reached the second round and lost to eventual champion
Fernando Verdasco Fernando Verdasco Carmona (; born 15 November 1983) is a Spanish professional tennis player. His career-high singles ranking is world No. 7, achieved in April 2009. His best performance in a Grand Slam was making the semifinals of the 2009 ...
. Johnson then competed in the
Open de Nice Côte d'Azur The ATP Nice Open (or ''Open de Nice Côte d'Azur'' in French) was an ATP World Tour 250 series and, formerly, Grand Prix tennis circuit affiliated men's tennis tournament. It was held in Nice, France at the Nice Lawn Tennis Club and played ...
where he fell in the first round to youngster
Dominic Thiem Dominic Thiem (; born 3 September 1993) is an Austrian professional tennis player. He has been ranked as high as world No. 3 in singles by the Association of Tennis Professionals, which he first achieved in March 2020. He is the second-highest r ...
. Johnson lost in three sets, while failing to convert a match point as he was trying to serve out the match at 6–5 in the second set. Johnson next competed in the 2014 French Open where he won his first ever ATP match on clay, and advanced to the second round. In his first round match against Frenchman
Laurent Lokoli Laurent Lokoli (born 18 October 1994) is a French professional tennis player. Lokoli plays primarily ATP Challenger and ITF events. He has a career-high ATP singles ranking of No. 169 achieved on 30 January 2023. Career Lokoli received a wildca ...
, Johnson came back from a two sets to love deficit, and saved two match points along the way for a dramatic five set victory. In his second round match, Johnson lost in straight sets to fellow American Jack Sock. Johnson registered his first grass court ATP win at the 2014 Gerry Weber Open when he defeated Frenchman
Albano Olivetti Albano Olivetti (born 24 November 1991) is a French professional tennis player. Although not officially recognised by the ATP, Olivetti did hit the second fastest serve on record at 160 mph or 257.5 km/h during the first round of the ...
. Johnson's second round opponent withdrew giving Johnson a walkover to the quarterfinals where he lost to the number four seed
Kei Nishikori is an inactive Japanese professional tennis player. He is the second male Japanese player to have been ranked in the top 5 in singles (after Jiro Sato), and the only one to do so in the Open Era. Nishikori first reached his career-high singles ...
. The following week, Johnson competed in the 2014 Topshelf Open and reached the second round before falling to the number seven seed
Nicolas Mahut Nicolas Pierre Armand Mahut (; born 21 January 1982) is a French professional tennis player who is a former world No. 1 in doubles. He is a five-time Grand Slam champion in doubles, having completed the career Grand Slam with victories at the ...
. Johnson then competed in the 2014 Wimbledon Championships. Unfortunately, Johnson fell in the first round in four sets to twenty-seventh seed Bautista Agut. Returning to the U.S., Johnson competed in the 2014 Hall of Fame Tennis Championships, where he lost in the quarterfinals to eventual champion
Lleyton Hewitt Lleyton Glynn Hewitt (born 24 February 1981) is an Australian former world No. 1 tennis player. He is the most recent Australian man to win a major singles title, with two at the 2001 US Open and 2002 Wimbledon Championships. In November 200 ...
. As the sixth seed in this tournament, this was Johnson's first ATP tournament where he was seeded. Johnson then kicked off his
US Open Series The US Open Series is the name given by the United States Tennis Association (USTA) to a series of North American professional tennis tournaments leading up to and including the US Open. It is part of the "North American hard court season". Emira ...
in Atlanta, where he lost in the first round to his good friend and countryman Sam Querrey.


2015: Best Year-End ranking

At the 2015 US Open, Johnson reached the semifinals in doubles for the first time at a Major partnering
Sam Querrey Samuel Austin Querrey (; born October 7, 1987) is an American former professional tennis player. He reached a career-high singles ranking of world No. 11 achieved on February 26, 2018, and won ten ATP singles titles. Known for his powerful serve ...
after defeating en route the top seeded pair of the
Bryan Brothers The Bryan brothers, identical twin brothers Bob Bryan and Mike Bryan, are retired American professional doubles tennis players and the most successful duo of all time. They were born on April 29, 1978, with Mike being the elder by two minutes. ...
in the first round. They were defeated in the semifinal by eight seeded pair of
Jamie Murray Jamie Robert Murray, (born 13 February 1986) is a Scottish professional tennis player from Scotland who specialises in doubles. He is a seven-time Grand Slam doubles champion (five in mixed doubles and two in men's doubles), a Davis Cup win ...
and
John Peers John William Peers (born 25 July 1988) is an Australian professional tennis player who specialises in doubles. He won his first Grand Slam title at the 2017 Australian Open, where he and Henri Kontinen won the men's doubles event. Peers also ...
. Johnson finished the year ranked World No. 32 in singles and World No. 52 in doubles, the highest year-end rankings in his career.


2016: Olympic bronze medal, Wimbledon fourth round, career-high ranking

Johnson reached the third round of the 2016 Australian Open as the 31st seed but lost to
David Ferrer David Ferrer Ern (; ; born 2 April 1982) is a Spanish former professional tennis player. A three-time Davis Cup champion with Spain Davis Cup team, Spain, Ferrer has won tournaments at all levels on the ATP Tour (ATP Tour 250, ATP 250, ATP Tour ...
in three sets. Johnson lost in the 1st round of the 2016 French Open as the 33rd seed. He won his first ATP Tour level title at the 2016 Aegon Open in Nottingham, UK, defeating Pablo Cuevas in the final. Johnson reached the fourth round of
2016 Wimbledon Championships The 2016 Wimbledon Championships was a Grand Slam (tennis), Grand Slam tennis tournament which took place at All England Lawn Tennis and Croquet Club in Wimbledon, London, United Kingdom. The main draw commenced on 27 June 2016 and concluded on ...
defeating
Grigor Dimitrov Grigor Dimitrov ( bg, Григор Димитров, ; born 16 May 1991) is a Bulgarian professional tennis player. He has been ranked as high as world No. 3 in singles by the Association of Tennis Professionals (ATP), which he first achieved o ...
before being defeated 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 ...
in straight sets. He reached a singles career-high of World No. 21 on July 15, 2016. In the 2016 Western & Southern Open he defeated Federico Delbonis in the 1st round, in the 2nd round he beat
Julien Benneteau Julien Henry Guy Benneteau-Desgrois (; born 20 December 1981) is a French retired professional tennis player. His career-high singles ranking is ATP world no. 25, which he reached in November 2014. He formerly resided in Boulogne-Billancourt and ...
and in the 3rd round he beat 7th seed
Jo-Wilfried Tsonga Jo-Wilfried Tsonga (; born 17 April 1985) is a French former professional tennis player. He was ranked as high as world No. 5 by the Association of Tennis Professionals (ATP), which he achieved in February 2012. Tsonga won 18 singles titles on th ...
, all this set up a tie with Dimitrov in the quarterfinal, which he lost in straight sets. Johnson defeated
Evgeny Donskoy Evgeny Evgenyevich Donskoy ( rus, Евге́ний Евге́ньевич Донско́й, , ɪ̯ɪvˈɡʲenʲɪɪ̯ dɐnˈskoɪ̯; born 9 May 1990) is a Russian professional tennis player. His career-high ATP singles ranking is world No. 65, ...
in the first round of the US Open after losing the first 2 sets. His run was ended in the second round by
Juan Martín del Potro Juan Martín del Potro () (born 23 September 1988) is an Argentine inactive professional tennis player. Del Potro's biggest achievement is a major title: the 2009 US Open, where he defeated Rafael Nadal in the semifinals and the five-time defen ...
in straight sets, however. Johnson would lose in the first round of the 2016 China Open to Dimitrov and in the 2016 Shanghai Masters to
Andy Murray Sir Andrew Barron Murray (born 15 May 1987) is a British professional tennis player from Scotland. He was ranked world No. 1 by the Association of Tennis Professionals (ATP) for 41 weeks, and finished as the year-end No. 1 in 2016. Murray h ...
. After two more consecutive losses, he would end his season with a second-round loss in the 2016 Paris Masters to Richard Gasquet.


2017: Second career title

Johnson began the 2017 season with a first-round loss to Dimitrov at the Brisbane International. He would dispatch
John Isner John Robert Isner (born April 26, 1985) is an American professional tennis player. He has been ranked as high as world No. 8 in singles and No. 14 in doubles by the Association of Tennis Professionals (ATP). Considered one of the best servers ...
to reach the semis of the Auckland Open, but lost to
Jack Sock Jack Sock (born September 24, 1992) is an American professional tennis player. He has won four career ATP singles titles and 17 doubles titles, and has career-high rankings of world No. 8 in singles (on 20 November 2017) and world No. 2 in dou ...
. He then lost to
Stan Wawrinka Stanislas "Stan" Wawrinka (; born 28 March 1985) is a Swiss professional tennis player. He reached a career-high Association of Tennis Professionals (ATP) singles ranking of world No. 3 for the first time on 27 January 2014. His career highlight ...
in the Australian Open second round. After reaching three straight quarterfinals in his next three tournaments, Johnson lost to
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 ...
at Indian Wells and had a disappointing second-round loss at Miami to
Nicolas Mahut Nicolas Pierre Armand Mahut (; born 21 January 1982) is a French professional tennis player who is a former world No. 1 in doubles. He is a five-time Grand Slam champion in doubles, having completed the career Grand Slam with victories at the ...
. However, he would rebound by capturing his second career singles title (and first on clay) at the U.S. Men's Clay Court Championships in Houston, Texas, beating Sock in the semis and
Thomaz Bellucci Thomaz Cocchiarali Bellucci (born 30 December 1987, in Tietê) is a Brazilian professional tennis player. He achieved a career-high singles ranking of World No. 21 in July 2010. Bellucci used a string of ATP Challenger Tour victories early i ...
in a thrilling final, where Johnson overcame severe cramps and being down a break to win in a final-set tiebreak.


2018: Third and fourth titles

Johnson made the semifinals in Delray Beach, where he lost to young German
Peter Gojowczyk Peter Gojowczyk ( ; born 15 July 1989) is a German professional tennis player. He achieved a career-high ATP singles ranking of world No. 39 in June 2018. Tennis career 2014: Cracking the top 100 Gojowczyk began the year by reaching his first t ...
. In Miami, Johnson made it to the third round, where he was defeated by Spaniard
Pablo Carreño Busta Pablo Carreño Busta (; born 12 July 1991) is a Spanish professional tennis player. He has been ranked as high as world No. 10 by the Association of Tennis Professionals (ATP), which he first achieved on 11 September 2017. He also reached a best ...
. Johnson won his third title in
Houston Houston (; ) is the most populous city in Texas, the most populous city in the Southern United States, the fourth-most populous city in the United States, and the sixth-most populous city in North America, with a population of 2,304,580 in ...
on clay courts after defeating five Americans:
Ernesto Escobedo Ernesto "Neto" Escobedo III ( ; , born July 4, 1996) is a Mexican-American professional tennis player who has won four ATP Challenger titles. Personal life Escobedo began playing tennis at the age of 4. His father Ernesto Jr. briefly played prof ...
,
Frances Tiafoe Frances Tiafoe Jr. ( ; born January 20, 1998) is an American professional tennis player. The Association of Tennis Professionals (ATP) has ranked Tiafoe as high as world No. 17 in singles, on October 10, 2022, and world No. 160 in doubles, on No ...
,
John Isner John Robert Isner (born April 26, 1985) is an American professional tennis player. He has been ranked as high as world No. 8 in singles and No. 14 in doubles by the Association of Tennis Professionals (ATP). Considered one of the best servers ...
,
Taylor Fritz Taylor Harry Fritz (born October 28, 1997) is an American professional tennis player. He has a career-high singles ranking of world No. 8 by the Association of Tennis Professionals (ATP), achieved on October 10, 2022, and a doubles ranking of w ...
, and
Tennys Sandgren Tennys Sandgren II ( ; born July 22, 1991) is an American professional tennis player. He has achieved a career-high ATP singles ATP rankings, ranking of No. 41 on January 14, 2019. He broke into the top 100 of the ATP rankings toward the end of 2 ...
. In July, Johnson won the grass-court
Hall of Fame Championship The Infosys Hall of Fame Open is an international tennis tournament that has been held every year in July since 1976 at the International Tennis Hall of Fame in Newport, Rhode Island, the original location of the U.S. National Championships. The ...
in Newport, Rhode Island, defeating Indian
Ramkumar Ramanathan Ramanathan Ramkumar (born 8 November 1994) is an Indian professional tennis player. He has been ranked as high as No. 111 in singles by the Association of Tennis Professionals (ATP), which he achieved in July 2018, and in doubles at No. 58 ach ...
over three sets in the final. Johnson reached the final again in Winston-Salem in August, where he was defeated by young Russian
Daniil Medvedev Daniil Sergeyevich Medvedev (russian: Даниил Сергеевич Медведев; born 11 February 1996) is a Russian professional tennis player. He is currently ranked world No. 7 by the Association of Tennis Professionals (ATP), and was ...
in straight sets.


2019: Wimbledon third round

Johnson reached the quarterfinals at Delray Beach in February, where he lost to
Radu Albot Radu Albot (born 11 November 1989) is a Moldovan professional tennis player. He is the first player from Moldova to win ATP singles ( 2019 Delray Beach Open) and doubles ( 2015 Istanbul Open) titles. Albot has won 1 ATP World Tour singles tit ...
. In March, Johnson beat
Taylor Fritz Taylor Harry Fritz (born October 28, 1997) is an American professional tennis player. He has a career-high singles ranking of world No. 8 by the Association of Tennis Professionals (ATP), achieved on October 10, 2022, and a doubles ranking of w ...
in the first round of Indian Wells, but fell to young Canadian
Denis Shapovalov Denis Viktorovich Shapovalov (born 15 April 1999) is a Canadian professional tennis player. He has been ranked as high as world No. 10 in singles by the Association of Tennis Professionals (ATP) which he first achieved in September 2020. He is th ...
in the second. At
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 * ...
, Johnson beat
Albert Ramos-Viñolas Albert may refer to: Companies * Albert (supermarket), a supermarket chain in the Czech Republic * Albert Heijn, a supermarket chain in the Netherlands * Albert Market, a street market in The Gambia * Albert Productions, a record label * Albert ...
in the first round and young Aussie
Alex de Minaur Alex de Minaur ( ; es, Álex de Miñaur Román, ; born 17 February 1999) is an Australian professional tennis player. He achieved a career-high ATP singles ranking of No. 15 on 28 June 2021 and a doubles ranking of No. 58 on 12 October 2020. ...
in the second, only to be defeated by
Kei Nishikori is an inactive Japanese professional tennis player. He is the second male Japanese player to have been ranked in the top 5 in singles (after Jiro Sato), and the only one to do so in the Open Era. Nishikori first reached his career-high singles ...
in the third round in straight sets. At the US Open, Johnson lost in the first round to Nick Kyrgios.


2020: Masters 1000 semifinal in doubles

Johnson captured his seventh career Challenger title with a win over Stefano Travaglia at the Bendigo Challenger. After a first-round loss to
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 ...
in the first round of the
Australian Open The Australian Open is a tennis tournament held annually at Melbourne Park in Melbourne, Australia. The tournament is the first of the four Grand Slam tennis events held each year, preceding the French Open, Wimbledon, and the US Open. Th ...
, he rebounded with his eighth Challenger title at the Indian Wells Challenger with a win over fellow American
Jack Sock Jack Sock (born September 24, 1992) is an American professional tennis player. He has won four career ATP singles titles and 17 doubles titles, and has career-high rankings of world No. 8 in singles (on 20 November 2017) and world No. 2 in dou ...
. The season was then interrupted by the COVID-19 pandemic. When tennis returned in August Johnson, partnering
Austin Krajicek Austin Krajicek (born June 16, 1990) is an American professional tennis player. He has a career-high ATP ranking in doubles of World No. 9 achieved on 7 November 2022 and in singles of World No. 94 achieved on October 26, 2015. He is a distant co ...
as a wildcard pair, reached the semifinals at the Western & Southern Open, held in New York. In singles, he upset
John Isner John Robert Isner (born April 26, 1985) is an American professional tennis player. He has been ranked as high as world No. 8 in singles and No. 14 in doubles by the Association of Tennis Professionals (ATP). Considered one of the best servers ...
at the US Open before losing to
Ričardas Berankis Ričardas Berankis (; born June 21, 1990) is a Lithuanian professional tennis player. He is the first and only Lithuanian citizen (not counting Lithuanian American Vitas Gerulaitis) to enter the ATP top 50 rankings, making him the highest ranke ...
in the second round.


2021: Major doubles semifinal & first Masters final

At the
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 ...
, Johnson reached the third round for the fourth time in his career defeating fellow American
Frances Tiafoe Frances Tiafoe Jr. ( ; born January 20, 1998) is an American professional tennis player. The Association of Tennis Professionals (ATP) has ranked Tiafoe as high as world No. 17 in singles, on October 10, 2022, and world No. 160 in doubles, on No ...
in a five-setter and Thiago Monteiro in the second round, before losing to
Pablo Carreño Busta Pablo Carreño Busta (; born 12 July 1991) is a Spanish professional tennis player. He has been ranked as high as world No. 10 by the Association of Tennis Professionals (ATP), which he first achieved on 11 September 2017. He also reached a best ...
. Partnering with
Austin Krajicek Austin Krajicek (born June 16, 1990) is an American professional tennis player. He has a career-high ATP ranking in doubles of World No. 9 achieved on 7 November 2022 and in singles of World No. 94 achieved on October 26, 2015. He is a distant co ...
as wildcard pair, he reached his maiden Masters 1000 final at the Western & Southern Open in Cincinnati defeating No. 3 seeded Colombian pair
Juan Sebastián Cabal Juan Sebastián Cabal Valdés (; born 25 April 1986) is a Colombian professional tennis player who is a former world No. 1 in doubles. He reached a career-high singles ranking of No. 184 in February 2011, but has achieved most of his success i ...
and Robert Farah in a tight three-set match. As a result he reentered the top 100 in doubles at World No. 95 on August 23, 2021. The pair last competed at the 2020 edition of the Cincinnati Masters where they reached the semifinals. At the 2021 US Open he reached the semifinals in doubles partnering
Sam Querrey Samuel Austin Querrey (; born October 7, 1987) is an American former professional tennis player. He reached a career-high singles ranking of world No. 11 achieved on February 26, 2018, and won ten ATP singles titles. Known for his powerful serve ...
also as a wildcard pair. They were defeated in the semifinal by the eventual champions
Rajeev Ram Rajeev Ram ( ; born March 18, 1984) is an American professional tennis player who is a former world No. 1 in doubles. Ram is a five-time major champion, having won the 2020 Australian Open, the 2021 US Open, and the 2022 US Open in men's d ...
and
Joe Salisbury Joe Salisbury ( ; born 20 April 1992) is a British professional tennis player who is a former world No. 1 in doubles. He is a five-time Grand Slam champion, having won the 2020 Australian Open, the 2021 US Open and the 2022 US Open in men's ...
. As a result he reached No. 62 in doubles on September 13, 2021.


2022: Fourth Wimbledon & Indian Wells third rounds, Out of top 100


World Team Tennis

Steve Johnson was selected fifth overall in the Mylan
World TeamTennis World TeamTennis (WTT) is a mixed-gender professional tennis league played with a team format in the United States, which was founded in 1973. The league's season normally takes place in the summer months. Players from the ATP and WTA take a ...
Roster Draft by the
Orange County Breakers The Orange County Breakers are a World TeamTennis (WTT) franchise founded in 2003, owned by Laguna Beach businessman Eric Davidson. The Breakers won the WTT Championship in 2004, 2017 and 2021. In 2014, the franchise moved to Greater Austin, Texas ...
. Johnson was joined by his father, who was an assistant coach on the team. Despite ultimately placing third in the Western Conference, Johnson was the No. 2 men's singles player in the league, amassing a 62–47 record for the season. He was equally successful in men's doubles, pairing with doubles specialist Treat Huey to go 64–53. In the middle of the season, Johnson helped lead the Breakers to four consecutive victories. During the season, Johnson had victories over
Andy Roddick Andrew Stephen Roddick (born 30 August 1982) is an American former world No. 1 tennis player. He is a major champion, having won the 2003 US Open. Roddick reached four other major finals (Wimbledon in 2004, 2005, and 2009, and the US Open ...
in singles and doubles, as well as doubles victories over the
Bryan Brothers The Bryan brothers, identical twin brothers Bob Bryan and Mike Bryan, are retired American professional doubles tennis players and the most successful duo of all time. They were born on April 29, 1978, with Mike being the elder by two minutes. ...
, and tennis legend
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 ...
. On July 20, Johnson landed himself in the No. 4 spot on the top plays of
SportsCenter ''SportsCenter'' (SC) is a daily sports news television show, television program that serves as the flagship program and brand of United States, American cable television, cable and satellite television television network, network ESPN. The show ...
that evening against Alex Bogomolov Jr. of the
Texas Wild The Texas Wild was a World TeamTennis team that played at the Four Seasons Resort and Club Dallas at Las Colinas in Irving, Texas, USA. The team was known as the Kansas City Explorers from 1993 until the 2012 season, before moving to Texas. With ...
with an amazing rally that ended with Johnson slipping and sliding for a volley winner. Steve made a successful debut with the Breakers in his first season, leading him to be named the Mylan WTT Male Rookie of the Year.


Performance timelines


Singles

''Current through the 2022 Rakuten Japan Open Tennis Championships.''


Doubles


Significant finals


Masters 1000 finals


Doubles: 1 (1 runner-up)


Olympic medal matches


Doubles: 1 (Bronze)


ATP career finals


Singles: 6 (4 titles, 2 runner-ups)


Doubles: 8 (2 titles, 6 runner-ups)


Challenger and ITF finals


Singles: 14 (9–5)


Doubles: 5 (2–3)


Wins over top-10 players


World TeamTennis

Johnson has played five seasons with
World TeamTennis World TeamTennis (WTT) is a mixed-gender professional tennis league played with a team format in the United States, which was founded in 1973. The league's season normally takes place in the summer months. Players from the ATP and WTA take a ...
starting in 2013 when he made his debut with the
Orange County Breakers The Orange County Breakers are a World TeamTennis (WTT) franchise founded in 2003, owned by Laguna Beach businessman Eric Davidson. The Breakers won the WTT Championship in 2004, 2017 and 2021. In 2014, the franchise moved to Greater Austin, Texas ...
, and earning the Male Rookie of the Year award. He played two more seasons with the Breakers in 2016 and 2017, before playing for the New York Empire in 2018, and returning to the Breakers in 2019. It was announced that he will be joining the
Orange County Orange County most commonly refers to: *Orange County, California, part of the Los Angeles metropolitan area Orange County may also refer to: U.S. counties *Orange County, Florida, containing Orlando *Orange County, Indiana *Orange County, New ...
during the 2020 WTT season set to begin July 12.


References


External links


Official website
* * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Johnson, Steve 1989 births Living people American male tennis players Sportspeople from Orange County, California Tennis people from California USC Trojans men's tennis players Tennis players at the 2016 Summer Olympics Olympic bronze medalists for the United States in tennis Medalists at the 2016 Summer Olympics Olympic medalists in tennis