Wayne Hamilton Black (born 17 November 1973) 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 cov ...

player from

Zimbabwe Zimbabwe (), officially the Republic of Zimbabwe, is a landlocked country located in Southeast Africa, between the Zambezi and Limpopo Rivers, bordered by South Africa to the south, Botswana to the south-west, Zambia to the north, and ...

. The son of former player Don Black, Black turned professional in 1994 and reached his highest singles ranking of 69 on 30 March 1998. He is the younger brother of fellow

ATP Tour The ATP Tour is a worldwide top-tier tennis tour for men organized by the Association of Tennis Professionals. The second-tier tour is the ATP Challenger Tour and the third-tier is the ITF Men's World Tennis Tour. The equivalent women's organ ...

player

Byron Black Byron Hamish Black (born 6 October 1969) is a former touring professional tennis and Davis Cup player for Zimbabwe. Personal life He is the son of Donald Black and Velia Black and brother to Wayne Black and Cara, who were also professional te ...

, with the two brothers forming the mainstay of the

Zimbabwe Davis Cup team The Zimbabwe men's national tennis team represents Zimbabwe in Davis Cup tennis competition and are governed by the Zimbabwe Tennis Association. Zimbabwe currently competes in the Europe/Africa Zone of Group II. They last competed in the World Gr ...

for over a decade. Black struggled for consistency in his singles game and by the new millenium had converted to a doubles specialist, in which he experienced greater success. He won two men's doubles Grand Slam titles at the 2001 U.S. Open and 2005 Australian Open with compatriot Kevin Ullyett, as well as two Grand Slam mixed doubles titles at the

2002 French Open The 2002 French Open was the second Grand Slam event of 2002 and the 106th edition of the French Open. It took place at the Stade Roland Garros in Paris, France, from late May through early June, 2002. Both Gustavo Kuerten and Jennifer Capriati ...

and 2004 Wimbledon with sister

Cara Black Cara Cavell Black (born 17 February 1979) is a Zimbabwean former professional tennis player. Black was primarily a doubles specialist, winning 60 WTA Tour and 11 ITF doubles titles. A former doubles world No. 1, she won ten major titles. ...

. He reached his career-high doubles ranking of 4 on 31 January 2005, following his second Grand Slam title win, and retired from professional play in 2005.

Early life and education

Black and his siblings

Byron George Gordon Byron, 6th Baron Byron (22 January 1788 – 19 April 1824), known simply as Lord Byron, was an English romantic poet and peer. He was one of the leading figures of the Romantic movement, and has been regarded as among the ...

and

Cara Cara or CARA may refer to: Places * Čara, a village on the island of Korčula, Croatia * Cara, a village in Cojocna Commune, Cluj County, Romania * Cara Island Cara Island ( gd, Cara) is a small island which is located off the west coast o ...

were drilled in tennis from a young age by their father; they frequently played at least an hour of tennis before the school day began, another hour after school, followed by a third hour once homework had been completed. He was educated at St. John's College in

Harare Harare (; formerly Salisbury ) is the capital and most populous city of Zimbabwe. The city proper has an area of 940 km2 (371 mi2) and a population of 2.12 million in the 2012 census and an estimated 3.12 million in its metropolitan ...

and the

University of Southern California , mottoeng = "Let whoever earns the palm bear it" , religious_affiliation = Nonsectarian—historically Methodist , established = , accreditation = WSCUC , type = Private research university , academic_affiliations = , endowment = $8.1 ...

, but left before completing his degree to go professional.

Personal

Black married Kazakhstani tennis player Irina Selyutina and settled in the

United Kingdom The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, commonly known as the United Kingdom (UK) or Britain, is a country in Europe, off the north-western coast of the continental mainland. It comprises England, Scotland, Wales and ...

following retirement, where both of his children were born. He competed in club tennis for Sutton Tennis & Squash Club for a period of time alongside his former coach

Miles Maclagan Miles Maclagan (born 23 September 1974) is a Zambia born British tennis coach and former professional tennis player. He formerly coached British No.1s Laura Robson and Andy Murray. Maclagan partnered Tim Henman successfully in the Davis Cup ...

. Citing a failure to get used to the colder climate of

London London is the capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of England and the United Kingdom, with a population of just under 9 million. It stands on the River Thames in south-east England at the head of a estuary dow ...

, he later moved back to his home country and ran a tourist lodge with his wife.

Career finals

Doubles (18 titles, 15 runner-ups)

Doubles performance timeline

References

External links

* * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Black, Wayne 1973 births Living people Zimbabwean male tennis players Sportspeople from Harare Olympic tennis players of Zimbabwe Australian Open (tennis) champions Wimbledon champions French Open champions US Open (tennis) champions Tennis players at the 1996 Summer Olympics Tennis players at the 2000 Summer Olympics Tennis players at the 2004 Summer Olympics Zimbabwean people of English descent Zimbabwean people of Scottish descent USC Trojans men's tennis players White Zimbabwean sportspeople Hopman Cup competitors Grand Slam (tennis) champions in mixed doubles Grand Slam (tennis) champions in men's doubles