Brian Teacher

Brian Teacher
Country (sports)  United States
Born (1954-12-23) December 23, 1954
San Diego, California
Height 6 ft 3 in (1.91 m)
Turned pro 1973
Retired 1986
Plays Right-handed (one-handed backhand)
Prize money $1,426,514
Singles
Career record 335–235
Career titles 8
Highest ranking No. 7 (October 19, 1981)
Grand Slam Singles results
Australian Open W (1980)
French Open 3R (1978)
Wimbledon QF (1982)
US Open 4R (1978, 1980)
Doubles
Career record 220–172
Career titles 16
Highest ranking No. 24 (August 9, 1983)

Brian David Teacher (born December 23, 1954) is a right-handed American former professional male tennis player. He reached a career-high ranking World No. 7 in 1981.

Teacher is best remembered for his singles championship at the Australian Open in 1980. His career-high world singles ranking was No. 7 in 1981, and his world doubles ranking was No. 5, both in 1981. He won 8 career singles titles, and 16 doubles titles.

Following his playing career, he became an ATP & WTA touring coach. He currently runs the Brian Teacher Tennis Academy in South Pasadena, California.

Early and personal life

Teacher was born in San Diego, California, and is Jewish.[1][2][3] In 1979 he married fellow California player Kathy May, also a Top 10 tennis player, and the great-granddaughter of David May, founder of The May Department Stores Company[4] (now Macy's), though they subsequently divorced.[5]

Tennis career

Junior, high school, and college

Teacher won a CIF singles title in 1972 while at Crawford High School.[6]

In 1972, he won the boys' 18 singles and doubles titles.[7] At the University of California-Los Angeles, he won the Pacific-8 singles and doubles championship in 1974, was an All-American from 1973–76, and was a member of the UCLA teams that won the NCAA championship in 1975 and 1976. Teacher turned professional before acquiring his degree.[8]

Professional career

He reached the finals in the South Australian and New South Wales Opens in 1977. In 1978, at the Seiko World Super Tennis Tournament in Tokyo, Teacher upset UCLA graduates Jimmy Connors and Arthur Ashe before losing in the final to Björn Borg 6–3, 6–4.[8]

In 1980, he won the Australian Open, becoming the second Jewish player to win a men's Grand Slam Singles event (after Dick Savitt).[1] He won the final over Kim Warwick of Australia in straight sets.[9][10] With his Grand Slam victory, Teacher is one of only five American male players in the Open era to have won a single Grand Slam event (along with Michael Chang, Vitas Gerulaitis, Andy Roddick, and Roscoe Tanner). Seven more Americans have more than one Slam (Stan Smith, Arthur Ashe, Jim Courier, Jimmy Connors, Andre Agassi, John McEnroe, and Pete Sampras).

His career-high world singles ranking was No. 7 in 1981, and his world doubles ranking was No. 5, both in 1981.[1]

He won 8 career singles titles, and 16 doubles titles.[1]

Halls of fame

Teacher was inducted in 2001 into the Intercollegiate Tennis Association (ITA) Hall of Fame,[11] in 2008 into the San Diego Tennis Hall of Fame,[12] and he is also a member of the NCAA Tennis Hall of Fame and the Southern California Jewish Sports Hall of Fame.[13] In 2014 he was inducted into the International Jewish Sports Hall of Fame.[1] In 2015, Teacher was inducted into the Southern California Tennis Association Hall of Fame.[14]

Coach

Following his playing career, he became an ATP & WTA touring coach working with, among others, Andre Agassi and Greg Rusedski.[15][16] Under his tutelage, Rusedski made a run from #85 in the world to the top ten and the U.S. Open finals. Teacher also coached world #1 doubles players Jim Grabb, Richey Renenberg, Daniel Nestor, and Max Mirnyi.[17] On the women's side, he coached WTA tour player Marissa Irvin.[18] He currently runs the Brian Teacher Tennis Academy in South Pasadena, California.[19]

Grand Slam singles final

Win (1)

Year Championship Opponent in final Score in final
1980Australian OpenAustralia Kim Warwick7–5, 7–6(7–4), 6–2

Career finals

Singles (8 titles, 15 runners-up)

Legend
Grand Slam tournaments (1)
Tennis Masters Cup (0)
Grand Prix (7)
Titles by Surface
Hard (2)
Grass (2)
Clay (0)
Carpet (4)
Outcome No. Date Championship Surface Opponent in the final Score in the final
Runner-up 1. 1976 Newport, U.S. Grass India Vijay Amritraj 3–6, 6–4, 3–6, 1–6
Runner-up 2. 1977 Adelaide, Australia Grass United States Victor Amaya 1–6, 4–6
Winner 1. 1977 Jackson, Mississippi, U.S. Carpet United States Bill Scanlon 6–3, 6–3
Runner-up 3. 1977 Sydney Outdoor, Australia Grass United States Roscoe Tanner 3–6, 6–3, 3–6, 7–6, 4–6
Runner-up 4. 1978 Tokyo Indoor, Japan Carpet Sweden Björn Borg 3–6, 4–6
Winner 2. 1978 Taipei, Taiwan Carpet United States Tom Gorman 6–3, 6–3, 6–3
Winner 3. 1979 Newport, Rhode Island, U.S. Grass United States Stan Smith 1–6, 6–3, 6–4
Runner-up 5. 1980 Los Angeles, U.S. Hard United States Gene Mayer 3–6, 2–6
Runner-up 6. 1980 Hong Kong Hard Czechoslovakia Ivan Lendl 7–5, 6–7, 3–6
Runner-up 7. 1980 Taipei, Taiwan Carpet Czechoslovakia Ivan Lendl 7–6, 3–6, 3–6, 6–7
Runner-up 8. 1980 Bangkok, Thailand Carpet India Vijay Amritraj 3–6, 5–7
Runner-up 9. 1980 Sydney Outdoor, Australia Grass United States Fritz Buehning 3–6, 7–6, 6–7
Winner 4. 1980 Australian Open, Melbourne Grass Australia Kim Warwick 7–5, 7–6, 6–2
Winner 5. 1981 Columbus, Ohio, U.S. Hard United States John Austin 6–3, 6–2
Runner-up 10. 1981 San Francisco, U.S. Carpet United States Eliot Teltscher 3–6, 6–7
Runner-up 11. 1982 Maui, Hawaii, U.S. Hard Australia John Fitzgerald 2–6, 3–6
Winner 6. 1982 Dortmund WCT, Germany Carpet Poland Wojtek Fibak 6–7, 6–4, 6–4, 2–6, 6–4
Winner 7. 1983 Munich WCT, Germany Carpet United States Mark Dickson 1–6, 6–4, 6–2, 6–3
Winner 8. 1983 Columbus, Ohio, U.S. Hard United States Bill Scanlon 7–6, 6–4
Runner-up 12. 1983 Dallas, Texas, U.S. Hard Ecuador Andrés Gómez 7–6, 1–6, 1–6
Runner-up 13. 1984 Bristol, U.K. Grass United States Johan Kriek 7–6, 6–7, 4–6
Runner-up 14. 1984 Gstaad, Switzerland Clay Sweden Joakim Nyström 4–6, 2–6
Runner-up 15. 1985 Livingston, U.S. Hard United States Brad Gilbert 6–7, 4–6

Doubles (16 titles, 7 runners-up)

Outcome No. Date Tournament Surface Partner Opponents in the final Score in the final
Winner 1. 1976 Columbus, U.S. Hard United States William Brown United States Fred McNair
United States Sherwood Stewart
6–3, 6–4
Runner-up 1. 1978 Miami, U.S. Clay Australia Bob Carmichael United States Tom Gullikson
United States Gene Mayer
6–7, 3–6
Winner 2. 1978 Manila, Philippines Clay United States Sherwood Stewart Australia Ross Case
Australia Chris Kachel
6–3, 7–6
Runner-up 2. 1979 Washington Indoor, U.S. Carpet Australia Bob Carmichael United States Robert Lutz
United States Stan Smith
4–6, 5–7, 6–3, 6–7
Runner-up 3. 1979 Stuttgart Indoor, Germany Hard (i) Australia Bob Carmichael Poland Wojtek Fibak
Netherlands Tom Okker
3–6, 7–5, 6–7
Winner 3. 1980 Washington-2, U.S. Carpet United States Ferdi Taygan South Africa Kevin Curren
United States Steve Denton
4–6, 6–3, 7–6
Runner-up 4. 1980 Rotterdam, Netherlands Carpet United States Bill Scanlon India Vijay Amritraj
United States Stan Smith
4–6, 3–6
Winner 4. 1980 Los Angeles, U.S. Hard United States Butch Walts India Anand Amritraj
United States John Austin
6–2, 6–4
Winner 5. 1980 Toronto, Canada Hard United States Bruce Manson Switzerland Heinz Günthardt
United States Sandy Mayer
6–3, 3–6, 6–4
Winner 6. 1980 Cincinnati, U.S. Hard United States Bruce Manson Poland Wojtek Fibak
Czechoslovakia Ivan Lendl
6–7, 7–5, 6–4
Runner-up 5. 1980 Hong Kong Hard United States Bruce Manson United States Peter Fleming
United States Ferdi Taygan
5–7, 2–6
Winner 7. 1980 Taipei, Taiwan Carpet United States Bruce Manson United States John Austin
United States Ferdi Taygan
6–4, 6–0
Winner 8. 1980 Bangkok, Thailand Carpet United States Ferdi Taygan Netherlands Tom Okker
United States Dick Stockton
7–6, 7–6
Winner 9. 1981 La Quinta, U.S. Hard United States Bruce Manson United States Terry Moor
United States Eliot Teltscher
7–6, 6–2
Winner 10. 1981 Frankfurt, Germany Carpet United States Butch Walts United States Vitas Gerulaitis
United States John McEnroe
7–5, 6–7, 7–5
Winner 11. 1981 London/Queen's Club, U.K. Grass United States Pat Du Pré South Africa Kevin Curren
United States Steve Denton
3–6, 7–6, 11–9
Winner 12. 1981 Columbus, U.S. Hard United States Bruce Manson India Anand Amritraj
India Vijay Amritraj
6–1, 6–1
Runner-up 6. 1982 Los Angeles, U.S. Hard United States Bruce Manson United States Sherwood Stewart
United States Ferdi Taygan
1–6, 7–6, 3–6
Winner 13. 1982 Stuttgart Outdoor, Germany Clay Australia Mark Edmondson West Germany Andreas Maurer
West Germany Wolfgang Popp
6–3, 6–1
Winner 14. 1982 San Francisco, U.S. Carpet United States Fritz Buehning United States Marty Davis
United States Chris Dunk
6–7, 6–2, 7–5
Runner-up 7. 1983 Richmond, Virginia, U.S. Carpet United States Fritz Buehning Czechoslovakia Pavel Složil
Czechoslovakia Tomáš Šmíd
2–6, 4–6
Winner 15. 1983 Columbus, U.S. Hard United States Scott Davis India Anand Amritraj
Australia John Fitzgerald
6–1, 4–6, 7–6
Winner 16. 1983 Johannesburg, South Africa Hard United States Steve Meister Ecuador Andrés Gómez
United States Sherwood Stewart
6–7, 7–6, 6–2

Grand Slam tournament performance timeline

Tournament19731974197519761977197819791980198119821983198419851986SRW–L
Australian Open A A A A 1R A A W A QF 3R 3R A A 1 / 5 15–4
French Open A A A A 2R 3R 2R A A A A A A A 0 / 3 4–3
Wimbledon A A A 2R 1R 2R 4R 3R 2R QF 3R 1R 1R 2R 0 / 11 15–11
US Open 2R 3R 1R 1R 2R 4R 1R 4R 2R 2R 1R 1R 3R 1R 0 / 14 14–14
Win–Loss 1–1 2–1 0–1 1–2 2–4 6–3 10–3 12–2 2–2 9–3 4–3 1–3 2–2 1–2 1 / 33 53–32

Miscellaneous

See also

References

  1. 1 2 3 4 5 "Brian Teacher"
  2. Robert Slater, Great Jews in Sports
  3. Sandra Harwitt, The Greatest Jewish Tennis Players of All Time
  4. The Making of America’s Next Great Tennis Talent
  5. "The Australian Open Champion Who Almost Wasn’t - Book Excerpt From 'The Greatest Jewish Tennis Players of All Time,'" World Tennis Magazine.
  6. San Diego District Tennis Association: Brian Teacher (1954- )
  7. Dan Magill, Magill: Teacher joins Californian Hall contingent, Athens Banner-Herald, May 19, 2001.
  8. 1 2 "Brian David Teacher". Jews in Sports. Retrieved April 18, 2015.
  9. "Brian Teacher Wins Crown in Australia". The New York Times. AP. 5 January 1981.
  10. Douglas Perry (January 18, 2015). "Australian Open 2015: Four words that forged an unexpected Grand Slam champion - 'I want a divorce'". The Oregonian.
  11. ITA Men's Hall of Fame
  12. "Archived Document". Archived from the original on November 4, 2011. Retrieved 2013-09-26.
  13. Memorable SCTA Hall Of Fame Induction | Southern California Tennis News, Adult Tennis, Junior, Tennis, Community Tennis
  14. Teacher tries to keep Rusedski focused on semi-final | The Independent
  15. Rusedski is served by a new teacher | The Independent
  16. Teacher-Brian | ATP World Tour | Tennis
  17. Joplin Independent: World of tennis is introduced to young readers
  18. Brian Teacher Tennis Academy
  19. 1 2 http://www.sandiegotennis.com/HOF/2008/Brian%20Teacher%20bio.htm
  20. http://www.sandiegotennis.com/hof/2008/brian%20teacher%20bio.htm


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