Wikipedia

Brian Teacher

Brian David Teacher (born December 23, 1954) is an American former professional tennis player. He reached career-high rankings of world No. 7 in singles and world No. 5 in doubles, both in 1981. Teacher is best remembered for being a major singles champion, triumphing at the 1980 Australian Open. He won eight career singles titles and 16 doubles titles.

Brian Teacher
Country (sports) United States
Born (1954-12-23) December 23, 1954 (age 69)
San Diego, California
Height6 ft 3 in (1.91 m)
Turned pro1973
Retired1986
PlaysRight-handed (one-handed backhand)
Prize money$1,426,514
Singles
Career record333–236
Career titles8
Highest rankingNo. 7 (October 5, 1981)
Grand Slam singles results
Australian OpenW (1980)
French Open3R (1978)
WimbledonQF (1982)
US Open4R (1978, 1980)
Doubles
Career record220–172
Career titles16
Highest rankingNo. 24 (August 9, 1983)

Following his playing career, he became a touring coach on both the ATP Tour and WTA Tour. He currently runs the Brian Teacher Tennis Academy in South Pasadena, California.

Early and personal life

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Teacher was born in San Diego, California.[1][2][3] He attended Crawford High School in San Diego, graduating in 1972.[2] He later lived in Beverly Hills, California.[4]

In 1979, he married fellow Californian player Kathy May, also a top 10 tennis player. They subsequently divorced.[5] He later studied for his MBA at the USC Marshall School of Business.[6]

Tennis career

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Junior, high school, and college

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Teacher won a CIF singles title in 1972 while at Crawford High School.[7]

In 1972, he won the boys' 18 singles and doubles titles.[8] At the University of California-Los Angeles, where he studied economics, he won the Pacific-8 singles and doubles championship in 1974, was an All-American from 1973 to 1976, and was a member of the UCLA teams that won the NCAA championship in 1975 and 1976.[6]

Professional career

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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.[9]

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.[10][11] 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 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

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Teacher was inducted in 2001 into the Intercollegiate Tennis Association (ITA) Hall of Fame,[12] in 2008 into the San Diego Tennis Hall of Fame,[13] and he is also a member of the NCAA Tennis Hall of Fame and the Southern California Jewish Sports Hall of Fame.[14] 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.[15]

Coach

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Following his playing career, he became an ATP and WTA touring coach working with Andre Agassi and Greg Rusedski.[16][17] 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 Reneberg, Daniel Nestor, and Max Mirnyi.[18] On the women's side, he coached WTA tour player Marissa Irvin.[19] He currently runs the Brian Teacher Tennis Academy in South Pasadena, California[20]

Grand Slam finals

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Singles (1 win)

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Result Year Championship Surface Opponent Score
Win 1980 Australian Open Grass   Kim Warwick 7–5, 7–6(7–4), 6–3

Career finals

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Singles (8 titles, 15 runners-up)

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Legend
Grand Slam tournaments (1)
Tennis Masters Cup (0)
Grand Prix (7)
Titles by surface
Hard (2)
Grass (2)
Clay (0)
Carpet (4)
Result W/L Date Tournament Surface Opponent Score
Loss 0–1 Sep 1976 Newport, U.S. Grass   Vijay Amritraj 3–6, 6–4, 3–6, 1–6
Loss 0–2 Jan 1977 Adelaide, Australia Grass   Victor Amaya 1–6, 4–6
Win 1–2 Apr 1977 Jackson, Mississippi, U.S. Carpet   Bill Scanlon 6–3, 6–3
Loss 1–3 Dec 1977 Sydney Outdoor, Australia Grass   Roscoe Tanner 3–6, 6–3, 3–6, 7–6, 4–6
Loss 1–4 Oct 1978 Tokyo Indoor, Japan Carpet   Björn Borg 3–6, 4–6
Win 2–4 Nov 1978 Taipei, Taiwan Carpet   Tom Gorman 6–3, 6–3, 6–3
Win 3–4 Jul 1979 Newport, Rhode Island, U.S. Grass   Stan Smith 1–6, 6–3, 6–4
Loss 3–5 Apr 1980 Los Angeles, U.S. Hard   Gene Mayer 3–6, 2–6
Loss 3–6 Nov 1980 Hong Kong Hard   Ivan Lendl 7–5, 6–7(2–7) , 3–6
Loss 3–7 Nov 1980 Taipei, Taiwan Carpet   Ivan Lendl 7–6, 3–6, 3–6, 6–7(5–7)
Loss 3–8 Nov 1980 Bangkok, Thailand Carpet   Vijay Amritraj 3–6, 5–7
Loss 3–9 Dec 1980 Sydney Outdoor, Australia Grass   Fritz Buehning 3–6, 7–6(7–5), 6–7(5–7)
Win 4–9 Dec 1980 Australian Open, Melbourne Grass   Kim Warwick 7–5, 7–6(7–4) , 6–3
Win 5–9 Aug 1981 Columbus, Ohio, U.S. Hard   John Austin 6–3, 6–2
Loss 5–10 Sep 1981 San Francisco, U.S. Carpet   Eliot Teltscher 3–6, 6–7(4–7)
Loss 5–11 Sep 1982 Maui, Hawaii, U.S. Hard   John Fitzgerald 2–6, 3–6
Win 6–11 Dec 1982 Dortmund WCT, West Germany Carpet   Wojciech Fibak 6–7, 6–4, 6–4, 2–6, 6–4
Win 7–11 Mar 1983 Munich WCT, West Germany Carpet   Mark Dickson 1–6, 6–4, 6–2, 6–3
Win 8–11 Aug 1983 Columbus, Ohio, U.S. Hard   Bill Scanlon 7–6, 6–4
Loss 8–12 Sep 1983 Dallas, Texas, U.S. Hard   Andrés Gómez 7–6(7–2) , 1–6, 1–6
Loss 8–13 Jun 1984 Bristol, U.K. Grass   Johan Kriek 7–6, 6–7, 4–6
Loss 8–14 Jul 1984 Gstaad, Switzerland Clay   Joakim Nyström 4–6, 2–6
Loss 8–15 Jul 1985 Livingston, U.S. Hard   Brad Gilbert 6–4, 5–7, 0–6

Doubles (16 titles, 7 runners-up)

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

Grand Slam tournament performance timeline

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Key
W  F  SF QF #R RR Q# DNQ A NH
(W) winner; (F) finalist; (SF) semifinalist; (QF) quarterfinalist; (#R) rounds 4, 3, 2, 1; (RR) round-robin stage; (Q#) qualification round; (DNQ) did not qualify; (A) absent; (NH) not held; (SR) strike rate (events won / competed); (W–L) win–loss record.
Tournament 1972 1973 1974 1975 1976 1977 1978 1979 1980 1981 1982 1983 1984 1985 1986 1987 SR W–L Win %
Australian Open A A A A A 1R 1R A A W A QF 3R A 3R NH A 1 / 6 12–5 70.6
French Open A A A A A 2R 3R 2R A A A A A A A A 0 / 3 4–3 57.1
Wimbledon A A A A 2R 1R 2R 4R 3R 2R QF 3R 1R 1R 2R Q2 0 / 11 15–11 57.7
US Open PR* 2R 3R 1R 1R 2R 4R 1R 4R 2R 2R 1R 1R 3R 1R A 0 / 15 14–15 48.3
Win–loss 0–1 1–1 2–1 0–1 1–2 2–5 6–3 4–3 11–2 2–2 9–3 3–3 0–2 3–3 1–2 0–0 1 / 35 45–34 57.0
  • The 1972 US Open had a preliminary round before the 128 player draw began.

Miscellaneous

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See also

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Notes

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References

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  1. ^ a b c d e "Brian Teacher". www.jewishsports.net.
  2. ^ a b Robert Slater (2000). Great Jews in Sports
  3. ^ Sandra Harwitt, The Greatest Jewish Tennis Players of All Time
  4. ^ San Diego Magazine. San Diego Magazine Publishing Company. March 1981.
  5. ^ "The Australian Open Champion Who Almost Wasn’t - Book Excerpt From 'The Greatest Jewish Tennis Players of All Time,'" World Tennis Magazine.
  6. ^ a b "Southern California Jewish Sports Hall of Fame Home". scjewishsportshof.com.
  7. ^ "San Diego District Tennis Association: Brian Teacher (1954- )". Archived from the original on February 22, 2012. Retrieved April 26, 2009.
  8. ^ Dan Magill, Magill: Teacher joins Californian Hall contingent, Athens Banner-Herald, May 19, 2001.
  9. ^ "Brian David Teacher". Jews in Sports. Archived from the original on September 29, 2007. Retrieved April 18, 2015.
  10. ^ "Brian Teacher Wins Crown in Australia". The New York Times. AP. January 5, 1981.
  11. ^ Douglas Perry (January 18, 2015). "Australian Open 2015: Four words that forged an unexpected Grand Slam champion - 'I want a divorce'". The Oregonian.
  12. ^ "ITA Men's Hall of Fame". Archived from the original on July 3, 2017. Retrieved May 15, 2009.
  13. ^ "Archived Document". Archived from the original on November 4, 2011. Retrieved 2013-09-26.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: bot: original URL status unknown (link)
  14. ^ https://www.scjewishsportshof.com/mambo/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=39&Itemid=57 [permanent dead link‍]
  15. ^ Memorable SCTA Hall Of Fame Induction | Southern California Tennis News, Adult Tennis, Junior, Tennis, Community Tennis
  16. ^ "Teacher tries to keep Rusedski focused on semi-final". The Independent. September 5, 1997.
  17. ^ "Rusedski is served by a new teacher". The Independent. May 19, 1996.
  18. ^ "Brian Teacher | ATP Tour | Tennis". ATP Tour.
  19. ^ "Joplin Independent: World of tennis is introduced to young readers". www.joplinindependent.com. Archived from the original on December 19, 2019. Retrieved May 17, 2018.
  20. ^ "Brian Teacher Tennis Academy". www.brianteacher.com.
  21. ^ a b "Brian Teacher". Archived from the original on February 22, 2012. Retrieved April 26, 2009.
  22. ^ "Brian Teacher". Archived from the original on February 22, 2012. Retrieved January 26, 2016.
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