Jim Courier Tickets

Jim Courier
James Spencer Jim Courier, Jr. (born August 17, 1970, in Sanford, Florida) is a former world number one professional tennis player from the United States. During his ATP career, he won four Grand Slam singles titles ? two at the French Open and two at the Australian Open. Courier captured a total of 23 singles titles and 6 doubles titles during his career. He spent a total of 58 weeks ranked as the World No. 1 in 1992 and 1993. He reached the finals of all four major championships during his career.

In 2004, he co-founded InsideOut Sports & Entertainment, a New York City based sports event company. He also co-founded Courier's Kids, a non-profit organization that supports after school tennis and education programs. Courier continues to compete today on the Outback Champions Series and in select exhibitions and events worldwide. He is on the board of directors of the International Tennis Hall of Fame, Courier's Kids, First Serve, and The Gullikson Foundation.

As a junior player in the 1980s, Courier attended the Nick Bollettieri Tennis Academy and won the prestigious Orange Bowl in 1986 and 1987, as well as the French Open junior doubles title.

Courier turned professional in 1988 and made his Grand Slam breakthrough in 1991 when he won the French Open singles title, defeating his former Bollettieri Academy-mate Andre Agassi in five sets. He also reached the final of the US Open that year, where he lost to Stefan Edberg.

1992 saw Courier win both the Australian Open and French Open titles and enjoy a 25 match winning streak. In February of that year, he became the tenth player to reach the World No. 1 ranking since the ranking system was implemented in 1973. He finished 1992 as the World No. 1 ranked player. Courier also was a member of the US team that won the 1992 Davis Cup.

In 1993, Courier again won the Australian Open. He reached his third consecutive French Open final, which he lost to Sergi Bruguera. He also reached the 1993 Wimbledon final, which he lost to Pete Sampras. Courier again was part of the US team that won the 1995 Davis Cup. In the 1990s Courier popularized wearing a baseball cap while on court.

Courier relied on his physical conditioning to win matches, and he was widely known as one of the hardest workers on the ATP Tour. He was a power baseliner that hit an extreme western grip forehand that he used to dictate play. By contrast his two-handed backhand was a distinct weakness that was frequently attacked by other players. In his early and most successful years, he was able to use his quickness and conditioning to hit off crosscourt forehands from the backhand corner to great effect. He favored long rallies and wars of attrition. The slow red clay of the French Open and the slower hard courts of the Australian Open suited this strategy, and he won both tournaments twice. As his legs aged and his commitment wavered, he was increasingly unable to compensate for his weaker backhand, resulting in a slow, steady decline in his results.

In 2004, Courier founded InsideOut Sport & Entertainment, a New York based event promotion company that owns and operates the Outback Champions Series, the Ultimate Fantasy Camp, and the Legendary Nights exhibition series. He also has founded Courier's Kids, a non-profit organization that supports tennis in the inner city of St. Petersburg, Florida.

He currently competes on the BlackRock Tour of Champions and the Outback Champions Series and in various charity exhibition matches.

In 2004, Courier won three of the six BlackRock tournaments he played. In 2005, Courier finished #1 on that tour with two more tournament wins.

In March 2006, Courier won the Outback tournament in Naples, Florida, defeating Pat Cash in the final, and in Charlotte, North Carolina, defeating Todd Martin in the final. Courier finished the year #1 in the Outback series.

Courier is currently scheduled to play in 2007 Outback Champions Series tournaments in Naples, Boston, Newport, Charlotte, Dallas, and Houston as well as select exhibitions and events worldwide.

Courier retired from the ATP tour in 2000. He was inducted into the International Tennis Hall of Fame in 2005. Since his retirement as an ATP player, Courier has served as a tennis analyst and commentator for the USA Network, NBC Sports, TNT and Channel Seven Australia.