Brian Edward Gottfried (born January 27, 1952) is a retired American

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 who won 25 singles titles and 54 doubles titles during his professional career. He was the runner-up in singles at the

1977 French Open The 1977 French Open was a tennis tournament that took place on the outdoor clay courts at the Stade Roland Garros in Paris, France. The tournament ran from 23 May until 5 June. It was the 81st staging of the French Open, and the second Grand Sla ...

, won the 1975 and 1977 French Open Doubles as well as the 1976 Wimbledon Doubles. He achieved a career-high singles ranking on the ATP tour on June 19, 1977, when he became world No. 3, and a career-high doubles ranking on December 12, 1976, when he became No. 2 .

Tennis career

Junior and college

Gottfried was born in

Baltimore, Maryland Baltimore ( , locally: or ) is the most populous city in the U.S. state of Maryland, fourth most populous city in the Mid-Atlantic, and the 30th most populous city in the United States with a population of 585,708 in 2020. Baltimore wa ...

, and is Jewish. He began playing tennis at the age of 5, after receiving a racquet as a gift. In all, Gottfried won 14 national junior titles. As a teen Gottfried attended

Baylor School Baylor School, commonly called Baylor, is a private, coeducational college-preparatory school in Chattanooga, Tennessee. Founded in 1893, the school currently sits atop a 690-acre campus and enrolls students in grades 6-12, including boarding st ...

Chattanooga Chattanooga ( ) is a city in and the county seat of Hamilton County, Tennessee, United States. Located along the Tennessee River bordering Georgia, it also extends into Marion County on its western end. With a population of 181,099 in 2020, ...

, Tennessee, and Piper High School in

Sunrise Sunrise (or sunup) is the moment when the upper rim of the Sun appears on the horizon in the morning. The term can also refer to the entire process of the solar disk crossing the horizon and its accompanying atmospheric effects. Terminology A ...

Florida Florida is a state located in the Southeastern region of the United States. Florida is bordered to the west by the Gulf of Mexico, to the northwest by Alabama, to the north by Georgia, to the east by the Bahamas and Atlantic Ocean, and ...

. In 1970, as a freshman at Trinity University in

Texas Texas (, ; Spanish: ''Texas'', ''Tejas'') is a state in the South Central region of the United States. At 268,596 square miles (695,662 km2), and with more than 29.1 million residents in 2020, it is the second-largest U.S. state by ...

, he won 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, ...

boys 18s singles championship, as well as the doubles championship with Alexander Mayer. He was an

All-America The All-America designation is an annual honor bestowed upon an amateur sports person from the United States who is considered to be one of the best amateurs in their sport. Individuals receiving this distinction are typically added to an All-Am ...

n in 1971 and 1972.

Professional career

Gottfried began his professional tennis career in 1972. He won five tournaments in 1977 and was runner-up 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 ve ...

. ''

Newsweek ''Newsweek'' is an American weekly online news magazine co-owned 50 percent each by Dev Pragad, its president and CEO, and Johnathan Davis (businessman), Johnathan Davis, who has no operational role at ''Newsweek''. Founded as a weekly print m ...

'' described him as the "best male tennis player in the world at the moment" in April 1977, while ''World Tennis'' and ''Tennis Magazine'' ranked him as No. 4 in their 1977's year-end rankings. He won the

Italian Open Italian Open may refer to: *Italian Open (tennis), a Masters 1000 level tennis tournament played in Rome each year. *Italian Open (golf) The DS Automobiles Italian Open ( it, Open d'Italia) is the men's national open golf championship of Italy. I ...

doubles championship in four consecutive years (1974–77). He won the men's doubles at the

in 1975 and 1977. In 1976, he won the men's doubles title at Wimbledon. He ended his career tied for 22nd in

open era The racket sport traditionally named lawn tennis, invented in Birmingham, England now commonly known simply as tennis, is the direct descendant of what is now denoted real tennis or royal tennis, which continues to be played today as a separate sp ...

singles titles leaders, and tied for 12th in doubles.

Arthur Ashe Arthur Robert Ashe Jr. (July 10, 1943 – February 6, 1993) was an American professional tennis player who won three Grand Slam singles titles. He started to play tennis at six years old. He was the first black player selected to the Un ...

liked to recall how Gottfried missed his daily practice session to get married, but atoned by doubling his practice time the next day. Gottfried retired as the player with the greatest number of tour match victories among players who had never won a grand slam. He held this record for 32 years, eventually being succeeded by

David Ferrer David Ferrer Ern (; ; born 2 April 1982) is a Spanish former professional tennis player. A three-time Davis Cup champion with Spain, Ferrer has won tournaments at all levels on the ATP Tour (ATP 250, ATP 500, Masters 1000) except at a major, ...

. He was also second to Ferrer for most titles by a player who never won a major.

Grand Slam finals

Singles: 1 (1 runner-up)

Doubles: 7 (3 titles, 4 runners-up)

Grand Slam tournament performance timeline

Singles

Grand Prix, WCT, and Grand Slam finals

Singles: 51 (25 titles, 26 runner-ups)

Doubles (54 titles, 41 runner-ups)

Davis Cup

Gottfried was 7–7 in

Davis Cup The Davis Cup is the premier international team event in men's tennis. It is run by the International Tennis Federation (ITF) and is contested annually between teams from competing countries in a knock-out format. It is described by the organi ...

play for the US between 1975 and 1982 and won it twice (in 1978 and 1982).

Halls of Fame & awards

Gottfried won the 1974 and 1975 ATP Doubles Team of the Year Award with partner Raúl Ramírez. He won the 1976 ATP Most Improved Player Award. He won the ATP Sportsmanship award in 1984. Gottfried was inducted into 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, ...

's Intercollegiate Tennis Hall of Fame in 1990. Gottfried, who is

Jew Jews ( he, יְהוּדִים, , ) or Jewish people are an ethnoreligious group and nation originating from the Israelites Israelite origins and kingdom: "The first act in the long drama of Jewish history is the age of the Israelites""T ...

ish, was inducted into the

International Jewish Sports Hall of Fame The International Jewish Sports Hall of Fame ( he, יד לאיש הספורט היהודי, translit=Yad Le'ish HaSport HaYehudi) was opened July 7, 1981 in Netanya, Israel. It honors Jewish athletes and their accomplishments from anywhere around ...

in 1999.

Life after playing career

Gottfried now lives in

Sarasota, Florida Sarasota () is a city in Sarasota County, Florida, Sarasota County on the Gulf Coast of the U.S. state of Florida. The area is renowned for its cultural and environmental amenities, beaches, resorts, and the Sarasota School of Architecture. The c ...

. In 2007 Gottfried joined the coaching staff at the

Harold Solomon Harold Solomon (born September 17, 1952) is an American former professional tennis player who played during the 1970s and 1980s. He achieved a career-high world ranking of No. 5 in singles in 1980, and of No. 4 in doubles in 1976. Over the cours ...

Tennis Institute in

Fort Lauderdale A fortification is a military construction or building designed for the defense of territories in warfare, and is also used to establish rule in a region during peacetime. The term is derived from Latin ''fortis'' ("strong") and ''facer ...

. In 2010, Gottfried coached with the Bollettieri Tennis Program at the

IMG Academy IMG Academy is a preparatory boarding school and sports training destination in Bradenton, Florida, United States. IMG Academy is set across over 600 acres and features programs consisting of sport camps for youth athletes, adult camps, a board ...

Bradenton, Florida Bradenton ( ) is a city in and the county seat of Manatee County, Florida, United States. As of the 2020 census, the city's population is 55,698. History Late 18th and early 19th centuries A settlement established by Maroons or escaped sl ...

. He was elected to the ATP Player Council in 2012 as an

alumni Alumni (singular: alumnus (masculine) or alumna (feminine)) are former students of a school, college, or university who have either attended or graduated in some fashion from the institution. The feminine plural alumnae is sometimes used for grou ...

representative. In 2015, he joined the coaching staff at the

Bolles School The Bolles School is an American private college preparatory day and boarding school in Jacksonville, Florida. It has a lower school (including pre-kindergarten), a middle school, and a high school, spread across four campuses around the Jacksonv ...

His younger brother,

Larry Larry is a masculine given name in English, derived from Lawrence or Laurence. It can be a shortened form of those names. Larry may refer to the following: People Arts and entertainment * Larry D. Alexander, American artist/writer *Larry Boon ...

was also a tennis player.

References

External links

* * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Gottfried, Brian American male tennis players French Open champions Jewish American sportspeople Jewish tennis players Sportspeople from Baltimore People from Ponte Vedra Beach, Florida Tennis people from Maryland Trinity Tigers men's tennis players Wimbledon champions American people of German-Jewish descent 1952 births Living people Grand Slam (tennis) champions in men's doubles Piper High School (Florida) alumni 21st-century American Jews