Jan-Michael Charles Gambill (born June 3, 1977) is an American 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 ...

player who made his professional debut in 1996. His career-high singles

ranking A ranking is a relationship between a set of items such that, for any two items, the first is either "ranked higher than", "ranked lower than" or "ranked equal to" the second. In mathematics, this is known as a weak order or total preorder of ...

is world No. 14, which he achieved on June 18, 2001. Best known for his unusual double-handed forehand, Gambill reached the quarterfinals of the

2000 Wimbledon Championships The 2000 Wimbledon Championships was a tennis tournament played on grass courts at the All England Lawn Tennis and Croquet Club in Wimbledon, London in the United Kingdom. It was the 114th edition of the Wimbledon Championships and was held from ...

, the final of the 2001 Miami Masters, and won three singles titles.

Early life

Gambill spent the early years of his life in the countryside of

Spokane, Washington Spokane ( ) is the largest city and county seat of Spokane County, Washington, United States. It is in eastern Washington, along the Spokane River, adjacent to the Selkirk Mountains, and west of the Rocky Mountain foothills, south of the Cana ...

. He currently resides in both

Los Angeles, California Los Angeles ( ; es, Los Ángeles, link=no , ), often referred to by its initials L.A., is the largest city in the state of California and the second most populous city in the United States after New York City, as well as one of the world' ...

and Kailua-Kona, Hawaii with his partner, architect and develope
Malek Alqadi
While Jan-Michael has been sponsored by car manufacturer Jaguar, he also supports real-life Jaguars and tigers through Cat Tales Zoological Park, an organization dedicated to saving the lives of big cats. Gambill has also raised money for his long-time friend Sir Elton John's charity, the

Elton John AIDS Foundation The Elton John AIDS Foundation (EJAF) is a nonprofit organization, established by rock musician Sir Elton John in 1992 in the United States and 1993 in the United Kingdom to support innovative HIV prevention, education programs, direct care a ...

. Gambill's high-profile career as a professional athlete has evolved into coaching world-class tennis players as well as being an international analyst for BeIn sports. Gambill was also sponsored by

Prince A prince is a male ruler (ranked below a king, grand prince, and grand duke) or a male member of a monarch's or former monarch's family. ''Prince'' is also a title of nobility (often highest), often hereditary, in some European states. T ...

for both his racquets and apparel.

Tennis career

1996–2005

Gambill began playing tennis at the age of five, looking up to multiple

Grand Slam Grand Slam most often refers to: * Grand Slam (tennis), one player or pair winning all four major annual tournaments, or the tournaments themselves Grand Slam or Grand slam may also refer to: Games and sports * Grand slam, winning category te ...

singles titlists Jimmy Connors and

John McEnroe John Patrick McEnroe Jr. (born February 16, 1959) is an American former professional tennis player. He was known for his shot-making and volleying skills, his rivalries with Björn Borg and Jimmy Connors, and his confrontational on-court beha ...

. He has defeated, amongst other top players, former World No. 1s,

Roger Federer Roger Federer (; born 8 August 1981) is a Swiss former professional tennis player. He was ranked world No. 1 by the Association of Tennis Professionals (ATP) for 310 weeks, including a record 237 consecutive weeks, and finished as the year-e ...

Carlos Moyá Carlos Moyá Llompart (; born 27 August 1976) is a Spanish former world No. 1 tennis player. He was the French Open singles champion in 1998 and was the singles runner-up at the 1997 Australian Open. In 2004, he was part of his country's succ ...

Lleyton Hewitt Lleyton Glynn Hewitt (born 24 February 1981) is an Australian former world No. 1 tennis player. He is the most recent Australian man to win a major singles title, with two at the 2001 US Open and 2002 Wimbledon Championships. In November 200 ...

Gustavo Kuerten Gustavo "Guga" Kuerten (; born 10 September 1976) is a Brazilian former world No. 1 tennis player. He won the French Open singles title three times (1997, 2000, and 2001), and was the Tennis Masters Cup champion in 2000. During his career he ...

Marcelo Rios Marcelo is a given name, the Spanish and Portuguese form of Marcellus. The Italian version of the name is Marcello, differing in having an additional "l". Marcelo may refer to: * Marcelo Costa de Andrade (born 1967), Brazilian serial killer, rapi ...

Jim Courier James Spencer "Jim" Courier (born August 17, 1970) is an American former world No. 1 tennis player. He won four major singles titles, two at the French Open and two at the Australian Open. He was the youngest man to reach the singles finals of ...

, Pete Sampras, and

Andre Agassi Andre Kirk Agassi ( ; born April 29, 1970) is an American former world No. 1 tennis player. He is an eight-time major champion and an Olympic gold medalist, as well as a runner-up in seven other majors. Agassi is the second of five men to ac ...

, as well as Grand Slam champions

Michael Chang Michael Te-pei Chang (born February 22, 1972) is an American former professional tennis player and coach. He is the youngest man in history to win a singles major, winning the 1989 French Open at 17 years and 109 days old. Chang won a total of ...

Thomas Johansson Karl Thomas Conny Johansson (; born 24 March 1975) is a Swedish retired professional tennis player and coach. He reached a career-high Association of Tennis Professionals (ATP) world No. 7 singles ranking on 10 May 2002. His career highlights ...

Sergi Bruguera Sergi Bruguera i Torner (; born 16 January 1971) is a former professional tennis player from Spain. He won consecutive men's singles titles at the French Open in 1993 and 1994, a silver medal at the 1996 Olympic Games in men's singles and reache ...

, and Gastón Gaudio. His best performances at Grand Slams have been reaching the quarterfinals of Wimbledon in

2000 File:2000 Events Collage.png, From left, clockwise: Protests against Bush v. Gore after the 2000 United States presidential election; Heads of state meet for the Millennium Summit; The International Space Station in its infant form as seen from S ...

and the fourth round of the US Open in 2002. His run at Wimbledon in 2000 saw him beat

Fabrice Santoro Fabrice Vetea Santoro (born 9 December 1972) is a French retired tennis player. Successful in both singles and doubles, he had an unusually long professional career, with many of his accomplishments coming toward the end of his career, and he is ...

, Paul Goldstein and

Thomas Enqvist Thomas Karl Johan Enqvist (born 13 March 1974) is a Swedish former professional tennis player. He reached the final of the 1999 Australian Open and won a total of 19 singles titles, including three Masters titles. He has a career high ATP world ...

before losing to eventual champion Pete Sampras. His run to the final of the 2001 Miami Masters included wins over Hewitt, Gaudio, and

. He was coached by his father Chuck Gambill, who also coaches Jan-Michael's younger brother Torrey. Throughout his career, Gambill was hampered by numerous injuries. Most prominently, while still in the world's top 40, he suffered a recurring shin condition, which severely limited him on the ATP Tour after 2004. He also started serving harder to try and compensate for lack of movement, which resulted in a shoulder injury."Gambill is Still Competing"
''Globe Correspondent'', July 19, 2011."Jan Michael Gambill Speaks About WTT & Injuries"
''YouTube'' interview, March 29, 2012.

Post–2005

Gambill played for the

Boston Lobsters The Boston Lobsters were a World TeamTennis team based in Boston, Massachusetts. The Boston Lobsters played home matches at the Walter Brown Arena, Boston University, in Boston, MA. The most recent Boston Lobsters were a reincarnation of two pr ...

in the

World Team Tennis World TeamTennis (WTT) is a mixed-gender professional tennis league played with a team format in the United States, which was founded in 1973. The league's season normally takes place in the summer months. Players from the ATP and WTA take a ...

league from 2008 on, alongside other successful American players such as

John Isner John Robert Isner (born April 26, 1985) is an American professional tennis player. He has been ranked as high as world No. 8 in singles and No. 14 in doubles by the Association of Tennis Professionals (ATP). Considered one of the best servers ...

, and

Robby Ginepri Robert Louis Ginepri ( ; born October 7, 1982) is a retired American professional tennis player. He won three ATP singles titles in his career and achieved a career-high ranking of World No. 15 in December 2005. Ginepri's best Grand Slam result ...

. In September 2009, Gambill reached the semifinals of the USA F23 Futures tournament (losing to second seed

Michael McClune Michael McClune (born August 22, 1989) is an American professional tennis player. He turned professional in 2007, was represented by IMG and signed a lucrative contract with Nike. Junior career Michael was a finalist at the 2007 Luxilon Cup ...

) in his first pro match of the year. He competed in three Challenger events in 2010, and reached the quarterfinals of the USA F25 Futures in

Irvine, California Irvine () is a master-planned city in South Orange County, California, United States, in the Los Angeles metropolitan area. The Irvine Company started developing the area in the 1960s and the city was formally incorporated on December 28, 197 ...

. Since October 2010, Gambill has not competed on the pro tour. Since July 2011, he has coached top 10 player

Coco Vandeweghe Colleen "CoCo" Vandeweghe ( ) (born Colleen Mullarkey; December 6, 1991) is an American professional tennis player. A former Junior US Open champion and top 10 singles player, she has also won two WTA titles, both at the Rosmalen Grass Court C ...

, his former Boston Lobsters teammate, on the

WTA Tour The WTA Tour is a worldwide top-tier tennis tour for women organized by the Women's Tennis Association. The second-tier tour is the WTA 125K series, and third-tier is the ITF Women's Circuit. The men's equivalent is the ATP Tour. WTA Tour tou ...

. In 2017, he coached top 50 player

Jared Donaldson Jared Donaldson (born October 9, 1996) is a former American professional tennis player from Glocester, Rhode Island. Donaldson was the only American to qualify for the inaugural Next Generation ATP Finals at the end of 2017 as the fifth seed. He ...

on the

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 ...

. As of 2020, he is currently in broadcasting and television as a Sports Analyst on the Tennis Channel.

Personal life

Gambill is gay and in a relationship with architectural designer and model Malek Alqadi.

ATP Tour finals

Singles (3 titles, 4 runner-ups)

Performance timeline

References

External links

* * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Gambill, Jan-Michael 1977 births American male tennis players Gay sportsmen Hopman Cup competitors American LGBT sportspeople LGBT tennis players Living people Sportspeople from Spokane, Washington Tennis people from Hawaii Tennis people from Washington (state)