Jonathan Canter (born June 4, 1965) is a 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 c ...

player from the

United States The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 U.S. state, states, a Washington, D.C., federal district, five ma ...

Early years

Canter was born in

Los Angeles 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 wor ...

, where his father, Stanley S. Canter, worked as a

film producer A film producer is a person who oversees film production. Either employed by a production company or working independently, producers plan and coordinate various aspects of film production, such as selecting the script, coordinating writing, di ...

. His father, who was also manager of

Jimmy Connors James Scott Connors (born September 2, 1952) is an American former world No. 1 tennis player. He held the top Association of Tennis Professionals (ATP) ranking for a then-record 160 consecutive weeks from 1974 to 1977 and a career total of 268 ...

for a time, produced films such as '' Greystoke: The Legend of Tarzan, Lord of the Apes'', '' Tarzan and the Lost City'' and ''

Hornets' Nest ''Hornets’ Nest'' is a 1970 Italian-American war film directed by Phil Karlson and starring Rock Hudson, Sylva Koscina, and Sergio Fantoni. The plot focuses on a group of boys aged 7–14 who survive a massacre in their village in Northern Ita ...

'', which he also wrote. He won the boys 16 and under singles in the 1979

Ojai Tennis Tournament The Ojai Tennis Tournament, often shortened to The Ojai, is an annual tennis tournament in Ventura County, California, headquartered at Libbey Park in downtown Ojai, about north of Los Angeles. The event, first held in 1896, is the oldest and l ...

. The promising junior made the quarterfinals of the 1981 US Open and the following year, he reached further quarterfinals at the US Open and

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 v ...

. His best performances however came in the doubles. With countryman

Michael Kures Michael Kures (born July 25, 1964) is a former professional tennis player from the United States. He was born in Czechoslovakia, but moved to the United States at age four. Career Kures, with partner Jonathan Canter, won the boys' doubles title ...

as his partner, Canter won the boys' doubles title at the 1982 US Open, beating Australians

Pat Cash Patrick Hart Cash (born 27 May 1965) is an Australian former professional tennis player. He reached a career-high ATP singles ranking of world No. 4 in May 1988 and a career-high ATP doubles ranking of world No. 6 in August 1988. Upon winning t ...

and

John Frawley John Frawley may refer to: * John Frawley (tennis) (born 1965), retired Australian tennis player * John Frawley (actor) (died 1999), Australian actor * John Frawley (astrologer) John Frawley (born 16 May 1955 in London, England) is a traditiona ...

in the final. He also made the doubles semifinals at the

1982 Wimbledon Championships The 1982 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. The tournament ran from 21 June until 4 July. It was the 96th staging of t ...

, partnering Chuck Willenborg. At the same event the following year, Canter was once again a singles quarterfinalist.ITF Junior Profile
/ref>

Professional career

Canter never made the third round of the singles draw at a Grand Slam.ATP World Tour Profile
/ref> He twice came close, the first time at the

1986 French Open The 1986 French Open was a tennis tournament that took place on the outdoor clay courts at the Stade Roland Garros in Paris, France. The tournament was held from 26 May until 8 June. It was the 90th staging of the French Open, and the first Gra ...

when he squandered a two set lead over

Jean-Philippe Fleurian Jean-Philippe Fleurian (born 11 September 1965) is a former tennis player from France, who turned professional in 1985. In his career, he won one doubles title (1996, Marseille). The right-hander reached his highest ranking on the ATP Tour on ...

in their second-round encounter. In the US Open that year, after coming from two sets down to defeat

Tim Mayotte Timothy Mayotte (born August 3, 1960) is a former professional tennis player from the United States. Professional career A tall serve-and-volleyer, Mayotte learned to play the game on the public courts of Forest Park in his hometown of Springfi ...

in his opening match, Canter was again at the wrong end of a second-round match decided in five sets, losing to Dan Goldie. He did, however, reach the third round on four occasions in the doubles. His biggest win came during the

1990 Wimbledon Championships The 1990 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 104th edition of the Wimbledon Championships and were held ...

, where he and partner Bruce Derlin upset reigning champions John Fitzgerald and

Anders Järryd Anders Per Järryd (; born 13 July 1961) is a former professional tennis player from Sweden. During his career he won eight Grand Slam doubles titles (three French Open, two Wimbledon, two US Open, one Australian Open), reached the world N ...

. In 1985, Canter won his only

Grand Prix Grand Prix ( , meaning ''Grand Prize''; plural Grands Prix), is a name sometimes used for competitions or sport events, alluding to the winner receiving a prize, trophy or honour Grand Prix or grand prix may refer to: Arts and entertainment ...

ATP ATP may refer to: Companies and organizations * Association of Tennis Professionals, men's professional tennis governing body * American Technical Publishers, employee-owned publishing company * ', a Danish pension * Armenia Tree Project, non ...

title, at the Melbourne Outdoor tournament. The following year, he would make it to No. 36 in the world. His best results that season were semifinal appearances at

Montreal Montreal ( ; officially Montréal, ) is the second-most populous city in Canada and most populous city in the Canadian province of Quebec. Founded in 1642 as '' Ville-Marie'', or "City of Mary", it is named after Mount Royal, the triple- ...

and

Toronto Toronto ( ; or ) is the capital city of the Provinces and territories of Canada, Canadian province of Ontario. With a recorded population of 2,794,356 in 2021, it is the List of the largest municipalities in Canada by population, most pop ...

. In Montreal, he had a win over world No. 4,

Yannick Noah Yannick Noah (; born 18 May 1960) is a French former professional tennis player and singer. Noah won the French Open in 1983, and is currently the captain of both France's Davis Cup and Billie Jean King Cup teams. During his nearly two-decad ...

Junior Grand Slam finals

Doubles: 2 (1 title, 1 runner-up)

ATP career finals

Singles: 1 (1 title)

ATP Challenger and ITF Futures finals

Singles: 2 (0–2)

Doubles: 5 (3–2)

Performance timelines

Singles

Doubles

References

External links

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Canter, Jonathan 1965 births Living people American male tennis players Tennis people from California US Open (tennis) junior champions Grand Slam (tennis) champions in boys' doubles