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Per Stefan Mikael Simonsson (born 5 January 1960, in Hyltebruk) 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 Sweden. He enjoyed most of his tennis success while playing singles. During his career, he won 2 doubles titles. He achieved a career-high singles ranking of World No. 49 in 1983 and a career-high doubles ranking of World No. 88 in 1984. He is a brother of fellow tennis player Hans Simonsson. After his career, he coached two top 10 players on the ATP ranking,
Magnus Gustafsson Magnus Nils Gustafsson (born 3 January 1967) is a tennis coach and former top ten professional tennis player from Sweden. Gustafsson won 14 tour singles titles during his career and finished 15 consecutive seasons within the world's top 100, r ...
and Magnus Larsson.


Career


1976–1978: Junior career

Simonsson won the Swedish Junior Indoor champion in 1976 as a 16 year old and in 1977 and 1978 the Swedish Junior Outdoor Champion. He played in his first Junior Grand Slam event at Wimbledon in 1977 and made his debut in a senior tournament at the
Swedish Open Swedish or ' may refer to: Anything from or related to Sweden, a country in Northern Europe. Or, specifically: * Swedish language, a North Germanic language spoken primarily in Sweden and Finland ** Swedish alphabet, the official alphabet used b ...
.


Junior Slam results – Singles

*French Open: SF (1978) *Wimbledon: QF (
1978 Events January * January 1 – Air India Flight 855, a Boeing 747 passenger jet, crashes off the coast of Bombay, killing 213. * January 5 – Bülent Ecevit, of CHP, forms the new government of Turkey (42nd government). * January 6 – ...
) *US Open: F (1978)


1979–1981

In 1979, Simonsson reached the quarterfinals at the challenger event in Biarritz and he reached the same stage in
Brussels Brussels (french: Bruxelles or ; nl, Brussel ), officially the Brussels-Capital Region (All text and all but one graphic show the English name as Brussels-Capital Region.) (french: link=no, Région de Bruxelles-Capitale; nl, link=no, Bruss ...
and
Taipei Taipei (), officially Taipei City, is the capital and a special municipality of the Republic of China (Taiwan). Located in Northern Taiwan, Taipei City is an enclave of the municipality of New Taipei City that sits about southwest of the ...
on the
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 ...
circuit. His best result in 1979 was making the semifinals in
Tel Aviv Tel Aviv-Yafo ( he, תֵּל־אָבִיב-יָפוֹ, translit=Tēl-ʾĀvīv-Yāfō ; ar, تَلّ أَبِيب – يَافَا, translit=Tall ʾAbīb-Yāfā, links=no), often referred to as just Tel Aviv, is the most populous city in the G ...
. In doubles and with partner
Per Hjertquist Per Hjertquist (born 6 April 1960) is a former professional tennis player from Sweden. During his career he won one singles title and one doubles title. He achieved a career-high singles ranking of world No. 68 in 1980 and a career-high doubles ...
, he reached the semifinals in Brussels. Simonsson also made his
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 orga ...
debut for Sweden during July 1979 in the Europe Zone B, semifinals against
Romania Romania ( ; ro, România ) is a country located at the crossroads of Central, Eastern, and Southeastern Europe. It borders Bulgaria to the south, Ukraine to the north, Hungary to the west, Serbia to the southwest, Moldova to the east, a ...
. Simonsson started the 1980 season by competing on the challenger circuit, and in May, he reached the final at the Galatina Challenger. On the Grand Prix tour, he made the quarterfinals at
Florence Florence ( ; it, Firenze ) is a city in Central Italy and the capital city of the Tuscany region. It is the most populated city in Tuscany, with 383,083 inhabitants in 2016, and over 1,520,000 in its metropolitan area.Bilancio demografico ...
and the semifinals in
Munich Munich ( ; german: München ; bar, Minga ) is the capital and most populous city of the German state of Bavaria. With a population of 1,558,395 inhabitants as of 31 July 2020, it is the third-largest city in Germany, after Berlin and Ha ...
. In doubles, he reached two semifinals, with Hjertquist at
Bordeaux Bordeaux ( , ; Gascon oc, Bordèu ; eu, Bordele; it, Bordò; es, Burdeos) is a port city on the river Garonne in the Gironde department, Southwestern France. It is the capital of the Nouvelle-Aquitaine region, as well as the prefecture ...
and with his brother,
Hans Hans may refer to: __NOTOC__ People * Hans (name), a masculine given name * Hans Raj Hans, Indian singer and politician ** Navraj Hans, Indian singer, actor, entrepreneur, cricket player and performer, son of Hans Raj Hans ** Yuvraj Hans, Punjabi ...
in
Madrid Madrid ( , ) is the capital and most populous city of Spain. The city has almost 3.4 million inhabitants and a metropolitan area population of approximately 6.7 million. It is the second-largest city in the European Union (EU), an ...
. Simonsson represented Sweden during the
1980 Davis Cup The 1980 Davis Cup was the 69th edition of the Davis Cup, the most important tournament between national teams in men's tennis. 52 teams would enter the competition, 30 in the Europe Zone, 12 in the Americas Zone, and 10 in the Eastern Zone. Arge ...
, playing in both the singles and doubles. In August 1981, Simonsson won his first titles on the challenger circuit when he captured both titles at the Le Touquet Challenger. In the singles, he defeated Georges Goven in the final and in the doubles, he teamed with compatriot Anders Järryd to win the title. Earlier in the year, he played in the singles final at the
Torino Turin ( , Piedmontese: ; it, Torino ) is a city and an important business and cultural centre in Northern Italy. It is the capital city of Piedmont and of the Metropolitan City of Turin, and was the first Italian capital from 1861 to 1865. The ...
challenger and with Järryd in the doubles final at the
Royan Royan (; in the Saintongeais dialect; oc, Roian) is a commune and town in the south-west of France, in the department of Charente-Maritime in the Nouvelle-Aquitaine region. Its inhabitants are known as ''Royannais'' and ''Royannaises''. Cap ...
challenger.


1982–1983

During May 1982, Simonsson made his first final on the
Grand Prix tennis circuit The Grand Prix tennis circuit was a professional tennis tour for male players that existed from 1970 to 1989. The Grand Prix and World Championship Tennis (WCT) were the two predecessors to the current tour for male players, the ATP Tour, wit ...
at the tournament in
Florence Florence ( ; it, Firenze ) is a city in Central Italy and the capital city of the Tuscany region. It is the most populated city in Tuscany, with 383,083 inhabitants in 2016, and over 1,520,000 in its metropolitan area.Bilancio demografico ...
, where he lost in three sets to the world number 9 Vitas Gerulaitis. His other notable achievements of 1982 were two quarterfinals in Guaruja and in
Toulouse Toulouse ( , ; oc, Tolosa ) is the Prefectures in France, prefecture of the Departments of France, French department of Haute-Garonne and of the larger Regions of France, region of Occitania (administrative region), Occitania. The city is on t ...
. In February 1983, Simonsson reached the semifinals in
Caracas Caracas (, ), officially Santiago de León de Caracas, abbreviated as CCS, is the capital and largest city of Venezuela, and the center of the Metropolitan Region of Caracas (or Greater Caracas). Caracas is located along the Guaire River in the ...
and in the same month, he reached the quarterfinals at the Cairo Challenger. During the first three weeks of May, he made three semifinals, first at the
Parioli Challenger The Parioli Challenger was a professional tennis tournament in Italy played on clay courts that was part of the ATP Challenger Series. It was held annually in Parioli, Rome from 1979 to 1993. It was the successor tournament to the Torneo Internazi ...
, thereafter at Florence and at 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. It ...
in Rome. After his performance during May, he broke into the top 50 in the world rankings for the first time. Simonsson played in two quarter-finals in 1983 at
Båstad Båstad () is a locality and the seat of Båstad Municipality, Scania County, Sweden, with approximately 5,000 permanent residents. It is however one of Sweden's most typical summer resorts. The population is presumably more than twice as large be ...
and
Bordeaux Bordeaux ( , ; Gascon oc, Bordèu ; eu, Bordele; it, Bordò; es, Burdeos) is a port city on the river Garonne in the Gironde department, Southwestern France. It is the capital of the Nouvelle-Aquitaine region, as well as the prefecture ...
. At the Bordeaux Open he was successful in the doubles and won his first Grand Prix title with fellow Swede
Magnus Tideman Magnus Tideman (born 9 April 1963) is a former professional tennis player from Sweden. He won 1 doubles title and achieved a career-high of World No. 43 in 1988. In singles, he reached the quarterfinals of Toulouse in 1982 (defeating Thierry Tul ...
. In November and alongside
Stanislav Birner Stanislav Birner (born 11 October 1956) is a former professional tennis player from Czechoslovakia. He is married to Jana Birnerová and has two daughters, Eva Birnerová Eva Birnerová (born 14 August 1984) is a Czech former tennis player. ...
, he played in his second doubles final at
Ferrara Ferrara (, ; egl, Fràra ) is a city and ''comune'' in Emilia-Romagna, northern Italy, capital of the Province of Ferrara. it had 132,009 inhabitants. It is situated northeast of Bologna, on the Po di Volano, a branch channel of the main stream ...
, and the following week, he and
Jan Gunnarsson Jan Gunnarsson (born 30 May 1962) is a former tennis player from Sweden, who won one singles in Vienna in 1985 (beating Libor Pimek in the final) and nine doubles titles on the world tour during his professional career. In 1989 he reached the ...
reached the semifinals in
Toulouse Toulouse ( , ; oc, Tolosa ) is the Prefectures in France, prefecture of the Departments of France, French department of Haute-Garonne and of the larger Regions of France, region of Occitania (administrative region), Occitania. The city is on t ...
.


1984–1986

The 1984 season was less successful, with only one quarterfinal at Florence during May. In doubles, he made three semifinals: in
Metz Metz ( , , lat, Divodurum Mediomatricorum, then ) is a city in northeast France located at the confluence of the Moselle and the Seille rivers. Metz is the prefecture of the Moselle department and the seat of the parliament of the Grand Est ...
and
Cologne Cologne ( ; german: Köln ; ksh, Kölle ) is the largest city of the German western state of North Rhine-Westphalia (NRW) and the fourth-most populous city of Germany with 1.1 million inhabitants in the city proper and 3.6 millio ...
, with Hjertquist and in
Palermo Palermo ( , ; scn, Palermu , locally also or ) is a city in southern Italy, the capital of both the autonomous region of Sicily and the Metropolitan City of Palermo, the city's surrounding metropolitan province. The city is noted for it ...
with
Ronnie Bathman Ronnie may refer to: *Ronnie (name), a unisex pet name and given name * "Ronnie" (Four Seasons song), a song by Bob Gaudio and Bob Crewe *"Ronnie," a song from the Metallica album ''Load'' *Ronnie Brunswijkstadion, an association football stadium ...
. In July 1985, Simonsson teamed with his brother and reached the semifinals at
Båstad Båstad () is a locality and the seat of Båstad Municipality, Scania County, Sweden, with approximately 5,000 permanent residents. It is however one of Sweden's most typical summer resorts. The population is presumably more than twice as large be ...
, and they won the doubles title in
Hilversum Hilversum () is a city and municipality in the province of North Holland, Netherlands. Located in the heart of the Gooi, it is the largest urban centre in that area. It is surrounded by heathland, woods, meadows, lakes, and smaller towns. Hil ...
, his second Grand Prix doubles title. Simonsson had one doubles semifinal at Florence with
Mike De Palmer Mike De Palmer (October 17, 1961 – August 7, 2021) was a professional tennis player from the United States. De Palmer enjoyed most of his tennis success while playing doubles. During his career, he won six tour doubles titles and finishe ...
. In singles, he made one quarterfinal at Båstad. In 1986, Simonsson reached one quarterfinal on the Challenger Tour at Marrakesh, and he played his last singles match at Kitzbühel, losing in the first round.


Grand Prix career finals


Singles: 1 (1 loss)


Doubles: 3 (2 wins, 1 loss)


Junior Grand Slam finals


Singles: 1 (0–1)


Challenger titles


Singles: (1)


Doubles: (1)


See also

*
List of Sweden Davis Cup team representatives This is a list of tennis players who have represented the Sweden Davis Cup team in an official Davis Cup match. Sweden have taken part in the competition since 1925. Players References {{DEFAULTSORT:Sweden Davis Cup Lists of Davis C ...


References


External links

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Simonsson, Stefan Swedish male tennis players 1960 births Living people