Brian Teacher

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Brian Teacher
Country (sports) United States
Born (1954-12-23) December 23, 1954 (age 67)
San Diego, California
Height6 ft 3 in (1.91 m)
Turned pro1973
Retired1986
PlaysRight-handed (one-handed backhand)
Prize money$1,426,514
Singles
Career record335–235
Career titles8
Highest rankingNo. 7 (October 5, 1981)
Grand Slam singles results
Australian OpenW (1980)
French Open3R (1978)
WimbledonQF (1982)
US Open4R (1978, 1980)
Doubles
Career record220–172
Career titles16
Highest rankingNo. 24 (August 9, 1983)

Brian David Teacher (born December 23, 1954) is a former American professional male tennis player. He reached a career-high ranking World No. 7 in 1981.

Teacher is best remembered for his singles championship at the Australian Open in 1980. His career-high world singles ranking was No. 7 and his world doubles ranking was No. 5, both in 1981. He won 8 career singles titles, and 16 doubles titles.

Following his playing career, he became an ATP & WTA touring coach. He currently runs the Brian Teacher Tennis Academy in South Pasadena, California.

Early and personal life[]

Teacher was born in San Diego, California.[1][2][3] He attended Crawford High School in San Diego, graduating in 1972.[2] He later lived in Beverly Hills, California.[4]

In 1979 he married fellow Californian player Kathy May, also a Top 10 tennis player, and the great-granddaughter of David May, founder of The May Department Stores Company[5] (now Macy's). They subsequently divorced.[6] He later studied for his MBA at the USC Marshall School of Business.[7]

Tennis career[]

Junior, high school, and college[]

Teacher won a CIF singles title in 1972 while at Crawford High School.[8]

In 1972, he won the boys' 18 singles and doubles titles.[9] At the University of California-Los Angeles, where he studied economics, he won the Pacific-8 singles and doubles championship in 1974, was an All-American from 1973–76, and was a member of the UCLA teams that won the NCAA championship in 1975 and 1976.[7]

Professional career[]

He reached the finals in the South Australian and New South Wales Opens in 1977. In 1978, at the Seiko World Super Tennis Tournament in Tokyo, Teacher upset UCLA graduates Jimmy Connors and Arthur Ashe before losing in the final to Björn Borg 6–3, 6–4.[10]

In 1980, he won the Australian Open, becoming the second Jewish player to win a men's Grand Slam Singles event (after Dick Savitt).[1] He won the final over Kim Warwick of Australia in straight sets.[11][12] With his Grand Slam victory, Teacher is one of only five American male players in the Open era to have won a single Grand Slam event (along with Michael Chang, Vitas Gerulaitis, Andy Roddick, and Roscoe Tanner). Seven more Americans have more than one Slam (Stan Smith, Arthur Ashe, Jim Courier, Jimmy Connors, Andre Agassi, John McEnroe, and Pete Sampras).

His career-high world singles ranking was No. 7 and his world doubles ranking was No. 5, both in 1981.[1]

He won 8 career singles titles, and 16 doubles titles.[1]

Halls of fame[]

Teacher was inducted in 2001 into the Intercollegiate Tennis Association (ITA) Hall of Fame,[13] in 2008 into the San Diego Tennis Hall of Fame,[14] and he is also a member of the NCAA Tennis Hall of Fame and the Southern California Jewish Sports Hall of Fame.[15] In 2014 he was inducted into the International Jewish Sports Hall of Fame.[1] In 2015, Teacher was inducted into the Southern California Tennis Association Hall of Fame.[16]

Coach[]

Following his playing career, he became an ATP & WTA touring coach working with, among others, Andre Agassi and Greg Rusedski.[17][18] Under his tutelage, Rusedski made a run from #85 in the world to the top ten and the U.S. Open finals. Teacher also coached world #1 doubles players Jim Grabb, Richey Reneberg, Daniel Nestor, and Max Mirnyi.[19] On the women's side, he coached WTA tour player Marissa Irvin.[20] He currently runs the Brian Teacher Tennis Academy in South Pasadena, California.[21]

Grand Slam finals[]

Singles (1 win)[]

Result Year Championship Surface Opponent Score
Win 1980 Australian Open Grass Australia Kim Warwick 7–5, 7–6(7–4), 6–2

Career finals[]

Singles (8 titles, 15 runners-up)[]

Legend
Grand Slam tournaments (1)
Tennis Masters Cup (0)
Grand Prix (7)
Titles by surface
Hard (2)
Grass (2)
Clay (0)
Carpet (4)
Result W/L Date Tournament Surface Opponent Score
Loss 1. Sep 1976 Newport, U.S. Grass India Vijay Amritraj 3–6, 6–4, 3–6, 1–6
Loss 2. Jan 1977 Adelaide, Australia Grass United States Victor Amaya 1–6, 4–6
Win 1. Apr 1977 Jackson, Mississippi, U.S. Carpet United States Bill Scanlon 6–3, 6–3
Loss 3. Dec 1977 Sydney Outdoor, Australia Grass United States Roscoe Tanner 3–6, 6–3, 3–6, 7–6, 4–6
Loss 4. Oct 1978 Tokyo Indoor, Japan Carpet Sweden Björn Borg 3–6, 4–6
Win 2. Nov 1978 Taipei, Taiwan Carpet United States Tom Gorman 6–3, 6–3, 6–3
Win 3. Jul 1979 Newport, Rhode Island, U.S. Grass United States Stan Smith 1–6, 6–3, 6–4
Loss 5. Apr 1980 Los Angeles, U.S. Hard United States Gene Mayer 3–6, 2–6
Loss 6. Nov 1980 Hong Kong Hard Czechoslovakia Ivan Lendl 7–5, 6–7, 3–6
Loss 7. Nov 1980 Taipei, Taiwan Carpet Czechoslovakia Ivan Lendl 7–6, 3–6, 3–6, 6–7
Loss 8. Nov 1980 Bangkok, Thailand Carpet India Vijay Amritraj 3–6, 5–7
Loss 9. Dec 1980 Sydney Outdoor, Australia Grass United States Fritz Buehning 3–6, 7–6, 6–7
Win 4. Dec 1980 Australian Open, Melbourne Grass Australia Kim Warwick 7–5, 7–6, 6–2
Win 5. Aug 1981 Columbus, Ohio, U.S. Hard United States John Austin 6–3, 6–2
Loss 10. Sep 1981 San Francisco, U.S. Carpet United States Eliot Teltscher 3–6, 6–7
Loss 11. Sep 1982 Maui, Hawaii, U.S. Hard Australia John Fitzgerald 2–6, 3–6
Win 6. Dec 1982 Dortmund WCT, Germany Carpet Poland Wojtek Fibak 6–7, 6–4, 6–4, 2–6, 6–4
Win 7. Mar 1983 Munich WCT, Germany Carpet United States Mark Dickson 1–6, 6–4, 6–2, 6–3
Win 8. Aug 1983 Columbus, Ohio, U.S. Hard United States Bill Scanlon 7–6, 6–4
Loss 12. Sep 1983 Dallas, Texas, U.S. Hard Ecuador Andrés Gómez 7–6, 1–6, 1–6
Loss 13. Jun 1984 Bristol, U.K. Grass United States Johan Kriek 7–6, 6–7, 4–6
Loss 14. Jul 1984 Gstaad, Switzerland Clay Sweden Joakim Nyström 4–6, 2–6
Loss 15. Jul 1985 Livingston, U.S. Hard United States Brad Gilbert 6–7, 4–6

Doubles (16 titles, 8 runners-up)[]

Result No. Date Tournament Surface Partner Opponents Score
Win 1. 1976 Columbus, U.S. Hard United States William Brown United States Fred McNair
United States Sherwood Stewart 		6–3, 6–4
Loss 1. 1978 Miami, U.S. Clay Australia Bob Carmichael United States Tom Gullikson
United States Gene Mayer 		6–7, 3–6
Win 2. 1978 Manila, Philippines Clay United States Sherwood Stewart Australia Ross Case
Australia Chris Kachel 		6–3, 7–6
Loss 2. 1979 Washington Indoor, U.S. Carpet Australia Bob Carmichael United States Robert Lutz
United States Stan Smith 		4–6, 5–7, 6–3, 6–7
Loss 3. 1979 Stuttgart Indoor, Germany Hard (i) Australia Bob Carmichael Poland Wojtek Fibak
Netherlands Tom Okker 		3–6, 7–5, 6–7
Win 3. 1980 Washington-2, U.S. Carpet United States Ferdi Taygan South Africa Kevin Curren
United States Steve Denton 		4–6, 6–3, 7–6
Loss 4. 1980 Rotterdam, Netherlands Carpet United States Bill Scanlon India Vijay Amritraj
United States Stan Smith 		4–6, 3–6
Win 4. 1980 Los Angeles, U.S. Hard United States Butch Walts India Anand Amritraj
United States John Austin 		6–2, 6–4
Loss 5. 1980 Columbus, U.S. Hard United States Peter Fleming [a] United States Brian Gottfried
United States Sandy Mayer 		4–6, 2–6
Win 5. 1980 Toronto, Canada Hard United States Bruce Manson Switzerland Heinz Günthardt
United States Sandy Mayer 		6–3, 3–6, 6–4
Win 6. 1980 Cincinnati, U.S. Hard United States Bruce Manson Poland Wojtek Fibak
Czechoslovakia Ivan Lendl 		6–7, 7–5, 6–4
Loss 6. 1980 Hong Kong Hard United States Bruce Manson United States Peter Fleming
United States Ferdi Taygan 		5–7, 2–6
Win 7. 1980 Taipei, Taiwan Carpet United States Bruce Manson United States John Austin
United States Ferdi Taygan 		6–4, 6–0
Win 8. 1980 Bangkok, Thailand Carpet United States Ferdi Taygan Netherlands Tom Okker
United States Dick Stockton 		7–6, 7–6
Win 9. 1981 La Quinta, U.S. Hard United States Bruce Manson United States Terry Moor
United States Eliot Teltscher 		7–6, 6–2
Win 10. 1981 Frankfurt, Germany Carpet United States Butch Walts United States Vitas Gerulaitis
United States John McEnroe 		7–5, 6–7, 7–5
Win 11. 1981 London/Queen's Club, U.K. Grass United States Pat Du Pré South Africa Kevin Curren
United States Steve Denton 		3–6, 7–6, 11–9
Win 12. 1981 Columbus, U.S. Hard United States Bruce Manson India Anand Amritraj
India Vijay Amritraj 		6–1, 6–1
Loss 7. 1982 Los Angeles, U.S. Hard United States Bruce Manson United States Sherwood Stewart
United States Ferdi Taygan 		1–6, 7–6, 3–6
Win 13. 1982 Stuttgart Outdoor, Germany Clay Australia Mark Edmondson West Germany Andreas Maurer
West Germany Wolfgang Popp 		6–3, 6–1
Win 14. 1982 San Francisco, U.S. Carpet United States Fritz Buehning United States Marty Davis
United States Chris Dunk 		6–7, 6–2, 7–5
Loss 8. 1983 Richmond, Virginia, U.S. Carpet United States Fritz Buehning Czechoslovakia Pavel Složil
Czechoslovakia Tomáš Šmíd 		2–6, 4–6
Win 15. 1983 Columbus, U.S. Hard United States Scott Davis India Anand Amritraj
Australia John Fitzgerald 		6–1, 4–6, 7–6
Win 16. 1983 Johannesburg, South Africa Hard United States Steve Meister Ecuador Andrés Gómez
United States Sherwood Stewart 		6–7, 7–6, 6–2

Grand Slam tournament performance timeline[]

Key
W  F  SF QF #R RR Q# DNQ A NH
(W) winner; (F) finalist; (SF) semifinalist; (QF) quarterfinalist; (#R) rounds 4, 3, 2, 1; (RR) round-robin stage; (Q#) qualification round; (DNQ) did not qualify; (A) absent; (NH) not held. SR: strike rate (events won / competed). W–L: win–loss record.
Tournament 1973 1974 1975 1976 1977 1978 1979 1980 1981 1982 1983 1984 1985 1986 1987 SR W–L
Australian Open A A A A 1R A A W A QF 3R 3R A A A 1 / 5 15–4
French Open A A A A 2R 3R 2R A A A A A A A A 0 / 3 4–3
Wimbledon A A A 2R 1R 2R 4R 3R 2R QF 3R 1R 1R 2R Q2 0 / 11 15–11
US Open 2R 3R 1R 1R 2R 4R 1R 4R 2R 2R 1R 1R 3R 1R A 0 / 14 14–14
Win–loss 1–1 2–1 0–1 1–2 2–4 6–3 10–3 12–2 2–2 9–3 4–3 1–3 2–2 1–2 0–0 1 / 33 53–32

Miscellaneous[]

  • After he retired he completed his undergraduate economics degree and studied business at the University of Southern California.[23]
  • As a coach, he worked with Jim Grabb, Mark Knowles, Max Mirnyi, Daniel Nestor, Richey Reneberg, and Greg Rusedski.[23]
  • He is married and has two children.[24]

See also[]

  • List of select Jewish tennis players

Notes[]

  1. ^ Fleming's partner incorrectly listed by the ATP as Eliot Teltscher. It was actually Brian Teacher as listed by the ITF.[22]

References[]

  1. ^ a b c d e "Brian Teacher". www.jewishsports.net.
  2. ^ a b Robert Slater (2000). Great Jews in Sports
  3. ^ Sandra Harwitt, The Greatest Jewish Tennis Players of All Time
  4. ^ https://www.google.com/books/edition/San_Diego_Magazine/-QMkAQAAIAAJ?hl=en&gbpv=1&bsq=%22Brian+Teacher%22+%22crawford+high%22+tennis&dq=%22Brian+Teacher%22+%22crawford+high%22+tennis&printsec=frontcover
  5. ^ Jonge, Peter de (August 24, 2016). "The Making of America's Next Great Tennis Talent, in Two Very Different Labs". Intelligencer.
  6. ^ "The Australian Open Champion Who Almost Wasn’t - Book Excerpt From 'The Greatest Jewish Tennis Players of All Time,'" World Tennis Magazine.
  7. ^ a b "Southern California Jewish Sports Hall of Fame Home". scjewishsportshof.com.
  8. ^ "San Diego District Tennis Association: Brian Teacher (1954- )". Archived from the original on February 22, 2012. Retrieved April 26, 2009.
  9. ^ Dan Magill, Magill: Teacher joins Californian Hall contingent, Athens Banner-Herald, May 19, 2001.
  10. ^ "Brian David Teacher". Jews in Sports. Archived from the original on September 29, 2007. Retrieved April 18, 2015.
  11. ^ "Brian Teacher Wins Crown in Australia". The New York Times. AP. January 5, 1981.
  12. ^ Douglas Perry (January 18, 2015). "Australian Open 2015: Four words that forged an unexpected Grand Slam champion - 'I want a divorce'". The Oregonian.
  13. ^ "ITA Men's Hall of Fame". Archived from the original on July 3, 2017. Retrieved May 15, 2009.
  14. ^ "Archived Document". Archived from the original on November 4, 2011. Retrieved 2013-09-26.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: bot: original URL status unknown (link)
  15. ^ https://www.scjewishsportshof.com/mambo/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=39&Itemid=57[permanent dead link]
  16. ^ Memorable SCTA Hall Of Fame Induction | Southern California Tennis News, Adult Tennis, Junior, Tennis, Community Tennis
  17. ^ "Teacher tries to keep Rusedski focused on semi-final". The Independent. September 5, 1997.
  18. ^ "Rusedski is served by a new teacher". The Independent. May 19, 1996.
  19. ^ "Brian Teacher | ATP Tour | Tennis". ATP Tour.
  20. ^ "Joplin Independent: World of tennis is introduced to young readers". www.joplinindependent.com. Archived from the original on December 19, 2019. Retrieved May 17, 2018.
  21. ^ "Brian Teacher Tennis Academy". www.brianteacher.com.
  22. ^ "Columbus Doubles 1980". itftennis.com. ITF. Retrieved January 10, 2021.
  23. ^ a b "Archived copy". Archived from the original on February 22, 2012. Retrieved April 26, 2009.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link)
  24. ^ "Archived copy". Archived from the original on February 22, 2012. Retrieved January 26, 2016.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link)

External links[]

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