Jimmy Connors is a former professional tennis player who was born on September 2, 1952, in Belleville, Illinois, United States. Growing up in a sporting household paved the way for him to enter the world of professional sports.
When he first started playing tennis, he was coached by his mother and grandmother before quickly progressing further. Playing in the U11 US Boys championship, he won it at the age of 9 in 1961. After similar success throughout the remainder of his junior career, Connors finally turned professional in 1972 and immediately hit the ground running, winning a total of six titles in his first season.
When the ATP was formally set up in 1972, Connors initially earned himself the title of a maverick, refusing to join in favor of playing smaller tournaments organized by his manager. Despite this, success kept raining down on him, with him soon getting the first of his nine singles Grand Slam titles at the Australian Open, Wimbledon, and the US Open in 1974.
The 1974 season was certainly a stellar one for him, as it resulted in him gaining his career-high ranking of world number one, too. This domination on the singles court continued throughout the following decade, with him scooping the following six Grand Slam titles up until his last at the 1983 US Open.
All the while, he was exerting his dominance during the rest of the tour, racking up a career total of 109 titles, which is the men's record until this day. Singles was not his only specialty, however, as the American won a total of two Grand Slam titles on the doubles scene, as well as 16 tour titles.
He also managed to make a name for himself at the ATP Finals in 1977 as well as the Davis Cup in 1981. Since his retirement in 1996, he has served in many coaching roles, such as for former pros Andy Roddick and Maria Sharapova. Outside of that, he has occasionally dabbled in the world of sports commentary, and he hosts his own podcast.
