Class of 2019 Candidates Announced
Eight players hailing from seven different nations have been named as candidates on the ballot for the International Tennis Hall of Fame’s Class of 2019. Induction into the International Tennis Hall of Fame is the ultimate honor in tennis, representing a sum of an athlete’s achievements as being at the highest possible level in the sport.
There are three former WTA stars and five ATP World Tour greats on the ballot this year, all nominated in the Player Category. This is not an induction year for the Contributor Category, which honors great contributions to the sport off-court and is featured every four years, next coming up in 2021.
ABOUT THE CANDIDATES
JONAS BJÖRKMAN
Former world No. 1 doubles player Jonas Björkman of Sweden won nine major titles and achieved a doubles career Grand Slam. He was twice a champion at the ATP World Tour Year-End Championships, and captured 54 doubles titles in all. In singles, Björkman reached a career high of world No. 4 and was a semifinalist at both the US Open and Wimbledon. A dedicated team player, Björkman played a major role on three Swedish Davis Cup championship squads.
SERGI BRUGUERA
Spanish clay court great Sergi Bruguera accomplished a massive feat when he won back-to-back titles at Roland-Garros in 1993 and 1994. His first title came against two-time defending champion Jim Courier, after Bruguera came back from being down 2-0 in the fifth set. Bruguera reached a career high ranking of world No. 3 and won 14 titles in all. He was a silver medalist at the 1996 Olympics.
GORAN IVANIŠEVIC
Croatia’s Goran Ivanišević’s serve-and-volley style of play led him to great success on the grass courts of Wimbledon where he was a quarterfinalist once, semifinalist twice, and finalist three times, before winning the title in 2001. That year, ranked world No. 125, the big-serving lefty was granted a wildcard into the tournament. In a magical run to the trophy he knocked out three players who were former or future world No. 1s en route to a five-set battle with Patrick Rafter in the final. Ivanišević is a two-time Olympic medalist, having won a singles bronze and doubles bronze, both in 1992.
YEVGENY KAFELNIKOV
Former world No. 1 Yevgeny Kafelnikov was Russia’s first-ever major singles champion. In 1996 he won the French Open singles title, and also partnered with Daniel Vacek to win the doubles. No man since has won the singles and doubles titles at the same major. Kafelnikov was also the singles champion at the 1999 Australian Open, and he won four doubles majors (three at Roland-Garros, one at the US Open). In all, Kafelnikov won 26 singles titles and 27 doubles titles. He also won the Olympic Gold Medal at the 2000 Games and he was integral to Russia’s 2002 Davis Cup Championship.
CONCHITA MARTÍNEZ
In a 15-year career on the WTA Tour, Conchita Martínez won 33 singles titles and 13 doubles titles. She was the 1994 Wimbledon champion, defeating nine-time champion Martina Navratilova in the final. She was also a finalist at the Australian Open and French Open. Martínez reached a career high of world No. 2 and spent 190 weeks ranked inside the world top-5. The Spanish great represented her country with much dedication and success. She was a key member of five championship Fed Cup teams and a three-time Olympic medalist in doubles.
THOMAS MUSTER
Former world No. 1 Thomas Muster of Austria won 44 titles in 55 final appearances. He was the 1995 French Open champion, and known as the “King of Clay” for his dominance on that surface. That same year, Muster won a career-high 12 titles in all. In 1989, hours after defeating Ivan Lendl in the Miami Open semifinal, Muster was struck by a drunk driver, which caused severe damage to his knee. Following surgery, during his recovery, Muster continued to train by hitting balls from a specially designed chair. He returned to the ATP World Tour in September of that same season, and enjoyed another full decade of competition. In 1997, eight years after the accident, Muster won the Miami Open title, one of eight top-level titles in his career.
LI NA
Li Na, China’s first great tennis star, won two Grand Slam tournament singles titles, reached a ranking of world No. 2, and, as a result, was responsible for a dramatic shift in the level of interest in tennis in her nation. Her first major title came at the 2011 French Open, where she defeated top players including Petra Kvitova, Victoria Azarenka, Maria Sharapova, and defending champion Francesa Schiavone en route to the trophy. In 2014, she won a second major title, this time at the Australian Open, where she was a finalist in 2011 and 2013. Li Na won nine titles in all and compiled a singles record of 503-188. Her career accomplishments, combined with her engaging personality, resulted in a transformative effect on the popularity of tennis in China. More than 116 million people tuned in to watch her French Open final, and participation and interest in the sport has soared since her playing days.
MARY PIERCE
Four-time major champion Mary Pierce won singles titles at the Australian Open and Roland-Garros, as well as a doubles title at Roland-Garros and a mixed doubles title at Wimbledon. In her 1995 Australian Open victory, she won the title without losing a set. Five years later, the French player won both the singles and doubles titles at her home country’s Slam, defeating three-time champion Monica Seles and No. 1 seed Martina Hingis en route to the singles trophy. Pierce reached a career high of world No. 3 in both singles and doubles and won 18 singles titles and 10 doubles titles. She was key member of two championship Fed Cup teams.