Jimmy Connors

He married former Playboy model, Patti McGuire, in 1979. The couple is blessed with two children.

He was born as James Scott Connors, Jr., to James Connors and his wife Gloria Thompson. His father worked as a toll bridge attendant while his mother was a former tennis player. He has one elder brother, Johnny.

He was primarily raised by his mother and grandmother and was taught to play tennis from a young age. His mother was very passionate about the sport and fortunately Jimmy inherited her passion.

Though initially coached by his mother, he was mentored by Pancho Segura from 1968 in order to groom him for a professional tennis career.

The first significant victory of his playing career came in 1970, when he defeated Roy Emerson in the first round of the Pacific Southwest Open in Los Angeles.

At that time he was attending the University of California, Los Angeles, and decided to drop out to pursue a professional tennis career. He turned pro in 1972. At about the same time, the Association of Tennis Professionals (ATP) was formed which he refused to join, reinstating his rebellious nature.

In 1973, he played against the legendary Arthur Ashe in the U.S. Pro Singles in a five-set final which he won. This was just the beginning of his rise to stardom in the tennis world!

The year 1974 was a great one for the promising player. He won three Grand Slam tournaments—Australian Open, Wimbledon, and the U.S. Open. He was named the No.1 male tennis player that year.

Starting from 1974, he reached the final of the U.S. Open in five consecutive years and won three of them. What made him especially skilled was the fact that he had won each of these on a different surface—grass in 1974, clay in 1976 and hard in 1978.

Winner of eight Grand Slam singles titles and two Grand Slam doubles titles, Jimmy Connors dominated the world of tennis throughout the 1970s and 1980s. The first male player to have held the No. 1 rank in world tennis, there is no doubt he is one of the legends who made tennis their passion.His Grand Slam single titles include: Australian Open (1974), Wimbledon (1974, 1982), US Open (1974, 1976, 1978, 1982, 1983)

In 1982, he was named the World Champion by The International Tennis Federation (ITF).

He received Player of the Year Award from The Association of Tennis Professionals (ATP) in 1982 and the Comeback Player of the Year Award from the same organization in 1991.