Brian David Teacher (born December 23, 1954) is an American former professional tennis player. He reached career-high rankings of world No. 7 in singles and world No. 5 in doubles, both in 1981. Teacher is best remembered for being a major singles champion, triumphing at the 1980 Australian Open. He won eight career singles titles and 16 doubles titles.
Following his playing career, he became a touring coach on both the ATP Tour and WTA Tour. He currently runs the Brian Teacher Tennis Academy in South Pasadena, California.
Early and personal life
Teacher was born in San Diego, California. He attended Crawford High School in San Diego, graduating in 1972.
In 1979, he married fellow Californian player Kathy May, also a top 10 tennis player. They subsequently divorced. He later studied for his MBA at the USC Marshall School of Business.
Tennis career
Junior, high school, and college
Teacher won a CIF singles title in 1972 while at Crawford High School.
In 1972, he won the boys' 18 singles and doubles titles. 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 to 1976, and was a member of the UCLA teams that won the NCAA championship in 1975 and 1976.
In 1980, he won the Australian Open, becoming the second Jewish player to win a men's Grand Slam Singles event (after Dick Savitt). 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. in 2008 into the San Diego Tennis Hall of Fame, and he is also a member of the NCAA Tennis Hall of Fame and the Southern California Jewish Sports Hall of Fame. In 2014 he was inducted into the International Jewish Sports Hall of Fame.
Coach
Following his playing career, he became an ATP and WTA touring coach working with Andre Agassi and Greg Rusedski. 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. On the women's side, he coached WTA tour player Marissa Irvin. He currently runs the Brian Teacher Tennis Academy in South Pasadena, California
Grand Slam finals
Singles (1 win)
{| class="sortable wikitable"
!Result
!Year
!style="width:110px"|Championship
!style="width:50px"|Surface
!style="width:120px"|Opponent
!style="width:120px" class="unsortable"|Score
|-
| style="background:#98fb98;"|Win || 1980 || style="background:#ffc;"|Australian Open || Grass || Kim Warwick || 7–5, 7–6<sup>(7–4)</sup>, 6–3
|}
Career finals
Singles (8 titles, 15 runners-up)
{|
|-valign=top
|
{| class="wikitable sortable"
! Legend
|- style="background:#f3e6d7;"
| Grand Slam tournaments (1)
|- style="background:#ffffcc;"
| Tennis Masters Cup (0)
|- bgcolor=
| Grand Prix (7)
|}
|
{|class=wikitable style=font-size:97%
! Titles by surface
|-
| Hard (2)
|-
| Grass (2)
|-
| Clay (0)
|-
| Carpet (4)
|}
|}
{| class="sortable wikitable"
!Result
!style="width:35px" class="unsortable"|W/L
!style="width:50px"|Date
!style="width:185px"|Tournament
!style="width:50px"|Surface
!style="width:140px"|Opponent
!style="width:150px" class="unsortable"|Score
|-
| style="background:#ffa07a;"|Loss
| 0–1
| Sep 1976
| Newport, U.S.
| Grass
| Vijay Amritraj
| 3–6, 6–4, 3–6, 1–6
|-
| style="background:#ffa07a;"|Loss
| 0–2
| Jan 1977
| Adelaide, Australia
| Grass
| Victor Amaya
| 1–6, 4–6
|-
| style="background:#98fb98;"|Win
| 1–2
| Apr 1977
| Jackson, Mississippi, U.S.
| Carpet
| Bill Scanlon
| 6–3, 6–3
|-
| style="background:#ffa07a;"|Loss
| 1–3
| Dec 1977
| Sydney Outdoor, Australia
| Grass
| Roscoe Tanner
| 3–6, 6–3, 3–6, 7–6, 4–6
|-
| style="background:#ffa07a;"|Loss
| 1–4
| Oct 1978
| Tokyo Indoor, Japan
| Carpet
| Björn Borg
| 3–6, 4–6
|-
| style="background:#98fb98;"|Win
| 2–4
| Nov 1978
| Taipei, Taiwan
| Carpet
| Tom Gorman
| 6–3, 6–3, 6–3
|-
| style="background:#98fb98;"|Win
| 3–4
| Jul 1979
| Newport, Rhode Island, U.S.
| Grass
| Stan Smith
| 1–6, 6–3, 6–4
|-
| style="background:#ffa07a;"|Loss
| 3–5
| Apr 1980
| Los Angeles, U.S.
| Hard
| Gene Mayer
| 3–6, 2–6
|-
| style="background:#ffa07a;"|Loss
| 3–6
| Nov 1980
| Hong Kong
| Hard
| Ivan Lendl
| 7–5, 6–7<sup>(2–7)</sup> , 3–6
|-
| style="background:#ffa07a;"|Loss
| 3–7
| Nov 1980
| Taipei, Taiwan
| Carpet
| Ivan Lendl
| 7–6, 3–6, 3–6, 6–7<sup>(5–7)</sup>
|-
| style="background:#ffa07a;"|Loss
| 3–8
| Nov 1980
| Bangkok, Thailand
| Carpet
| Vijay Amritraj
| 3–6, 5–7
|-
| style="background:#ffa07a;"|Loss
| 3–9
| Dec 1980
| Sydney Outdoor, Australia
| Grass
| Fritz Buehning
| 3–6, 7–6<sup>(7–5)</sup>, 6–7<sup>(5–7)</sup>
|-
| style="background:#98fb98;"|Win
| 4–9
| Dec 1980
| style="background:#f3e6d7;"|Australian Open, Melbourne
| Grass
| Kim Warwick
| 7–5, 7–6<sup>(7–4)</sup> , 6–3
|-
| style="background:#98fb98;"|Win
| 5–9
| Aug 1981
| Columbus, Ohio, U.S.
| Hard
| John Austin
| 6–3, 6–2
|-
| style="background:#ffa07a;"|Loss
| 5–10
| Sep 1981
| San Francisco, U.S.
| Carpet
| Eliot Teltscher
| 3–6, 6–7<sup>(4–7)</sup>
|-
| style="background:#ffa07a;"|Loss
| 5–11
| Sep 1982
| Maui, Hawaii, U.S.
| Hard
| John Fitzgerald
| 2–6, 3–6
|-
| style="background:#98fb98;"|Win
| 6–11
| Dec 1982
| Dortmund WCT, West Germany
| Carpet
| Wojciech Fibak
| 6–7, 6–4, 6–4, 2–6, 6–4
|-
| style="background:#98fb98;"|Win
| 7–11
| Mar 1983
| Munich WCT, West Germany
| Carpet
| Mark Dickson
| 1–6, 6–4, 6–2, 6–3
|-
| style="background:#98fb98;"|Win
| 8–11
| Aug 1983
| Columbus, Ohio, U.S.
| Hard
| Bill Scanlon
| 7–6, 6–4
|-
| style="background:#ffa07a;"|Loss
| 8–12
| Sep 1983
| Dallas, Texas, U.S.
| Hard
| Andrés Gómez
| 7–6<sup>(7–2)</sup> , 1–6, 1–6
|-
| style="background:#ffa07a;"|Loss
| 8–13
| Jun 1984
| Bristol, U.K.
| Grass
| Johan Kriek
| 7–6, 6–7, 4–6
|-
| style="background:#ffa07a;"|Loss
| 8–14
| Jul 1984
| Gstaad, Switzerland
| Clay
| Joakim Nyström
| 4–6, 2–6
|-
| style="background:#ffa07a;"|Loss
| 8–15
| Jul 1985
| Livingston, U.S.
| Hard
| Brad Gilbert
| 6–4, 5–7, 0–6
|}
Doubles (16 titles, 7 runners-up)
{| class="sortable wikitable"
!Result
!style="width:34px" class="unsortable"|W/L
!style="width:50px"|Date
!width=200|Tournament
!style="width:50px"|Surface
!style="width:150px"|Partner
!style="width:150px"|Opponents
!style="width:130px" class="unsortable"|Score
|-
| style="background:#98fb98;"|Win
| 1–0
| Aug 1976
| Columbus, U.S.
| Hard
| William Brown
| Fred McNair <br /> Sherwood Stewart
| 6–3, 6–4
|-
| style="background:#ffa07a;"|Loss
| 1–1
| Mar 1978
| Miami, U.S.
| Clay
| Bob Carmichael
| Tom Gullikson <br /> Gene Mayer
| 6–7, 3–6
|-
| style="background:#98fb98;"|Win
| 2–1
| Nov 1978
| Manila, Philippines
| Clay
| Sherwood Stewart
| Ross Case <br /> Chris Kachel
| 6–3, 7–6
|-
| style="background:#ffa07a;"|Loss
| 2–2
| Mar 1979
| Washington Indoor, U.S.
| Carpet
| Bob Carmichael
| Robert Lutz <br /> Stan Smith
| 4–6, 5–7, 6–3, 6–7
|-
| style="background:#ffa07a;"|Loss
| 2–3
| Apr 1979
| Stuttgart Indoor, West Germany
| Hard (i)
| Bob Carmichael
| Wojciech Fibak <br /> Tom Okker
| 3–6, 7–5, 6–7
|-
| style="background:#98fb98;"|Win
| 3–3
| Mar 1980
| Washington-2, U.S.
| Carpet
| Ferdi Taygan
| Kevin Curren <br /> Steve Denton
| 4–6, 6–3, 7–6
|-
| style="background:#ffa07a;"|Loss
| 3–4
| Mar 1980
| Rotterdam, Netherlands
| Carpet
| Bill Scanlon
| Vijay Amritraj <br /> Stan Smith
| 4–6, 3–6
|-
| style="background:#98fb98;"|Win
| 4–4
| Apr 1980
| Los Angeles, U.S.
| Hard
| Butch Walts
| Anand Amritraj <br /> John Austin
| 6–2, 6–4
|-
| style="background:#98fb98;"|Win
| 5–4
| Aug 1980
| Toronto, Canada
| Hard
| Bruce Manson
| Heinz Günthardt <br /> Sandy Mayer
| 6–3, 3–6, 6–4
|-
| style="background:#98fb98;"|Win
| 6–4
| Aug 1980
| Cincinnati, U.S.
| Hard
| Bruce Manson
| Wojciech Fibak <br /> Ivan Lendl
| 6–7, 7–5, 6–4
|-
| style="background:#ffa07a;"|Loss
| 6–5
| Nov 1980
| Hong Kong
| Hard
| Bruce Manson
| Peter Fleming <br /> Ferdi Taygan
| 5–7, 2–6
|-
| style="background:#98fb98;"|Win
| 7–5
| Nov 1980
| Taipei, Taiwan
| Carpet
| Bruce Manson
| John Austin <br /> Ferdi Taygan
| 6–4, 6–0
|-
| style="background:#98fb98;"|Win
| 8–5
| Nov 1980
| Bangkok, Thailand
| Carpet
| Ferdi Taygan
| Tom Okker <br /> Dick Stockton
| 7–6, 7–6
|-
| style="background:#98fb98;"|Win
| 9–5
| Feb 1981
| La Quinta, U.S.
| Hard
| Bruce Manson
| Terry Moor <br /> Eliot Teltscher
| 7–6, 6–2
|-
| style="background:#98fb98;"|Win
| 10–5
| Apr 1981
| Frankfurt, West Germany
| Carpet
| Butch Walts
| Vitas Gerulaitis <br /> John McEnroe
| 7–5, 6–7, 7–5
|-
| style="background:#98fb98;"|Win
| 11–5
| Jun 1981
| London/Queen's Club, U.K.
| Grass
| Pat DuPré
| Kevin Curren <br /> Steve Denton
| 3–6, 7–6, 11–9
|-
| style="background:#98fb98;"|Win
| 12–5
| Aug 1981
| Columbus, U.S.
| Hard
| Bruce Manson
| Anand Amritraj <br /> Vijay Amritraj
| 6–1, 6–1
|-
| style="background:#ffa07a;"|Loss
| 12–6
| Apr 1982
| Los Angeles, U.S.
| Hard
| Bruce Manson
| Sherwood Stewart <br /> Ferdi Taygan
| 1–6, 7–6, 3–6
|-
| style="background:#98fb98;"|Win
| 13–6
| Jul 1982
| Stuttgart Outdoor, West Germany
| Clay
| Mark Edmondson
| Andreas Maurer <br /> Wolfgang Popp
| 6–3, 6–1
|-
| style="background:#98fb98;"|Win
| 14–6
| Sep 1982
| San Francisco, U.S.
| Carpet
| Fritz Buehning
| Marty Davis <br /> Chris Dunk
| 6–7, 6–2, 7–5
|-
| style="background:#ffa07a;"|Loss
| 14–7
| Feb 1983
| Richmond, Virginia, U.S.
| Carpet
| Fritz Buehning
| Pavel Složil <br /> Tomáš Šmíd
| 2–6, 4–6
|-
| style="background:#98fb98;"|Win
| 15–7
| Aug 1983
| Columbus, U.S.
| Hard
| Scott Davis
| Anand Amritraj <br /> John Fitzgerald
| 6–1, 4–6, 7–6
|-
| style="background:#98fb98;"|Win
| 16–7
| Nov 1983
| Johannesburg, South Africa
| Hard
| Steve Meister
| Andrés Gómez <br /> Sherwood Stewart
| 6–7, 7–6, 6–2
|}
Grand Slam tournament performance timeline
{|class="wikitable nowrap" style=text-align:center
!Tournament!!1972!!1973!!1974!!1975!!1976!!colspan=2|1977!!1978!!1979!!1980!!1981!!1982!!1983!!1984!!1985!!1986
!1987!!SR!!W–L!!Win %
|-
|align=left|Australian Open
|A
|A
|A
|A
|A
|bgcolor=afeeee|1R
|bgcolor=afeeee|1R
|A
|A
|bgcolor=lime|W
|A
|bgcolor=ffebcd|QF
|bgcolor=afeeee|3R
|A
|bgcolor=afeeee|3R
|style=color:#767676|NH
|A
|1 / 6
|12–5
|70.6
|-
|align=left|French Open
|A
|A
|A
|A
|A
|bgcolor=afeeee colspan=2|2R
|bgcolor=afeeee|3R
|bgcolor=afeeee|2R
|A
|A
|A
|A
|A
|A
|A
|A
|0 / 3
|4–3
|57.1
|-
|align=left|Wimbledon
|A
|A
|A
|A
|bgcolor=afeeee|2R
|bgcolor=afeeee colspan=2|1R
|bgcolor=afeeee|2R
|bgcolor=afeeee|4R
|bgcolor=afeeee|3R
|bgcolor=afeeee|2R
|bgcolor=ffebcd|QF
|bgcolor=afeeee|3R
|bgcolor=afeeee|1R
|bgcolor=afeeee|1R
|bgcolor=afeeee|2R
|Q2
|0 / 11
|15–11
|57.7
|-
|align=left|US Open
|bgcolor=afeeee|PR*
|bgcolor=afeeee|2R
|bgcolor=afeeee|3R
|bgcolor=afeeee|1R
|bgcolor=afeeee|1R
|bgcolor=afeeee colspan=2|2R
|bgcolor=afeeee|4R
|bgcolor=afeeee|1R
|bgcolor=afeeee|4R
|bgcolor=afeeee|2R
|bgcolor=afeeee|2R
|bgcolor=afeeee|1R
|bgcolor=afeeee|1R
|bgcolor=afeeee|3R
|bgcolor=afeeee|1R
|A
|0 / 15
|14–15
|48.3
|-
!style=text-align:left|Win–loss
!0–1
!1–1
!2–1
!0–1
!1–2
!colspan=2|2–5
!6–3
!4–3
!11–2
!2–2
!9–3
!3–3
!0–2
!3–3
!1–2
!0–0
!1 / 35
!45–34
!57.0
|}
- The 1972 US Open had a preliminary round before the 128 player draw began.
Miscellaneous
- After he retired he completed his undergraduate economics degree and studied business at the University of Southern California.
- As a coach, he worked with Jim Grabb, Mark Knowles, Max Mirnyi, Daniel Nestor, Richey Reneberg, and Greg Rusedski.
See also
- List of select Jewish tennis players
Notes
References
External links
- Brian Teacher Tennis Academy
<!--business school, second college degree-->