The Open Era
United States · born Baltimore, Maryland, 1952 · Wimbledon doubles champion 1976 with Raúl Ramírez · 1980 Wimbledon singles semi-finalist
All playersBack to the rankings
1976
Wimbledon doubles title with Raúl Ramírez, won 7-5 in the fifth set
1980
Wimbledon singles semi-final as an unseeded player
9.41pm
Finish of his five-set first-round win at Wimbledon in 1974, the latest evening play outside Centre Court on the record
3
Career-high singles ranking, June 1977
25
Singles titles, with 54 more in doubles
Gottfried was born in Baltimore on 27 January 1952. He was given his first racket by Japanese players who stayed with his family during the Orange Bowl junior tournament, and went on to win 14 national junior titles; his partner for his first, in the boys' 12s doubles, was Jimmy Connors. At Trinity University in Texas he was an All-American and in 1972 the NCAA singles and doubles runner-up, and he turned professional that year.
His best year was 1977, when he reached 15 singles finals, won five, was runner-up to Guillermo Vilas at the French Open and climbed to No. 3. He won 25 singles titles in all. With the Mexican Raúl Ramírez he formed one of the strongest doubles teams of the 1970s: ATP Team of the Year in 1974 and 1975, French Open champions in 1975 and 1977, four times Italian champions and Wimbledon champions in 1976. He played Davis Cup for the United States in five seasons between 1976 and 1982.
He received the ATP's Most Improved Player award in 1976 and its Sportsmanship award in 1984, retired at the end of 1984 and was elected president of the ATP in 1987. He later coached at academies in Florida.
| Wimbledon 1976 final | As top seeds with Raúl Ramírez, beat Ross Case and Geoff Masters 3-6, 6-3, 8-6, 2-6, 7-5 in 165 minutes on Centre Court |
|---|---|
| Wimbledon 1979 final | Seeded seventh with Ramírez, lost to Peter Fleming and John McEnroe 4-6, 6-4, 6-2, 6-2 |
| Wimbledon 1980 singles | Unseeded, beat Wojtek Fibak in the quarter-finals and lost the semi-final to Björn Borg 6-2, 4-6, 6-2, 6-0 |
| Queen's and Surbiton | Won the Surrey grass court title at Surbiton in 1980, beating Sandy Mayer 6-3, 6-3, and lost the 1981 Queen's final to John McEnroe 7-6, 7-5 |
| Melbourne 1975 | Won the South Pacific title on grass, beating Harold Solomon 6-2, 7-6, 6-1 in the final |
| Wimbledon | ||
|---|---|---|
| 1976 | Men's doubles | with Raúl Ramírez |
| Eastern Grass Court Championships (South Orange) | ||
| 1974 | Men's doubles‡ | with Raúl Ramírez |
| South Pacific Classic | ||
| 1975 | Men's singles‡ | |
| Surrey Championships (Surbiton) | ||
| 1980 | Men's singles | |
| Queen's Club | ||
| 1983 | Men's doubles | with Paul McNamee |
Leading grass titles only: the grass majors, tour-level grass events since 1968 and the leading grass championships before 1968. † single source; ‡ sources disagree. Roll of champions
"I don't miss anything. I was able to stop under my terms."
The person behind the player.
Childhood
Gottfried's tennis began with a present: Japanese players staying with his family during the Orange Bowl tournament gave him a racket before they left. He went on to win 14 national junior titles, the first of them in doubles with Jimmy Connors.
Source: ATP Tour biography; Jews in SportsMiami
Arthur Ashe liked to tell how Gottfried missed a scheduled practice in Miami because he was getting married, then made up for it with a double session the next day. The ATP calls his practice habits legendary.
Source: ATP Tour biographyWimbledon 1974
On Monday 24 June 1974 Gottfried beat Ray Moore 6-3, 4-6, 7-5, 2-6, 10-8 in the first round on No. 10 Court, finishing at 9.41pm, the latest evening play outside Centre Court on the AELTC's record.
Source: Wimbledon Compendium 2025 (AELTC)Wimbledon 1999
Twenty-three years after the 1976 final, Gottfried and Tom Gullikson won the 45 and over invitation doubles at Wimbledon, beating Ross Case and Geoff Masters 6-1, 7-6 (7-0).
Source: Wimbledon Compendium 2025 (AELTC)April 1977
In April 1977 Newsweek called him "simply the best male tennis player in the world at the moment". He finished the year with five titles from 15 finals.
Source: Jews in SportsFree membership: player news, the grass court Atlas, the rankings and the grass season calendar.
Join freePage updated 4 November 2026. Spotted an error? Send a correction.
