The Open Era
United States · born Burbank, California, 1964 · right-handed · Wimbledon mixed champion 1989 and men's doubles champion 1990
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2
Wimbledon titles: mixed 1989 with Jana Novotná, men's doubles 1990 with Rick Leach
4
Wimbledon finals in three years, 1989 to 1991
1
Singles title, on grass at Newport in 1989
1
World doubles ranking, reached in 1989
6-0
Davis Cup record, including the clinching point of the 1990 final
Jim Pugh was born in Burbank, California, on 5 February 1964 and grew up in Palos Verdes, where he began lessons at ten. His father, a dentist, had played basketball for USC. Pugh was an All-American at UCLA in 1984 and turned professional in 1985. In singles he reached No. 37 in 1987 and won one title, on the grass at Newport in 1989.
His career was made in doubles. With Rick Leach, a junior rival he had played since boyhood, he won the Australian Open in 1988 and 1989 and Wimbledon in 1990, and reached No. 1 in 1989. He won five major mixed titles: three at the Australian Open, Wimbledon in 1989 with Jana Novotná and one US Open. In 1990 he and Leach won the doubles rubber in every round of the United States' Davis Cup campaign, clinching the final against Australia. He won 22 men's doubles titles, the last at Los Angeles in 1992, and was inducted into the ITA Hall of Fame in 2008.
| Wimbledon men's doubles | 1989 with Leach, top seeds: lost the final to John Fitzgerald and Anders Jarryd 3-6, 7-6 (7-4), 6-4, 7-6 (7-4) on No. 1 Court. 1990, top seeds again: beat Pieter Aldrich and Danie Visser 7-6 (7-5), 7-6 (7-4), 7-6 (7-5) on Centre Court |
|---|---|
| Wimbledon mixed | 1989 with Novotná, top seeds: saved a match point at 6-7 in the third set of the quarter-final against David Wheaton and Mary Joe Fernandez, won 2-6, 6-4, 9-7, and beat Mark Kratzmann and Jenny Byrne 6-4, 5-7, 6-4 in the final. 1990: as holders lost the semi-final to Leach and Zina Garrison 7-6 (12-10), 7-6 (7-4). 1991 with Natasha Zvereva, top seeds: lost the final to Fitzgerald and Elizabeth Smylie 7-6 (7-4), 6-2 |
| Newport 1989 | Unseeded, won the Hall of Fame Championships, beating the sixth seed Peter Lundgren 6-4, 4-6, 6-2 in the final, worth $25,000 |
| Wimbledon | ||
|---|---|---|
| 1989 | Mixed doubles | with Jana Novotná |
| 1990 | Men's doubles | with Rick Leach |
| Newport, Rhode Island | ||
| 1989 | Men's singles Hall of Fame Open | |
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
"We're much blander. We just do the tennis."
The person behind the player.
Palos Verdes, early 1980s
At Palos Verdes High he injured his right arm so badly he could not lift it for nine months, so he played his senior season left-handed. A chiropractor fixed the arm and he went back to the right.
Source: Sports Illustrated, 1990Southern California
His father, Jim Sr., was a starting forward for USC's basketball team in the late 1950s and chose dental school over a shot at the NBA, a decision he regretted. His advice to his son was: "If you love to play tennis, play."
Source: Sports Illustrated, 1990Schoolyard
As a boy he heard the same joke over and over: "Oh, what stinks? Pugh!"
Source: Sports Illustrated, 1990Raleigh, 1987
In 1987 Leach could not get into a small tournament in Raleigh with his usual partner and asked Pugh. They won it, then five satellite events in Hawaii, then Scottsdale, and in January 1988 the Australian Open.
Source: Sports Illustrated, 1990Newport, July 1989
After beating Peter Lundgren for his first singles title he said: "It's a big achievement to win one. I put all the pressure on him." Lundgren's verdict was simpler: "He forced me to make mistakes."
Source: UPI, 16 July 1989Free membership: player news, the grass court Atlas, the rankings and the grass season calendar.
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