The Open Era
United States · born Arcadia, California, 1964 · left-handed · Wimbledon doubles and mixed doubles champion 1990
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2
Wimbledon titles in 1990, men's doubles with Jim Pugh and mixed with Zina Garrison
3
Wimbledon men's doubles finals: 1989, 1990, 1995
111
Matches played at Wimbledon, 1986 to 2005
46
Career doubles titles
1
World doubles ranking, first reached on 26 March 1990
Rick Leach was born in Arcadia, California, on 28 December 1964, the son of Dick Leach, the tennis coach at the University of Southern California. He played for his father at USC from 1984 to 1987, was the first Division I player to be an All-American four times in both singles and doubles, and won the NCAA doubles title in 1986 and 1987. He turned professional in 1987 and never won a singles title.
In doubles he won 46 titles and five majors: the Australian Open in 1988 and 1989 with Jim Pugh and in 2000 with Ellis Ferreira, Wimbledon in 1990 with Pugh and the US Open in 1993 with Ken Flach. He added four mixed titles: Wimbledon in 1990 with Zina Garrison, the Australian Open in 1995 with Natasha Zvereva, and the Australian and US Opens in 1997 with Manon Bollegraf. He first reached No. 1 in doubles in March 1990, and that year he and Pugh won the doubles rubber in every round of the United States' Davis Cup run, including the clinching point in the final against Australia. He later coached, first at USC alongside his father.
| Wimbledon men's doubles finals | 1989 with Jim Pugh, top seeds: lost to John Fitzgerald and Anders Jarryd 3-6, 7-6 (7-4), 6-4, 7-6 (7-4). 1990 with Pugh: beat Pieter Aldrich and Danie Visser 7-6 (7-5), 7-6 (7-4), 7-6 (7-5). 1995 with Scott Melville, unseeded: lost to Todd Woodbridge and Mark Woodforde 7-5, 7-6 (10-8), 7-6 (7-5) |
|---|---|
| Wimbledon mixed 1990 | With Zina Garrison beat John Fitzgerald and Elizabeth Smylie 7-5, 6-2 in the final. In the semi-final they beat the holders, Leach's own doubles partner Jim Pugh and Jana Novotná, 7-6 (12-10), 7-6 (7-4); the 22-point tiebreak is the joint longest in a Wimbledon mixed semi-final |
| 1995 semi-final | With Melville beat Marc-Kevin Goellner and Yevgeny Kafelnikov 3-6, 7-6 (14-12), 6-7 (2-7), 7-6 (7-3), 6-3; the 26-point tiebreak is the joint longest in a Wimbledon men's doubles semi-final |
| Wimbledon record | 111 matches from 1986 to 2005: singles 0-2, doubles 40-19, mixed 33-17. Boys' doubles runner-up in 1982 with J.J. Ross, losing to Pat Cash and John Frawley 6-3, 6-4 |
| Other grass titles | Manchester at the Northern Lawn Tennis Club in 1993 with Ken Flach and 1994 with Danie Visser; Halle in 1998 with Ellis Ferreira, beating John-Laffnie de Jager and Marc-Kevin Goellner 4-6, 6-4, 7-6 |
| Wimbledon | ||
|---|---|---|
| 1990 | Men's doubles | with Jim Pugh |
| 1990 | Mixed doubles | with Zina Garrison |
| Northern Championships | ||
| 1993 | Men's doubles Manchester Open | with Ken Flach |
| 1994 | Men's doubles Manchester Open | with Danie Visser |
| Halle | ||
| 1998 | Men's doubles | with Ellis Ferreira |
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
"Rick and I support each other 100 percent, even if we've just played the worst match of our careers."
The person behind the player.
Southern California, 1970s
His father had him hitting so much as a small boy that by six his arm gave out. "The doctor put Rick in a cast and told me he'd never play lefthanded again," Dick Leach said. He did, and went on to be known above all for his volley.
Source: Sports Illustrated, 1990Raleigh, 1987
In the summer of 1987 Leach could not get into the draw at a small tournament in Raleigh, North Carolina, with his usual partner, so he asked Jim Pugh. They won it, then won five satellite events in Hawaii, and in January 1988 won the Australian Open.
Source: Sports Illustrated, 1990Athens, Georgia, 1987
After losing a singles match at the 1987 NCAA team championships, Leach lost his temper, threatened a Georgia player and climbed onto the bonnet of a car before campus police restrained him. He later called it the low point of his career.
Source: Sports Illustrated, 1990US Open, 1988
After he and Pugh beat Ken Flach and Robert Seguso in the 1988 US Open semi-finals, Leach celebrated with a seafood sandwich. "I was so happy, I didn't really taste it," he said. It made him ill, he was in hospital before the final, and he gave up seafood sandwiches.
Source: Sports Illustrated, 1990Playground
Neither half of the team had an easy name at school. "Kids used to call me Mr. Parasite," Leach said. Pugh's version: "I always got, 'Oh, what stinks? Pugh!'"
Source: Sports Illustrated, 1990Free membership: player news, the grass court Atlas, the rankings and the grass season calendar.
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