The 21st century
United States · born Orange, California, 1989 · right-handed · Nottingham 2016 and Newport 2018 champion
All playersBack to the rankings
21
Career-high ATP singles ranking, July 2016
4
ATP singles titles, two of them on grass
4R
Wimbledon 2016, his best Grand Slam result
72
Singles wins in a row to close his college career at USC
2
NCAA singles titles, 2011 and 2012
Steve Johnson was born in Orange, California, in 1989. His father, a club coach at Rancho San Clemente, introduced him to the game. At the University of Southern California he won four NCAA team titles, the NCAA singles in 2011 and 2012, and finished his college career on a 72-match winning streak.
He turned professional in 2012. In 2016 he won his first ATP title on grass at Nottingham, reached the fourth round at Wimbledon and a career-high No. 21 in July, briefly becoming the top-ranked American man. At the Rio Olympics he won a bronze medal in doubles with Jack Sock and took Andy Murray to a final-set tiebreak in the singles quarter-finals. His father died suddenly in May 2017. Johnson won the clay-court title in Houston that year and again in 2018, and added a second grass title at Newport in July 2018. He finished in the year-end top 100 every season from 2014 to 2021.
Knee trouble limited his last season. He played his final singles match in qualifying at Indian Wells in March 2024, losing to Emilio Nava after letting seven match points slip, and retired with four ATP singles titles and two in doubles.
| Nottingham 2016 | Beat Pablo Cuevas 7-6, 7-5 in the final for his first ATP title, in one of the two years Nottingham was an ATP 250 event |
|---|---|
| Newport 2018 | Beat Ramkumar Ramanathan 7-5, 3-6, 6-2 in the final of the Hall of Fame Championships |
| Newport 2022 doubles | With William Blumberg, beat Raven Klaasen and Marcelo Melo 6-4, 7-5 in the final |
| Wimbledon | Fourth round in 2016, beating Grigor Dimitrov before losing to Roger Federer in straight sets; third round in 2019, lost to Kei Nishikori, and in 2022, lost to Cameron Norrie |
| Nottingham Challenger 2013 | Won the grass-court Challenger, beating Ruben Bemelmans 7-5, 7-5 in the final, a result that helped earn him a Wimbledon wild card |
| Newport, Rhode Island | ||
|---|---|---|
| 2018 | Men's singles Hall of Fame Open | |
| 2022 | Men's doubles Hall of Fame Open | with William Blumberg |
| Nottingham | ||
| 2016 | Men's singles | |
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 left everything I could out there on the court each and every day. That's what I'm most proud of: that I left my heart and soul out there in every match."
The person behind the player.
USC, 2008 to 2012
In four years at USC he won six national championships, four with the team and two in singles, was a seven-time All-American and twice Player of the Year for both the ITA and the Pac-12. He ended his college career on a 72-match winning streak.
Source: USTAOrange, California
As a boy he dreamed of breaking Pete Sampras's Grand Slam record. Looking back at retirement, he joked that if his 12-year-old self had seen the career that followed he would have said: "Man, you stink. ... That's all you did?" He added that, with hindsight, he was extremely proud of it.
Source: USTAMay 2017 to May 2018
His father, his first coach and the architect of his game, died in his sleep in May 2017, aged 58. A year later Johnson wrote a 'My Point' essay for the ATP about the months that followed, including his struggles with anxiety, in the hope that others could learn from his experience.
Source: Tennis.comIndian Wells, March 2024
He chose Indian Wells, about two hours from where he was born and a tournament he had visited every year as a child, for his farewell. In his last singles match, in qualifying, he held seven match points in the second set against the wild card Emilio Nava and lost 6-7, 7-6, 6-4.
Source: ATP TourFree 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.
.jpg){kind=link}