Yannick Noah: Biography from Answers.com

tennis player

Personal Information

Born Yannick Simon Camille Noah, May 18, 1960, in Sedan, France; son of Zacharie (a professional soccer player) and Marie-Claire (a teacher; maiden name, Perrier) Noah; married wife Cecilia (a model), 1984 (divorced, 1987); children: Joachim Simon, Tara Bianco Katharina.
Education: Attended a tennis academy in Nice, France.

Career

Professional tennis player; discovered by Arthur Ashe; ranked among Top Ten players in the world at various points in his career; captain of French Davis Cup team, 1991-92. Pursued singing profession; released debut album, Black and What, Welcome Records, c. 1991.

Life's Work

"I'm playing the way I love to play," popular tennis star Yannick Noah told the New York Times after a match the National Tennis Center in Flushing Meadows, New York. "I compete. I serve well. I just give everything I have." The winner of the French Open in 1983 as well as the Italian Open in 1985, Noah is renowned for his powerful serve, acrobatic net game, electrifying play, and flashy dreadlock hairstyle.

Often ranked among the Top Ten players of the game early in his career, Noah was discovered by tennis star Arthur Ashe. His considerable athletic gifts notwithstanding, Noah has been unable to recapture his initial glory. Toying with the idea of retirement from professional tennis in the 1990s, the colorful athlete was also pursuing a singing career.

Born on May 18, 1960, in Sedan, France, Yannick Simon Camille Noah is the oldest of three children. His father, Zacharie Noah, was a professional soccer player; his mother, Marie-Claire, was a teacher. When Noah was two years old, his father moved the family to his native Cameroon after an injury ended his soccer career. When the elder Noah took up tennis to keep in shape, he taught Yannick the game. The capital city of Yaounde, where the Noahs lived, had few courts, but Yannick practiced as much as he could using a wooden racket that he crafted himself. On the day he turned ten years old, Yannick celebrated by arranging a tennis tournament among his friends. He had each contestant pay a dollar to purchase the trophy he won himself.

A year later, Yannick was chosen to attend a clinic at a local tennis club where Arthur Ashe and other professionals were visiting on a tour of Africa. When he was given the chance to play with Ashe--a U.S. Open and Wimbledon champion--Yannick aced the pro once and matched him point for point across the net. Ashe soon contacted Philippe Chatrier, head of the French Tennis Federation, to invite Yannick to attend a special tennis academy in Nice, France. Noah spent the next five years at the academy while attending a local secondary school. Opting to leave secondary school one year short of graduation to focus on tennis, he moved to Paris and came under the instruction of the coach of the French national team, Patrice Hagelauer. The young Yannick went on to win the French junior title in 1977.

By 1980 Noah was ranked the Number One player in France after a series of Grand Prix titles and impressive showings in Grand Slam tournaments. Negative press regarding his confession of smoking hashish periodically--as well as his charge that other athletes used stronger drugs to improve their play--undermined his confidence.

He struggled the next year, but his form returned when he won the French Open in 1983. Suddenly a French celebrity, Noah moved to New York to avoid the harrowing publicity in France. He recuperated from injuries and the loss of his grandfather, a village chief who was murdered during a political coup in Cameroon, playing infrequently in 1984. Strengthened by his rest, Noah won the Italian Open in 1985. Although he reached the finals of many tournaments in the intervening years and was ranked fifth in the world in 1987, Noah failed to win the more prestigious titles, including another French Open.

Marital woes and injury plagued Noah during the late 1980s. Wed to Swedish model Cecilia Rodhe in 1984, Noah divorced her three years later after the births of his son, Joachim, and daughter, Tara. He suffered many defeats, including his loss to John McEnroe in the second round of the 1989 Davis Cup. Noah divulged about McEnroe in the New York Times, "He played very, very well. What can I say? It was very difficult. My knees were fine. I don't even have that excuse."

Despite his athletic prowess, Noah did not advance beyond the quarterfinals in Grand Slam tournaments throughout most of the 1980s. The New York Times stated in 1989, "Yannick Noah has always entertained tennis fans with his flamboyant style of play. His physical ability on sky-high overheads, diving volleys and thunderous serves has always made him stand out on the court. But he has been a bit of an enigma in his years on the circuit." In the U.S. Open that same year, Noah, ranked 23rd in the world, was defeated by Boris Becker in yet another quarterfinal.

"Yannick Noah is back in all his glory and threatening to crash a party that seemed reserved for the usual big names in tennis," crowed a New York Times correspondent in a review of his early play in the 1990 Australian Open. His comeback was short-lived, however, with his loss at the tournament. His malady of seesawing in and out of retirement at the end of the 1980s afflicted Noah into the 1990s. By August of 1990, Robin Finn of the New York Times dubbed the player "a dependable loser" at the U.S. Open. "I'm living one week after the other right now," Noah told Finn. "It's a difficult situation where I'm not playing very well and getting very frustrated." His coach, Dennis Rolston, predicted that if Noah did not improve his training regimen and confront his ambivalence toward the game, he would reach a crisis decision. Noah continued playing, though, capturing the title of captain of the French Davis Cup team the next year.

In his debut as captain of France's Davis Cup team, Noah startled the tennis world when he announced on November 28, 1991, that he would play only if another team member was injured. A defending champion who played in the Davis Cup final in Grenoble in 1982 and the Davis Cup quarterfinal in San Diego in 1989, Noah selected Guy Forget and Henri Leconte to lead the team. He explained in the New York Times, "The emotions are still there, but I don't feel like I'm the one who must hold the racquet. I believe the players we have are good enough to win." Under Noah's tutelage, Guy Forget spurred the team to take the Davis Cup on December 1, 1991, when he defeated Pete Sampras three sets to one. With great emotion, Noah joined the team on the courts of Lyon, France, when they celebrated their victory.

After viewing television reports of disturbances between security officers and antiapartheid demonstrators at the world doubles championships in Johannesburg, South Africa, Noah made news again in 1991 when he decided to boycott tennis matches in that country. Although South Africa had just been allowed re-entry into international sports at the beginning of the decade, Noah was quoted by Jet as saying, "Frankly, I can't see myself going there as a player or as captain of France's Davis Cup team. I would have the feeling of being used."

Ranked among the Top Six highest-paid male tennis stars, Noah has indicated that his devotion to tennis is waning. During the 1990s, he was investigating the possibility of a career as a vocalist. When Welcome Records released his debut album, Black and What, in 1991, an employee of a Parisian record store allowed, according to Sports Illustrated, "I suppose it's not too bad ... for someone who doesn't sing." France's loss to Switzerland in the 1992 Davis Cup competition convinced Noah to pursue another plan for his future. To the consternation of the French Tennis Federation, Noah resigned as captain of the 1992 French Davis Cup team. Guy Forget echoed the hope of French officials that Yannick Noah will be persuaded to reconsider his resignation. Although he was publicly criticized by Noah after the French loss to the Swiss team, Forget commented in Sports Illustrated about France's magnetic athlete, "Yannick is irreplaceable."

Awards

Winner of numerous tennis titles, including French junior title, 1977; French Open, 1983; Italian Open, 1985; and Benson & Hedges Indoor Championship, London, England, 1986.

Yannick Noah

Country	France
Residence	-
Date of birth	May 18, 1960 (1960-05-18) (age 49)
Place of birth	Sedan, France
Height	6 ft 4 in (193 cm)
Weight	180 lbs (81 kg)
Turned pro	1977
Retired	1996
Plays	Right-handed;
Career prize money	US$3,440,660
Int. Tennis HOF	2005 (member page)
Singles
Career record	476–210
Career titles	23
Highest ranking	3 (7-Jul-86)
Grand Slam results
Australian Open	SF (1990)
French Open	W (1983)
Wimbledon	3R (1979, 1985)
US Open	QF (1983, 1985, 1989)
Doubles
Career record	213–109
Career titles	16
Highest ranking	1 (25-Aug-86)
Last updated on: January 23, 2007.

Tennis career

Noah turned professional in 1977, and won his first top-level singles title in 1978 in Manila.

Noah became France's most prominent tennis hero in 1983, becoming the first Frenchman in 37 years to win the French Open. He dropped only one set during the two-week long tournament, and defeated the defending-champion Mats Wilander in straight sets in the final 6–2, 7–5, 7–6. Noah also became only the second black male to win a Grand Slam singles event (after Arthur Ashe). He remains the last native to have won the French Open men's singles title.

Especially endearing to French (and indeed many other) spectators was Noah's penchant for one particular tactic: when he was at the net and a lob was hit over his head, he would turn his back to the net, race back and attempt – often successfully – to hit the ball between his legs with his back still towards the net. Even today, when a player attempts such a move in a televised tournament, commentators often mention Noah's name. Although, this shot was invented and first time used by Guillermo Vilas (that's why it's called "Gran Willy" in Spanish).

During his career, which spanned almost two decades, Noah captured a total of 23 singles titles and 16 doubles titles. His highest singles ranking was third in the world, in 1986.

Noah won the French Open men's doubles title in 1984 (with compatriot and best friend Henri Leconte). He was also the men's doubles runner-up at the 1985 U.S. Open (with Leconte), and the 1987 French Open (with compatriot Guy Forget). In August 1986, Noah attained the World No. 1 doubles ranking, which he would hold for a total of 19 weeks.

Noah played on France's Davis Cup team for eleven years, with an overall win–loss record of 39–22 (26–15 in singles, and in 13–7 doubles). In 1982, he was part of the French team which reached the Davis Cup final, where they were defeated 4–1 by the United States.

Nine years later, in 1991, Noah captained the French team which won the Davis Cup for first time in 59 years, defeating a heavily-favoured US team 3–1 in the final. This feat was repeated in 1996, when France defeated Sweden 3–2 in the final held in Malmö.

In 1997, Noah captained France's Fed Cup team to its first-ever victory in that competition.

He notably admitted using marijuana prior to matches in 1981,^[1] saying that amphetamines were the real problem in tennis as they were performance enhancing drugs.

Noah was inducted into the International Tennis Hall of Fame in 2005.

Post-tennis career

Since retiring from playing tennis, Noah has developed a career as a popular singer, performing throughout Europe. He began his music career in 1991 with the album Black or What, featuring the popular track "Saga Africa" which he made the stadium sing with his players after the famous Davis Cup final win.

In collaboration with Jean-Jacques Goldman, Noah released a second album in 2000 entitled simply Yannick Noah, and in October 2006, scored a major French radio airplay hit with the single Donne-moi une vie from a new album entitled Charango.

In 2005, Noah performed at Bob Geldof's Live 8 concert – a fundraiser aimed at alleviating poverty in Africa.

Noah is very active in charity work. He supports 'Enfants de la Terre', a charity run by his mother, Marie-Claire, and founded 'Fête le Mur' in 1996, a tennis charity for underprivileged children, and was mentioned in association with this charity in the June 2008 French GCSE listening paper in England.

He is also the owner of a restaurant in Saint Barthelemy in the French West Indies called Do Brazil.

Family

Yannick is the son of former school teacher Marie-Claire Échalier-Perrier and Zacharie Noah, a former Cameroonian football star. Zacharie Noah played professionally for Sedan-Torcy (France) in the 1960s and became a hero by leading the side to the French Cup.

From his first marriage to Cécilia Rodhe (Miss Sweden 1978), Yannick has two children, Joakim and Yélena. The 6'11" Joakim played college basketball for the 2006 and 2007 NCAA Men's Division I Basketball National Champions the University of Florida Gators, and was drafted by the Chicago Bulls of the NBA as the 9th overall pick. His current contract with the Bulls extends through the 2011–2012 season.

From his second marriage to model Heather Stewart-Whyte, Noah has two children named Elijah and Jénayé.

With his current wife, French producer Isabelle Camus, he has a son named Joalukas.

Major finals

Grand Slam finals

Singles: 1 (1–0)

Outcome	Year	Championship	Surface	Opponent in the final	Score in the final
Winner	1983	French Open	Clay	Mats Wilander	6–2, 7–5, 7–6(3)

Doubles: 3 (1–2)

Outcome	Year	Championship	Surface	Partner	Opponent in the final	Score in the final
Winner	1984	French Open	Clay	Henri Leconte	Pavel Složil Tomáš Šmíd	6–4, 2–6, 3–6, 6–3, 6–2
Runner-up	1985	Us Open	Hard	Henri Leconte	Ken Flach Robert Seguso	6–7, 7–6, 7–6, 6–0
Runner-up	1987	French Open	Clay	Guy Forget	Anders Järryd Robert Seguso	6–7, 6–7, 6–3, 6–4, 6–2

Singles finals (36)

Wins (23)

No.	Date	Tournament	Surface	Opponent in the final	Score
1.	1978	Manila, Philippines	Clay	Peter Feigl	7–6, 6–0
2.	1978	Calcutta, India	Clay	Pascal Portes	6–3, 6–2
3.	1979	Nancy, France	Hard (i)	Jean-Louis Haillet	6–2, 5–7, 6–1, 7–5
4.	1979	Madrid, Spain	Clay	Manuel Orantes	6–3, 6–7, 6–3, 6–2
5.	1979	Bordeaux, France	Clay	Harold Solomon	6–0, 6–7, 6–1, 1–6, 6–4
6.	1981	Richmond WCT, United States	Carpet	Ivan Lendl	6–1, 3–1, ret.
7.	1981	Nice, France	Clay	Mario Martinez	6–4, 6–2
8.	1982	La Quinta, United States	Hard	Ivan Lendl	6–3, 2–6, 7–5
9.	1982	South Orange, United States	Clay	Raúl Ramírez	6–3, 7–6
10.	1982	Basel, Switzerland	Hard (i)	Mats Wilander	6–4, 6–2, 6–3
11.	1982	Toulouse, France	Hard (i)	Tomáš Šmíd	6–3, 6–2
12.	1983	Madrid, Spain	Clay	Henrik Sundström	3–6, 6–0, 6–2, 6–4
13.	1983	Hamburg, Germany	Clay	José Higueras	3–6, 7–5, 6–2, 6–0
14.	1983	French Open, Paris	Clay	Mats Wilander	6–2, 7–5, 7–6
15.	1985	Rome, Italy	Clay	Miloslav Mečíř	6–3, 3–6, 6–2, 7–6
16.	1985	Washington D.C., United States	Clay	Martín Jaite	6–4, 6–3
17.	1985	Toulouse, France	Hard (i)	Tomáš Šmíd	6–4, 6–4
18.	1986	Forest Hills, United States	Clay	Guillermo Vilas	7–6, 6–0
19.	1986	Wembley, England	Carpet	Jonas Svensson	6–2, 6–3, 6–7, 4–6, 7–5
20.	1987	Lyon, France	Carpet	Joakim Nyström	7–6, 4–6, 7–6
21.	1987	Basel, Switzerland	Hard (i)	Ronald Agenor	7–6, 6–4, 6–4
22.	1988	Milan, Italy	Carpet	Jimmy Connors	4–4, ret.
23.	1990	Sydney Outdoor, Australia	Hard	Carl-Uwe Steeb	5–7, 6–3, 6–4

Runner-ups (13)

No.	Date	Tournament	Surface	Opponent in the final	Score
1.	1978	Nice, France	Clay	José Higueras	6–3, 6–4, 6–4
2.	1980	Rome, Italy	Clay	Guillermo Vilas	6–0, 6–4, 6–4
3.	1981	Gstaad, Switzerland	Clay	Wojtek Fibak	6–1, 7–6
4.	1982	Nice, France	Clay	Balázs Taróczy	6–2, 3–6, 13–11
5.	1983	Lisbon, Portugal	Clay	Mats Wilander	2–6, 7–6, 6–4
6.	1984	La Quinta, U.S.	Hard	Jimmy Connors	6–2, 6–7, 6–3
7.	1985	Memphis, U.S.	Carpet	Stefan Edberg	6–1, 6–0
8.	1985	Basel, Switzerland	Hard (i)	Stefan Edberg	6–7, 6–4, 7–6, 6–1
9.	1986	La Quinta, U.S.	Hard	Joakim Nyström	6–1, 6–3, 6–2
10.	1986	Monte Carlo, Monaco	Clay	Joakim Nyström	6–3, 6–2
11.	1986	Basel, Switzerland	Hard (i)	Stefan Edberg	7–6, 6–2, 6–7, 7–6
12.	1987	Forest Hills, U.S.	Clay	Andrés Gómez	6–4, 7–6, 7–6
13.	1989	Indian Wells, U.S.	Hard	Miloslav Mečíř	3–6, 2–6, 6–1, 6–2, 6–3

Doubles finals (25)

Wins (16)

No.	Date	Tournament	Surface	Partnering	Opponent in the final	Score
1.	1981	Nice, France	Clay	Pascal Portes	Chris Lewis Pavel Složil	4–6, 6–3, 6–4
2.	1981	Paris, France	Hard (i)	Ilie Năstase	Andrew Jarrett Jonathan Smith	6–4, 6–4
3.	1982	Nice, France	Clay	Henri Leconte	Paul McNamee Balázs Taróczy	5–7, 6–4, 6–3
4.	1982	Basel, Switzerland	Hard (i)	Henri Leconte	Fritz Buehning Pavel Složil	6–2, 6–2
5.	1984	French Open, Paris	Clay	Henri Leconte	Pavel Složil Tomáš Šmíd	6–4, 2–6, 3–6, 6–3, 6–2
6.	1985	Chicago, United States	Carpet	Johan Kriek	Ken Flach Robert Seguso	3–6, 4–6, 7–5, 6–1, 6–4
7.	1986	Monte Carlo, Monaco	Clay	Guy Forget	Joakim Nyström Mats Wilander	6–4, 3–6, 6–4
8.	1986	Rome, Italy	Clay	Guy Forget	Mark Edmondson Sherwood Stewart	7–6, 6–2
9.	1986	Basel, Switzerland	Hard (i)	Guy Forget	Jan Gunnarsson Tomáš Šmíd	7–6, 6–4
10.	1987	Lyon, France	Carpet	Guy Forget	Kelly Jones David Pate	4–6, 6–3, 6–4
11.	1987	Indian Wells, United States	Hard	Guy Forget	Boris Becker Eric Jelen	6–4, 7–6
12.	1987	Forest Hills, United States	Clay	Guy Forget	Gary Donnelly Peter Fleming	4–6, 6–4, 6–1
13.	1987	Rome, Italy	Clay	Guy Forget	Miloslav Mečíř Tomáš Šmíd	6–2, 6–7, 6–3
14.	1987	London/Queen's Club, England	Grass	Guy Forget	Rick Leach Tim Pawsat	6–4, 6–4
15.	1988	Orlando, United States	Hard	Guy Forget	Sherwood Stewart Kim Warwick	6–4, 6–4
16.	1990	Nice, France	Clay	Alberto Mancini	Marcelo Filippini Horst Skoff	6–4, 7–6

Runner-ups (9)

No.	Date	Tournament	Surface	Partnering	Opponent in the final	Score
1.	1978	Calcutta, India	Clay	Gilles Moretton	Sashi Menon Sherwood Stewart	7–6, 6–4
2.	1982	Toulouse, France	Hard (i)	Jean-Louis Haillet	Pavel Složil Tomáš Šmíd	6–4, 6–4
3.	1983	Monte Carlo, Monaco	Clay	Henri Leconte	Heinz Günthardt Balázs Taróczy	6–2, 6–4
4.	1984	Philadelphia, U.S.	Carpet	Henri Leconte	Peter Fleming John McEnroe	6–2, 6–3
5.	1985	U.S. Open, New York	Hard	Henri Leconte	Ken Flach Robert Seguso	6–7, 7–6, 7–6, 6–0
6.	1986	La Quinta, U.S.	Hard	Sherwood Stewart	Guy Forget Peter Fleming	6–4, 6–3
7.	1986	Masters Doubles, London	Carpet	Guy Forget	Stefan Edberg Anders Järryd	6–3, 7–6, 6–3
8.	1987	French Open, Paris	Clay	Guy Forget	Anders Järryd Robert Seguso	6–7, 6–7, 6–3, 6–4, 6–2
9.	1990	Bordeaux, France	Clay	Mansour Bahrami	Tomás Carbonell Libor Pimek	6–3, 6–7, 6–2

Discography

1990 Saga Africa
1991 Black & What
1993 Urban Tribu
1998 Zam Zam
2000 Yannick Noah
2003 Pokhara
2005 Métisse
2006 Charango

References

^ Revelations uncover a father's anguish

External links

Wikimedia Commons has media related to: Category:Yannick Noah

v • d • e French members of the International Tennis Hall of Fame

Jean Borotra (1976) · Jacques Brugnon (1976) · Philippe Chatrier (1992) · Henri Cochet (1976) · Françoise Durr (2003) · Pierre Etchebaster (1978) · René Lacoste (1976) · Suzanne Lenglen (1978) · Yannick Noah (2005)

French Open men's singles champions

(1968) Ken Rosewall · (1969) Rod Laver · (1970) Jan Kodeš · (1971) Jan Kodeš · (1972) Andrés Gimeno · (1973) Ilie Năstase · (1974) Björn Borg · (1975) Björn Borg · (1976) Adriano Panatta · (1977) Guillermo Vilas · (1978) Björn Borg · (1979) Björn Borg · (1980) Björn Borg · (1981) Björn Borg · (1982) Mats Wilander · (1983) Yannick Noah · (1984) Ivan Lendl · (1985) Mats Wilander · (1986) Ivan Lendl · (1987) Ivan Lendl · (1988) Mats Wilander · (1989) Michael Chang · (1990) Andrés Gómez · (1991) Jim Courier · (1992) Jim Courier · (1993) Sergi Bruguera · (1994) Sergi Bruguera · (1995) Thomas Muster · (1996) Yevgeny Kafelnikov · (1997) Gustavo Kuerten · (1998) Carlos Moyà · (1999) Andre Agassi · (2000) Gustavo Kuerten · (2001) Gustavo Kuerten · (2002) Albert Costa · (2003) Juan Carlos Ferrero · (2004) Gastón Gaudio · (2005) Rafael Nadal · (2006) Rafael Nadal · (2007) Rafael Nadal · (2008) Rafael Nadal · (2009) Roger Federer

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	1983 Lisbon Open

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Yannick Noah

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