Hank Pfister

Hank Pfister

Country (sports)	United States
Residence	Bakersfield, California
Born	(1953-10-09) October 9, 1953 (age 73) Bakersfield, California
Height	6 ft 4 in (1.93 m)
Turned pro	1977
Retired	1988
Plays	Right-handed (one-handed backhand)
Prize money	$873,335
Singles
Career record	259–211
Career titles	2
Highest ranking	No. 19 (May 2, 1983)
Grand Slam singles results
Australian Open	SF (1978, 1981, 1982)
French Open	2R (1978)
Wimbledon	4R (1978, 1980, 1982)
US Open	3R (1979, 1980)
Doubles
Career record	277–217
Career titles	11
Highest ranking	No. 12 (December 13, 1982)
Grand Slam doubles results
Australian Open	F (1981)
French Open	W (1978, 1980)
Wimbledon	QF (1980)
US Open	F (1982)

Hank Pfister (born October 9, 1953) is a former tennis player from the United States, who competed on the professional tour in the late 1970s and the 1980s. He won two singles titles (1981, Maui and 1982, Newport) and 11 doubles titles during his professional career. The right-hander reached his highest individual ranking on the ATP Tour on May 2, 1983, when he became world No. 19. ^[1] He twice won the doubles title at the French Open, in 1978 with Gene Mayer and in 1981 partnering Victor Amaya.

Being tall of stature, sturdy of build and possessing a fast serve, his style was highlighted by use of the serve and volley game. ^[2]

Pfister was an All-American at San Jose State. ^[3] After his playing career he became director of tennis at the Stockdale Country Club. ^[4] He was inducted into the Bob Elias Kern County Sports Hall of Fame in 1990. ^[5] The Kern Community Tennis Association has named their annual Hank Pfister Sportsmanship Award in his honor, which is given to a graduating senior who has played at least two years of high school tennis. ^[3] The Pfister Cup, an annual tournament between the top junior college men's tennis programs from Northern and Southern California, is named after him. ^[6]

Career finals

Singles: 7 (2 titles / 5 runner-ups)

Result	W/L	Date	Tournament	Surface	Opponent	Score
Loss	0–1	Jul 1977	Newport, U.S.	Grass	Tim Gullikson	1–6, 5–7
Loss	0–2	Feb 1978	Little Rock, U.S.	Carpet	Dick Stockton	4–6, 5–3, ret.
Loss	0–3	Oct 1979	Sydney, Australia	Grass	Phil Dent	4–6, 4–6, 5–7
Loss	0–4	Jul 1981	Newport, U.S.	Grass	Johan Kriek	6–3, 3–6, 5–7
Win	1–4	Sep 1981	Maui, U.S.	Hard	Tim Mayotte	6–4, 6–4
Win	2–4	Jul 1982	Newport, U.S.	Grass	Mike Estep	6–1, 7–5
Loss	2–5	Aug 1984	Columbus, U.S.	Hard	Brad Gilbert	3–6, 6–3, 3–6

Source: ATP ^{[7] [8]}

Doubles: 27 (11 titles / 16 runner-ups)

Result	W/L	Date	Tournament	Surface	Partner	Opponents	Score
Loss	0–1	Jan 1976	Birmingham, U.S.	Carpet	Dennis Ralston	Jimmy Connors Erik van Dillen	6–7, 4–6
Win	1–1	Nov 1976	Hong Kong	Hard	Butch Walts	Anand Amritraj Ilie Năstase	6–4, 6–2
Win	2–1	Feb 1977	Dayton, U.S.	Carpet	Butch Walts	Jeff Borowiak Andrew Pattison	6–4, 7–6
Loss	2–2	Apr 1978	Dayton, U.S.	Carpet	Butch Walts	Brian Gottfried Geoff Masters	3–6, 4–6
Loss	2–3	Apr 1978	San Jose, U.S.	Carpet	Brad Rowe	Gene Mayer Sandy Mayer	3–6, 4–6
Win	3–3	Jun 1978	French Open, Paris	Clay	Gene Mayer	Manuel Orantes José Higueras	6–3, 6–2, 6–2
Win	4–3	Aug 1978	Indianapolis, U.S.	Clay	Gene Mayer	Jeff Borowiak Chris Lewis	6–3, 6–1
Loss	4–4	Nov 1978	Hong Kong	Hard	Brad Rowe	Mark Edmondson John Marks	7–5, 6–7, 1–6
Win	5–4	Dec 1978	Sydney Outdoor, Australia	Grass	Sherwood Stewart	Syd Ball Bob Carmichael	6–4, 6–4
Loss	5–5	Apr 1979	San Jose, U.S.	Carpet	Brad Rowe	Peter Fleming John McEnroe	3–6, 4–6
Win	6–5	Jun 1980	French Open, Paris	Clay	Victor Amaya	Brian Gottfried Raúl Ramírez	1–6, 6–4, 6–4, 6–3
Loss	6–6	Oct 1980	Maui, Hawaii, U.S.	Hard	Victor Amaya	Peter Fleming John McEnroe	6–7, 7–6, 2–6
Win	7–6	Nov 1980	Tokyo Indoor	Carpet	Victor Amaya	Marty Riessen Sherwood Stewart	6–3, 3–6, 7–6
Loss	7–7	Jan 1981	Masters Doubles, London	Carpet	Victor Amaya	Peter McNamara Paul McNamee	3–6, 6–2, 6–3, 3–6, 2–6
Win	8–7	Oct 1981	Tokyo Indoor	Carpet	Victor Amaya	Heinz Günthardt Balázs Taróczy	6–4, 6–2
Loss	8–8	Dec 1981	Sydney Outdoor, Australia	Grass	John Sadri	Peter McNamara Paul McNamee	7–6, 6–7, 6–7
Loss	8–9	Jan 1982	Australian Open, Melbourne	Grass	John Sadri	Mark Edmondson Kim Warwick	3–6, 7–6, 3–6
Win	9–9	Feb 1982	Monterrey, Mexico	Carpet	Victor Amaya	Tracy Delatte Mel Purcell	6–3, 6–7, 6–3
Loss	9–10	May 1982	Tampa, U.S.	Hard	Brian Gottfried	Tim Gullikson Tom Gullikson	2–6, 3–6
Loss	9–11	Jun 1982	Queen's Club, London, UK	Grass	Victor Amaya	John McEnroe Peter Rennert	6–7, 5–7
Loss	9–12	Aug 1982	Columbus, U.S.	Hard	Victor Amaya	Tim Gullikson Bernard Mitton	6–4, 1–6, 4–6
Win	10–12	Aug 1982	Cleveland, U.S.	Hard	Victor Amaya	Matt Mitchell Craig Wittus	6–4, 7–6
Loss	10–13	Sep 1982	US Open, New York	Hard	Victor Amaya	Kevin Curren Steve Denton	2–6, 7–6, 7–5, 2–6, 4–6
Win	11–13	Sep 1982	Los Angeles-2 WCT, U.S.	Carpet	Kevin Curren	Andy Andrews Drew Gitlin	4–6, 6–2, 7–5
Loss	11–14	Nov 1984	Taipei, Taiwan	Carpet	Drew Gitlin	Ken Flach Robert Seguso	1–6, 7–6, 2–6
Loss	11–15	Feb 1985	Houston, U.S.	Carpet	Ben Testerman	Peter Fleming John McEnroe	3–6, 2–6
Loss	11–16	Aug 1985	Cleveland, U.S.	Hard	Ben Testerman	Leo Palin Olli Rahnasto	3–6, 7–6, 6–7

Source: ATP ^{[9] [10]}

Grand Slam performance timeline

Key

W

F

SF

QF

#R

RR

Q#

DNQ

A

NH

(W) winner; (F) finalist; (SF) semifinalist; (QF) quarterfinalist; (#R) rounds 4, 3, 2, 1; (RR) round-robin stage; (Q#) qualification round; (DNQ) did not qualify; (A) absent; (NH) not held; (SR) strike rate (events won / competed); (W–L) win–loss record.

Singles

Tournament	1977		1978	1979	1980	1981	1982	1983	1984	1985	1986	1987	1988	W–L	Win %
Australian Open	1R	A	SF	1R	1R	SF	SF	2R	3R	A	A	A	1R	0–0	–
French Open	A		2R	1R	1R	1R	A	A	A	A	A	A	A	0–0	–
Wimbledon	1R		4R	3R	4R	A	4R	2R	1R	1R	A	A	A	0–0	–
US Open	1R		2R	3R	3R	1R	2R	A	A	2R	A	A	A	0–0	–
Win–loss	0–3										0–0	0–0	0–1	0–0	–

Source: World Tennis ^[11]

References

1. John Barrett, ed. (1984). World of Tennis 1984 : The Official Yearbook of the International Tennis Federation. London: Willow Books. p. 332. ISBN   0002181223.
2. Mike Hart (July 10, 2026). "Bakersfield tennis legend Hank Pfister reflects on Wimbledon ahead of this weekend's finals". 23ABC News.
3. "Arvin High's Pantoja wins KCTA Hank Pfister Sportsmanship Award". Yahoo. June 18, 2025.
4. Stephen Hicks (July 14, 2017). "After reaching top 20 in world tennis rankings, Hank Pfister looks to help next generation". 23ABC News.
5. "Hank Pfister, jr". The Bob Elias Kern County Sports Hall of Fame.
6. "Bakersfield College Tennis to Host the First Annual Pfister Cup". Bakersfield College Athletics. March 9, 2022.
7. "ATP player profile - singles titles". Association of Tennis Professionals (ATP).
8. "ATP player profile - singles finals". Association of Tennis Professionals (ATP).
9. "ATP player profile - doubles titles". Association of Tennis Professionals (ATP).
10. "ATP player profile - doubles finals". Association of Tennis Professionals (ATP).
11. "World Tennis player - Grand Slam singles". World Tennis.

External links

• Hank Pfister at the Association of Tennis Professionals
• Hank Pfister at World Tennis