Henri Leconte

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Henri Leconte
Henri Leconte (7490786630).jpg
Henri Leconte in 2011
Country (sports)Flag of France.svg  France
Residence Geneva, Switzerland
Born (1963-07-04) 4 July 1963 (age 62)
Lillers, France
Height1.85 m (6 ft 1 in)
Turned pro1980
Retired1996
PlaysLeft-handed (one-handed backhand)
Prize money$3,440,660
Singles
Career record377–269 (58.4%)
Career titles9
Highest rankingNo. 5 (22 September 1986)
Grand Slam singles results
Australian Open 4R (1985)
French Open F (1988)
Wimbledon SF (1986)
US Open QF (1986)
Other tournaments
Tour Finals RR (1985, 1986, 1988)
Grand Slam Cup QF (1990, 1992)
Doubles
Career record200–141 (58.7%)
Career titles10
Highest rankingNo. 6 (18 March 1985)
Grand Slam doubles results
Australian Open QF (1990)
French Open W (1984)
Wimbledon 2R (1985, 1987)
US Open F (1985)
Team competitions
Davis Cup W (1991)

Henri Leconte (French: [ɑ̃ʁiləkɔ̃t] ; born 4 July 1963) is a French former professional tennis player. He reached the men's singles final at the French Open in 1988, won the French Open men's doubles title in 1984, and helped France win the Davis Cup in 1991. During his career, he won singles titles on all four major court surfaces: hard, clay, grass and carpet. Leconte's career-high singles ranking was world No. 5.

Contents

Biography and career

Leconte first came to the tennis world's attention as an outstanding junior player who won the French Open junior title in 1981. He turned professional that year and won his first career doubles title at Bologna, and his first top-level singles title the following year, 1982, in Stockholm. Leconte played in the Davis Cup final for the first time in 1982, when France was defeated 4–1 by the United States.

Leconte teamed up with Yannick Noah to win the men's doubles title at the French Open in 1984. In 1985, Leconte and Noah reached a second Grand Slam doubles final at the US Open, where they finished runners-up. Leconte reached his career-high doubles ranking of world No. 6 in 1985. In singles in 1985, Leconte reached the quarterfinals of the French Open and Wimbledon, the latter run of which included a dazzling win over world no. 2, Ivan Lendl, in the fourth round.

1986 saw Leconte reach two Grand Slam singles semi-finals at the French Open and Wimbledon, and attain his career-high singles ranking of world No. 5. Leconte also played on the French team that won the World Team Cup that year.

In 1988, Leconte reached the men's singles final at the French Open beating Simon Youl, Bruno Orešar, Horacio de la Peña, Boris Becker, Andrei Chesnokov and Jonas Svensson. In the final, Leconte could not overcome two-time former champion Mats Wilander who defeated him in straight sets. [1]

In 1991, Leconte was involved in the Davis Cup final for a second time. France again faced the US, and this time Leconte defeated Pete Sampras in straight sets in a critical singles rubber, and also teamed with Guy Forget to win the doubles rubber, as France upset the heavily favoured U.S. team 3–1. [2]

In total, Leconte played for France's Davis Cup team for a total of 13 consecutive years, compiling a 41–25 record. He compiled a doubles record of 17–5 and was undefeated with Guy Forget (11 wins), winning his last 14 doubles matches (from March 1985 to July 1993).

In 1992, Leconte reached the semi finals at the French Open, losing to eventual runner-up Petr Korda.

Leconte won his final top-level singles title in 1993 in Halle. He also won his final doubles title that year at Indian Wells.

Leconte retired from the professional tour in 1996, having won a total of nine career singles titles and ten doubles titles. Playing on the ATP Champions Tour for over-35's, he formed a doubles partnership with the Iranian player Mansour Bahrami.

He is now the manager of an event company (HL Event) based in Belgium and opened a tennis academy in Fès, Morocco, in 2006.

Since 2010, Leconte has appeared on Australian television as a commentator on the Seven Network's coverage of the Australian Open. There, he obtained a cult following as a result of a zany exhibition doubles performance, and his passionate and often parochial commentary, especially for compatriot Jo-Wilfried Tsonga, whose winning shots he routinely described as "unbelievable!" [3]

In 2014, Leconte appeared as a commentator for the 2014 Australian Open. One match he commentated was the third-round match between Frenchmen Gilles Simon and Jo-Wilfried Tsonga. He has since appeared regularly as a commentator for matches involving French players in the men's draw.[ citation needed ]

Grand Slam singles performance timeline

Key
W F SFQF#RRRQ#DNQANH
(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.
Tournament 1980 1981 1982 1983 1984 1985 1986 1987 1988 1989 1990 1991 1992 1993 1994 1995 1996 SRW–L
Australian Open A LQ AAA 4R NH 3R 3R 1R 3R A 1R A 2R AA0 / 78–7
French Open 1R 1R 1R 2R 2R QF SF 1R F A QF 2R SF 1R 1R A 1R 0 / 1527–15
Wimbledon Q 2R 1R 2R A QF SF QF 4R A 2R 3R 3R 4R 1R 1R A0 / 1326–13
US Open AA 1R A 3R 4R QF 4R 3R A 2R A 3R 1R AAA0 / 917–9
Win–loss0–11–20–32–23–213–414–38–413–40–18–43–29–43–31–30–10–10 / 4478–44

Trivia

He participated in 2005 in the second season of La Ferme Célébrités , a TV reality game show. In 2007, his son Maxime also participated in the TV reality game show Secret Story , the French version of Big Brother . He also appeared as a contestant on BBC Celebrity Masterchef 2017, reaching the semifinals.

Major finals

Leconte at the 2015 Australian Open Australian Open 2015 (16191787877) (cropped).jpg
Leconte at the 2015 Australian Open

Grand Slam finals

Singles: 1 (0–1)

ResultYearChampionshipSurfaceOpponentScore
Loss 1988 French Open Clay Flag of Sweden.svg Mats Wilander 5–7, 2–6, 1–6

Doubles: 2 (1–1)

ResultYearChampionshipSurfacePartnerOpponentsScore
Win1984 French Open Clay Flag of France.svg Yannick Noah Flag of the Czech Republic.svg Pavel Složil
Flag of the Czech Republic.svg Tomáš Šmíd
6–4, 2–6, 3–6, 6–3, 6–2
Loss1985 US Open Hard Flag of France.svg Yannick Noah Flag of the United States.svg Ken Flach
Flag of the United States.svg Robert Seguso
7–6(7–5), 6–7(1–7), 6–7(6–8), 0–6

Masters Series finals

Doubles: 2 (1–1)

ResultYearChampionshipSurfacePartnerOpponentsScore
Loss1991 Indian Wells, USHard Flag of France.svg Guy Forget Flag of the United States.svg Jim Courier
Flag of Spain.svg Javier Sánchez
6–7(1–7), 6–3, 3–6
Win1993Indian Wells, USHard Flag of France.svg Guy Forget Flag of the United States.svg Luke Jensen
Flag of the United States.svg Scott Melville
6–4, 7–5

Career finals

Singles: 16 (9 titles, 7 runners-up)

ResultNoDateTournamentSurfaceOpponentScore
Win1.1982 Stockholm, SwedenHard (i) Flag of Sweden.svg Mats Wilander 7–6(7–4), 6–3
Loss1.1983 Kitzbühel, AustriaClay Flag of Argentina.svg Guillermo Vilas 6–7(4–7), 6–4, 4–6
Loss2.1983 Sydney Indoor, AustraliaHard (i) Flag of the United States.svg John McEnroe 1–6, 4–6, 5–7
Loss3.1984 Memphis, United StatesCarpet (i) Flag of the United States.svg Jimmy Connors 3–6, 6–4, 5–7
Win2.1984 Stuttgart Outdoor, West GermanyClay Flag of the United States.svg Gene Mayer 7–6(11–9), 6–0, 1–6, 6–1
Win3.1985 Nice, FranceClay Flag of Paraguay.svg Víctor Pecci 6–4, 6–4
Loss4.1985Sydney Indoor, AustraliaHard (i) Flag of the Czech Republic.svg Ivan Lendl 4–6, 4–6, 6–7(6–8)
Win4.1985 Sydney Outdoor, AustraliaGrass Flag of New Zealand.svg Kelly Evernden 6–7(6–8), 6–2, 6–3
Loss5.1986 Bristol, United KingdomGrass Flag of India.svg Vijay Amritraj 6–7(6–8), 6–1, 6–8
Win5.1986 Geneva, SwitzerlandClay Flag of France.svg Thierry Tulasne 7–5, 6–3
Win6.1986 Hamburg, West GermanyClay Flag of the Czech Republic.svg Miloslav Mečíř 6–2, 5–7, 6–4, 6–2
Win7.1988Nice, FranceClay Flag of France.svg Jérôme Potier 6–2, 6–2
Loss6.1988Hamburg, West GermanyClay Flag of Sweden.svg Kent Carlsson 2–6, 1–6, 4–6
Loss7.1988 French Open, ParisClay Flag of Sweden.svg Mats Wilander5–7, 2–6, 1–6
Win8.1988 Brussels, BelgiumCarpet (i) Flag of Switzerland (Pantone).svg Jakob Hlasek 7–6(7–3), 7–6(8–6), 6–4
Win9.1993 Halle, GermanyGrass Flag of Ukraine.svg Andriy Medvedev 6–2, 6–3

Doubles: 19 (10–9)

ResultNoDateTournamentSurfacePartnerOpponentsScore
Win1.1981 Bologna, ItalyCarpet (i) Flag of the United States.svg Sammy Giammalva Jr. Flag of the Czech Republic.svg Tomáš Šmíd
Flag of Hungary.svg Balázs Taróczy
7–6, 6–4
Win2.1982 Nice, FranceClay Flag of France.svg Yannick Noah Flag of Australia (converted).svg Paul McNamee
Flag of Hungary.svg Balázs Taróczy
5–7, 6–4, 6–3
Loss1.1982Bournemouth, EnglandClay Flag of Romania (1965-1989).svg Ilie Năstase Flag of Australia (converted).svg Paul McNamee
Flag of the United Kingdom.svg Buster Mottram
6–3, 6–7, 3–6
Win3.1982 Basel, SwitzerlandHard (i) Flag of France.svg Yannick Noah Flag of the United States.svg Fritz Buehning
Flag of the Czech Republic.svg Pavel Složil
6–2, 6–2
Win4.1982 Vienna, AustriaCarpet (i) Flag of the Czech Republic.svg Pavel Složil Flag of the United States.svg Mark Dickson
Flag of the United States.svg Terry Moor
6–1, 7–6
Loss2.1983 Monte-Carlo Masters, MonacoClay Flag of France.svg Yannick Noah Flag of Switzerland (Pantone).svg Heinz Günthardt
Flag of Hungary.svg Balázs Taróczy
2–6, 4–6
Win5.1983 Aix-en-Provence, FranceClay Flag of France.svg Gilles Moretton Flag of Chile.svg Iván Camus
Flag of Spain.svg Sergio Casal
2–6, 6–1, 6–2
Loss3.1984 Philadelphia, United StatesCarpet (i) Flag of France.svg Yannick Noah Flag of the United States.svg Peter Fleming
Flag of the United States.svg John McEnroe
2–6, 3–6
Win6.1984 French Open, ParisClay Flag of France.svg Yannick Noah Flag of the Czech Republic.svg Pavel Složil
Flag of the Czech Republic.svg Tomáš Šmíd
6–4, 2–6, 3–6, 6–3, 6–2
Win7.1984 Kitzbühel, AustriaClay Flag of France.svg Pascal Portes Flag of the United Kingdom.svg Colin Dowdeswell
Flag of Poland.svg Wojtek Fibak
2–6, 7–6, 7–6
Win8.1984 Stockholm, SwedenHard (i) Flag of the Czech Republic.svg Tomáš Šmíd Flag of India.svg Vijay Amritraj
Flag of Romania (1965-1989).svg Ilie Năstase
3–6, 7–6, 6–4
Loss4.1985 US Open, New YorkHard Flag of France.svg Yannick Noah Flag of the United States.svg Ken Flach
Flag of the United States.svg Robert Seguso
7–6, 6–7, 6–7, 0–6
Win9.1988Nice, FranceClay Flag of France.svg Guy Forget Flag of Switzerland (Pantone).svg Heinz Günthardt
Flag of Italy.svg Diego Nargiso
4–6, 6–3, 6–4
Loss5.1988Monte-Carlo Masters, MonacoClay Flag of the Czech Republic.svg Ivan Lendl Flag of Spain.svg Sergio Casal
Flag of Spain.svg Emilio Sánchez
0–6, 3–6
Loss6.1990 Queen's Club, EnglandGrass Flag of the Czech Republic.svg Ivan Lendl Flag of the United Kingdom.svg Jeremy Bates
Flag of the United States.svg Kevin Curren
2–6, 6–7
Loss7.1991 Indian Wells, United StatesHard Flag of France.svg Guy Forget Flag of the United States.svg Jim Courier
Flag of Spain.svg Javier Sánchez
6–7, 6–3, 3–6
Loss8.1992 Toulouse, FranceHard (i) Flag of France.svg Guy Forget Flag of the United States.svg Brad Pearce
Flag of South Africa (1928-1982).svg Byron Talbot
1–6, 6–3, 3–6
Win10.1993 Indian Wells, United StatesHard Flag of France.svg Guy Forget Flag of the United States.svg Luke Jensen
Flag of the United States.svg Scott Melville
6–4, 7–5
Loss9.1994 Halle, GermanyGrass Flag of South Africa.svg Gary Muller Flag of France.svg Olivier Delaître
Flag of France.svg Guy Forget
4–6, 7–6, 4–6

References

  1. "TENNIS - Wilander Spoils The Party In Paris - NYTimes.com". The New York Times . 6 June 1988.
  2. "Noah, amazing architect of French Davis Cup victory". New Sunday Times. 4 December 1991. Retrieved 23 August 2025.
  3. "Henri Leconte in Fine Form in the Commentary Box During the Australian Open". Herald Sun. Published and accessed 27 January 2010.