- MaliVai Washington
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MaliVai Washington
Washington in 2010Country United States Residence Ponte Vedra Beach, Florida, USA Born June 20, 1969
Glen Cove, New York, USAHeight 5 ft 11 in (1.80 m) Turned pro 1989 Retired 1999 Plays Right-handed Career prize money $3,239,865 Singles Career record 254–184 Career titles 4 Highest ranking 11 (October 26, 1993) Grand Slam results Australian Open QF (1994) French Open 4R (1993) Wimbledon F (1996) US Open 4R (1992) Doubles Career record 27–44 Career titles 0 Highest ranking 172 (April 20, 1992) Grand Slam Doubles results US Open 2R (1991) Last updated on: January 24, 2007. MaliVai "Mal" Washington ( /mælɨˈviːə/ mal-i-vee-ə; born June 20, 1969, in Glen Cove, New York) is a former professional tennis player from the United States. He is best remembered for reaching the men's singles final at Wimbledon in 1996.
Contents
Family
Washington's father, William, taught himself and then his five children to play tennis. When William was the assistant dean at the State University of New York, he decided to teach underprivileged children in the area how to play tennis on the university's new courts. When the family moved to Swartz Creek, Michigan, they played on the courts at General Motors headquarters, where MaliVai's parents worked, and at the Flint Tennis Club.
Washington's younger sister, Mashona, is also an accomplished professional tennis player. She was a member of the 1992 U.S. National Team.[clarification needed] His younger brother, Mashiska, received All-America honors at Michigan State University in 1995, then joined the men's professional tour. MaliVai's older sister, Michaela, also played professionally.[1]
Amateur tennis
Washington began playing tennis at the age of five after his family moved to Michigan. Growing up in Swartz Creek, Michigan, MaliVai worked on his game and trained at the Indoor Genesee Valley Tennis Club and the Flint Tennis Club in nearby Flint, Michigan. As a teenager, he played on the junior circuit and competed in the USTA national junior championships, facing future world-class players like Pete Sampras, Andre Agassi, Jim Courier, and Todd Martin.
As a high school senior, Washington was coached by former ATP Tour participant Victor Amaya. For two seasons, Washington played tennis for the University of Michigan and was the top ranked college player in the United States at the end of his sophomore season.[2] He left school and turned professional in 1989.
Professional tennis
His first notable tour result came in 1990, when he defeated Ivan Lendl in straight sets in the second round of the tournament at New Haven, Connecticut. Just a week earlier, Lendl had lost the world no. 1 ranking to Stefan Edberg, and he would have regained it if he had won that match.
Washington won his first top-level singles title in 1992 at Memphis, Tennessee.
In 1996, Washington reached his first (and only) Grand Slam final at Wimbledon. He was the first African-American male to reach the Wimbledon final since Arthur Ashe in 1975. Washington lost to the Dutch player Richard Krajicek, 3-6, 4-6, 3-6.
During his career, Washington won four tour singles titles. His career-high singles ranking was world no. 11 in 1992.
The later years of Washington's career were plagued by injuries, and he retired from the professional tour in 1999. Since retiring, he has served as a TV analyst with ESPN, and as an on-court interviewer for the USTA during the US Open.
Accolades
MaliVai received the 1997 Boys and Girls Clubs of America CARE Award. In 1998, he was honored with the Arthur Ashe Athletic Association Leadership Award. Washington also played on the US Davis Cup team in 1992.
He was awarded the Arthur Ashe Humanitarian Of The Year Award in the 2009 ATP World Tour Awards.
Grand Slam singles final
Runner-up (1)
Outcome Year Championship Surface Opponent in Final Score in Final Runner-up 1996 Wimbledon Grass Richard Krajicek 6–3, 6–4, 6–3 ATP Tour finals (14)
Singles champion (4)
Legend Grand Slam (0) Tennis Masters Cup (0) ATP Masters Series (0) ATP Championship Series (1) ATP Tour (3) No. Date Tournament Surface Opponent in the final Score 1. February 10, 1992 Memphis, US Hard (i) Wayne Ferreira 6–3, 6–2 2. May 4, 1992 Charlotte, US Clay Claudio Mezzadri 6–3, 6–3 3. October 10, 1994 Ostrava, Czech Republic Carpet (i) Arnaud Boetsch 4–6, 6–3, 6–3 4. April 15, 1996 Bermuda Clay Marcelo Filippini 6–7(6), 6–4, 7–5 Runner-up (9)
No. Date Tournament Surface Opponent in the final Score 1. January 6, 1992 Auckland, New Zealand Hard Jaime Yzaga 6–7(6), 4–6 2. February 13, 1992 Tampa, US Clay Jaime Yzaga 6–3, 4–6, 1–6 3. June 15, 1992 Manchester, England Grass Jacco Eltingh 3–6, 4–6 4. August 17, 1992 New Haven, US Hard Stefan Edberg 6–7(4), 1–6 5. January 11, 1993 Auckland, New Zealand Hard Alexander Volkov 6–7(2), 4–6 6. March 12, 1993 Miami, US Hard Pete Sampras 3–6, 2–6 7. October 9, 1995 Ostrava, Czech Republic Carpet (i) Wayne Ferreira 6–3, 4–6, 3–6 8. October 23, 1995 Essen, Germany Carpet (i) Thomas Muster 6–7(6), 6–2, 3–6, 4–6 9. July 7, 1996 Wimbledon, London Grass Richard Krajicek 3–6, 4–6, 3–6 Doubles finalist (1)
- 1995: Bogotá (with Steve Campbell, lost to Jiří Novák and David Rikl)
Performance Timeline
Singles
Tournament 1988 1989 1990 1991 1992 1993 1994 1995 1996 1997 1998 1999 Career SR Career Win-Loss Grand Slam Tournaments Australian Open A A A 1R 3R 4R QF 1R 4R 4R 2R A 0 / 8 16–7 French Open A A 1R 1R 2R 4R 1R 2R 1R A A A 0 / 7 5–7 Wimbledon A A 2R 2R 1R 2R 1R 1R F A A A 0 / 7 9–7 U.S. Open A 2R 2R 3R 4R 3R 2R 1R 2R A 1R A 0 / 9 11–9 Grand Slam SR 0 / 0 0 / 1 0 / 3 0 / 4 0 / 4 0 / 4 0 / 4 0 / 4 0 / 4 0 / 1 0 / 2 0 / 0 0 / 31 N/A Annual Win-Loss 0–0 1–1 2–3 3–4 6–4 9–4 5–4 1–4 10–4 3–1 1–1 0–0 N/A 41–30 ATP Masters Series Indian Wells A A A A 3R 3R 1R 1R A A 2R A 0 / 5 5–5 Miami A A A 1R 2R F 2R 4R 3R A 2R A 0 / 7 10–7 Monte Carlo A A A A A A A A A A A A 0 / 0 0–0 Rome A A A A A 1R A 3R 2R A A A 0 / 3 3–3 Hamburg A A A A A A A 2R 2R A A A 0 / 2 2–2 Montreal/Toronto A A 1R 2R SF 2R QF QF 3R A 3R A 0 / 8 13–8 Cincinnati A A A 3R 1R 2R 3R 1R 2R A A 1R 0 / 7 6–6 Stockholm/Essen/Stuttgart A A A A 2R SF 1R F 2R A A A 0 / 5 9–5 Paris A A A 2R 2R 2R A 2R 3R A A A 0 / 5 4–5 Masters Series SR 0 / 0 0 / 0 0 / 1 0 / 4 0 / 5 0 / 7 0 / 5 0 / 8 0 / 8 0 / 0 0 / 3 0 / 1 0 / 42 N/A Annual Win-Loss 0–0 0–0 0–1 4–4 3–5 13–7 7–5 15–8 6–7 0–0 4–3 0–1 N/A 52–41 Year End Ranking 329 199 93 50 13 23 30 26 20 258 178 1115 N/A References
External links
Categories:- 1969 births
- Living people
- African American sports journalists
- African American tennis players
- American male tennis players
- American color commentators
- Hopman Cup competitors
- Michigan Wolverines tennis players
- Olympic tennis players of the United States
- People from Flint, Michigan
- People from Glen Cove, New York
- People from St. Johns County, Florida
- Tennis commentators
- Tennis people from Michigan
- Tennis people from New York
- Tennis players at the 1996 Summer Olympics
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