Larry Stefanki
American tennis player and coach
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Larry Stefanki (born July 23, 1957), is an American tennis coach and former professional tennis player.
United StatesStefanki coaching Fernando González | |
| Country (sports) | United States |
|---|---|
| Born | July 23, 1957 Elmhurst, Illinois, U.S. |
| Height | 1.78 m (5 ft 10 in) |
| Turned pro | 1979 |
| Retired | 1988 |
| Plays | Right-handed (one-handed backhand) |
| Prize money | $290,073 |
| Singles | |
| Career record | 57–87 |
| Career titles | 1 |
| Highest ranking | No. 35 (25 February 1985) |
| Grand Slam singles results | |
| Australian Open | 2R (1981) |
| French Open | 1R (1981) |
| Wimbledon | 3R (1982) |
| US Open | 2R (1981, 1982) |
| Doubles | |
| Career record | 92–105 |
| Career titles | 3 |
| Highest ranking | No. 50 (9 July 1984) |
| Grand Slam doubles results | |
| Australian Open | 2R (1981, 1982) |
| French Open | 2R (1981) |
| Wimbledon | 3R (1985) |
| US Open | 2R (1981, 1982, 1983, 1984) |
| Grand Slam mixed doubles results | |
| Wimbledon | 2R (1982, 1984) |
| US Open | 1R (1982, 1986) |
| Coaching career (1995–) | |
| |
| Coaching achievements | |
| Coachee singles titles total | 10(R) – 6(K) – 3(H) – 3(G) – 4(R) = 26 total |
| Coachee doubles titles total | 3(Mc) – 1(R) – 5(K) – 1(R) = 10 total |
| List of notable tournaments (with champion)
| |
| Last updated on: 26 September 2022. | |
Tennis career
He played for nine years starting in 1979, reaching a career-high ranking of World No. 35 in singles after winning the Indian Wells Masters at La Quinta in 1985 as well as three in doubles. He is one of three Stefanki brothers to have played on the varsity tennis team at the University of California, Berkeley, from 1977 until 1979 under coach Bill Wright. As a freshman in 1976 at Foothill College, he won the California Junior College Championship in Singles and Doubles.
Coaching
He is more renowned as a tennis coach, having trained such players as John McEnroe, Marcelo Ríos, Yevgeny Kafelnikov, and Tim Henman amongst others. Ríos and Kafelnikov both achieved their number 1 tennis rankings while under his guidance, and Henman reached a career high of #4 under his tutelage.
Stefanki was also the coach of Fernando González, after taking over this role from Horacio de la Peña in May 2006. Under Stefanki the Chilean reached back-to-back finals in Vienna, the Madrid Masters and Basel in 2006 and the 2007 Australian Open final —a tournament in which he eased past the likes of Lleyton Hewitt, James Blake, Rafael Nadal, and Tommy Haas— which saw González, 26, reach a career high of #5 in the ATP rankings.
Stefanki was the coach of American tennis player Andy Roddick until his retirement in 2012. He is credited with improving Roddick's tactics and all-court game and helping him reach the semifinals of the 2009 Australian Open, the fourth round of the 2009 French Open for the first time, the 2009 Wimbledon final for the third time, winning the 2010 Sony Ericsson Masters in Miami and the 2010 Brisbane International in Brisbane, Australia. Stefanki has recently been working with Olympic developmental hopefuls in Los Angeles. He and his wife and three sons now live in Encinitas, California.
ATP career finals
Singles: 1 (1 title)
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| Result | W–L | Date | Tournament | Tier | Surface | Opponent | Score |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Win | 1–0 | Feb 1985 | La Quinta, United States | Grand Prix | Hard | David Pate |
6–1, 6–4, 3–6, 6–3 |
Doubles: 7 (3 titles, 4 runner-ups)
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| Result | W–L | Date | Tournament | Tier | Surface | Partnet | Opponents | Score |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Loss | 0–1 | Mar 1980 | Stuttgart, Germany | Grand Prix | Carpet | Chris Mayotte |
 Wojtek Fibak  Tomáš Šmíd |
4–6, 6–7 |
| Loss | 0–2 | Oct 1980 | Canton, China | Grand Prix | Carpet | Andy Kohlberg |
 Ross Case  Jaime Fillol |
2–6, 6–7 |
| Win | 1–2 | Aug 1981 | Stowe, United States | Grand Prix | Hard | Johan Kriek |
Brian Gottfried Bob Lutz |
2–6, 6–1, 6–2 |
| Loss | 1–3 | Oct 1981 | Tokyo, Japan | Grand Prix | Clay | Robert Van't Hof |
 Heinz Günthardt  Balázs Taróczy |
6–3, 2–6, 1–6 |
| Loss | 1–4 | Jan 1982 | Auckland, New Zealand | Grand Prix | Hard | Robert Van't Hof |
 Andrew Jarrett Jonathan Smith |
5–7, 6–7 |
| Win | 2–4 | Nov 1982 | Taipei, Taiwan | Grand Prix | Carpet | Robert Van't Hof |
Fred McNair Tim Wilkison |
6–3, 7–6 |
| Win | 3–4 | Jun 1984 | Bristol, United Kingdom | Grand Prix | Grass | Robert Van't Hof |
John Alexander John Fitzgerald |
6–4, 5–7, 9–7 |
ATP Challenger and ITF Futures finals
Singles: 1 (1–0)
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| Result | W–L | Date | Tournament | Tier | Surface | Opponent | Score |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Win | 1–0 | Mar 1981 | Lagos, Nigeria | Challenger | Hard |  Peter Feigl |
5–7, 6–3, 6–0 |
Doubles: 1 (1–0)
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| Result | W–L | Date | Tournament | Tier | Surface | Partner | Opponents | Score |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Win | 1–0 | Mar 1981 | Lagos, Nigeria | Challenger | Hard | Bruce Kleege |
Ian Harris Craig Wittus |
6–2, 3–6, 6–3 |
Performance timelines
| W | F | SF | QF | #R | RR | Q# | DNQ | A | NH |
Singles
| Tournament | 1980 | 1981 | 1982 | 1983 | 1984 | 1985 | 1986 | 1987 | 1988 | 1989 | 1990 | 1991 | SR | W–L | Win % | |||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Grand Slam tournaments | ||||||||||||||||||||||
| Australian Open | A | 2R | 1R | 1R | 1R | A | NH | A | A | A | A | Q3 | 0 / 4 | 1–4 | 20% | |||||||
| French Open | A | 1R | A | A | A | A | A | A | A | A | A | A | 0 / 1 | 0–1 | 0% | |||||||
| Wimbledon | Q1 | 1R | 3R | Q3 | 1R | 1R | Q3 | 1R | A | A | A | A | 0 / 5 | 2–5 | 29% | |||||||
| US Open | A | 2R | 2R | A | 1R | A | A | A | A | A | A | A | 0 / 3 | 2–3 | 40% | |||||||
| Win–loss | 0–0 | 2–4 | 3–3 | 0–1 | 0–3 | 0–1 | 0–0 | 0–1 | 0–0 | 0–0 | 0–0 | 0–0 | 0 / 13 | 5–13 | 28% | |||||||
| ATP Masters Series | ||||||||||||||||||||||
| Indian Wells | A | A | A | A | 1R | W | 2R | 2R | A | A | A | A | 1 / 4 | 8–3 | 73% | |||||||
| Miami | A | A | A | A | A | 1R | 1R | A | A | A | A | A | 0 / 2 | 0–2 | 0% | |||||||
| Canada | A | A | A | 1R | A | A | A | A | A | A | A | A | 0 / 1 | 0–1 | 0% | |||||||
| Cincinnati | A | 1R | A | 2R | 2R | A | A | A | A | A | A | A | 0 / 3 | 2–3 | 40% | |||||||
| Win–loss | 0–0 | 0–1 | 0–0 | 1–2 | 1–2 | 6–1 | 1–2 | 1–1 | 0–0 | 0–0 | 0–0 | 0–0 | 1 / 10 | 10–9 | 53% | |||||||
Doubles
| Tournament | 1980 | 1981 | 1982 | 1983 | 1984 | 1985 | 1986 | 1987 | SR | W–L | Win % | |||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Grand Slam tournaments | ||||||||||||||||||||||
| Australian Open | A | 2R | 2R | 1R | 1R | A | NH | A | 0 / 4 | 1–4 | 20% | |||||||||||
| French Open | 1R | 2R | A | A | A | A | A | A | 0 / 2 | 1–2 | 33% | |||||||||||
| Wimbledon | 2R | 1R | 2R | 1R | 2R | 3R | 1R | 2R | 0 / 8 | 6–8 | 43% | |||||||||||
| US Open | 1R | 2R | 2R | 2R | 2R | A | A | A | 0 / 5 | 4–5 | 44% | |||||||||||
| Win–loss | 1–3 | 3–4 | 2–3 | 1–3 | 2–3 | 2–1 | 0–1 | 1–1 | 0 / 19 | 12–19 | 39% | |||||||||||
| ATP Masters Series | ||||||||||||||||||||||
| Indian Wells | A | 1R | A | A | 2R | 1R | 1R | 1R | 0 / 5 | 1–5 | 17% | |||||||||||
| Miami | A | A | A | A | A | 1R | 2R | A | 0 / 2 | 1–2 | 33% | |||||||||||
| Hamburg | 1R | A | A | A | A | A | A | A | 0 / 1 | 0–1 | 0% | |||||||||||
| Canada | A | A | A | QF | 1R | A | A | A | 0 / 2 | 2–2 | 50% | |||||||||||
| Cincinnati | A | A | A | A | 2R | A | A | A | 0 / 1 | 1–1 | 50% | |||||||||||
| Win–loss | 0–1 | 0–1 | 0–0 | 2–1 | 2–3 | 0–2 | 1–2 | 0–1 | 0 / 11 | 5–11 | 31% | |||||||||||
