Henri Leconte

Henri Leconte was a French tennis player who played professionally from 1980 to 1996. Leconte was a world #5 in the singles, a world #6 in the doubles, and played for France’s Davis Cup team from 1982 to 1994. He earned more than $3.4 million in prize money during his career and later worked as a commentator.

Leconte won the junior singles title at the 1980 French Open and turned professional later the same year. The following year he won his first ATP doubles title when he partnered Sammy Giammalva Jr at the Bologna Indoor tournament. Leconte went on to win a further nine ATP doubles titles, often paired with either Yannick Noah or Guy Forget. His first ATP singles title was at the 1982 Stockholm Open with a straight sets win against Mats Wilander, and he won nine ATP singles titles from 1982-94.

Leconte and Noah teamed together to win the doubles at the 1984 French Open, beating the Czechoslovak duo of Pavel Složil and Tomáš Šmíd. The following year the pair reached the final of the US Open but lost to the American pair of Ken Flach and Robert Seguso. Leconte’s only singles Grand Slam final was at the 1988 French Open where he lost to Mats Wilander.

Leconte was present on France’s Davis Cup team for 13 consecutive years from 1982 to 1994, amassing an impressive doubles record of 17–5. He was paired with Guy Forget, with the duo being undefeated in 11 matches. Leconte went undefeated in his last 14 doubles matches, a run that span from March 1985 to July 1993. He competed in the singles and doubles at the 1988 Seoul Olympics and the 1992 Barcelona Olympics, reaching the doubles quarter-finals in 1988 with Forget.