Grant Connell

Grant Connell was a Canadian tennis player who was number one in the world in doubles. Connell played professionally from 1986 to 1997, reaching the final of two Grand Slam tournaments. After his retirement he worked in real estate in Vancouver.

Connell won his first ATP doubles title in August 1988 at the Livingston Open with partner Glenn Michibata. He won a total of 22 ATP doubles titles, often paired with either Michibata, Patrick Galbraith, or Byron Black. At Grand Slams Connell had limited success as a singles player, never progressing beyond the third round. However, as a doubles player he reached the semi-finals of all four tournaments, including reaching the finals of Wimbledon and the Australian Open. He also reached the semi-finals of the mixed doubles tournament at Wimbledon on five occasions.

Connell competed at two Olympic Games. At the 1988 Seoul Olympics he played in both the singles and doubles, reaching the second round in the former. At the 1996 Atlanta Olympics he and Daniel Nestor reached the second round in the doubles.

After retiring Connell became the high performance director at Tennis British Colombia and was made the captain of Canada’s Davis Cup team. In 1998 he was inducted into the Canadian Tennis Hall of Fame.