Harold Solomon Explained

Harold Solomon
Residence:Fort Lauderdale, Florida
Birth Date:17 September 1952
Birth Place:Washington D.C.
Turnedpro:1972 (amateur from 1971)
Retired:1986
Plays:Right-handed (two-handed backhand)
Careerprizemoney:$1,802,769
Singlestitles:22
Highestsinglesranking:No. 5 (September 8, 1980)
Frenchopenresult:F (1976)
Wimbledonresult:1R (1972, 1974, 1977, 1986)
Usopenresult:SF (1977)
Othertournaments:yes
Masterscupresult:SF (1976)
Wctfinalsresult:QF (1975, 1976)
Doublesrecord:73–129
Doublestitles:1
Highestdoublesranking:No. 4 (1976)

Harold Solomon (born September 17, 1952) is an American former professional tennis player who played during the 1970s and 1980s. He achieved a career-high world ranking of No. 5 in singles in 1980, and of No. 4 in doubles in 1976. Over the course of his career, he won 22 singles titles.

Solomon was inducted into the Intercollegiate Tennis Association (ITA) Hall of Fame, the USTA Mid Atlantic Section Hall of Fame, the D.C. Sports Hall of Fame, and the International Jewish Sports Hall of Fame.

Early and personal life

Solomon grew up in Silver Spring, Maryland and attended Springbrook High School, lived in Pompano Beach, Florida, and is Jewish.[1] [2] [3] [4] [5] He lives in Fort Lauderdale, Florida, has a wife named Jan, a daughter named Rachel, and a son named Jesse.

Tennis career

He began playing tennis when he was five.[6] He was ranked as high as second in the United States in his junior career, and won the Clay Court Championship when he was 18. He was named an All-American at Rice University, where he was a political science major and a member of Wiess College.[7]

He turned professional when he finished university in 1972, and first won pro matches in 1974.[8] Among his shots was the moonball—a high and deep shot, normally hit with a lot of spin.[9]

At the French Open, Solomon's best showing was when he reached the finals in singles play in 1976. He reached the quarterfinals in 1972 and 1976, and made it to the semifinals in 1974 and 1980. At the US Open, he was a semifinalist in 1977. He won the tournament now known as the Cincinnati Masters twice (in 1977 and 1980) and was a finalist at the 1976 and 1978 United States Pro Championships.

Solomon captured a total of 22 professional singles titles. His lifetime professional win–loss record is 564–315, and he earned over $1.8 million. He was ranked among the top 10 singles players worldwide in 1976, 1978, 1979, and 1980, and was among the top 20 from 1974 to 1980. His best year was in 1980 when his win–loss record was 64–23 and he was ranked No. 5 in the world. He appeared in Playgirl Magazines list of 10 sexiest men that same year.

Solomon played doubles with Eddie Dibbs. In 1976 they were ranked No. 4 worldwide, and were among the top ten in 1974, 1975, and 1976. They were nicknamed "The Bagel Twins."

Solomon is credited with coining the term 'Bagel', referring to a set in tennis that ends with a score of 6–0. It was then popularized by commentator Bud Collins.[10]

Davis Cup

Solomon played in the Davis Cup on the American team in 1972, 1973, 1974, and 1978. He has a record of nine wins and four losses in this competition. The US team won the Davis Cup final in 1972 (3–2 against Romania) and 1978 (4–1 against Great Britain) although Solomon did not play in either final.

ATP

Solomon served as president of the Association of Tennis Professionals from 1980 to 1983[11] and later on its board of directors.

Halls of Fame

Solomon was inducted into the USTA Mid Atlantic Section Hall of Fame in 1994[12] and the International Jewish Sports Hall of Fame in 2004. He was named to the Intercollegiate Tennis Association (ITA) Hall of Fame (player) in 2013. He was inducted into the D.C. Sports Hall of Fame in 2016.[13]

Coaching career

Solomon began coaching in the 1990s, working with Jennifer Capriati, Mary Joe Fernandez, Shahar Pe'er, Justin Gimelstob, Eugenie Bouchard, Allie Kiick, Jim Courier, Monica Seles, Anna Kournikova and others.[14] [15] [16] [17] Some of his players won Grand Slam events and the Olympic Games.[18] He founded and runs the Harold Solomon Tennis Center, now known as the Florida Tennis SBT Academy, in Fort Lauderdale, Florida.[19]

Grand Slam finals

Singles: 1 runner-up

Career finals

Singles: 38 (22 wins, 16 losses)

Category
Grand Slam
Grand Prix Masters (1970–89)
WCT Finals (1971–89)
Grand Prix Series (1970–89), WCT Series (1968–89)
ResultW/L DateTournamentSurfaceOpponentScore
Win1–0Jul 1974Washington D.C., U.S.Clay Guillermo Vilas1–6, 6–3, 6–4
Loss1–1Aug 1974Bretton Woods, U.S.Clay Rod Laver4–6, 3–6
Loss1–2Sep 1974Los Angeles, U.S.Hard Jimmy Connors3–6, 1–6
Win2–2Feb 1975Toronto Indoor, CanadaCarpet (i) Stan Smith6–4, 6–1
Win3–2Mar 1975Memphis, U.S.Hard (i) Jiří Hřebec2–6, 6–1, 6–4
Loss3–3Jul 1975Washington D.C., U.S.Clay Guillermo Vilas1–6, 3–6
Loss3–4Oct 1975Melbourne, AustraliaGrass Brian Gottfried2–6, 6–7, 1–6
Win4–4Oct 1975Perth, AustraliaHard Alex Mayer6–2, 7–6, 7–5
Win5–4Nov 1975Johannesburg, South AfricaHard Brian Gottfried6–3, 6–2, 5–7, 6–2
Loss5–5Jan 1976Monterrey WCT, MexicoCarpet Eddie Dibbs6–7, 2–6
Win6–5Mar 1976Washington WCT, U.S.Carpet (i) Onny Parun6–3, 6–1
Win7–5Apr 1976Houston WCT, U.S.Clay Ken Rosewall6–4, 1–6, 6–1
Loss7–6Jun 1976French Open, ParisClay Adriano Panatta1–6, 4–6, 6–4, 6–7(3–7)
Win8–6Aug 1976Louisville Open, U.S.Clay Wojciech Fibak6–2, 7–5
Loss8–7Aug 1976Boston, U.S.Clay Björn Borg7–6, 4–6, 1–6, 2–6
Win9–7Oct 1976Maui, U.S.Hard Bob Lutz6–3, 5–7, 7–5
Win10–7Nov 1976Johannesburg, South AfricaHard Brian Gottfried6–2, 6–7, 6–3, 6–4
Win11–7Jun 1977Brussels, BelgiumClay Karl Meiler7–5, 3–6, 2–6, 6–3, 6–4
Win12–7Jul 1977Cincinnati Masters, U.S.Clay Mark Cox6–2, 6–3
Win13–7Sep 1977WCT Tournament of Champions, U.S.Carpet (i) Ken Rosewall6–5(7–5), 6–2, 2–6, 0–6, 6–3
Loss13–8Feb 1978Springfield, U.S.Carpet (i) Heinz Günthardt3–6, 6–3, 2–6
Win14–8Apr 1978Las Vegas, U.S.Hard Corrado Barazzutti6–1, 3–0 ret.
Win15–8Jul 1978Louisville Open, U.S.Clay John Alexander6–2, 6–2
Loss15–9Aug 1978Boston, U.S.Clay Manuel Orantes4–6, 3–6
Loss15–10Dec 1978Johannesburg, South AfricaHard Tim Gullikson6–2, 6–7, 6–7, 7–6, 4–6
Win16–10Jan 1979Baltimore, U.S.Carpet (i) Marty Riessen7–5, 6–4
Loss16–11May 1979Hamburg, West GermanyClay José Higueras6–3, 1–6, 4–6, 1–6
Loss16–12Jul 1979Forest Hills WCT, U.S.Clay Eddie Dibbs6–7, 1–6
Win17–12Aug 1979North Conway, U.S.Clay José Higueras5–7, 6–4, 7–6
Loss17–13Oct 1979Bordeaux, FranceClay Yannick Noah0–6, 7–6, 1–6, 6–1, 4–6
Win18–13Nov 1979Paris Open, FranceHard (i) Corrado Barazzutti6–3, 2–6, 6–3, 6–4
Loss18–14Nov 1979Wembley Championship, EnglandCarpet (i) John McEnroe3–6, 4–6, 5–7
Win19–14Jan 1980Baltimore U.S.Carpet (i) Tim Gullikson7–6, 6–0
Loss19–15Apr 1980Las Vegas, U.S.Hard Björn Borg3–6, 1–6
Win20–15May 1980Hamburg, West GermanyClay Guillermo Vilas6–7, 6–2, 6–4, 2–6, 6–3
Win21–15Aug 1980Cincinnati, U.S.Hard Francisco González7–6, 6–3
Win22–15Oct 1980Tel Aviv, IsraelHard Shlomo Glickstein6–2, 6–3
Loss22–16Apr 1981Las Vegas, U.S.Hard Ivan Lendl4–6, 2–6

Grand Slam singles performance timeline

Tournament 197219731974197519761977197819791980198119821983198419851986Career W-L
Australian OpenAAAAAAAAAAAAAANH0–0
French OpenQF3RSFQFF4R3R4RSF1R2RA3RAA36–12
Wimbledon1RA1RAA1RAAAAAAAA1R0–4
US Open2R1RA4R1RSF4R4R4R3R3R1RAAA22–11
Win–loss4–32–25–27–26–28–35–26–28–22–23–20–12–10–00–158–27

See also

  • List of select Jewish tennis players

External links

Notes and References

  1. Web site: Harold Solomon | Bio | Tennis. ATP Tour.
  2. Book: Slater, Robert. Great Jews in Sports. 2000. J. David Publishers. 9780824604332. Google Books.
  3. Book: Horvitz, Peter S.. The Big Book of Jewish Sports Heroes: An Illustrated Compendium of Sports History and the 150 Greatest Jewish Sports Stars. 2007. SP Books. 9781561719075. Google Books.
  4. Book: Goldman, David J.. Jewish Sports Stars (2nd Revised Edition): Athletic Heroes Past and Present. 2013. Kar-Ben. 9781467716499. Google Books.
  5. Web site: Tennis, Life Are Growing On Solomon. Barry. Lorge. June 6, 1980. www.washingtonpost.com.
  6. Book: Goldman, David J.. Jewish Sports Stars (2nd Revised Edition): Athletic Heroes Past and Present. 2013. Kar-Ben. 9781467716499. Google Books.
  7. Book: Grasso, John. Historical Dictionary of Tennis. September 16, 2011. Scarecrow Press. 9780810872370. Google Books.
  8. Web site: Solomon, Harold. Jews in Sports. February 23, 2014.
  9. Book: Campbell, Shep. Quick Tips from the CBS Tennis Spot. 1981. Golf Digest/Tennis, Incorporated. 9780914178453. Google Books.
  10. Web site: Bodo . Peter . Bagel, Anyone? . Tennis.com . 4 September 2022.
  11. Web site: Harold Solomon. International Jewish Sports Hall of Fame. February 23, 2014.
  12. Web site: USTA Mid Atlantic Section – Hall of Fame . USTA Mid Atlantic Section . February 23, 2014 . https://web.archive.org/web/20090719185428/http://www.midatlantic.usta.com/foundations/custom.sps?iType=1534&icustompageid=19413 . July 19, 2009 . dead .
  13. Web site: Washington, D.C. Sports Hall Inducts Class of 2016. Washington DC Sports Hall of Fame.
  14. Web site: International Jewish Sports Hall of Fame. www.jewishsports.net.
  15. Web site: TN Q & A: Harold Solomon - Tennis Now. www.tennisnow.com.
  16. http://tennis.life/2018/03/30/harold-solomon-leaves-team-genie-bouchard/ "Harold Solomon leaves Team Genie Bouchard" - Tennis.life
  17. Book: Christopher, Matt. On the Court with ... Jennifer Capriati. 2007. Little, Brown Books for Young Readers. 9780316030793. Google Books.
  18. Web site: Meet The Staff. Harold Solomon Tennis Institute. February 23, 2014. https://web.archive.org/web/20070701003136/http://solomontennis.com/staff.php. July 1, 2007.
  19. Florida Tennis SBT Academy Names Rob Castorri GM and Director of Tennis. Florida Tennis SBT. Academy. www.prnewswire.com.

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