Harold Solomon

Harold Solomon (nicknamed the "Human Backboard"; born September 17, 1952) is an American former professional tennis player during the 1970s and 1980s. He achieved career-high world rankings of No. 5 in singles in 1980, and 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, has lived in Pompano Beach, Florida, and is Jewish. 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. He attended Springbrook High School. 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.

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

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 also 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 has earned over $1.8 million. He was ranked in 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 Magazine' 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."

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, and later on its board of directors.

Halls of Fame

Solomon was inducted into the USTA Mid Atlantic Section Hall of Fame in 1994 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.

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. Some of his players participated in Grand Slam events and the Olympic Games. He founded and runs the Harold Solomon Tennis Center, now known as the Florida Tennis SBT Academy, in Fort Lauderdale, Florida.

Grand Slam finals

Singles: 1 runner-up

Career finals

Singles: 38 (22 wins, 16 losses)