Quick Facts
Biography
José Higueras (born 1 March 1953) is a tennis coach and former professional tennis player from Spain.
Between 1976 and 1984, Higueras won 16 top-level singles titles. A semi-finalist at the French Open in 1982 and 1983, he reached a career-high singles ranking of World No. 6 in 1983. He was also a member of the Spanish team which won the inaugural World Team Cup in 1978.
Higueras retired from the professional tour in 1986. After retiring as a player, he became a successful, world-renowned tennis coach. He helped coach Michael Chang to the 1989 French Open title, and later, along with Brad Stine, coached Jim Courier to help him reach the World No. 1 singles ranking in 1992, as well as coaching Courier to two French Open titles (1991 and 1992) and two Australian Open titles (1992 and 1993). Higueras has also coached Todd Martin, Sergi Bruguera, Carlos Moyá, Pete Sampras, Dmitry Tursunov, Guillermo Coria, Robby Ginepri, Roger Federer and Shahar Pe'er, and created the José Higueras Tennis Training Center in Palm Springs, California, where he resides.
In 2008, already the coach of Robby Ginepri, Higueras was hired by Roger Federer to help him through the clay court season. The partnership was extended during the grass court and hard court season, when Higueras was chosen to become the director of coaching for elite player development at the United States Tennis Association (USTA). The USTA position will reportedly force Higueras to end his coaching roles with Ginepri.
Singles titles (16)
| Outcome | No. | Date | Championship | Surface | Opponent in the final | Score in the final |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Runner-up | 1. | 1975 | Båstad, Sweden | Clay |  Manuel Orantes | 0–6, 3–6 |
| Runner-up | 2. | 1976 | São Paulo, Brazil | Carpet |  Guillermo Vilas | 3–6, 0–6 |
| Winner | 1. | 1976 | Santiago, Chile | Clay |  Carlos Kirmayr | 5–7, 6–4, 6–4 |
| Winner | 2. | 1977 | Murcia, Spain | Clay |  Buster Mottram | 6–4, 6–0, 6–3 |
| Runner-up | 3. | 1977 | Bogotá, Colombia | Clay | Guillermo Vilas | 1–6, 2–6, 3–6 |
| Winner | 3. | 1978 | Cairo, Egypt | Clay |  Kjell Johansson | 4–6, 6–4, 6–4 |
| Winner | 4. | 1978 | Nice, France | Clay |  Yannick Noah | 6–3, 6–4, 6–4 |
| Runner-up | 4. | 1978 | Indianapolis, U.S. | Clay |  Jimmy Connors | 0–6, 3–6 |
| Winner | 5. | 1978 | Bournemouth, England | Clay |  Paolo Bertolucci | 6–2, 6–1, 6–3 |
| Winner | 6. | 1978 | Madrid, Spain | Clay |  Tomáš Šmíd | 6–7, 6–3, 6–3, 6–4 |
| Winner | 7. | 1979 | Houston, U.S. | Clay | Gene Mayer | 6–3, 2–6, 7–6 |
| Winner | 8. | 1979 | Hamburg, Germany | Clay | Harold Solomon | 3–6, 6–1, 6–4, 6–1 |
| Runner-up | 5. | 1979 | North Conway, U.S. | Clay | Harold Solomon | 7–5, 4–6, 6–7 |
| Winner | 9. | 1979 | Boston, U.S. | Clay |  Hans Gildemeister | 6–3, 6–1 |
| Runner-up | 6. | 1979 | Quito, Ecuador | Clay |  Víctor Pecci | 6–2, 4–6, 2–6 |
| Runner-up | 7. | 1979 | Santiago, Chile | Clay | Hans Gildemeister | 5–7, 7–5, 4–6 |
| Runner-up | 8. | 1981 | Viña del Mar, Chile | Clay | Víctor Pecci | 4–6, 0–6 |
| Runner-up | 9. | 1982 | Linz, Austria | Clay | Anders Järryd | 4–6, 6–4, 4–6 |
| Winner | 10. | 1982 | Hamburg, Germany | Clay |  Peter McNamara | 6–4, 7–6, 6–7, 3–6, 7–6 |
| Runner-up | 10. | 1982 | North Conway, U.S. | Clay | Ivan Lendl | 3–6, 2–6 |
| Winner | 11. | 1982 | Indianapolis, U.S. | Clay | Jimmy Arias | 7–5, 5–7, 6–3 |
| Winner | 12. | 1983 | La Quinta, U.S. | Hard | Eliot Teltscher | 6–4, 6–2 |
| Winner | 13. | 1983 | Bournemouth, England | Clay | Tomáš Šmíd | 2–6, 7–6, 7–5 |
| Runner-up | 11. | 1983 | Hamburg, Germany | Clay | Yannick Noah | 6–3, 5–7, 2–6, 0–6 |
| Runner-up | 12. | 1983 | Rome, Italy | Clay | Jimmy Arias | 2–6, 7–6, 1–6, 4–6 |
| Winner | 14. | 1983 | Stuttgart Outdoor, Germany | Clay |  Heinz Günthardt | 6–1, 6–1, 7–6 |
| Winner | 15. | 1984 | Kitzbühel, Austria | Clay | Víctor Pecci | 7–5, 3–6, 6–1 |
| Winner | 16. | 1984 | Bordeaux, France | Clay | Francesco Cancellotti | 7–5, 6–1 |
Doubles titles (3)
| Outcome | No. | Date | Tournament | Surface | Partner | Opponents in the final | Score in the final |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Winner | 1. | 1974 | Gstaad, Switzerland | Clay | Manuel Orantes | Roy Emerson Thomaz Koch | 7–5, 0–6, 6–1, 9–8 |
| Runner-up | 1. | 1975 | Rotterdam WCT, Netherlands | Carpet |  Balázs Taróczy |  Bob Hewitt Frew McMillan | 2–6, 2–6 |
| Winner | 2. | 1977 | Hilversum, Netherlands | Clay |  Antonio Muñoz | Jean-Louis Haillet François Jauffret | 6–1, 6–4, 2–6, 6–1 |
| Winner | 3. | 1978 | Milan WCT, Italy | Carpet | Víctor Pecci |  Wojtek Fibak Raúl Ramírez | 5–7, 7–6, 7–6 |
| Runner-up | 2. | 1978 | French Open, Paris | Clay | Manuel Orantes | Gene Mayer Hank Pfister | 3–6, 2–6, 2–6 |