Lester Cook (born April 24, 1984) [1] is an American former professional tennis player.

Lester Cook
Country (sports) United States
ResidenceOjai, CA, United States
Born (1984-04-24) April 24, 1984 (age 40)
Calabasas, California[1]
Height5 ft 11 in (1.80 m)
PlaysRight-handed
Singles
Career record0–1 (ATP, Grand Slam, Davis Cup)
Career titles0
Highest rankingNo. 191 (25 October 2010) [2]
Grand Slam singles results
Australian OpenQ1 (2010)
French OpenQ1 (2010)
WimbledonQ1 (2010, 2011)
US OpenQ1 (2007, 2009, 2010)
Doubles
Career record0-2 (ATP, Grand Slam, Davis Cup)
Career titles0
Highest ranking175 (18 January 2010)
Last updated on: 21 June 2021.

As a junior, he was top 5 in the country in the 18 and under division, finishing 4th place at the prestigious Kalamazoo Hard Court Nationals and 3rd in the International Grass Court and International Hard Court championships that same year. At 16, he competed in the French Open, U.S. Open, Australian Open, and the Orange Bowl, proudly earning 6 National Sportsmanship awards along the way.

A year later Lester entered college at 17, pursuing a degree in Economics at Texas A&M University in College Station, TX. In his 3 years at Texas A&M under the tutelage of Tim Cass, Lester was a 3 time All-American finishing with a career high ITA ranking of No. 6 in singles and No. 1 in doubles with partner Ante Matijevic. After his junior year, Lester was one of six players asked to represent the U.S. Collegiate All-star Team in a scrimmage match against the Chinese National team.

In 2005, Lester left college and turned pro. In his 6 years on tour, Lester had the privilege of traveling to over 30 countries and 31 states following his dream of being the best tennis player in the world. Along the way he won 8 professional singles titles as well as 18 professional doubles titles reaching a career high ranking of No. 191 in singles and No. 175 in doubles. He competed in all 4 grand slams as a professional and also participated in 3 World Team Tennis seasons, being drafted by the Delaware Smash and Newport Beach Breakers twice.

He won the men's singles in the Ojai Tennis Tournament in 2007, 2009, and 2010.[3]

At the end of 2011, Lester retired from the tour and was focused on building a career in real estate. In 2014 he married his girlfriend of five years, Katie. They have two children and live in Ojai, CA with their many rescue animals including horses, goats, dogs, and a hamster. Lester currently works in real estate in both Los Angeles and Ventura County.

Coaching career edit

- Teaching pro at Malibu Racquet Club starting September 2013

- USTA high performance coach for Jr Davis Cup Team Feb 2014

- Hitting Partner for Sloane Stephens July–December 2014

After retiring from professional tennis, Cook because a real estates agent in Ojai, starting his own (self-named) agency.[4]

ATP Challenger and ITF Futures finals edit

Singles: 10 (7–3) edit

Legend
ATP Challenger (0–1)
ITF Futures (7–2)
Finals by surface
Hard (6–2)
Clay (0–1)
Grass (0–0)
Carpet (1–0)
Result W–L    Date    Tournament Tier Surface Opponent Score
Win 1–0 Jun 2006 Thailand F1, Bangkok Futures Hard   Hyung-Kwon Kim] 6–3, 6–1
Win 2–0 Sep 2006 Mexico F14, Monterrey Futures Hard   Miguel Gallardo-Valles 7–6(7–3), 4–6, 7–6(7–2)
Loss 2–1 Feb 2007 Costa Rica F1, San José Futures Hard   Peter Polansky 6–2, 5–7, 3–6
Win 3–1 Jun 2007 Japan F6, Kusatsu Futures Carpet   Takahiro Terachi 6–3, 2–6, 6–4
Win 4–1 Oct 2007 USA F25, Laguna Niguel Futures Hard   Nikita Kryvonos 6–2, 6–3
Win 5–1 Nov 2007 USA F28, Waikolu Futures Hard   Carsten Ball 5–7, 7–6(7–2), 6–3
Win 6–1 Oct 2008 USA F25, Laguna Niguel Futures Hard   Martin Pedersen 6–2, 6–2
Win 7–1 Mar 2009 USA F6, McAllen Futures Hard   Andrey Kumantsov 1–6, 6–2, 4–0 ret.
Loss 7–2 Sep 2010 Tulsa, United States Challenger Hard   Bobby Reynolds 3–6, 3–6
Loss 7–3 May 2011 USA F12, Tampa Futures Clay   Blake Strode 3–6, 4–6

Doubles: 19 (13–6) edit

Legend
ATP Challenger (2–2)
ITF Futures (11–4)
Finals by surface
Hard (11–5)
Clay (1–1)
Grass (0–0)
Carpet (1–0)
Result W–L    Date    Tournament Tier Surface Partner Opponents Score
Win 1–0 Dec 2002 USA F30, Laguna Niguel Futures Hard   Jason Cook   Brandon Hawk
  Huntley Montgomery
6–2, 6–4
Win 2–0 Jun 2003 USA F14, Sunnyvale Futures Hard   Ryan Newport   Brian Wilson
  Nick Rainey
2–6, 6–3, 6–1
Win 3–0 Jul 2004 USA F16, Chico Futures Hard   Jason Cook   Sam Warburg
  KC Corkery
7–5, 7–6(7–5)
Win 4–0 Feb 2005 USA F4, Brownsville Futures Hard   Rob Steckley   Tres Davis
  Eric Nunez
walkover
Loss 4–1 Oct 2005 USA F25, Laguna Niguel Futures Hard   Rob Steckley   Philip Gubenco
  Erik Chvojka
6–7(4–7), 6–4, 1–6
Loss 4–2 Jun 2006 Thailand F1, Bangkok Futures Hard   Rob Steckley   Rubén Torres
  Izak Van Der Merwe
4–6, 3–6
Loss 4–3 Aug 2006 Mexico F13, Monterrey Futures Clay   Shane La Porte   Miguel Gallardo-Valles
  Carlos Palencia
3–6, 4–6
Win 5–3 Sep 2006 Mexico F14, Monterrey Futures Hard   Shane La Porte   Jorge Aguilar
  Daniel Garza
6–3, 6–4
Win 6–3 Jun 2007 Guatemala F1, Guatemala City Futures Hard   Shane La Porte   Miguel Gallardo-Valles
  Carlos Palencia
6–3, 7–5
Win 7–3 Jun 2007 Japan F6, Kusatsu Futures Carpet   Shane La Porte   Hiroyasu Sato
  Joji Miyao
4–6, 6–4, 7–6(7–1)
Win 8–3 Nov 2007 USA F28, Waikolu Futures Hard   Shane La Porte   Carsten Ball
  Rylan Rizza
6–2, 6–3
Loss 8–4 Apr 2008 Humacao, Puerto Rico Challenger Hard   Kevin Kim   Bobby Reynolds
  Rajeev Ram
3–6, 4–6
Win 9–4 May 2008 Bradenton, United States Challenger Clay   Carsten Ball   Ryler Deheart
  Todd Widom
4–6, 6–3, [10–6]
Loss 9–5 Feb 2009 Carson, United States Challenger Hard   Donald Young   Scott Lipsky
  David Martin
6–7(3–7), 6–4, [6–10]
Win 10–5 Feb 2009 USA F4, Brownsville Futures Hard   Shane La Porte   Tigran Martirosyan
  Jesse Witten
6–1, 7–5
Loss 10–6 Apr 2009 USA F7, Mobile Futures Hard   Treat Huey   Milos Raonic
  Philip Bester
3–6, 6–1, [5–10]
Win 11–6 Jun 2009 USA F13, Sacramento Futures Hard   Treat Huey   Andrew Coelho
  Adam Feeney
6–4, 3–6, [10–2]
Win 12–6 Oct 2009 Sacramento, United States Challenger Hard   David Martin   Santiago Gonzalez
  Travis Rettenmaier
4–6, 6–3, [10–5]
Win 13–6 Apr 2010 USA F9, Little Rock Futures Hard   Brett Joelson   Brydan Klein
  John Millman
6–4, 3–6, [10–7]

Performance timeline edit

Key
W  F  SF QF #R RR Q# DNQ A NH
(W) winner; (F) finalist; (SF) semifinalist; (QF) quarterfinalist; (#R) rounds 4, 3, 2, 1; (RR) round-robin stage; (Q#) qualification round; (DNQ) did not qualify; (A) absent; (NH) not held; (SR) strike rate (events won / competed); (W–L) win–loss record.

Singles edit

Tournament 2007 2008 2009 2010 2011 SR W–L Win %
Grand Slam tournaments
Australian Open A A A Q1 A 0 / 0 0–0  – 
French Open A A A Q1 A 0 / 0 0–0  – 
Wimbledon A A A Q1 Q1 0 / 0 0–0  – 
US Open Q1 A Q1 Q1 A 0 / 0 0–0  – 
Win–loss 0–0 0–0 0–0 0–0 0–0 0 / 0 0–0  – 
ATP Tour Masters 1000
Indian Wells Masters A A Q1 Q2 Q1 0 / 0 0–0  – 
Win–loss 0–0 0–0 0–0 0–0 0–0 0 / 0 0–0  – 

References edit

  1. ^ a b ATP Player Profile
  2. ^ "Lester Cook Singles Activity". ITF Tour. Retrieved 21 June 2021.
  3. ^ "OJAI Records of Events Index" (PDF). The Ojai Tennis Tournament. Archived from the original (PDF) on 22 September 2022.
  4. ^ "About". Lester Cook Real Estate. Retrieved 21 June 2021.

External links edit