José Higueras (Spanish pronunciation: [xoˈsejˈɣeɾas]; born 1 March 1953) is a tennis coach and former professional tennis player from Spain.

José Higueras
Country (sports) Spain
ResidencePalm Springs, California, U.S.
Born (1953-03-01) 1 March 1953 (age 71)
Diezma, Spain
Height1.78 m (5 ft 10 in)
Turned pro1973 (amateur tour from 1970)
Retired1986
PlaysRight-handed (one-handed backhand)
Prize moneyUS$1,406,355
Singles
Career record455–244 (65.1%)
Career titles16
Highest rankingNo. 6 (13 June 1983)
Grand Slam singles results
French OpenSF (1982, 1983)
Wimbledon2R (1974, 1979)
US Open4R (1977)
Other tournaments
Tour FinalsQF (1983)
Doubles
Career record119–164
Career titles3
José Higueras
Career record454–234
Career record123–167
Coaching career (1989–)
Coaching achievements
Coachee singles titles total1(Ch)-18(C)-1(M)-2(F)
Coachee(s) doubles titles total4(C)-1(M)-1(P)
List of notable tournaments
(with champion)

1989 French Open (Chang)
United States 1992 1995 Davis Cup champion (Courier)
1991 1992 French Open (Courier)
1992 1993 Australian Open (Cour)
1992 1993 Rome Masters (Cour.)
1991 (S,D) 1993 Indian Wells Masters (Courier)
1991 Miami Masters (Courier)
1990 Hamburg Masters (Courier D.)
1993 Canada Masters (Courier D.)
2002 Cincinnati Masters(Martin D)
Russia 2006 Davis Cup champion (Tursunov)
2007 Bank of the West Classic (Peer Doubles)[16]
2008 US Open (Federer)

Coaching awards and records
Records

Youngest Grand Slam winner (Chang)

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 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. Higueras was chosen to become the director of coaching for elite player development at the United States Tennis Association (USTA) in September 2008.[17]

Career finals edit

Singles (16 titles, 12 runner-ups) edit

Result No. Date Tournament Surface Opponent Score
Loss 1. 1975 Båstad, Sweden Clay   Manuel Orantes 0–6, 3–6
Loss 2. 1976 São Paulo, Brazil Carpet   Guillermo Vilas 3–6, 0–6
Win 1. 1976 Santiago, Chile Clay   Carlos Kirmayr 5–7, 6–4, 6–4
Win 2. 1977 Murcia, Spain Clay   Buster Mottram 6–4, 6–0, 6–3
Loss 3. 1977 Bogotá, Colombia Clay   Guillermo Vilas 1–6, 2–6, 3–6
Win 3. 1978 Cairo, Egypt Clay   Kjell Johansson 4–6, 6–4, 6–4
Win 4. 1978 Nice, France Clay   Yannick Noah 6–3, 6–4, 6–4
Loss 4. 1978 Indianapolis, U.S. Clay   Jimmy Connors 0–6, 3–6
Win 5. 1978 Bournemouth, England Clay   Paolo Bertolucci 6–2, 6–1, 6–3
Win 6. 1978 Madrid, Spain Clay   Tomáš Šmíd 6–7, 6–3, 6–3, 6–4
Win 7. 1979 Houston, U.S. Clay   Gene Mayer 6–3, 2–6, 7–6
Win 8. 1979 Hamburg, West Germany Clay   Harold Solomon 3–6, 6–1, 6–4, 6–1
Loss 5. 1979 North Conway, U.S. Clay   Harold Solomon 7–5, 4–6, 6–7
Win 9. 1979 Boston, U.S. Clay   Hans Gildemeister 6–3, 6–1
Loss 6. 1979 Quito, Ecuador Clay   Víctor Pecci 6–2, 4–6, 2–6
Loss 7. 1979 Santiago, Chile Clay   Hans Gildemeister 5–7, 7–5, 4–6
Loss 8. 1981 Viña del Mar, Chile Clay   Víctor Pecci 4–6, 0–6
Loss 9. 1982 Linz, Austria Clay   Anders Järryd 4–6, 6–4, 4–6
Win 10. 1982 Hamburg, West Germany Clay   Peter McNamara 6–4, 7–6, 6–7, 3–6, 7–6
Loss 10. 1982 North Conway, U.S. Clay   Ivan Lendl 3–6, 2–6
Win 11. 1982 Indianapolis, U.S. Clay   Jimmy Arias 7–5, 5–7, 6–3
Win 12. 1983 La Quinta, U.S. Hard   Eliot Teltscher 6–4, 6–2
Win 13. 1983 Bournemouth, England Clay   Tomáš Šmíd 2–6, 7–6, 7–5
Loss 11. 1983 Hamburg, West Germany Clay   Yannick Noah 6–3, 5–7, 2–6, 0–6
Loss 12. 1983 Rome, Italy Clay   Jimmy Arias 2–6, 7–6, 1–6, 4–6
Win 14. 1983 Stuttgart Outdoor, West Germany Clay   Heinz Günthardt 6–1, 6–1, 7–6
Win 15. 1984 Kitzbühel, Austria Clay   Víctor Pecci 7–5, 3–6, 6–1
Win 16. 1984 Bordeaux, France Clay   Francesco Cancellotti 7–5, 6–1

Doubles (3 titles, 2 runner-ups) edit

Result No. Date Tournament Surface Partner Opponents Score
Win 1. 1974 Gstaad, Switzerland Clay   Manuel Orantes   Roy Emerson
  Thomaz Koch
7–5, 0–6, 6–1, 9–8
Loss 1. 1975 Rotterdam WCT, Netherlands Carpet   Balázs Taróczy   Bob Hewitt
  Frew McMillan
2–6, 2–6
Win 2. 1977 Hilversum, Netherlands Clay   Antonio Muñoz   Jean-Louis Haillet
  François Jauffret
6–1, 6–4, 2–6, 6–1
Win 3. 1978 Milan WCT, Italy Carpet   Víctor Pecci   Wojtek Fibak
  Raúl Ramírez
5–7, 7–6, 7–6
Loss 2. 1978 French Open, Paris Clay   Manuel Orantes   Gene Mayer
  Hank Pfister
3–6, 2–6, 2–6

References edit

  1. ^ "Greg Garber: Michael Chang's '89 French Open title more than a fond memory – ESPN". ESPN. May 19, 2009. Retrieved October 18, 2011.
  2. ^ "Courier, Jim | Encyclopedia.com". www.encyclopedia.com. Retrieved May 28, 2023.
  3. ^ "ASAP Sports Transcripts – Tennis – 1997 – THE LIPTON CHAMPIONSHIPS – March 24 – Jim Courier". Asapsports.com. March 24, 1997. Retrieved October 18, 2011.
  4. ^ "bruguera met un point final a deux annees de galere – Archives de la Tribune de Geneve". Archives.tdg.ch. Retrieved October 18, 2011. [permanent dead link]
  5. ^ Dillman, Lisa (January 26, 1999). "Davis Cup Loss Was Learning Experience for Martin". Los Angeles Times.
  6. ^ Clarey, Christopher (January 21, 2004). "TENNIS; Martin's Victory Completes a Tall Order". The New York Times.
  7. ^ "Archived copy" (PDF). Archived from the original (PDF) on May 27, 2011. Retrieved February 27, 2011.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link)
  8. ^ Dillman, Lisa (July 16, 2002). "Sampras Lets Higueras Go". Los Angeles Times.
  9. ^ "Dmitry Tursunov-China Open". October 22, 2004. Archived from the original on October 22, 2004. Retrieved October 18, 2011.
  10. ^ Robbins, Liz (August 24, 2006). "Whether on the Court or Off, the Unexpected Is Expected". The New York Times.
  11. ^ in Guillermo Coria (April 19, 2006). "Guillermo Coria and New Coach Jose Higueras". Pro Tennis Fan. Retrieved October 18, 2011.
  12. ^ Bekerman, Eitan (April 2, 2008). "Shahar Peer's multinational force – Haaretz Daily Newspaper | Israel News". Haaretz. Israel. Retrieved October 18, 2011.
  13. ^ "Mens Circuit – Player Biography". ITF Tennis. Archived from the original on May 13, 2015. Retrieved October 18, 2011.
  14. ^ "Juniors – Player Biography". ITF Tennis. December 31, 1996. Archived from the original on June 29, 2011. Retrieved October 18, 2011.
  15. ^ "Juniors – Player Biography". ITF Tennis. Archived from the original on June 29, 2011. Retrieved October 18, 2011.
  16. ^ http://www.wtatour.com/SEWTATour-Archive/Archive/MatchNotes/2007/703.pdf [permanent dead link]
  17. ^ "Higueras hired as director of coaching for elite player development". Associated Press. September 16, 2008. Retrieved September 23, 2008.

External links edit