John Isner

John Robert Isner (born April 26, 1985) is an American former professional tennis player. He was ranked as high as world No. 8 in singles and No. 14 in doubles by the Association of Tennis Professionals (ATP). Considered one of the best servers ever to play on the ATP Tour, Isner achieved his career-high singles ranking in July 2018 by virtue of his first Masters 1000 crown at the 2018 Miami Open and a semifinal appearance at the 2018 Wimbledon Championships. At the 2010 Wimbledon Championships, Isner played the longest professional tennis match in history, requiring five sets and 183 games to defeat Nicolas Mahut in a match which lasted 11 hours and 5 minutes, and was played over the course of three days. Isner holds the record for hitting the ATP's fastest official serve ever and third-fastest on record in tennis at 157.2 mph or 253 km/h during his first-round 2016 Davis Cup match. He has the most aces in the history of the ATP Tour, having served 14,470, as of August 31, 2023. Isner retired from professional tennis following the 2023 US Open.

Early life

Isner was born on April 26, 1985, in Greensboro, North Carolina, to Robert and Karen Isner. He has two older brothers, Jordan and Nathan.

Isner started playing tennis at the age of 9 and did not take the sport seriously until the age of 11. He played for his high school of Walter Hines Page Senior High School where he helped lead them to a state championship in 2001. He also played in 10 junior tournaments which included the 2002 US Open (losing in the second round to eventual champion Richard Gasquet) and the 2002 Orange Bowl. He also made the finals of a tournament in Tulsa, Oklahoma, losing to Brian Baker.

College career

Coming out of high school in 2003 as a heavily sought-after prospect, Isner was recruited by the University of Georgia Bulldogs. He was dominant in college, compiling a win-loss record of 143–28 in singles and 140–27 in doubles. He was ranked the top tennis player in the country on a number of occasions and won multiple tournaments. Some highlights from his college career include winning the 2005 NCAA doubles title partnering with Antonio Ruiz-Rosales, winning the 2007 team event against Illinois and reaching the 2007 NCAA singles finals where he lost to Somdev Devvarman of Virginia in three sets. He ended his college career after his singles final loss and team win in 2007 and turned professional.

Professional career

2007–2008: Turning pro, First ATP final, top 100

Isner began his professional career in earnest in the summer of 2007. With a world ranking of no. 839, he needed a wildcard entry into the main draws of every single tournament, even at Futures level.

He won his first tournament of the summer, the USA F14 Futures, beating the top three seeds along the way. Then, after first-round losses at Challenger level as well as a tournament at ATP level, he beat five top-300 players and three seeds to win the Lexington Challenger in July and improve his ranking to no. 416 after just one month.

At the following week's tournament at the Legg Mason Tennis Classic in Washington, D.C., a late withdrawal freed up a wildcard spot, which was given to Isner at the last minute. Isner took full advantage of his good fortune, recording his first wins over top-100 players. He won third-set tiebreakers on five consecutive days, beating no. 73 Tim Henman, no. 47 Benjamin Becker, no. 189 qualifier Wayne Odesnik, no. 12 Tommy Haas, and no. 54 Gaël Monfils, to reach the final, where he fell to fellow American Andy Roddick. His week raised his ranking to no. 193 in the world after six weeks on the pro tour.

Isner's success in Washington, D.C. earned him wildcard entries into three more ATP tournaments—the Masters 1000 Series event in Cincinnati a week later, New Haven and the US Open. He lost in the first round in Cincinnati to quarterfinalist no. 15 David Ferrer. The following week in New Haven, he beat no. 49 Becker a second time, before falling to Ferrer for the second week in a row.

In his US Open début, he defeated the 26th-seeded player, former quarterfinalist Jarkko Nieminen, firing 34 aces along the way. He proceeded to win his second-round match against Rik de Voest, before losing in the third round to top seed and eventual champion Roger Federer. Isner was one of only two players to take a set from Federer in the championship. His US Open performance improved his ranking to no. 144.

After the US Open, Isner continued to play exclusively in North America and finished the year ranked no. 107. That year, Isner was added to the United States Davis Cup team as a practice partner.

Isner's no. 106 ranking in November 2007 was just good enough to get him direct entry into his first Australian Open after several players ranked above him dropped out. He was defeated in the first round of the 2008 Australian Open by veteran Fabrice Santoro of France. Teamed with Croat Ivo Karlović, who stands half an inch taller (Karlović is currently the joint tallest player on the ATP World Tour alongside Reilly Opelka), Isner also lost in the first round of doubles.

Isner broke into the top 100 at no. 93 in February with a quarterfinal appearance at an ATP event in San Jose, beating no. 90 Florent Serra and no. 26 Tommy Haas. He maintained a top-100 ranking in the first three months of the year, beating six players in the top 100, while playing exclusively in events at ATP level. Isner played at his first French Open and Wimbledon, losing in the first round of each. He also played at the US Open, where he lost in the first round. He ended the year ranked no. 144 in the world.

2009: Top 40, first top-10 wins

Isner qualified for the singles draw of the 2009 Heineken Open in Auckland, after winning three consecutive three-set matches in qualifying. His final match saw him bounce back from a 0–3 deficit in the third set to eventually beat Brazilian Thomaz Bellucci in a tiebreaker. In the main draw, Isner beat Albert Montañés and countryman Robby Ginepri, before ultimately exiting with a loss in the quarterfinals.

Isner received a wildcard into the 2009 Australian Open, after winning the United States Tennis Association's wildcard tournament, beating Donald Young and Jesse Levine along the way. Despite serving 39 aces against his first-round opponent, Slovakia's Dominik Hrbatý, he lost in four sets. Isner began working with a new coach, Craig Boynton, who had coached former world no. 1 Jim Courier in the 1990s, in March 2009.

At the 2009 Indian Wells Masters, Isner pulled off a major upset by defeating ninth seed Gaël Monfils. This was Isner's first win over a top-10 player, after four previous defeats. He then went on to defeat former world no. 1 Marat Safin, before losing to world no. 6 Juan Martín del Potro in the fourth round.

In April 2009 at the U.S. Men's Clay Court Championships in Houston, Texas, at River Oaks Country Club, Isner made it as far as the quarterfinals, where he was defeated by fellow American Wayne Odesnik. Isner qualified for the French Open, but had to withdraw after being diagnosed with mononucleosis, which caused him to miss Wimbledon as well.

In August 2009, he defeated world no. 7 Jo-Wilfried Tsonga and world no. 18 Tomáš Berdych en route to the semifinals of the ATP World Tour 500 event in Washington, before losing to world no. 5 Andy Roddick. This performance brought him to a career-high ranking of no. 55 and a special exemption into the Masters 1000 Series event in Montreal, where he defeated Jesse Levine, before losing to Mikhail Youzhny. He earned a wildcard into the Masters 1000 Series event in Cincinnati, where he defeated world no. 21 Tommy Haas, before losing to world no. 35 Jérémy Chardy in the second round.

Unseeded and ranked no. 55 in the world entering the US Open, Isner defeated world no. 29 Victor Hănescu in the first round, which was his first win in a Grand Slam tournament since the 2007 US Open, ending a streak of six consecutive defeats. He then advanced to the third round, where he defeated world no. 5 and fellow American Andy Roddick in five sets for his first victory over Roddick, his first victory in a five-set match, and the first time he advanced past the third round of a Grand Slam tournament. He was then defeated in the fourth round by world no. 10 Fernando Verdasco in four sets. His US Open performance brought his ranking to a career-high no. 39.

After playing in Vienna, Basel and at the Paris Masters, Isner finished the year at a career-high no. 34 in the world. He has credited his work with Boynton for helping him get back on track following his disappointing 2008 season.

His progress was acknowledged by his peers, as he was voted the ATP Most Improved Player for 2009, becoming the tenth American to win the award, and the first since Andre Agassi in 1998.