James Blake (tennis)
James Riley Blake[2] (born December 28, 1979) is an American former professional tennis player. He won 10 titles on the ATP Tour (out of 24 finals contested), reaching a career-high singles ranking of world No. 4. His career highlights included reaching the final of the 2006 Tennis Masters Cup, the semifinals of the 2008 Beijing Olympics (beating world No. 1 Roger Federer en route), the quarterfinals of the 2008 Australian Open and 2005 and 2006 US Opens, two titles at the Hopman Cup (in 2003 and 2004) and being the American No. 1 in men's singles. Blake was also a key performer for the victorious United States 2007 Davis Cup team, winning both his matches in the championship tie against Russia.
Country (sports)
United States
Westport, Connecticut, U.S.
December 28, 1979
Yonkers, New York, U.S.
6 ft 1 in (1.85 m)
1999
August 29, 2013 (singles)
June 2023–present (doubles)
Right-handed (one-handed backhand)
Brian Barker (1995–2009)
Kelly Jones (2009–2011)
366–256 (58.8%) (at ATP Tour-level, Grand Slam-level, and in Davis Cup)
10
No. 4 (November 20, 2006)
QF (2008)
3R (2006)
F (2006)
SF – 4th (2008)
132–121 (52.2%) (at ATP Tour-level, Grand Slam-level, and in Davis Cup)
7
No. 31 (March 31, 2003)
No. 2081 (June 26, 2023)
QF (2005)
2R (2002)
SF (2009)
W (2007)
In 2004, Blake fractured a vertebra in an accident while training. He made a full recovery, and in 2005 he was presented with the Comeback Player of the Year award for his return to the tour. Later, in 2008, Blake was named the Arthur Ashe Humanitarian of the Year. Blake's autobiography, Breaking Back: How I Lost Everything and Won Back My Life, co-written with Andrew Friedman, discussed his comeback after his 2004 season. It was released on July 3. 2007, and debuted at No. 22 on the New York Times Best Seller list.
Blake retired from professional tennis at the 2013 US Open, being defeated in five sets against Ivo Karlovic and in three sets in
men's doubles.[3]
Early life and education[edit]
Blake was born in Yonkers, New York, to an African American father, Thomas Reynolds Blake, and a British mother, Betty.[4] He has a brother Thomas, who has also been a professional tennis player, and three older half-brothers: Jason, Christopher, and Howard, and a half-sister Michelle.
Blake started playing tennis at the age of five alongside his older brother Thomas. When he was 13, he was diagnosed with severe scoliosis, and for five years as a teenager he was forced to wear a full-length back brace for 18 hours a day, though not while playing tennis.
The Blake family moved to Fairfield, Connecticut when Blake's father's job selling surgical supplies took him from New York to Hartford, Connecticut.[5] Blake attended Fairfield High School, where a schoolmate and childhood friend was future musician John Mayer. Blake was inspired to pursue tennis after hearing his role model Arthur Ashe speak to the Harlem Junior Tennis Program. Brian Barker was his first (and longtime) coach. Blake left Harvard University, where he was a member of the A.D. Club, after his sophomore year to pursue a career in professional tennis.[6][7]
In 2018, he was elected into the ITA Collegiate Hall of Fame.
Playing style[edit]
Blake was primarily an offensive baseliner.[17] Blake was known for possessing one of the most powerful forehands in the game, with a solid transition game, and an effective serve and volley. Blake also possessed extremely quick footwork, although many claimed that he needed to work on changing direction. Blake's reputation as a "shotmaker," combined with potentially high-error flat groundstrokes made his style of play notably flashy, characterized by both a high number of winners and unforced errors.[18] In turn, this made Blake's game somewhat streaky, as evidenced by his playing history.
Equipment and endorsements[edit]
Blake worked with Prince to create a new racquet with Prince's O3 technology. However, he did not feel comfortable with this racquet. So, he switched back to the Dunlop Sport Aerogel 200, then the 4D 200, for the 2009 season.[19] He changed to Wilson at the start of the 2010 season, using the new Six.One Tour strung with Luxilon Big Banger Alu Power 16L strings at high tension (60+ pounds). He did not feel comfortable with this racquet either. Therefore, he switched back to Dunlop again. After the US Open of 2010, he began to test out rackets for Head. As August 26, 2011, he announced he will use Donnay rackets as his choice and using a customized Donnay X-Dual Pro. His clothing sponsor is Fila,[20] with whom he started working in 2009 after using Nike for most his career. He has his own clothing line named Thomas Reynolds Collection after his father.[21]
Blake signed an endorsement deal with Evian in 2005 and his contract was extended in 2008.[22][23]
Philanthropy[edit]
In 2008 Blake established The James Blake Foundation, which "invests vital seed money at the leading-edge of science: speed up the most promising work, and shortening the time it takes to turn lab discoveries into better treatments for patients."[39][40] Since 2005, he has hosted Anthem Live!, a charity tennis exhibition and musical event in Virginia and New York City to raise money for cancer research.[41] In July 2008, Blake established the Thomas Blake Sr. Memorial Research Fund to support cancer research at Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center. The fund was named in memory of his father, who died from gastric cancer in 2004.[42] Nike and Fila, which sponsored Blake, created T-shirts for Blake's charity, the J-Block program, and proceeds went to the Cancer Research Fund.[42]