Thierry Champion (born 31 August 1966) is a former professional tennis player from France.
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| Country (sports) |  France |
|---|---|
| Residence | Paris, France |
| Born | 31 August 1966 Bagnols-sur-Cèze France |
| Height | 1.83 m (6 ft 0 in) |
| Turned pro | 1989 |
| Retired | 2004 |
| Plays | Right-handed (one-handed backhand) |
| Prize money | $1,255,229 |
| Singles | |
| Career record | 102–165 |
| Career titles | 0 |
| Highest ranking | No. 44 (26 August 1991) |
| Grand Slam singles results | |
| Australian Open | 3R (1987) |
| French Open | QF (1990) |
| Wimbledon | QF (1991) |
| US Open | 2R (1986, 1988, 1990, 1991, 1992) |
| Doubles | |
| Career record | 15–38 |
| Career titles | 0 |
| Highest ranking | No. 135 (10 July 1989) |
| Grand Slam doubles results | |
| Australian Open | 1R (1989) |
| French Open | 2R (1989, 1991) |
| Wimbledon | 1R (1988) |
| Grand Slam mixed doubles results | |
| French Open | 3R (1989) |
| Last updated on: 29 January 2022. | |
Tennis career
Champion was born in Bagnols-sur-Cèze, Gard. During his career, he reached the quarter-finals at the French Open in 1990 and at Wimbledon in 1991.
A clay court specialist, Champion gained notoriety on the men's ATP tour as a wild card player with the ability to inflict defeat on seeded players well above his ranking. His play style was characterised by fast court coverage and strong baseline play with measured heavily spun passing shots, particularly from an unorthodox backhand stroke.
Reaching a career-high singles ranking of World No. 44 on the men's ATP rankings in 1991, subsequent years saw a dwindling career riddled with injury.
One of the worst Grand Slam defeats in tennis history came when Champion was triple bageled, losing 6-0, 6-0, 6-0 in the 2nd round of the 1993 French Open, by eventual winner Sergi Bruguera.[1]
Champion was the coach of French tennis player Gaël Monfils starting in September 2004, but they parted ways in September 2006. He was also the coach of Hicham Arazi, Nicolas Escudé and Paul-Henri Mathieu. At the 2008 Wimbledon Championships he was seen to be coaching French player Richard Gasquet for a short stint.
ATP career finals
Singles: 1 (1 runner-up)
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| Result | W–L | Date | Tournament | Tier | Surface | Opponent | Score |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Loss | 0–1 | Aug 1988 | St. Vincent, Italy | Grand Prix | Clay |  Kent Carlsson | 0-6, 2-6 |
ATP Challenger and ITF Futures finals
Singles: 3 (2–1)
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| Result | W–L | Date | Tournament | Tier | Surface | Opponent | Score |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Win | 1–0 | Jul 1996 | Ostend, Belgium | Challenger | Clay |  Kris Goossens | 6–3, 6–4 |
| Win | 2–0 | Aug 1996 | Poznań, Poland | Challenger | Clay |  Ionuț Moldovan | 6–0, 6–3 |
| Loss | 2–1 | Nov 1996 | Réunion Island, Reunion | Challenger | Hard | Patrik Fredriksson | 7–5, 0–6, 3–6 |
Performance timelines
| W | F | SF | QF | #R | RR | Q# | DNQ | A | NH |
Singles
| Tournament | 1984 | 1985 | 1986 | 1987 | 1988 | 1989 | 1990 | 1991 | 1992 | 1993 | 1994 | 1995 | 1996 | 1997 | 1998 | SR | W–L | Win % | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Grand Slam tournaments | ||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Australian Open | Q3 | Q3 | A | 3R | A | 1R | A | 1R | 1R | 2R | A | A | A | 1R | A | 0 / 6 | 2–6 | 25% | ||||||
| French Open | A | A | 1R | 2R | 2R | 1R | QF | 3R | 1R | 2R | 2R | 2R | 2R | 3R | Q2 | 0 / 12 | 14–12 | 54% | ||||||
| Wimbledon | A | 1R | 1R | A | 1R | 1R | Q1 | QF | 3R | A | A | A | 1R | A | A | 0 / 7 | 6–7 | 46% | ||||||
| US Open | A | A | 2R | A | 1R | A | 2R | 2R | 2R | A | A | Q3 | A | A | A | 0 / 5 | 4–5 | 44% | ||||||
| Win–loss | 0–0 | 0–1 | 1–3 | 2–2 | 1–3 | 0–3 | 5–2 | 7–4 | 3–4 | 2–2 | 1–1 | 1–1 | 1–2 | 2–2 | 0–0 | 0 / 30 | 26–30 | 46% | ||||||
| ATP Tour Masters 1000 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Indian Wells | A | A | A | A | A | A | A | 1R | 2R | A | Q1 | A | A | A | A | 0 / 2 | 1–2 | 33% | ||||||
| Miami | A | A | A | A | 1R | 2R | A | 1R | 2R | A | Q2 | Q1 | A | 1R | A | 0 / 5 | 2–5 | 29% | ||||||
| Monte Carlo | A | A | A | 1R | A | 1R | A | 1R | 2R | A | A | 1R | A | A | A | 0 / 5 | 1–5 | 17% | ||||||
| Hamburg | A | A | A | A | 2R | A | 1R | A | 2R | A | 1R | Q1 | A | A | A | 0 / 4 | 2–4 | 33% | ||||||
| Rome | A | A | A | A | A | 1R | 1R | A | 1R | A | Q2 | Q2 | Q3 | A | A | 0 / 3 | 0–3 | 0% | ||||||
| Canada | A | A | A | A | A | A | A | A | A | A | A | A | A | 1R | A | 0 / 1 | 0–1 | 0% | ||||||
| Cincinnati | A | A | A | A | A | A | 1R | A | 2R | A | A | A | A | A | A | 0 / 2 | 1–2 | 33% | ||||||
| Paris | A | A | 1R | 2R | 1R | A | 2R | 1R | A | 1R | A | Q1 | Q2 | A | A | 0 / 6 | 2–6 | 25% | ||||||
| Win–loss | 0–0 | 0–0 | 0–1 | 1–2 | 1–3 | 1–3 | 1–4 | 0–4 | 5–6 | 0–1 | 0–1 | 0–1 | 0–0 | 0–2 | 0–0 | 0 / 28 | 9–28 | 24% | ||||||
Doubles
| Tournament | 1985 | 1986 | 1987 | 1988 | 1989 | 1990 | 1991 | 1992 | 1993 | SR | W–L | Win % | ||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Grand Slam tournaments | ||||||||||||||||||||||
| Australian Open | A | A | A | A | 1R | A | A | A | A | 0 / 1 | 0–1 | 0% | ||||||||||
| French Open | A | 1R | 1R | 1R | 2R | 1R | 2R | 1R | 1R | 0 / 8 | 2–8 | 20% | ||||||||||
| Wimbledon | Q2 | A | A | 1R | A | A | A | A | A | 0 / 1 | 0–1 | 0% | ||||||||||
| US Open | A | A | A | A | A | A | A | A | A | 0 / 0 | 0–0 | – | ||||||||||
| Win–loss | 0–0 | 0–1 | 0–1 | 0–2 | 1–2 | 0–1 | 1–1 | 0–1 | 0–1 | 0 / 10 | 2–10 | 17% | ||||||||||
| ATP Masters Series | ||||||||||||||||||||||
| Miami | A | A | A | A | 3R | A | A | A | A | 0 / 1 | 2–1 | 67% | ||||||||||
| Monte Carlo | A | A | 1R | A | 1R | A | A | A | A | 0 / 2 | 0–2 | 0% | ||||||||||
| Paris | A | 1R | A | A | A | A | A | A | A | 0 / 1 | 0–1 | 0% | ||||||||||
| Win–loss | 0–0 | 0–1 | 0–1 | 0–0 | 2–2 | 0–0 | 0–0 | 0–0 | 0–0 | 0 / 4 | 2–4 | 33% | ||||||||||
