Grant Connell
Major Accomplishments
Was the No. 1 ranked doubles player on the ATP World Tour in 1993.
First Canadian to win a world championship on the professional tour (1995 with Patrick Galbraith).
Won 22 doubles titles and was a 26-time finalist, including four Grand Slams.
Reached No. 67 on the ATP World Tour singles rankings in 1991.
Biography
Grant Connell was born in Regina, Saskatchewan and is a former professional tennis player who became the world’s No. 1 number doubles tennis player in 1993. The left-handed player grew up in North Vancouver, British Columbia and continued on to compete for Texas A&M University. There he was an All-American in doubles in 1984 and in singles in 1985 during his college career.
Connell competed in the singles draws of the Rogers Cup in Canada, but did not have the same success as he did in doubles. He made it as far as the quarter-finals in 1989 when he was defeated by Ivan Lendl in three-sets. The following year he made it to the round of 32, but was defeated by John McEnroe in straight sets. He competed in the tournament for eight years before retiring from the Tour in 1997.
He then became a High Performance Director with Tennis BC and from February 2001 to June 2004 he also captained Canada’s Davis Cup team. He played on the team for 10 years from 1987 to 1997 and posted a 22-9 singles record and 14-6 doubles mark in Davis Cup action. During his professional career he garnered 22 doubles titles and the No. 1 doubles ranking with Michibata on the ATP Tour in 1993. Connell’s career-high ATP singles ranking was no. 67 in the world in 1991. He was coached by renown Canadian Louis Cayer.
In doubles play, Grant Connell was paired often with fellow Canadian Glenn Michibata and the two competed together for five years from 1988-1992 and won four doubles titles together in the United States, Singapore and South Korea. The team reached a ranking of world No. 5 in 1991. They reached the semifinals of both the French Open and Wimbledon that year. A year earlier they were finalists at the Australian Open. During those five years playing doubles together on the Tour, they were the runners-up in 12 events including the ATP Masters Series in Canada (Rogers Cup) in 1991, which was held in Montreal, Quebec that year. On their way to the finals the pair faced another Canadian team, Sebastien Lareau and Sebastien LeBlanc, in the quarter-finals and defeated them in two sets. The tandem then lost in a three-set heartbreaker 6-7, 6-4, 6-4 to Americans Patrick Galbraith and Todd Witsken. The previous year, in 1990, Connell and Michibata made it to the semifinals of Rogers Cup, which was held in Toronto, after defeating John McEnroe and partner Mark Woodforde in three sets. Unfortunately they lost in the semis. Connell and Michibata were named the Doubles Team of the Year by Tennis Canada in 1987. They were considered one of the best doubles combinations on the Tour.
In 2010, Connell and Michibata were also inducted into the Rogers Cup hall of Fame during the ATP World Tour event in Toronto.