Yannick Noah
Yannick Noah (born 18 May 1960) is a French former professional tennis player and singer, who was inducted into the International Tennis Hall of Fame in 2005. Noah won the French Open in 1983, and is currently the captain of both France's Davis Cup and Billie Jean King Cup teams. During his nearly two-decade career, Noah captured 23 singles titles and 16 doubles titles, reaching a career-high singles ranking of world No. 3 in July 1986 and attaining the world No. 1 doubles ranking the following month. Since his retirement from the game, Noah has remained in the public eye as a popular music performer and as the co-founder, with his mother, of a charity organization for underprivileged children. Noah is also the father of former NBA player Joakim Noah.
Born in Sedan, in the north of France in 1960, Yannick Noah is biracial. His late father was Cameroonian footballer, Zacharie Noah, and his mother, Marie-Claire, was French. After a sports injury in 1963, Noah's father returned to Africa with his family. Yannick was living in Cameroon when he made his debut in tennis and was discovered at age 11 by Arthur Ashe and Charlie Pasarell. He soon showed an amazing talent that eventually brought him to the French Tennis Federation's training center in Nice in 1971.
Noah turned professional in 1977 and won his first top-level singles title in 1978 in Manila. He became France's most prominent tennis hero in 1983, becoming the first Frenchman in 37 years to win the French Open, one of the four Grand Slam singles events. He dropped only one set during the two-week-long tournament, and defeated the defending champion, Sweden's Mats Wilander, in straight sets in the final, 6–2, 7–5, 7–6. He remains the last and most recent Frenchman to have won the French Open men's singles title.
Noah won the French Open men's doubles title in 1984 (with compatriot and best friend Henri Leconte). He was also the men's doubles runner-up at the 1985 U.S. Open (with Leconte), and the 1987 French Open (with compatriot Guy Forget). In August 1986, Noah attained the world no. 1 doubles ranking, which he would hold for a total of 19 weeks. At the end of 1986, Noah received the ATP Sportsmanship Award, as voted for by other ATP players. He reached the quarter-final stage or better on 10 occasions at Grand Slam level. He notably admitted using marijuana prior to matches in 1981, saying that amphetamines were the real problem in tennis as they were performance-enhancing drugs.
In 1992, Noah received the Legion of Honour medal. Noah was awarded the Philippe Chatrier Award (the ITF's highest accolade) in 2005 and was inducted into the International Tennis Hall of Fame that same year. He remains France's highest male ranked player since the introduction of rankings in 1973. Noah played on France's Davis Cup team for eleven years, with an overall win–loss record of 39–22 (26–15 in singles, and in 13–7 doubles). In 1982, he was part of the French team which reached the Davis Cup final, where they were defeated 4–1 by the United States. ... Source: Article "Yannick Noah" from Wikipedia in English, licensed under CC-BY-SA 3.0.
Known For | Acting |
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Most Rating | 5.938 |
Birthday | 1960-05-18 |
Place of Birth | Sedan, Ardennes, France |
Also Known As |
2009
Safari
4.6/328
Richard Dacier owns a tour agency specialized on organizing safaris for European tourists eager to confront the African wild life. Actually, he took t...
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Safari
2007
Zidane, un destin d'exception
5.7/11
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Zidane, un destin d'exception
1998
Les Enfoirés 1998 - Enfoirés en cœur
8/2
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Les Enfoirés 1998 - Enfoirés en cœur
2002
Les Enfoirés 2002 - Tous dans le même bateau
7/2
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Les Enfoirés 2002 - Tous dans le même bateau
1993
Les Enfoirés 1993 - Les Enfoirés chantent Starmania
6/1
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Les Enfoirés 1993 - Les Enfoirés chantent Starmania
1996
Les Enfoirés 1996 - La Soirée des Enfoirés
6/1
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Les Enfoirés 1996 - La Soirée des Enfoirés
2007
Yannick Noah - Un Autre Voyage
0/0
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Yannick Noah - Un Autre Voyage
2005
Les Enfoirés, 15 ans d'Enfoirés
8/1
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Les Enfoirés, 15 ans d'Enfoirés
2022
Noirs en France
6.6/12
What do black French people have in common? Not much, apart from their skin color and the racism they experience. For the first time, the film "Noirs...
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Noirs en France
2021
Papa
0/0
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Papa
2022
Noah : le sens de la gagne
0/0
Yannick Noah, the man with 473 victories, shares the techniques and tactics that have made the difference throughout his career, while revealing untol...
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Noah : le sens de la gagne
2024
C'est le monde à l'envers !
0/0
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C'est le monde à l'envers !
2009
King Guillaume
4.4/51
Magali plays in a brass band. Guillaume drives a small tourist train. Both spin a perfect love, they share modest dreams and their baby is about to co...
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King Guillaume
2003
Solidarité inondations
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Solidarité inondations
2004
Yannick Noah - Quand vous êtes là
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Yannick Noah - Quand vous êtes là
2011
Yannick Noah - Tour
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Yannick Noah - Tour
2007
Yannick Noah - Concert acoustique - Vaison la Romaine
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Yannick Noah - Concert acoustique - Vaison la Romaine
2012
Départ immédiat
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Départ immédiat
2014
Les Enfoirés - Les Enfoirés en chœur de 1985 à aujourd'hui
6/1
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Les Enfoirés - Les Enfoirés en chœur de 1985 à aujourd'hui
1984
Yannick Noah - Schlagvariationen
0/0
Documentary about tennis player and singer Yannick Noah
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Yannick Noah - Schlagvariationen
2024
Nasty
7.2/9
1972 was a turning point in Ilie Nastase's career: he won his first US Open, while also reaching both Wimbledon and Davis Cup finals. Moving back and...
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