Michael Russell

Michael Craig Russell (born May 1, 1978) is an American former professional tennis player, and tennis coach. He reached a career-high singles ranking of World No. 60 in August 2007. His 23 United States Tennis Association (USTA) Pro Circuit singles titles were the all-time record, as of November 2013. That month he became the American No. 3.

In 1994 Russell was ranked No. 1 in both singles and doubles in the USTA Boys' 16 rankings, and in 1996 he was ranked No. 1 in singles in the U.S. Boys' 18-Under. Playing for the University of Miami in 1996–97, he was named National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) Rookie of the Year, before he turned pro in 1997. A high school valedictorian, Russell was one of few Association of Tennis Professionals (ATP) players in his time who had a college degree, having earned a B.S. from the University of Phoenix with a 3.94 grade point average.

Russell struggled with knee injuries for much of his professional career. He is perhaps best known for, on two occasions, holding surprise two-set leads in major tournaments against former major champions, before eventually being defeated both times. In the fourth round of the 2001 French Open (his best run at a major) against defending and eventual champion Gustavo Kuerten (as well as the contemporary world No. 1), Russell led two-sets-to love and 5–3 in the third set, and held a match point, but was defeated in five sets. In the 2007 Australian Open, he held a two-sets-to-love lead over former US Open and Wimbledon champion Lleyton Hewitt, before succumbing in five sets. Other career highlights include a fourth-round showing at the 2007 Indian Wells Masters event, a semifinal appearance at the 2012 U.S. Men's Clay Court Championships, and wins against top-10 players Mardy Fish and Tomáš Berdych. On the Challenger Tour, he finished his career at No. 8 in match wins (276) and tied for fifth in titles (15).

Russell started Michael Russell Tennis, a private tennis coaching business in 2015. He has coached Frances Tiafoe, Ryan Harrison, Sam Querrey, Taylor Fritz and Mackenzie McDonald through USTA Player Development.

Personal life Russell, who is Jewish, was born in Detroit, Michigan. He started playing tennis at age five with his father, George, who was formerly a member of the University of Michigan's Big Ten Conference 1965 championship team. His mother, Carole, also attended the University of Michigan, and is an English teacher. He attended Birmingham Detroit Country Day School. He played soccer until his freshman year of high school.

In 1995, Russell was the valedictorian at Saddlebrook High School in Florida. He then attended the University of Miami in 1996–97.

He was one of the few Association of Tennis Professionals players while he played who had a college degree, having earned a Bachelor of Science in business administration from the University of Phoenix in January 2012. Russell graduated with Honors and a 3.94 grade point average. He reflected, "I was raised, as are most Jewish people, not to forego a university education." He lost in the finals of the 1994 USTA National Boys' 16 Clay Court Championships to Kevin Kim, and beat Bob Bryan in the semi-finals and Kim in the finals of the 1994 Easter Bowl Boys' 16s Championships.

College career

Russell played number one singles for the University of Miami in 1996–97.

1997–2002 A week before he was to go pro in 1997, while serving to Andre Agassi during a 1997 practice session in North Carolina he suffered a spiral fracture of the humerus bone in his right arm. "It's unfortunate we have umpires", Russell joked, "because I would have called it out." It is a genetic disorder usually found in 16-year-olds, in which his bone and cartilage separated and broke off from the rest of his knee and femur. Flying home on a 20-hour flight from the qualifying for the 2006 Australian Open, he developed blood clots in both of his lungs. In the 2007 Indian Wells Masters event, he made it to the final 16 players in a 96-player field, after upsetting 11th seed – and 12th-ranked – Tomáš Berdych in round 2 in straight sets. In his first ten years as a pro tennis player he won approximately $750,000 in official prize money. But as sportswriter Greg Garber wrote in an ESPN article, after expenses, "In terms of net income, a minimum-wage worker at McDonald's did better financially than Russell did during the nine years before 2007."

Russell made his first ATP semi-final at the 2012 U.S. Men's Clay Court Championships in Houston, Texas. He came through qualifying and beat top seed, world # 9 and compatriot Mardy Fish in straight sets on his way to a three-set loss to Juan Mónaco. The win against Fish was his first over a top-10 player. He ended the 2012 season as the third-oldest man in the ATP Top 100.

Russell, as a lucky loser, made it to the quarterfinals of the 2013 U.S. National Indoor Tennis Championships, losing to Denis Istomin in straight sets. In November 2013, he won an ATP Challenger in Charlottesville by coming back from 0–5 in the final set against Canadian Peter Polansky for the win.

The victory pushed him into the top 80 in the world rankings, and he became the third-highest-ranked American in the world. His 23 USTA Pro Circuit singles titles as of November 2013 was the all-time record. At the 2014 Rogers Cup in Toronto, he pushed David Ferrer to come up with his best tennis.

In 2015 at 36 years of age, Russell earned a spot representing premier American men's professional tennis at the Australian Open. He was later defeated in the first round of the Tournament in Melbourne. Annually, the Australian Open serves as the initial Grand Slam event in the (ITF) professional series.

Russell retired from professional tennis at the 2015 US Open, at 37 years of age. On the Challenger Tour, he finished his career at No. 8 in match wins (276) and tied for fifth in titles (15).

People questioned his potential when he was a junior because they thought he was too little for pro tennis.

ATP career finals

Doubles: 1 (0–1) LegendGrand Slam Tournaments (0–0)ATP World Tour Finals (0–0)ATP World Tour Masters 1000 (0–0)ATP World Tour 500 Series (0–0)ATP World Tour 250 Series (0–1)Titles by surfaceHard (0–1)Clay (0–0)Grass (0–0)Carpet (0–0)

ATP Challenger finals

Singles: 21 (15 titles, 6 runners-up) LegendChallenger (15–6)Titles by surfaceHard (13–5)Clay (2–1)Grass (0–0)Carpet (0–0)

Performance timelines

Singles

1 Held as Hamburg Masters (outdoor clay) until 2008, Madrid Masters (outdoor clay) 2009–present. 2 Held as Stuttgart Masters (indoor hard) until 2001, Madrid Masters (indoor hard) from 2002 to 2008, and Shanghai Masters (outdoor hard) 2009–present.

Doubles

Top 10 wins

Awards 2024 ATP Awards: Coach of the Year