Pavel Složil

Pavel Složil (born 29 December 1955) is a former coach and a professional tennis player from Czechoslovakia. In 1985, Složil achieved a career-high doubles ranking of world No. 4.

Career Složil enjoyed most of his tennis success while playing doubles. During his career, he won 32 doubles titles and finished runner-up an additional 29 times, including at the French Open in 1984.

Slozil and his partner, Renata Tomanová (also from Czechoslovakia), won the 1978 French Open mixed-doubles championship, defeating Virginia Ruzici (Romania) and Patrice Dominguez (France). The mixed doubles championship was an important event in those days, contested by top players, with John McEnroe and Mary Carillo having won the year before.

Složil participated in eleven Davis Cup ties for Czechoslovakia from 1978 to 1986, posting a 7–2 record in doubles and a 4–2 record in singles. He was a member of the winning Czech Davis Cup team in 1980, along with teammates Ivan Lendl, Tomáš Šmíd and Jan Kodeš.

Coaching Složil served as Steffi Graf's coach from November 1986 until the end of 1991. Shortly after the start of his tenure as Graf's coach, she had her Grand Slam breakthrough year in 1987, winning six tournaments and then defeating Martina Navratilova in the French Open. Graf went on to be a finalist at Wimbledon and the US Open, losing both times to Navratilova. The next year, Graf achieved a calendar year's Grand Slam, a feat performed only twice before. She also won the 1988 Olympics singles and the Wimbledon ladies' doubles that same year.

From 1987 through 1991, coached by Složil, Graf won ten Grand Slam singles championships, winning the Australian Open (1988–89-90), the French Open (1987–88), Wimbledon (1988–89-91) and the US Open (1988–89), plus numerous side tournaments.

He subsequently served as coach for Jennifer Capriati, Anna Kournikova and Magdalena Maleeva between 1992 and 1999.

In 2002, he began work at the World Tennis Club in Naples, Florida. He served there as Tennis Director until 2014 when he began coaching and teaching at the Sanchez-Casal Tennis Academy, also in Naples. There he worked with the junior players in the morning and continues to teach tennis to a wide range of players.

Career finals Singles (2 titles, 3 runner-ups)

Doubles (32 titles, 29 runner-ups) ResultW/L DateTournamentSurfacePartnerOpponentsScoreLoss 1. 1978 Kitzbühel, Austria Clay Pavel Hutka Mike Fishbach Chris Lewis 7–6, 4–6, 3–6Loss 2. 1978 Madrid, Spain Clay Tomáš Šmíd Wojciech Fibak Jan Kodeš 7–6, 1–6, 2–6Loss 3. 1979 Nice, France Clay Tomáš Šmíd Peter McNamara Paul McNamee 1–6, 6–3, 2–6Loss 4. 1979 Florence, Italy Clay Ivan Lendl Paolo Bertolucci Adriano Panatta 4–6, 3–6Loss 5. 1979 Stuttgart Outdoor, Germany Clay Wojciech Fibak Colin Dowdeswell Frew McMillan 4–6, 2–6, 6–2, 4–6Loss 6. 1979 Cologne, Germany Carpet (i) Heinz Günthardt Gene Mayer Stan Smith 3–6, 4–6Loss 7. 1980 Vienna, Austria Clay Tomáš Šmíd Gianni Ocleppo Christophe Roger-Vasselin def.Loss 8. 1980 Barcelona, Spain Clay Balázs Taróczy Steve Denton Ivan Lendl 2–6, 7–6, 3–6Loss 9. 1980 Vienna, Austria Carpet (i) Heinz Günthardt Bob Lutz Stan Smith 1–6, 2–6Loss 10. 1981 Linz, Austria Hard (i) Brad Drewett Anders Järryd Hans Simonsson 4–6, 6–7Loss 11. 1981 Nice, France Clay Chris Lewis Yannick Noah Pascal Portes 6–4, 3–6, 4–6Loss 12. 1981 Monte Carlo, Monaco Clay Tomáš Šmíd Heinz Günthardt Balázs Taróczy 3–6, 3–6Win 1. 1981 Florence, Italy Clay Raúl Ramírez Paolo Bertolucci Adriano Panatta 6–3, 3–6, 6–3Win 2. 1981 Boston, U.S. Clay Raúl Ramírez Hans Gildemeister Andrés Gómez 6–4, 7–6Loss 13. 1981 Washington, D.C., U.S. Hard Ferdi Taygan Raúl Ramírez Van Winitsky 7–5, 6–7, 6–7Loss 14. 1981 North Conway, U.S. Clay Ferdi Taygan Heinz Günthardt Peter McNamara 7–6, 5–7, 4–6Loss 15. 1981 Geneva, Switzerland Clay Tomáš Šmíd Heinz Günthardt Balázs Taróczy 4–6, 6–3, 2–6Loss 16. 1981 Basel, Switzerland Hard (i) Markus Günthardt José Luis Clerc Ilie Năstase 6–7, 7–6, 6–7Win 3. 1982 Genova WCT, Italy Carpet (i) Tomáš Šmíd Mike Cahill Buster Mottram 6–7, 7–5, 6–3Win 4. 1982 Brussels, Belgium Carpet (i) Sherwood Stewart Tracy Delatte Chris Dunk 6–4, 6–7, 7–5Win 5. 1982 Madrid, Spain Clay Tomáš Šmíd Heinz Günthardt Balázs Taróczy 6–1, 3–6, 9–7Win 6. 1982 Hamburg, Germany Clay Tomáš Šmíd Anders Järryd Hans Simonsson 6–4, 6–3Loss 17. 1982 Kitzbühel, Austria Clay Rod Frawley Mark Edmondson Kim Warwick 6–4, 4–6, 3–6Loss 18. 1982 Cap d'Agde WCT, France Clay Tomáš Šmíd Andy Andrews Drew Gitlin 2–6, 4–6Win 7. 1982 Geneva, Switzerland Clay Tomáš Šmíd Carl Limberger Mike Myburg 6–4, 6–0Loss 19. 1982 Basel, Switzerland Hard (i) Fritz Buehning Henri Leconte Yannick Noah 2–6, 2–6Win 8. 1982 Vienna, Austria Carpet (i) Henri Leconte Mark Dickson Terry Moor 6–1, 7–6Win 9. 1982 Dortmund WCT, Germany Carpet (i) Tomáš Šmíd Mike Cahill Francisco González 6–2, 6–7, 6–1Win 10. 1982 Toulouse, France Carpet (i) Tomáš Šmíd Jean-Louis Haillet Yannick Noah 6–4, 6–4Win 11. 1983 Richmond WCT, U.S. Carpet (i) Tomáš Šmíd Fritz Buehning Brian Teacher 6–2, 6–4Win 12. 1983 Delray Beach WCT, U.S. Clay Tomáš Šmíd Anand Amritraj Johan Kriek 7–6, 6–4Loss 20. 1983 Rotterdam, Netherlands Carpet (i) Peter Fleming Fritz Buehning Tom Gullikson 6–7, 6–4, 6–7Win 13. 1983 Milan, Italy Carpet (i) Tomáš Šmíd Fritz Buehning Peter Fleming 6–2, 5–7, 6–4Loss 21. 1983 Lisbon, Portugal Clay Ferdi Taygan Carlos Kirmayr Cássio Motta 5–7, 4–6Win 14. 1983 Madrid, Spain Clay Heinz Günthardt Markus Günthardt Zoltán Kuhárszky 6–3, 6–3Win 15. 1983 Munich, Germany Clay Chris Lewis Anders Järryd Tomáš Šmíd 6–4, 6–2Win 16. 1983 Gstaad, Switzerland Clay Tomáš Šmíd Colin Dowdeswell Wojciech Fibak 6–7, 6–4, 6–2Loss 22. 1983 Stuttgart Outdoor, Germany Clay Tomáš Šmíd Anand Amritraj Mike Bauer 6–4, 3–6, 2–6Win 17. 1983 Kitzbühel, Austria Clay Wojciech Fibak Colin Dowdeswell Zoltán Kuhárszky 7–5, 6–2Win 18. 1983 Basel, Switzerland Hard (i) Tomáš Šmíd Stefan Edberg Florin Segărceanu 6–1, 3–6, 7–6Win 19. 1983 Toulouse, France Carpet (i) Heinz Günthardt Bernard Mitton Butch Walts 5–7, 7–5, 6–4Win 20. 1984 Masters Doubles WCT, London Carpet (i) Tomáš Šmíd Anders Järryd Hans Simonsson 1–6, 6–3, 3–6, 6–1, 6–3Win 21. 1984 Milan, Italy Carpet (i) Tomáš Šmíd Kevin Curren Steve Denton 6–4, 6–3Loss 23. 1984French Open, Paris Clay Tomáš Šmíd Henri Leconte Yannick Noah 4–6, 6–2, 6–3, 3–6, 2–6Win 22. 1984 Washington, D.C., U.S. Clay Ferdi Taygan Drew Gitlin Blaine Willenborg 7–6, 6–1Win 23. 1984 Bordeaux, France Clay Blaine Willenborg Loïc Courteau Guy Forget 6–1, 6–4Win 24. 1984 Barcelona, Spain Clay Tomáš Šmíd Martín Jaite Víctor Pecci 6–2, 6–0Win 25. 1984 Basel, Switzerland Hard (i) Tomáš Šmíd Stefan Edberg Tim Wilkison 7–6, 6–2Loss 24. 1984 Wembley, England Carpet (i) Tomáš Šmíd Andrés Gómez Ivan Lendl 2–6, 2–6Win 26. 1984 Treviso, Italy Clay Tim Wilkison Jan Gunnarsson Sherwood Stewart 6–2, 6–3Loss 25. 1984 Toulouse, France Carpet (i) Tim Wilkison Jan Gunnarsson Michael Mortensen 4–6, 2–6Loss 26. 1984 Masters, New York Carpet (i) Tomáš Šmíd Peter Fleming John McEnroe 2–6, 2–6Win 27. 1985 Memphis, U.S. Hard (i) Tomáš Šmíd Kevin Curren Steve Denton 1–6, 6–3, 6–4Win 28. 1985 Rotterdam, Netherlands Carpet (i) Tomáš Šmíd Vitas Gerulaitis Paul McNamee 6–4, 6–4Win 29. 1985 Monte Carlo, Monaco Clay Tomáš Šmíd Shlomo Glickstein Shahar Perkiss 6–2, 6–3Win 30. 1985 Nice, France Clay Claudio Panatta Loïc Courteau Guy Forget 3–6, 6–3, 8–6Loss 27. 1985 Indianapolis, U.S. Clay Kim Warwick Ken Flach Robert Seguso 4–6, 4–6Loss 28. 1985 Toulouse, France Carpet (i) Tomáš Šmíd Ricardo Acuña Jakob Hlasek 6–3, 2–6, 7–9Win 31. 1986 Nice, France Clay Jakob Hlasek Gary Donnelly Colin Dowdeswell 6–3, 4–6, 11–9Win 32. 1986 Saint Vincent, Italy Clay Libor Pimek Bud Cox Michael Fancutt 6–3, 6–3Loss 29. 1986 Toulouse, France Carpet (i) Jakob Hlasek Miloslav Mečíř Tomáš Šmíd 2–6, 6–3, 4–6