From winning the Australian Open to being sentenced to 2 years in jail: Roscoe Tanner's fall from grace

To call Roscoe Tanner’s life a turmoil would be an understatement by most standards. Since his career as a professional tennis player came to an end, he has had the misfortune of having to deal with several legal problems.

The American tennis player, who once triumphed in the 1977 Australian Open, has had a complex life, with the personal aspects of it failing to thrive unlike the professional success he garnered on tour.

Tanner faced several legal issues involving money, driving license, ex-wives, and ex-girlfriends. Most of these cases stemmed usually from civil issues that later turned into criminal suits for not abiding by the court orders.

The American pro tennis player talked about the first time he was arrested in a recent episode of ‘The Craig Shapiro Tennis Podcast’. He explained that it started with a bounced cheque.

“It was a cheque that I had written that bounced,” he said.

In 2003, Roscoe Tanner made it to the news when he was arrested in Germany (10 year probation sentence) after being accused of multiple bounced cheques to buy a yacht in Florida.

“And that was something I shouldn’t have even done. I shouldn’t have even tried to buy it. I mean I don’t really care that much about a boat, so I don’t know why I did that, but it was to please somebody else. So then when I was arrested, it was in Germany. Um, and people thought that I was running. I wasn’t running, I was just working in Germany.” Tanner added.

He was extradited and sentenced to two years of jail time, which lasted only one year, thanks to his good behavior.

“Back in those days, they put terrorists in the German jails. So when I was in jail, my cellmate was a Nigerian. But there were about five guys that were terrorists that were in there and they wanted nothing but to kill the American, and that was me.” he added.

He further talked about his time in the prison and how some cellmates managed to protect him from any harm.

“So I had about 4 or 5 guys or three guys anyway, One from Cameroon, one from Liberia and my cellmate protecting me.” Tanner said.

Roscoe Tanner's days of fame and accolades

Roscoe Tanner at play

Roscoe Tanner’s life may have gone downhill after he hung up his racket but his professional career was a successful one. Besides being the 1977 Australian Open champion, he also reached the Wimbledon final in 1979 and made it to the semifinals of the 1974 and 1979 US Open.

He was the first player of any significance to grace the court at Stanford University. He also aided in establishing it as the NCAA tennis empire.

The one-time Grand Slam winner also held the record of serving at 153 miles per hour, the fastest serve, at the Palm Springs tournaments in February 1978. This record was broken 26 years later by Andy Roddick.

Roscoe Tanner, who also won the 1981 Davis Cup with John McEnroe, reached a career-high of World No. 4 in 1979.