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Former World No. 1 Jimmy Connors, who was coached by his mother Gloria during his formative years, fondly remembered her on her ninety ninth birth anniversary.
Jimmy Connors turned pro in 1972 and retired at the age of 43 in 1996, winning eight Grand Slam titles during his active years -- five US Opens, two Wimbledon titles and one Australian Open title.
Born in East St. Louis, Illinois, Connors started playing tennis at a young age and was coached by his mother, Gloria Connors, a former tennis player who competed at the 1942 and 1943 US Open Championships. Connors was coached predominantly by his mother until the age of 16, when she took him to Southern California to be coached by Pancho Segura.
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Connors was taught the finer points of his game by his mother, who taught him to hit the ball on the rise, a technique Connors used to defeat opponents during the early stages of his career. Gloria, who died at the age of 82 on 8 January 2007, is widely regarded as the woman behind her son's passion and glory. Though bringing in Segura for her son's game, it is believed that she coached Connors for most of his career.
On Wednesday, January 25, Jimmy Connors took to Twitter to wish his mother a happy birthday, remarking that he missed her every day.
"Thanks for remembering. The years have passed so fast, I miss her everyday," Connors tweeted.
A quick look at Jimmy Connors' best tennis moments
American Jimmy Connors broke into the tennis scene when he turned pro in 1972. In just two years, he was already a 3-time Grand Slam Champion. In 1974 Connors won the Australian Open, Wimbledon and the US Open, catapulting him to World No. 1 in July 1974.
He stayed at the top for a total of 268 weeks and consecutively for 160 weeks, which was a record for his time. Connors also went on to win the US Open in 1976, 1978, 1982 and 1983.
The former World No. 1 reigned supreme in the 1982 Wimbledon final against defending champion and fellow American John McEnroe as well, beating him 3-6, 6-3, 6(2)-7, 7-6(5), 6-4.
The American, chose not to conform to traditional norms by refusing to join the then newly formed ATP (Association of Tennis Professionals) in 1972. Following his US Open and Wimbledon triumph in 1982, the American star was named the ATP Player of the year and ITF World Champion.
Connors was inducted into the Tennis Hall of Fame in 1998 and also has a star on the St. Louis Walk of Fame.
