Yannick Noah

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Yannick Noah
Yannick Noah (1979 Davis Cup)
Country (sports) France
Born (1960-05-18) 18 May 1960 (age 63)
Sedan, Ardennes, France
Height1.93 m (6 ft 4 in)
Turned pro1977
Retired1996
PlaysRight-handed (one-handed backhand)
Prize money$ 3,440,660
Int. Tennis HoF2005 (member page)
Singles
Career record478–209 (69.6%)
Career titles23
Highest rankingNo. 3 (7 July 1986)
Grand Slam singles results
Australian OpenSF (1990)
French OpenW (1983)
Wimbledon3R (1979, 1985)
US OpenQF (1983, 1985, 1989)
Other tournaments
Tour FinalsQF (1982)
WCT FinalsSF (1988)
Doubles
Career record213–109
Career titles16
Highest rankingNo. 1 (25 August 1986)
Grand Slam doubles results
French OpenW (1984)
US OpenF (1985)
Team competitions
Davis CupF (1982)

Yannick Noah (French pronunciation: [janik nɔa]; born 18 May 1960) is a French former professional tennis player and singer. 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.

Early life[edit]

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, is French. After a sports injury in 1963, Noah's father returned to Africa with his family. He 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.

Tennis career[edit]

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,[1] 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.

Davis Cup/Fed Cup captain success[edit]

In 1991, Noah captained the French team to its first Davis Cup victory in 59 years, defeating a heavily favoured US team 3–1 in the final. This feat was repeated in 1996, when Noah coached the French team to defeat Sweden 3–2 in the final held in Malmö. In 2017, Noah added a third Davis Cup win for France under his guidance as captain, defeating Belgium in the final in Lille. In 1997, he also captained France's Fed Cup team to its first ever win of that competition when they defeated the Dutch in the final.

Grand Slam singles performance timeline[edit]

Key
W  F  SF QF #R RR Q# DNQ A NH
(W) winner; (F) finalist; (SF) semifinalist; (QF) quarterfinalist; (#R) rounds 4, 3, 2, 1; (RR) round-robin stage; (Q#) qualification round; (DNQ) did not qualify; (A) absent; (NH) not held; (SR) strike rate (events won / competed); (W–L) win–loss record.
Tournament 1977 1978 1979 1980 1981 1982 1983 1984 1985 1986 1987 1988 1989 1990 SR W–L Win %
Australian Open A/A 1R A 1R A A A A A NH QF 4R 1R SF 0 / 6 11–6 64.71
French Open 1R 3R 2R 4R QF QF W QF 4R 4R QF 4R 1R 3R 1 / 14 40–13 75.47
Wimbledon A 2R 3R A 1R A A A 3R A 2R A A 1R 0 / 6 6–6 50.00
US Open A 1R 4R 4R 4R 4R QF A QF 3R A 2R QF 2R 0 / 11 28–11 71.79
Win–loss 0–1 3–4 6–3 6–3 7–3 7–2 11–1 4–1 9–3 5–2 8–3 7–3 4–3 8–4 1 / 37 85–36 70.25
Year-end ranking 305 49 26 18 13 10 5 9 7 4 8 12 16 40

Grand Slam finals[edit]

Singles: 1 (1–0)[edit]

Result Year Championship Surface Opponent Score
Win 1983 French Open Clay Sweden Mats Wilander 6–2, 7–5, 7–6(7–3)

Doubles: 3 (1–2)[edit]

Result Year Championship Surface Partner Opponents Score
Win 1984 French Open Clay France Henri Leconte Czechoslovakia Pavel Složil
Czechoslovakia Tomáš Šmíd
6–4, 2–6, 3–6, 6–3, 6–2
Loss 1985 US Open Hard France Henri Leconte United States Ken Flach
United States Robert Seguso
7–6(7–5), 6–7(1–7), 6–7(6–8), 0–6
Loss 1987 French Open Clay France Guy Forget Sweden Anders Järryd
United States Robert Seguso
7–6(7–5), 7–6(7–2), 3–6, 4–6, 2–6

Career finals[edit]

Singles (23 titles, 13 runners-up)[edit]

Result No. Year Tournament Surface Opponent Score
Loss 1. 1978 Nice, France Clay Spain José Higueras 3–6, 4–6, 4–6
Win 1. 1978 Manila, Philippines Clay Austria Peter Feigl 7–6, 6–0
Win 2. 1978 Calcutta, India Clay France Pascal Portes 6–3, 6–2
Win 3. 1979 Nancy, France Hard (i) France Jean-Louis Haillet 6–2, 5–7, 6–1, 7–5
Win 4. 1979 Madrid, Spain Clay Spain Manuel Orantes 6–3, 6–7, 6–3, 6–2
Win 5. 1979 Bordeaux, France Clay United States Harold Solomon 6–0, 6–7, 6–1, 1–6, 6–4
Loss 2. 1980 Rome, Italy Clay Argentina Guillermo Vilas 0–6, 4–6, 4–6
Win 6. 1981 Richmond WCT, U.S. Carpet Czechoslovakia Ivan Lendl 6–1, 3–1 ret.
Win 7. 1981 Nice, France Clay Bolivia Mario Martinez 6–4, 6–2
Loss 3. 1981 Gstaad, Switzerland Clay Poland Wojciech Fibak 1–6, 6–7
Win 8. 1982 La Quinta, U.S. Hard Czechoslovakia Ivan Lendl 6–3, 2–6, 7–5
Loss 4. 1982 Nice, France Clay Hungary Balázs Taróczy 2–6, 6–3, 11–13
Win 9. 1982 South Orange, U.S. Clay Mexico Raúl Ramírez 6–3, 7–6(7–2)
Win 10. 1982 Basel, Switzerland Hard (i) Sweden Mats Wilander 6–4, 6–2, 6–3
Win 11. 1982 Toulouse, France Hard (i) Czechoslovakia Tomáš Šmíd 6–3, 6–2
Loss 5. 1983 Lisbon, Portugal Clay Sweden Mats Wilander 6–2, 6–7(2–7), 4–6
Win 12. 1983 Madrid, Spain Clay Sweden Henrik Sundström 3–6, 6–0, 6–2, 6–4
Win 13. 1983 Hamburg, West Germany Clay Spain José Higueras 3–6, 7–5, 6–2, 6–0
Win 14. 1983 French Open, Paris Clay Sweden Mats Wilander 6–2, 7–5, 7–6(7–3)
Loss 6. 1984 La Quinta, U.S. Hard United States Jimmy Connors 2–6, 7–6(9–7), 3–6
Loss 7. 1985 Memphis, U.S. Carpet Sweden Stefan Edberg 1–6, 0–6
Win 15. 1985 Rome, Italy Clay Czechoslovakia Miloslav Mečíř 6–3, 3–6, 6–2, 7–6(7–4)
Win 16. 1985 Washington, D.C., U.S. Clay Argentina Martín Jaite 6–4, 6–3
Win 17. 1985 Toulouse, France Hard (i) Czechoslovakia Tomáš Šmíd 6–4, 6–4
Loss 8. 1985 Basel, Switzerland Hard (i) Sweden Stefan Edberg 7–6(9–7), 4–6, 6–7(5–7), 1–6
Loss 9. 1986 La Quinta, U.S. Hard Sweden Joakim Nyström 1–6, 3–6, 2–6
Loss 10. 1986 Monte Carlo, Monaco Clay Sweden Joakim Nyström 3–6, 2–6
Win 18. 1986 Forest Hills, U.S. Clay Argentina Guillermo Vilas 7–6(7–3), 6–0
Loss 11. 1986 Basel, Switzerland Hard (i) Sweden Stefan Edberg 6–7(5–7), 2–6, 7–6(9–7), 6–7(5–7)
Win 19. 1986 Wembley, England Carpet Sweden Jonas Svensson 6–2, 6–3, 6–7(12–14), 4–6, 7–5
Win 20. 1987 Lyon, France Carpet Sweden Joakim Nyström 6–4, 7–5
Loss 12. 1987 Forest Hills, U.S. Clay Ecuador Andrés Gómez 4–6, 6–7(5–7), 6–7(1–7)
Win 21. 1987 Basel, Switzerland Hard (i) Haiti Ronald Agénor 7–6(8–6), 6–4, 6–4
Win 22. 1988 Milan, Italy Carpet United States Jimmy Connors 4–4, ret.
Loss 13. 1989 Indian Wells, U.S. Hard Czechoslovakia Miloslav Mečíř 6–3, 6–2, 1–6, 2–6, 3–6
Win 23. 1990 Sydney Outdoor, Australia Hard West Germany Carl-Uwe Steeb 5–7, 6–3, 6–4

Doubles (16 titles, 9 runners-up)[edit]

Result No. Year Tournament Surface Partner Opponents Score
Loss 1. 1978 Calcutta, India Clay France Gilles Moretton India Sashi Menon
United States Sherwood Stewart
6–7, 4–6
Win 1. 1981 Nice, France Clay France Pascal Portes New Zealand Chris Lewis
Czechoslovakia Pavel Složil
4–6, 6–3, 6–4
Win 2. 1981 Paris, France Hard (i) Romania Ilie Năstase United Kingdom Andrew Jarrett
United Kingdom Jonathan Smith
6–4, 6–4
Win 3. 1982 Nice, France Clay France Henri Leconte Australia Paul McNamee
Hungary Balázs Taróczy
5–7, 6–4, 6–3
Win 4. 1982 Basel, Switzerland Hard (i) France Henri Leconte United States Fritz Buehning
Czechoslovakia Pavel Složil
6–2, 6–2
Loss 2. 1982 Toulouse, France Hard (i) France Jean-Louis Haillet Czechoslovakia Pavel Složil
Czechoslovakia Tomáš Šmíd
4–6, 4–6
Loss 3. 1983 Monte Carlo, Monaco Clay France Henri Leconte Switzerland Heinz Günthardt
Hungary Balázs Taróczy
2–6, 4–6
Loss 4. 1984 Philadelphia, U.S. Carpet France Henri Leconte United States Peter Fleming
United States John McEnroe
2–6, 3–6
Win 5. 1984 French Open, Paris Clay France Henri Leconte Czechoslovakia Pavel Složil
Czechoslovakia Tomáš Šmíd
6–4, 2–6, 3–6, 6–3, 6–2
Win 6. 1985 Chicago, U.S. Carpet United States Johan Kriek United States Ken Flach
United States Robert Seguso
3–6, 4–6, 7–5, 6–1, 6–4
Loss 5. 1985 U.S. Open, New York Hard France Henri Leconte United States Ken Flach
United States Robert Seguso
7–6, 6–7, 6–7, 0–6
Loss 6. 1986 La Quinta, U.S. Hard United States Sherwood Stewart France Guy Forget
United States Peter Fleming
4–6, 3–6
Win 7. 1986 Monte Carlo, Monaco Clay France Guy Forget Sweden Joakim Nyström
Sweden Mats Wilander
6–4, 3–6, 6–4
Win 8. 1986 Rome, Italy Clay France Guy Forget Australia Mark Edmondson
United States Sherwood Stewart
7–6, 6–2
Win 9. 1986 Basel, Switzerland Hard (i) France Guy Forget Sweden Jan Gunnarsson
Czechoslovakia Tomáš Šmíd
7–6, 6–4
Loss 7. 1986 Masters Doubles, London Carpet France Guy Forget Sweden Stefan Edberg
Sweden Anders Järryd
3–6, 6–7, 3–6
Win 10. 1987 Lyon, France Carpet France Guy Forget United States Kelly Jones
United States David Pate
4–6, 6–3, 6–4
Win 11. 1987 Indian Wells, U.S. Hard France Guy Forget West Germany Boris Becker
West Germany Eric Jelen
6–4, 7–6
Win 12. 1987 Forest Hills, U.S. Clay France Guy Forget United States Gary Donnelly
United States Peter Fleming
4–6, 6–4, 6–1
Win 13. 1987 Rome, Italy Clay France Guy Forget Czechoslovakia Miloslav Mečíř
Czechoslovakia Tomáš Šmíd
6–2, 6–7, 6–3
Loss 8. 1987 French Open, Paris Clay France Guy Forget Sweden Anders Järryd
United States Robert Seguso
7–6, 7–6, 3–6, 4–6, 2–6
Win 14. 1987 London/Queen's Club, England Grass France Guy Forget United States Rick Leach
United States Tim Pawsat
6–4, 6–4
Win 15. 1988 Orlando, U.S. Hard France Guy Forget United States Sherwood Stewart
Australia Kim Warwick
6–4, 6–4
Win 16. 1990 Nice, France Clay Argentina Alberto Mancini Uruguay Marcelo Filippini
Austria Horst Skoff
6–4, 7–6
Loss 9. 1990 Bordeaux, France Clay Iran Mansour Bahrami Spain Tomás Carbonell
Belgium Libor Pimek
3–6, 7–6, 2–6

Music career[edit]

Yannick Noah
Noah performing live at a concert in 2015
Noah performing live at a concert in 2015
Background information
GenresPop
Occupation(s)Singer
Instrument(s)Vocals
Years active1991 – present
Websitewww.yannicknoah.com

After retiring from playing tennis, Noah developed a career as a popular singer, performing throughout Europe. He began his music career in 1991 with the album Black & What, featuring the popular track "Saga Africa", which he made the stadium sing with his players after the famous Davis Cup final win. In 1993, he released the album Urban Tribu with the single "Get on Back", followed by the album Zam Zam in 1998.

With the encouragement of his manager Jean-Pierre Weiller, his musical career got a great boost in 2000 with his self-titled 4th album Yannick Noah, written by Erick Benzi and Robert Goldman. The single "Simon Papa Tara" was written by Robert Goldman. The album also contained songs by Bob Marley and the group Téléphone. In 2005, Noah performed at Bob Geldof's Live 8 concert, a fundraiser aimed at alleviating poverty in Africa. On 21 July 2009, Noah made his U.S. live debut, headlining a concert in front of a packed house at the popular free outdoor performing arts festival in New York City, Central Park SummerStage. The performance was part of France's global music celebration Fête de la Musique. In 2010, Yannick made a comeback with the release of Frontières, his eighth album, containing the single "Angela", a tribute to Angela Davis. It also contained a duet with Aṣa in "Hello". On 25 September 2010, he filled the Stade de France for an exceptional concert that was attended by close to 80,000 spectators.

Charity[edit]

Noah is active in charity work. He supports Enfants de la Terre, a charity created and run by his mother, Marie-Claire, in 1988. Noah also founded Fête le Mur in 1996, a tennis charity and adaptation for underprivileged children, especially in the poor areas and the banlieues. It is presided by Noah himself. He is also a spokesman for Appel des Enfants pour l'Environnement that was started by the World Wide Fund for Nature (WWF).

He took part in singing with Les Enfoirés to help Les Restos du Cœur. He also took part in telethons and sponsored the Téléthon 2005. He also sponsors the Association Terre-des-Hommes in Massongex (Suisse) and donated proceeds of his 2008 concert of Grands Gamins, to Sol En Si, an AIDS charity.

Noah has taken a particular interest in UN-SDG6, supporting the delivery of clean water through What Water ASBL. He has supported the cause on numerous occasions, including hosting an exhibition at his resort Village Noah in Yaoundé, Cameroon[2][3]

Partly because of his involvement in a number of charities, Noah topped the list of the most favourite French personalities according to a joint survey of Ifop and Le Journal du Dimanche in 2007.

Personal life[edit]

Noah first attended school in Yaounde (Cameroon), where his parents had settled after meeting and marrying in France. He then left Cameroon to attend a sports-and-study program in France under the sponsorship of the French Tennis Federation. He dropped out of the program at age 17 to move to full time tennis schedule.

Noah's father, Zacharie Noah, was a former professional Cameroonian football star who won the French Cup with Sedan in 1961. His mother, Marie-Claire, is a teacher and a former captain of France's basketball team.

Noah has five children, of whom two are from his first marriage to Cécilia Rodhe (Miss Sweden 1978 and now a sculptor): Joakim (born in 1985) and Yelena (born in 1986). Joakim had a 13-year career in the NBA and represented France in international competitions. Yelena is a model. With his second wife, British model Heather Stewart-Whyte, he has two daughters: Elijah (1996) and Jénayé (1997). Noah was awarded custody of his daughters from his second marriage by British courts. Now married to French TV producer Isabelle Camus, with whom he has a son named Joalukas (born 2004). He owns a restaurant in Saint Barthélemy in the French West Indies called Do Brazil.

On 15 July 1996, the French fiscal authorities demanded payment of 6,807,701 francs in back taxes for 1993–1994. The Paris administrative tribunal court confirmed the decision alleging that Noah kept three non-declared bank accounts in Switzerland, the Netherlands and the United States. Noah disputed the court decision as unconstitutional.

Discography[edit]

Yannick Noah, Rennes, 22 January 2011

Albums[edit]

Year Album Charts Notes Sales Certifications
FR
[4]
BEL
(Fl)
BEL
(Wa)

[5]
SWI
[6]
1991 Black & What Includes Saga Africa
1993 Urban Tribu
1998 Zaam Zam
2000 Yannick Noah 1  – 2 26
  • BEL: Platinum[7]
  • FRA: Diamond[8]
  • SWI: Gold[9]
2002 Yannick Noah 16  – 40 82
2003 Pokhara 1  – 2 23
  • BEL: Gold[7]
  • FRA: 3× Platinum[8]
  • SWI: Gold[9]
2003 Métisse(s) 2  – 4 28
2006 Charango 1  – 1 7 (including single
Aux arbres citoyens)
2010 Frontières 1  – 1 4
2012 Hommage 1  – 1 19
  • FRA: Platinum[8]
2012 Combats ordinaires 1 162 2 20
  • FRA: Platinum[8]
2019 Bonheur indigo 5
[15]
 – 6 40
2022 La marfée  –  – 20 69

Re-releases

  • 2004: Yannick Noah / Live (2 CDs – FR #134)
  • 2010: Charango / Pokhara (2 Cds – FR #103)

Singles[edit]

Year Single Charts Certification Album
FRA
[4]
BEL
(Wa)

[16]
SWI
1991 "Saga Africa (ambiance secousse)" 2 Black & What
1991 "Don't Stay (Far Away Baby)" 39
2000 "Simon Papa Tara" 12 32 Yannick Noah
2001 "La voix des sages (No More Fighting)" 3 16
2002 "Les lionnes" 16
2002 "Jamafrica" 52
2003 "Si tu savais" 22 31 77 Pokhara
2004 "Ose" 13 9 41
2004 "Mon Eldorado (du soleil...)" 19 23 59
2005 "Métis(se)"
(with Disiz La Peste)
11 22 41 Métisse(s)
2006 "Donne-moi une vie" 8 5 46 Charango
2007 "Aux arbres citoyens" 1 2 41
2007 "Destination ailleurs" 8 19
2011 "Ça me regarde" 80 34 Frontières
2012 "Redemption Song" 48 33 Hommage
2014 "On court" 47 42 Combats ordinaires
2019 "Viens" 17 Bonheur indigo
2022 "La vie c'est maintenant" 49 La marfée

References[edit]

  1. ^ "Revelations uncover a father's anguish". The Age. 20 June 2002.
  2. ^ "Exposition : l'eau, c'est la vie". www.cameroon-tribune.cm. Retrieved 28 June 2023.
  3. ^ "OEUVRE CARITATIVE – Yannick Noah met le feu au lac pour favoriser l'accès à l'eau". 24 heures (in French). 11 June 2023. Retrieved 28 June 2023.
  4. ^ a b "Yannick Noah discography". lescharts.com. Retrieved 14 June 2014.
  5. ^ "Discographie Yannick Noah". Ultratop. Retrieved 13 September 2019.
  6. ^ "Discographie Yannick Noah". hitparade.ch. Retrieved 18 September 2019.
  7. ^ a b "Les Disques D'Or/De Platine - Albums 2004". UltraTop. Retrieved 21 November 2018.
  8. ^ a b c d e f "Les certifications". Snep. Retrieved 21 November 2018.
  9. ^ a b c "Awards". Swiss charts. Retrieved 21 November 2018.
  10. ^ "Les Disques D'Or/De Platine - Albums 2006". UltraTop. Retrieved 21 November 2018.
  11. ^ "Les Disques D'Or/De Platine - Albums 2007". UltraTop. Retrieved 21 November 2018.
  12. ^ a b Hamard, Jonathan (23 April 2014). "Yannick Noah : "On court", son nouveau single résolument pop". chartsinfrance. Retrieved 21 November 2018.
  13. ^ "Les Disques D'Or/De Platine - Albums 2010". UltraTop. Retrieved 21 November 2018.
  14. ^ Goncalves, Julien (11 February 2016). "Yannick Noah met fin aux rumeurs sur son évasion fiscale : "Tout est payé"". chartsinfrance. Retrieved 21 November 2018.
  15. ^ "Le Top de la semaine : Top Albums Fusionnes – SNEP (Week 37, 2019)" (in French). Syndicat National de l'Édition Phonographique. Retrieved 16 September 2019.
  16. ^ "Discographie Yannick Noah". Ultratop. Retrieved 26 July 2019.

External links[edit]

Awards and achievements
Preceded by French Sportsperson of the Year
1983
Succeeded by
Preceded by Stefan Edberg Sportsmanship Award
1986
Succeeded by