40 Facts About Roscoe Tanner

Leonard Roscoe Tanner was born on October 15,1951 and is an American former professional tennis player.

Roscoe Tanner reached a career-high singles ranking of world No 4 on July 30,1979.

Roscoe Tanner is known for winning the men's singles title at the first of two Australian Open tournaments held in 1977.

Roscoe Tanner reached the Wimbledon final in 1979, narrowly losing to Bjorn Borg in five sets.

Leonard Roscoe Tanner III was born in Chattanooga, Tennessee on 15 October, 1951.

Roscoe Tanner is the son of Leonard Roscoe Tanner Jr.

Roscoe Tanner grew up in Lookout Mountain, Tennessee where he was introduced to tennis at the age of 6.

Roscoe Tanner competed against Jimmy Connors throughout juniors and Tanner says in an interview that he won most matches.

Roscoe Tanner won his first Junior US Nationals Tournament at 16-years-old.

Roscoe Tanner graduated from Baylor School with honors, where he was captain of the tennis team and recipient of the Senior Tennis Award.

Roscoe Tanner graduated from Stanford, forgoed law school, and officially turned pro in 1972.

Roscoe Tanner made it to the quarterfinals of the 1972 US Open, where he lost to Tom Gorman in 5 sets.

Roscoe Tanner claimed the singles and doubles titles at Denver WCT in 1974 where he defeated Arthur Ashe.

Roscoe Tanner went on to clock a 153 mph serve at the 1978 Palm Springs Tournament where he defeated Raul Ramirez.

Roscoe Tanner lost a five set match to Bjorn Borg in the 1979 Wimbledon final, which was the first Wimbledon final to be broadcast live in the United States as part of NBC's Breakfast at Wimbledon.

Roscoe Tanner lost to Vitas Gerulaitis in a five-set thriller in the semifinals.

Roscoe Tanner described his 1979 US Open win over Borg and loss to Gerulaitis in his autobiography as "the highest of my highs and the lowest of my lows on a tennis court within two days of each other".

Roscoe Tanner made it to the quarter-finals at Wimbledon in 1980 and 1983, despite suffering an injury to his left elbow, his serving arm.

Roscoe Tanner won the Davis Cup in 1981 playing with John McEnroe, Eliot Teltscher and Peter Fleming on a team captained by Arthur Ashe that defeated Argentina in the final, played at Riverfront Coliseum in Cincinnati.

Roscoe Tanner coached in Europe for a brief period and led clinics at tennis resorts in the United States.

Roscoe Tanner played in the Over-50s tennis tournaments and was ranked 2nd in the world during that period.

Roscoe Tanner was known for his unorthodox, very strong left-handed serve was tossed very low and struck with a lunge involving the whole body, earning him the nickname "The Rocket".

Roscoe Tanner has been married three times, first to Nancy, then Charlotte, and last to Margaret.

Roscoe Tanner has five children, Omega Anne Romano, Tamara Tanner, Lauren Tanner, Anne Monique, and Lacey Tanner.

Roscoe Tanner went through a costly divorce with his first wife, Nancy, that led to financial troubles.

Roscoe Tanner was first arrested in 1997 for failure to pay child support.

Roscoe Tanner was arrested again in June 2003 on a fugitive warrant on charges related to passing a bad check.

Roscoe Tanner pleaded guilty and received an initial sentence of probation.

Roscoe Tanner violated his probation and served one year in prison in Florida, but was then jailed for contempt of court in California.

In 2008, Roscoe Tanner was again arrested for writing a bad check in Knoxville, Tennessee, but it was settled out of court.

In March 2013, Roscoe Tanner was arrested in Florida for writing a bad check and grand theft, and in 2014, he served 10 days for driving with a suspended license.

In 2015, Roscoe Tanner was arrested for failure to appear in court on a previous warrant.

Tamara, Lacey Turner, and Anne Monique Roscoe Tanner went on to play collegiate tennis.

Roscoe Tanner has taught at doubles tennis camps with other professionals, and is the camp director at his own training camp.

Roscoe Tanner is passionate about helping underprivileged kids gain access to the sport.

Roscoe Tanner covers placement, types of serve, and when to use it.

Roscoe Tanner has a section on volleys and net play.

Roscoe Tanner's offensive playing style led him to a career high of No 4 in the world in 1979.

Roscoe Tanner is the Grand Slam singles champion of the 1977 Australian Open.

Roscoe Tanner received the "Fair Play Award" from the United Nations in 1979.