Yannick Noah

Yannick Noah

Yannick Noah (1979 Davis Cup)
Country (sports)	France
Born	(1960-05-18) 18 May 1960 Sedan, France
Height	1.93 m (6 ft 4 in)
Turned pro	1977
Retired	1996
Plays	Right-handed (1-handed backhand)
Prize money	$3,440,660
Int. Tennis HoF	2005 (member page)
Singles
Career record	476–210 (ATP, Grand Prix, WCT and Grand Slam level, and Davis Cup)
Career titles	23
Highest ranking	No. 3 (7 July 1986)
Grand Slam Singles results
Australian Open	SF (1990)
French Open	W (1983)
Wimbledon	3R (1979, 1985)
US Open	QF (1983, 1985, 1989)
Other tournaments
Tour Finals	QF (1982)
WCT Finals	SF (1988)
Doubles
Career record	213–109 (ATP, Grand Prix, WCT and Grand Slam level, and Davis Cup)
Career titles	16
Highest ranking	No. 1 (25 August 1986)
Grand Slam Doubles results
French Open	W (1984)
US Open	F (1985)
Team competitions
Davis Cup	F (1982)

Yannick Noah (born 18 May 1960) is a former professional tennis player from France. He is best remembered for winning the French Open in 1983 and as a highly successful captain of France's Davis Cup and Fed Cup teams. During his career, which spanned almost two decades, Noah captured a total of 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 very popular music performer and as the co-founder, with his mother, of a charity organization for underprivileged children. Noah is also the father of Joakim Noah of the NBA Chicago Bulls.

Childhood

Born in the north of France in 1960, Yannick Noah is the son of a Cameroonian footballer, Zacharie Noah, and his French wife Marie-Claire. 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

Noah turned professional in 1977 and won his first top-level singles title in 1978 in Manila.

Noah 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.

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.

Nine years later, in 1991, Noah captained the French team which won the Davis Cup for the first time in 59 years, defeating a heavily favoured US team 3–1 in the final. This feat was repeated in 1996, when France defeated Sweden 3–2 in the final held in Malmö.

In 1997, Noah captained France's Fed Cup team to its first victory in that competition.

He notably admitted using marijuana prior to matches in 1981, saying that amphetamines were the real problem in tennis as they were performance-enhancing drugs.

Noah was inducted into the International Tennis Hall of Fame in 2005. He remains France's highest ranked player since the introduction of rankings in 1973.

Grand Slam singles tournament timeline

Tournament	1977	1978	1979	1980	1981	1982	1983	1984	1985	1986	1987	1988	1989	1990	SR	W–L	Win %
Grand Slam tournaments
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

Major finals

Grand Slam finals

Singles: 1 (1–0)

Outcome	Year	Championship	Surface	Opponent in the final	Score in the final
Winner	1983	French Open	Clay	Mats Wilander	6–2, 7–5, 7–6(7–3)

Doubles: 3 (1–2)

Outcome	Year	Championship	Surface	Partner	Opponent in the final	Score in the final
Winner	1984	French Open	Clay	Henri Leconte	Pavel Složil Tomáš Šmíd	6–4, 2–6, 3–6, 6–3, 6–2
Runner-up	1985	US Open	Hard	Henri Leconte	Ken Flach Robert Seguso	7–6(7–5), 6–7(1–7), 6–7(6–8), 0–6
Runner-up	1987	French Open	Clay	Guy Forget	Anders Järryd Robert Seguso	7–6(7–5), 7–6(7–2), 3–6, 4–6, 2–6

Career singles finals

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

Doubles finals 25 (16–9)

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

Music career

Yannick Noah
Noah performing at a concert in 2011
Background information
Genres	Pop
Occupation(s)	Singer
Instruments	Vocals
Years active	1991 – present
Website	www.yannicknoah.com

Since retiring from playing tennis, Noah has developed a career as a popular singer, performing throughout Europe. He began his music career in 1991 with the album Black or 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 successful 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" written by Robert Goldman. The album also contained songs by Bob Marley and the group Téléphone.

In October 2006, the album Charango was a major hit, selling more than 1,150,00 copies and culminating in a one-year tour to promote the album. French radio played the singles "Donne-moi une vie" and "Aux arbres citoyens" from the album extensively.

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

Noah is very 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, specially 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).

Finally he has taken part in singing with Les Enfoirés to help Les Restos du Cœur. He also takes part in telethons and sponsored the "Téléthon 2005".

He also sponsors the Association Terre-des-Hommes in Massongex (Suisse) and donated proceeds of his concert of Grands Gamins, in 2008, to Sol En Si, an AIDS charity.

Partly because of his huge involvement in a number of charities, he 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

Noah's father, Zacharie Noah, is a former professional Cameroonian football star who won the French Cup with Sedan in 1961. His mother, Marie-Claire, is a former captain of France's basketball team and teacher. Noah has five children, of whom two were from his first marriage to Cecilia Rodhe (Miss Sweden 1978 and now a sculptor): Joakim (born in 1985) and Yelena (born in 1986). Joakim plays basketball for the Chicago Bulls and for the French team. Yelena is a model, already famous in the world of fashion. They don't live in France but in the U.S. With his second wife, the British model Heather Stewart-Whyte, Noah has two daughters: Elijah (1996) and Jénayé (1997). Now he is married to French TV producer Isabelle Camus, with whom he has a son named Joalukas (born in 2004).

Noah is also the owner of a restaurant in Saint Barthelemy in the French West Indies called Do Brazil.

Problems with the French fiscal authorities

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

Yannick Noah, Rennes, 22 January 2011

Albums

Year	Album	Charts				Notes	Certification
		FR	BEL (Vl)	BEL (Wa)	SWI
1990	Saga Africa
1991	Black & What					Includes "Saga Africa"
1993	Urban Tribu
1998	Zaam Zam
2000	Yannick Noah	1	–	2	26
2002	Yannick Noah	16	–	40	82
2003	Pokhara	1	–	2	23
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
2012	Combats ordinaires	1	162	2	20

Rereleases

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

Singles

Year	Single	Charts			Certification	Album
		FR	BEL/ Wa	SWI
1991	"Saga Africa (ambiance secousse)"	2	—	—		Saga Africa
1991	"Don't Stay (Far Away Baby)"	39	—	—
2000	"Simon Papa Tara"	12	32	—
2001	"La voix des sages (No More Fighting)"	3	16	—
2002	"Les lionnes"	16	—	—
2002	"Jamafrica"	52	—	—
2003	"Si tu savais"	22	31	77
2004	"Ose"	13	9	41
2004	"Mon Eldorado (du soleil...)"	19	23	59
2005	"Métis(se)" (with Disiz La Peste)	11	22	41		Métis(se)
2006	"Donne-moi une vie"	8	5	46
2007	"Aux arbres citoyens"	1	2	41		Charango
2007	"Destination ailleurs"	8	19	—		Charango
2011	"Ça me regarde"	80	34	—		Frontières
2012	"Redemption Song"	48	33	—
2014	"On court"	47	42	—

External links

• Official website
• Yannick Noah at the Association of Tennis Professionals
• Yannick Noah at the Davis Cup
• Yannick Noah at the International Tennis Hall of Fame
• Biography as pop musician, from Radio France Internationale

Awards and achievements
Preceded by Alain Giresse	French Sportperson of the Year 1983	Succeeded by Michel Platini
Preceded by Mats Wilander	Stefan Edberg Sportsmanship Award 1986	Succeeded by Miloslav Mečíř