Roscoe Tanner is an American former professional tennis player, who turned pro in 1972 and reached a career high world singles ranking of World No. 4 on July 30, 1979.

Tanner was famous for his big left-handed serve, which was clocked at 153 mph at Palm Springs in 1978 during the final against Raúl Ramírez

Raúl Ramírez

Raúl Ramírez is a retired Mexican professional tennis player. He was active during the 1970s and 1980s, and is regarded as one of the great all-around players of the modern era. Ramírez was also the first player to finish first in both singles and doubles Grand Prix point standings, accomplishing...

.
He is also known for winning the men's singles title at one of the 2 Australian Open tournaments held in 1977. Tanner won the tournament held in January, Vitas Gerulaitis

Vitas Gerulaitis

Vytautas Kevin Gerulaitis was a Lithuanian–American professional tennis player. He is known for winning the men's singles title at one of the two Australian Open tournaments held in 1977. Gerulaitis won the tournament held in December, while Roscoe Tanner won the earlier January tournament...

 won the later December tournament.

Tanner has been in the news in recent years for his legal problems.

Early life

Leonard Roscoe Tanner III was born in Chattanooga, Tennessee

Chattanooga, Tennessee

Chattanooga is the fourth-largest city in the US state of Tennessee , with a population of 169,887. It is the seat of Hamilton County...

, graduated from the Baylor School

Baylor School

Baylor School is a private, coeducational prep school on the outskirts of Chattanooga, Tennessee. The school was founded in 1893 and since 1915 has been located on the same hillside site by the Tennessee River. The school went through several incarnations: moving from an all-male military academy...

, and with teammate Sandy Mayer

Sandy Mayer

Alexander "Sandy" Mayer is a former tennis player from the United States, who won ten titles in singles and twenty-four titles in doubles during his professional career. He was part of the winning tennis squad at Stanford University in 1973....

, helped to lead Stanford University's

Stanford University

The Leland Stanford Junior University, commonly referred to as Stanford University or Stanford, is a private research university on an campus located near Palo Alto, California. It is situated in the northwestern Santa Clara Valley on the San Francisco Peninsula, approximately northwest of San...

 rise to the number one ranking in collegiate tennis in 1973. Tanner played number one singles, with Mayer playing number two. The team also featured Rick Fisher, Stanley Pasarell, Jim Delaney, James "Chico" Hagey, Gery Groslimond, Pat DuPre

Pat Dupre

Patrick Du Pré is a former professional male tennis player from the United States.Du Pré won one ATP Tour singles title and four doubles titles. He grew up in Mountain Brook, Alabama, graduating from Mountain Brook High School...

, Tim Noonan and Paul Sidone. Of the winning 1973 Stanford tennis team, Tanner, Mayer and DuPre were all brothers in the Zeta Psi

Zeta Psi

The Zeta Psi Fraternity of North America was founded June 1, 1847 as a social college fraternity. The organization now comprises about fifty active chapters and twenty-five inactive chapters, encompassing roughly fifty thousand brothers, and is a founding member of the North-American...

 fraternity.

Playing history

Tanner defeated Haroon Rahim 10–8 in the fifth set to win the 1970 United States Amateur Championships (Men's Tennis)

United States Amateur Championships (men's tennis)

The United States Amateur Tennis Championships was the top American tennis tournament for amateur players. It was organized by the United States Tennis Association....

.

Tanner defeated Guillermo Vilas

Guillermo Vilas

Guillermo Apolinario Vilas is a retired and former World No. 2 professional tennis player from Argentina. He was the second Latin-American to win a Grand Slam tournament.-Career:...

 in three straight sets in the 1977 Australian Open (January)

1977 Australian Open (January) - Men's Singles

Roscoe Tanner defeated Guillermo Vilas 6–3 6–3 6–3 in the final to win the Men's Singles title at the 1977 Australian Open.See also:# Guillermo Vilas, # Roscoe Tanner, -Key:* Q = Qualifier* WC = Wild Card* L = Loser...

 final, to win his first and only grand slam title. Tanner lost a five set match to Björn Borg

Björn Borg

Björn Rune Borg is a former world no. 1 tennis player from Sweden. Between 1974 and 1981 he won 11 Grand Slam singles titles. He won five consecutive Wimbledon singles titles and six French Open singles titles...

 in the 1979 Wimbledon

1979 Wimbledon Championships - Men's Singles

Björn Borg defeated Roscoe Tanner 6-7 6-1 3-6 6-3 6-4 in the final to win the Gentlemen's Singles title at the 1979 Wimbledon Championships. This edition was also the first to introduce the tie-break with the scores at 6-6 instead of 8-8.-Seeds:...

 final, which was the first Wimbledon final to be broadcast live in the United States as part of Breakfast at Wimbledon. Tanner avenged this loss to Borg by beating him in four sets in the US Open quarter finals two months later, a match where Tanner's 140 mph serve brought the net down during the fourth set. Tanner lost to Vitas Gerulaitis

Vitas Gerulaitis

Vytautas Kevin Gerulaitis was a Lithuanian–American professional tennis player. He is known for winning the men's singles title at one of the two Australian Open tournaments held in 1977. Gerulaitis won the tournament held in December, while Roscoe Tanner won the earlier January tournament...

 in the semi finals. 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".

Tanner's strong left-handed serve was thrown very low and struck with a lunge involving the whole body, earning him the nickname "The Rocket". His booming 153 mph serve was the fastest ever recorded in tournament competition from February 1978 until Andy Roddick

Andy Roddick

Andrew Stephen "Andy" Roddick is an American professional tennis player and a former World No. 1. He is currently the second highest-ranked American player, behind Mardy Fish....

 posted a 155 mph serve in a Davis Cup

Davis Cup

The Davis Cup is the premier international team event in men's tennis. It is run by the International Tennis Federation and is contested between teams of players from competing countries in a knock-out format. The competition began in 1900 as a challenge between Britain and the United States. By...

 tournament in September 2004.

Grand Slam singles tournament timeline

Tournament	1969	1970	1971	1972	1973	1974	1975	1976	1977	1978	1979	1980	1981	1982	1983	1984	Career SR	Career Win-Loss
Australian Open (Jan) Australian Open The Australian Open is the only Grand Slam tennis tournament held in the southern hemisphere. The tournament was held for the first time in 1905 and was last contested on grass in 1987. Since 1972 the Australian Open has been held in Melbourne, Victoria. In 1988, the tournament became a hard court...	A	A	A	A	A	A	A	A	W	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	1 / 1	6–0
French Open	A	A	A	A	A	1R	3R	A	A	4R	A	A	A	A	A	A	0 / 3	5–3
Wimbledon The Championships, Wimbledon The Championships, Wimbledon, or simply Wimbledon , is the oldest tennis tournament in the world, considered by many to be the most prestigious. It has been held at the All England Club in Wimbledon, London since 1877. It is one of the four Grand Slam tennis tournaments, the other three Majors...	A	A	A	3R	A	4R	SF	SF	1R	4R	F	QF	2R	4R	QF	A	0 / 11	36–11
US Open	1R	2R	3R	QF	3R	SF	3R	4R	4R	4R	SF	QF	QF	2R	3R	1R	0 / 16	40–16
Australian Open (Dec) Australian Open The Australian Open is the only Grand Slam tennis tournament held in the southern hemisphere. The tournament was held for the first time in 1905 and was last contested on grass in 1987. Since 1972 the Australian Open has been held in Melbourne, Victoria. In 1988, the tournament became a hard court...	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	1R	A	A	A	2R	A	3R	A	0 / 3	3–3
Grand Slam Win-Loss	0–1	0–1	2–1	6–2	2–1	8–3	9–3	8–2	9–3	9–3	11–2	8–2	6–3	4–2	8–3	0–1	N/A	90–33
Grand Slam SR	0 / 1	0 / 1	0 / 1	0 / 2	0 / 1	0 / 3	0 / 3	0 / 2	1 / 4	0 / 3	0 / 2	0 / 2	0 / 3	0 / 2	0 / 3	0 / 1	1 / 34	N/A

– = tournament did not take place at this time

A = did not participate in the tournament

SR = the ratio of the number of Grand Slam singles tournaments won to the number of those tournaments played.

Singles: 2 (1–1)

Outcome	Year	Championship	Surface	Opponent in the final	Score in the final
Winner	1977	Australian Open (January)	Grass	Guillermo Vilas Guillermo Vilas Guillermo Apolinario Vilas is a retired and former World No. 2 professional tennis player from Argentina. He was the second Latin-American to win a Grand Slam tournament.-Career:...	6–3, 6–3, 6–3
Runner-up	1979	Wimbledon The Championships, Wimbledon The Championships, Wimbledon, or simply Wimbledon , is the oldest tennis tournament in the world, considered by many to be the most prestigious. It has been held at the All England Club in Wimbledon, London since 1877. It is one of the four Grand Slam tennis tournaments, the other three Majors...	Grass	Björn Borg Björn Borg Björn Rune Borg is a former world no. 1 tennis player from Sweden. Between 1974 and 1981 he won 11 Grand Slam singles titles. He won five consecutive Wimbledon singles titles and six French Open singles titles...	6–7(4), 6–1, 3–6, 6–3, 6–4

Singles titles (16)

No.	Date	Tournament	Surface	Opponent in Final	Score in Final
1.	1974	Denver WCT ATP Denver The Denver Open is a defunct WCT and Grand Prix affiliated tennis tournament played from 1972 to 1982. It was held in Denver, Colorado in the United States and played on indoor carpet courts.... , U.S.	Carpet	Arthur Ashe Arthur Ashe Arthur Robert Ashe, Jr. was a professional tennis player, born and raised in Richmond, Virginia. During his career, he won three Grand Slam titles, putting him among the best ever from the United States...	6–2, 6–4
2.	1974	Christchurch Christchurch Christchurch is the largest city in the South Island of New Zealand, and the country's second-largest urban area after Auckland. It lies one third of the way down the South Island's east coast, just north of Banks Peninsula which itself, since 2006, lies within the formal limits of... , New Zealand	???	Ray Ruffels Ray Ruffels Ray Ruffels is a former professional tennis player.Ruffels was an Australian Open semi-finalist in 1969 and 1975, and a quarter-finalist in 1968, 1970 and 1977....	6–4, 6–2
3.	1975	Las Vegas Alan King Tennis Classic The Alan King Tennis Classic was a men's tennis tournament held in Las Vegas, Nevada from 1972-1985 and was part of the WCT Tour from 1972 until 1977 then it became part of the Grand Prix tennis circuit from 1978 until 1985, and one of the major ranking tournaments of both tour's it was part of... , U.S.	Hard	Ross Case Ross Case Ross Case was an Australian tennis player.With Geoff Masters he won two Grand Slam titles: the 1974 doubles at the Australian Open and the 1977 doubles at Wimbledon. He was also runner up in 1976 at Wimbledon...	5–7, 7–5, 7–6
4.	1975	Chicago, U.S.	Carpet	John Alexander	6–1, 6–7, 7–6
5.	1976	Cincinnati Cincinnati Masters The Cincinnati Open is an annual outdoor hardcourts tennis event held in the Cincinnati suburb of Mason, Ohio, USA. The event started on September 18, 1899 and is the oldest tennis tournament in the United States played in its original city., Between... , U.S.	Clay	Eddie Dibbs Eddie Dibbs Eddie Dibbs is a retired American tennis player. He attained a career high ranking of World No. 5 in July 1978.-Wins :-Runner-ups :-Grand Slam singles tournament timeline:...	7–6, 6–3
6.	1976	Columbus Columbus Open The Columbus Open is a defunct Grand Prix affiliated tennis tournament played from 1971 to 1984. It was held in Columbus, Ohio in the United States and played on outdoor hard courts from 1971 to 1976, then played on outdoor clay courts from 1977 to 1979, and then played again on outdoor hard courts... , U.S.	Hard	Stan Smith Stan Smith Stanley Roger "Stan" Smith is a former American tennis player and two time Grand Slam singles champion who also, with his partner Bob Lutz, formed one of the most successful doubles teams of all time. Together, they won many major titles all over the world...	6–4, 7–6
7.	1976	San Francisco SAP Open The SAP Open is a men's tennis tournament held annually in San Jose, California. It is the second-oldest tennis tournament in the United States, which is still played. It is an ATP World Tour 250 series event on the Association of Tennis Professionals tour... , U.S.	Carpet	Brian Gottfried Brian Gottfried Brian Edward Gottfried is a retired tennis player from the United States who won 25 singles titles and 54 doubles titles during his professional career. The right-hander reached his highest ranking on the Association of Tennis Professionals tour on June 19, 1977, when he became World No....	4–6, 7–5, 6–1
8.	1976	Tokyo Outdoor Japan Open Tennis Championships The Rakuten Japan Open Tennis Championships is a tennis tournament held in Ariake Tennis Forest Park with its center court Ariake Coliseum, located in Kōtō, Tokyo, Japan. The championship includes both men's and women's, as well as singles and doubles competitions...	Clay	Corrado Barazzutti Corrado Barazzutti Corrado Barazzutti is an Italian former tennis player.Barazzutti gained fame in 1971 by winning the Orange Bowl. The previous year he had been called to the Italy Davis Cup team, for which he would play a total of 44 matches...	6–3, 6–2
9.	1977	Australian Open −1(Jan.), Melbourne	Grass	Guillermo Vilas	6–3, 6–3, 6–3
10.	1977	Sydney Outdoor, Australia	Grass	Brian Teacher Brian Teacher Brian David Teacher is a 6' 3" right handed American former professional male tennis player. He reached a career-high ranking World No. 7 in 1981....	6–3, 3–6, 6–3, 6–7, 6–4
11.	1978	Palm Springs Indian Wells Masters The Indian Wells Masters is an annual tennis tournament held in Indian Wells, California.... , U.S.	Hard	Raúl Ramírez Raúl Ramírez Raúl Ramírez is a retired Mexican professional tennis player. He was active during the 1970s and 1980s, and is regarded as one of the great all-around players of the modern era. Ramírez was also the first player to finish first in both singles and doubles Grand Prix point standings, accomplishing...	6–1, 7–6
12.	1978	New Orleans New Orleans Grand Prix The New Orleans Grand Prix was a men's tennis tournament played in New Orleans, Louisiana from 1978-1980. The event was part of the Grand Prix tennis circuit. It was played on indoor carpet courts in in the Louisiana Superdome.-Men's singles:-Doubles:... , U.S.	Carpet	Victor Amaya	6–3, 7–5
13.	1979	Rancho Mirage Indian Wells Masters The Indian Wells Masters is an annual tennis tournament held in Indian Wells, California.... , U.S.	Hard	Brian Gottfried	6–4, 6–2
14.	1979	Washington Indoor ATP Washington Indoor The Washington Indoor was a men's tennis tournament played in Washington D.C.. The event was played as part of the WCT Tour from 1972–1976 and the Grand Prix circuit from 1977-1980. It was played on indoor carpet.-Singles:-Doubles:-References:... , U.S.	Carpet	Brian Gottfried	6–4, 6–4
15.	1980	Manchester Manchester Manchester is a city and metropolitan borough in Greater Manchester, England. According to the Office for National Statistics, the 2010 mid-year population estimate for Manchester was 498,800. Manchester lies within one of the UK's largest metropolitan areas, the metropolitan county of Greater... , United Kingdom	Grass	Stan Smith	6–3, 6–4
16.	1981	Philadelphia U.S. Pro Indoor The U.S. Pro Indoor is a defunct professional tennis tournament played on indoor carpet courts, and indoor hard courts...	Carpet	Wojtek Fibak	6–2, 7–6, 7–5

Personal life

Tanner has been married three times, first to Nancy, next to Charlotte and finally to Margaret. He has five children.

In 2005, Triumph Books published an autobiography Tanner wrote in collaboration with Mike Yorkey, Double Fault: My Rise And Fall, And My Road Back.

Legal problems

Tanner has an extensive record of conflicts with the law. He was first arrested in 1997 for failure to pay child support to Connie Romano, with whom he fathered a child in the early 1990s. Tanner was arrested again in Karlsruhe

Karlsruhe

The City of Karlsruhe is a city in the southwest of Germany, in the state of Baden-Württemberg, located near the French-German border.Karlsruhe was founded in 1715 as Karlsruhe Palace, when Germany was a series of principalities and city states...

 in June 2003 on a fugitive warrant. He had fled from Florida after felony charges were filed against him. In this case, the charges related to passing a bad check to purchase a yacht in 2000 and to further nonpayment of child support to Romano. He pled guilty and received an initial sentence of probation. After violating the terms of his probation, Tanner was sentenced to two years in the custody of the Florida Department of Corrections. He was released one year early for "good behavior".

In May 2008, Roscoe Tanner was arrested in Knoxville, Tennessee

Knoxville, Tennessee

Founded in 1786, Knoxville is the third-largest city in the U.S. state of Tennessee, U.S.A., behind Memphis and Nashville, and is the county seat of Knox County. It is the largest city in East Tennessee, and the second-largest city in the Appalachia region...

 for the felony of writing US$72,000 in worthless checks as payment for two Toyota Highlander

Toyota Highlander

The Toyota Highlander is a midsize crossover SUV produced by Toyota. It is a taller, heavier version of the Toyota Camry.Announced in April 2000 at the New York Auto Show and arriving in late 2000 in Japan and January, 2001, in North America, the Highlander became the first car-based midsize SUV or...

s. The felony charge was dismissed on August 14, 2008 after the dealership obtained return of the vehicles, which were taken out of town, and upon Tanner's payment of US$5,000 in restitution to the dealership for the reduced value of the vehicles after their recovery. Several years before, Tanner had been arrested in Knoxville for violating probation resulting from his guilty pleas in Florida relating to felony worthless checks and grand theft.

Tanner was recently evicted from his residence in Florida pursuant to an order of the Indian River County Court, and Tanner is currently in hiding from another warrant for his arrest, according to NewsChannel9 television in his hometown of Chattanooga, Tennessee. Roscoe Tanner: A Wanted Man (Again)