Kelly Jones (tennis)
Kelly Jones (born March 31, 1964) is an American former doubles world No. 1 tennis player. Jones reached the finals in doubles at the Australian and US Opens in 1992. He is currently the Head Men's Tennis Coach at Furman University in Greenville, South Carolina.
| Country (sports) |  United States |
|---|---|
| Residence | Tampa, Florida, US |
| Born | March 31, 1964 Fort Gordon, Georgia, US |
| Height | 1.85 m (6 ft 1 in) |
| Turned pro | 1986 |
| Retired | 1998 |
| Plays | Right-handed |
| Prize money | $1,168,278 |
| Singles | |
| Career record | 48–84 |
| Career titles | 2 |
| Highest ranking | No. 86 (August 13, 1990) |
| Grand Slam singles results | |
| Australian Open | 4R (1993) |
| French Open | 2R (1990) |
| Wimbledon | 3R (1990) |
| US Open | 2R (1987, 1988, 1990) |
| Doubles | |
| Career record | 220–204 |
| Career titles | 8 |
| Highest ranking | No. 1 (October 12, 1992) |
| Grand Slam doubles results | |
| Australian Open | F (1992) |
| French Open | 2R (1990, 1995, 1996) |
| Wimbledon | 3R (1992) |
| US Open | F (1992) |
Biography
Jones played varsity tennis at Pepperdine University from 1982 to 1985, where he won the NCAA Division 1 doubles title in 1984 and 1985. He was a member of the 1984 Los Angeles Olympic Games U.S. tennis team.
Jones joined the professional tour in 1986. He won his first top-level doubles title in 1987 at Auckland.
In 1988, Jones finished runner-up in the mixed doubles at Wimbledon, partnering Gretchen Magers.
Jones was runner-up in the men's doubles at both the Australian Open and the US Open in 1992, partnering Rick Leach. In October that year, he reached the World No. 1 doubles ranking for 1 week.
After 12 years on the professional tour, Jones retired in 1998. During his career, he won eight top-level doubles titles. Jones also won a tour singles event in Singapore, where he captured the title both in 1989 and 1990. His best singles performance at a Grand Slam event was at the 1993 Australian Open, where he reached the fourth round. His career-high singles ranking was World No. 86 (in 1990). Jones' career prize-money earnings totaled US$1,165,009.
Since retiring from the tour, Jones has coached high-profile players including Mardy Fish, Xavier Malisse and James Blake.
Jones is married to Tami Whitlinger, a former professional tennis player.
Career finals
Singles (2 wins)
| Result | W/L | Date | Tournament | Surface | Opponent | Score |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Win | 1–0 | May 1989 | Singapore | Hard |  Amos Mansdorf |
6–1, 7–5 |
| Win | 2–0 | May 1990 | Singapore | Hard | .svg.png.webp){kind=small} Richard Fromberg |
6–4, 2–6, 7–6 |
Doubles (8 wins - 10 losses)
|
|
| Result | W/L | Date | Tournament | Surface | Partner | Opponents | Score |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Win | 1–0 | Jan 1987 | Auckland, New Zealand | Hard | Brad Pearce |
Carl Limberger Mark Woodforde |
7–6, 7–6 |
| Loss | 1–1 | Feb 1987 | Lyon, France | Carpet | David Pate |
 Guy Forget Yannick Noah |
6–4, 3–6, 4–6 |
| Loss | 1–2 | Oct 1987 | Toulouse, France | Hard (i) |  Patrik Kühnen |
 Wojtek Fibak  Michiel Schapers |
2–6, 4–6 |
| Win | 2–2 | Jul 1988 | Newport, U.S. | Grass |  Peter Lundgren |
Scott Davis Dan Goldie |
6–3, 7–6 |
| Loss | 2–3 | Nov 1989 | Johannesburg, South Africa | Hard (i) | Joey Rive |
Luke Jensen Richey Reneberg |
0–6, 4–6 |
| Win | 3–3 | Jan 1990 | Auckland, New Zealand | Hard | Robert Van't Hof |
Gilad Bloom Paul Haarhuis |
7–6, 6–0 |
| Win | 4–3 | Feb 1990 | San Francisco, U.S. | Carpet | Robert Van’t Hof |
Glenn Layendecker Richey Reneberg |
2–6, 7–6, 6–3 |
| Loss | 4–4 | Jun 1990 | Manchester, England | Grass |  Nick Brown |
Mark Kratzmann Jason Stoltenberg |
3–6, 6–2, 4–6 |
| Win | 5–4 | Oct 1990 | Lyon, France | Carpet | Patrick Galbraith |
Jim Grabb David Pate |
7–6, 6–4 |
| Loss | 5–5 | Nov 1991 | Paris, France | Carpet | Rick Leach |
John Fitzgerald Anders Järryd |
6–3, 3–6, 2–6 |
| Loss | 5–6 | Jan 1992 | Sydney Outdoor, Australia | Hard | Scott Davis |
 Sergio Casal Emilio Sánchez |
6–3, 1–6, 4–6 |
| Loss | 5–7 | Jan 1992 | Australian Open, Melbourne | Hard | Rick Leach |
Todd Woodbridge Mark Woodforde |
4–6, 3–6, 4–6 |
| Win | 6–7 | Apr 1992 | Tokyo Outdoor, Japan | Hard | Rick Leach |
John Fitzgerald Anders Järryd |
0–6, 7–5, 6–3 |
| Win | 7–7 | Aug 1992 | New Haven, U.S. | Hard | Rick Leach |
Patrick McEnroe Jared Palmer |
7–6, 6–7, 6–2 |
| Loss | 7–8 | Sep 1992 | U.S. Open, New York | Hard | Rick Leach |
Jim Grabb Richey Reneberg |
6–3, 6–7, 3–6, 3–6 |
| Loss | 7–9 | May 1993 | Tampa, U.S. | Clay | Todd Martin |
Jared Palmer Derrick Rostagno |
3–6, 4–6 |
| Loss | 7–10 | May 1997 | Atlanta, U.S. | Clay | Scott Davis |
Jonas Björkman Nicklas Kulti |
2–6, 6–7 |
| Win | 8–10 | May 1997 | St. Poelten, Austria | Clay | Scott Melville |
Luke Jensen Murphy Jensen |
6–2, 7–6 |
Doubles performance timeline
| W | F | SF | QF | #R | RR | Q# | DNQ | A | NH |
| Tournament | 1984 | 1985 | 1986 | 1987 | 1988 | 1989 | 1990 | 1991 | 1992 | 1993 | 1994 | 1995 | 1996 | 1997 | 1998 | 1999 | 2000 | 2001 | 2002 | 2003 | 2004 | 2005 | 2006 | Career SR | Career win–loss |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Grand Slam tournaments | |||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Australian Open | A | A | NH | 2R | 2R | 3R | 2R | SF | F | 2R | 2R | 2R | 1R | 2R | A | A | A | A | A | A | A | A | A | 0 / 11 | 18–11 |
| French Open | A | A | A | A | A | A | 2R | A | 1R | A | 1R | 2R | 2R | 1R | A | A | A | A | A | A | A | A | A | 0 / 6 | 3–6 |
| Wimbledon | A | A | 1R | 1R | 1R | 1R | 1R | 2R | 3R | 1R | A | 2R | 1R | 1R | A | A | A | A | A | A | A | A | A | 0 / 11 | 4–11 |
| U.S. Open | 2R | 1R | 3R | 1R | 1R | 1R | SF | 2R | F | 3R | 3R | QF | 2R | 1R | A | A | A | A | A | A | A | A | A | 0 / 14 | 21–14 |
| Grand Slam SR | 0 / 1 | 0 / 1 | 0 / 2 | 0 / 3 | 0 / 3 | 0 / 3 | 0 / 4 | 0 / 3 | 0 / 4 | 0 / 3 | 0 / 3 | 0 / 4 | 0 / 4 | 0 / 4 | 0 / 0 | 0 / 0 | 0 / 0 | 0 / 0 | 0 / 0 | 0 / 0 | 0 / 0 | 0 / 0 | 0 / 0 | 0 / 42 | N/A |
| Annual win–loss | 1–1 | 0–1 | 2–2 | 1–3 | 1–3 | 2–3 | 6–4 | 6–3 | 12–4 | 3–3 | 3–3 | 6–4 | 2–4 | 1–4 | 0–0 | 0–0 | 0–0 | 0–0 | 0–0 | 0–0 | 0–0 | 0–0 | 0–0 | N/A | 46–42 |
| ATP Masters Series | |||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Indian Wells | These Tournaments Were Not Masters Series Events Before 1990 |
QF | SF | 1R | 1R | A | A | 1R | SF | A | A | A | A | A | A | A | A | A | 0 / 6 | 8–6 | |||||
| Miami | 3R | 2R | 2R | 2R | A | 2R | 2R | 2R | A | A | A | A | A | A | A | A | A | 0 / 7 | 3–7 | ||||||
| Monte Carlo | A | A | A | A | A | A | A | A | A | A | A | A | A | A | A | A | A | 0 / 0 | 0–0 | ||||||
| Rome | A | A | 1R | A | A | A | 2R | A | A | A | A | A | A | A | A | A | A | 0 / 2 | 1–2 | ||||||
| Hamburg | A | A | 2R | A | A | A | A | A | A | A | A | A | A | A | A | A | A | 0 / 1 | 0–1 | ||||||
| Canada | 2R | A | SF | 1R | A | 1R | 2R | 2R | A | A | A | A | A | A | A | A | A | 0 / 6 | 5–5 | ||||||
| Cincinnati | A | A | 2R | 1R | A | A | 2R | A | A | A | A | A | A | A | A | A | A | 0 / 3 | 1–3 | ||||||
| Stuttgart (Stockholm) | QF | QF | QF | A | A | A | A | A | A | A | A | A | A | A | A | A | A | 0 / 3 | 4–3 | ||||||
| Paris | 2R | F | 2R | A | A | A | A | A | A | A | A | A | A | A | A | A | A | 0 / 3 | 5–3 | ||||||
| Masters Series SR | N/A | 0 / 5 | 0 / 4 | 0 / 8 | 0 / 4 | 0 / 0 | 0 / 2 | 0 / 5 | 0 / 3 | 0 / 0 | 0 / 0 | 0 / 0 | 0 / 0 | 0 / 0 | 0 / 0 | 0 / 0 | 0 / 0 | 0 / 0 | 0 / 31 | N/A | |||||
| Annual win–loss | N/A | 6–5 | 9–4 | 3–8 | 0–4 | 0–0 | 1–2 | 4–4 | 4–3 | 0–0 | 0–0 | 0–0 | 0–0 | 0–0 | 0–0 | 0–0 | 0–0 | 0–0 | N/A | 27–30 | |||||
| Year-end ranking | 252 | 304 | 94 | 64 | 65 | 135 | 22 | 37 | 5 | 130 | 138 | 87 | 90 | 73 | – | – | 1466 | – | – | – | 712 | 967 | 624 | N/A | |