Yannick Noah

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.

Yannick Noah
Yannick Noah (1979 Davis Cup)
Country (sports) France
Born (1960-05-18) 18 May 1960
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)

Childhood

Born in Sedan, 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. At the end of 1986, Noah received the ATP Sportsmanship Award, as voted for by other ATP players.

Yannick 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

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
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.
Tournament19771978197919801981198219831984198519861987198819891990SRW–LWin %
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

Singles: 1 (1–0)
Result Year Championship Surface Opponent Score
Win1983French OpenClay Mats Wilander6–2, 7–5, 7–6(7–3)

Doubles: 3 (1–2)
Result Year Championship Surface Partner Opponents Score
Win1984French OpenClay Henri Leconte Pavel Složil
Tomáš Šmíd		6–4, 2–6, 3–6, 6–3, 6–2
Loss1985US OpenHard Henri Leconte Ken Flach
Robert Seguso		7–6(7–5), 6–7(1–7), 6–7(6–8), 0–6
Loss1987French OpenClay Guy Forget Anders Järryd
Robert Seguso		7–6(7–5), 7–6(7–2), 3–6, 4–6, 2–6

Career finals

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

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

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.

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

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 former captain of France's basketball team and teacher. 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, mildly famous in the world of fashion. They do not 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 Barthélemy 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 Sales Certifications
FR
[2]		 BEL
(Fl)		 BEL
(Wa)
[3]		 SWI
[4]
1991 Black & What Includes Saga Africa
1993 Urban Tribu
1998 Zaam Zam
2000 Yannick Noah 1  – 2 26
  • BEL: Platinum[5]
  • FRA: Diamond[6]
  • SWI: Gold[7]
2002 Yannick Noah 16  – 40 82
2003 Pokhara 1  – 2 23
  • BEL: Gold[5]
  • FRA: 3× Platinum[6]
  • SWI: Gold[7]
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[6]
2012 Combats ordinaires 1 162 2 20
  • FRA: Platinum[6]
2019 Bonheur indigo 5
[13]		  – 6 40

Re-releases

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

Singles
Year Single Charts Certification Album
FR
[2]		 BEL
(Wa)
[14]		 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 — TBA

References
  1. "Revelations uncover a father's anguish". The Age. 20 June 2002.
  2. "Yannick Noah discography". lescharts.com. Retrieved 14 June 2014.
  3. "Discographie Yannick Noah". Ultratop. Retrieved 13 September 2019.
  4. "Discographie Yannick Noah". hitparade.ch. Retrieved 18 September 2019.
  5. "Les Disques D'Or/De Platine - Albums 2004". UltraTop. Retrieved 21 November 2018.
  6. "Les certifications". Snep. Retrieved 21 November 2018.
  7. "Awards". Swiss charts. Retrieved 21 November 2018.
  8. "Les Disques D'Or/De Platine - Albums 2006". UltraTop. Retrieved 21 November 2018.
  9. "Les Disques D'Or/De Platine - Albums 2007". UltraTop. Retrieved 21 November 2018.
  10. Hamard, Jonathan (23 April 2014). "Yannick Noah : "On court", son nouveau single résolument pop". chartsinfrance. Retrieved 21 November 2018.
  11. "Les Disques D'Or/De Platine - Albums 2010". UltraTop. Retrieved 21 November 2018.
  12. Goncalves, Julien (11 February 2016). "Yannick Noah met fin aux rumeurs sur son évasion fiscale : "Tout est payé"". chartsinfrance. Retrieved 21 November 2018.
  13. "Le Top de la semaine : Top Albums Fusionnes – SNEP (Week 37, 2019)" (in French). Syndicat National de l'Édition Phonographique. Retrieved 16 September 2019.
  14. "Discographie Yannick Noah". Ultratop. Retrieved 26 July 2019.
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