Roscoe Tanner Former American professional tennis player Date of Birth: 15.10.1951 Country: USA

1. Roscoe Tanner: A Former American Tennis Player
2. Biography
3. Early Life and Tennis Career
4. The Rocket Serve and Personal Life

Roscoe Tanner: A Former American Tennis Player

Roscoe Tanner is a former American professional tennis player who gained fame as the author of one of the fastest serves in the history of tennis. His serve ranks fifth among the fastest serves of all time, holding the top spot for over a quarter of a century. In 1978, during the final of the Palm Springs tournament against Raul Ramirez, Tanner hit a historic serve with a speed of 246 km/h (153 mph).

Biography

Roscoe Tanner, born Leonard Roscoe Tanner on October 15, 1951, in Chattanooga, Tennessee, is a former American professional tennis player. He turned professional in 1972 and reached the peak of his career on July 30, 1979, when he reached the fourth position in the world rankings in singles.

In addition to his well-deserved fame as the author of one of the fastest serves, Tanner is known as the winner of the first two Australian Open tournaments, held in January and December 1977. He also reached the final of Wimbledon in 1979, where he lost to Björn Borg in the fifth set.

In recent years, Tanner has frequently made headlines due to his legal troubles.

Early Life and Tennis Career

Roscoe Tanner was born on October 15, 1951, in Chattanooga, Tennessee. He attended the private Baylor School, where he played on the same team as Sandy Mayer. In 1973, they led the Stanford University team to the top spot in the rankings. Tanner was the number one player, with Mayer as his teammate.

In January 1977, Tanner achieved his only victory in a Grand Slam tournament when he defeated Guillermo Vilas at the Australian Open. In 1979, Tanner reached the final at Wimbledon, but unfortunately, his opponent was Björn Borg, the world's number one player and winner of 11 Grand Slam titles. Interestingly, this was the first Wimbledon final broadcast live in the United States on NBC.

Two months later, Tanner "got his revenge" against Borg by defeating him in the quarterfinals of the US Open. However, in the semifinals, he was defeated by Vitas Gerulaitis, an American of Lithuanian descent. Tanner later described his victory over Borg and his defeat to Gerulaitis as "the greatest achievement and the saddest defeat on the tennis court, all within two days."

The Rocket Serve and Personal Life

Tanner's serve, low, fast, and very powerful, which involved his entire body, earned him the nickname "The Rocket." His serve speed record was broken by Andy Roddick in 2004.

Tanner has been married three times and has five daughters. He has had a long history of legal troubles. In 1997, he was arrested for failing to pay child support to Connie Romano, who had a child with him in the early 1990s.

In June 2003, Tanner was arrested in Karlsruhe, Germany, as a fugitive. He had fled Florida, where he faced criminal charges for using a fake check to pay for a yacht in 2000, as well as for not paying child support to Romano. Eventually, Tanner pleaded guilty and received probation. However, he violated the terms of his probation and was arrested again, serving two years in a Florida correctional facility. He was released a year earlier for good behavior but was sent to California, where he was imprisoned again for contempt of court for failing to pay child support.

In 2008, Tanner was arrested once again, this time in Tennessee, for using worthless checks to pay for two cars worth $72,000. The cars had to be returned, and Tanner paid a large fine to compensate for the damage. The charges were eventually dropped.

In the spring of 2010, Tanner was evicted from his home and spent two years evading the authorities until his arrest in January 2012. The former tennis player was unable to overcome his inclination for fake checks. Today, Tanner resides in Vero Beach, Florida, with his third wife, Margaret, and their eight-year-old daughter, Lacey. He works as a tennis instructor and claims to be trying to change his life.