Jeffrey Gail Tarango (born November 20, 1968) is a retired American tennis player. He was a top-ten doubles player and a runner-up at the 1999 French Open men's doubles tournament. He is now the Director of Tennis at the Jack Kramer Club, which is just south of Los Angeles. In 2018, he was the tournament director of a $30,000 men's California championships.
Tarango now resides in Manhattan Beach, California with his wife and children. He is married to Jessica Balgrosky, and they have five children (Nina Rose, Katherine, Jackson, Ace, and Jesse).
Career
Pro tour Tarango turned professional in 1989 after completing his junior year at Stanford University, where he won two NCAA team titles. During his career, he won two top-level singles titles and 14 doubles titles. Tarango reached two Super 9 quarterfinals, Rome in 1995 and Miami in 1998. His career-high world rankings were No. 42 in singles and No. 10 in doubles. He was runner-up in the men's doubles at the 1999 French Open, partnering with Goran Ivanišević.
Wimbledon 1995 default In the third round of the 1995 Wimbledon Championships, trailing 6–7, 1–3 to Alexander Mronz, Tarango became infuriated with French umpire Bruno Rebeuh, who had ruled against Tarango several times. During the match, when preparing to serve, the crowd heckled Tarango and he responded "Oh, shut up!" Rebeuh immediately issued a code violation to Tarango on the grounds of audible obscenity. Tarango protested this violation, called for the tournament referee, and asked for Rebeuh to be removed. Tarango was instructed to continue to play. He then accused Rebeuh of being "one of the most corrupt officials in the game" – to this Rebeuh gave Tarango another code violation, this time for verbal abuse. Tarango took umbrage, packed his rackets and stormed off the court. To add to the controversy, Tarango's wife at the time then slapped Rebeuh in the face.
Tarango was fined US$65,500, suspended for three weeks, and banned from two Grand Slam tournaments by the ATP and ITF, though the fine was later reduced to US$28,256 after he apologized to Rebeuh.
Tarango was also the beneficiary of a default in the men's doubles tournament earlier at the same championship. He and partner Henrik Holm were at two sets to one down against the team of Jeremy Bates and Tim Henman when Henman angrily smashed a ball that inadvertently hit ball girl Caroline Hall, resulting in their disqualification. Coincidentally, Hall was also a ball girl in Tarango's match against Mronz.
After retirement Tarango retired from the main tour in 2003 and now devotes his time to coaching as well as broadcasting for BBC, ESPN, Tennis Channel, Fox Sports and DirecTV. He has been a member of the Davis Cup Committee for six years within the USTA. He still makes occasional appearances at professional events, including the 2008 USA F21 Futures event in Milwaukee.
In his 2009 autobiography Open, Andre Agassi claimed that Tarango cheated in a juniors tournament in 1977 to hand Agassi his first competitive loss. During the final set tiebreaker, Tarango purposely mis-called a ball that had landed several feet in: "Players act as their own linesman… Tarango has decided he'd rather do this than lose and he knows there's nothing anyone can do about it. He raises his hand in victory. Now I start to cry." In an earlier interview, Tarango instead claimed that Agassi had been overruled by an umpire on match point.
Tarango coached several players after retirement, including Younes El Aynaoui, Andrei Medvedev, Maria Sharapova, and Vince Spadea.
ATP career finals
Singles: 6 (2 titles, 4 runner-ups) LegendGrand Slam Tournaments (0–0)ATP World Tour Finals (0–0)ATP World Tour Masters 1000 (0–0)ATP World Tour 500 Series (0–0)ATP World Tour 250 Series (2–4)Finals by surfaceHard (2–3)Clay (0–1)Grass (0–0)Carpet (0–0)Finals by settingOutdoors (2–3)Indoors (0–1)
ResultW–LDateTournamentTierSurfaceOpponentScoreLoss0–1Livingston, United StatesGrand PrixHard Andre Agassi2–6, 4–6Loss0–2Seoul, South KoreaWorld SeriesHard Patrick Baur4–6, 6–1, 6–7Win1–2Wellington, New ZealandWorld SeriesHard Alexander Volkov6–1, 6–0, 6–3Win2–2Tel Aviv, IsraelWorld SeriesHard Stéphane Simian4–6, 6–3, 6–4Loss2–3Bordeaux, FranceWorld SeriesHard Wayne Ferreira0–6, 5–7Loss2–4Umag, CroatiaWorld SeriesClay Magnus Norman2–6, 4–6
Doubles: 25 (14 titles, 11 runners-up) LegendGrand Slam tournaments (0–1)ATP World Tour Finals (0–0)ATP Masters Series (0–1)ATP Championship Series (2–2)ATP World Series (12–7)Finals by surfaceHard (6–6)Clay (6–4)Grass (0–0)Carpet (2–1)Finals by settingOutdoor (10–9)Indoor (4–2)
ResultW–LDateTournamentTierSurfacePartnerOpponentsScoreLoss0–1St. Polten, AustriaWorld SeriesClay Adam Malik Vojtěch Flégl Andrew Florent6–3, 1–6, 4–6Win1–1Seoul, South KoreaWorld SeriesHard Sébastien Lareau Andrew Florent Joshua Eagle6–3, 6–2Win2–1Washington, United StatesChampionship SeriesHard Olivier Delaître Petr Korda Cyril Suk4–6, 6–3, 6–2Win3–1Bucharest, RomaniaWorld SeriesClay Mark Keil Daniel Vacek Cyril Suk6–4, 7–6Win4–1Båstad, SwedenWorld SeriesClay David Ekerot Joshua Eagle Peter Nyborg6–4, 3–6, 6–4Win5–1Bucharest, RomaniaWorld SeriesClay David Ekerot David Adams Menno Oosting7–6, 7–6Loss5–2Auckland, New ZealandWorld SeriesHard Tom Nijssen Patrick Galbraith Brett Steven4–6, 2–6Loss5–3Los Angeles, United StatesWorld SeriesHard Daniel Vacek Patrick Rafter Sandon Stolle4–6, 4–6Win6–3Moscow, RussiaWorld SeriesCarpet Jared Palmer Daniel Vacek Yevgeny Kafelnikov6–4, 6–7, 6–3Win7–3Auckland, New ZealandWorld SeriesHard Daniel Vacek Jiří Novák David Rikl7–5, 7–5Win8–3St. Petersburg, RussiaWorld SeriesCarpet Daniel Vacek Andrei Pavel Menno Oosting3–6, 6–3, 7–5Win9–3Tokyo, JapanChampionship SeriesHard Daniel Vacek Brian Macphie Wayne Black4–3 ret.Loss9–4French Open, FranceGrand SlamClay Goran Ivanišević Mahesh Bhupathi Leander Paes2–6, 5–7Win10–4Båstad, SwedenWorld SeriesClay David Adams Mikael Tillström Nicklas Kulti7–6, 6–4Win11–4Bournemouth, United KingdomWorld SeriesClay David Adams Michael Kohlmann Nicklas Kulti6–3, 6–7, 7–6Win12–4Toulouse, FranceWorld SeriesHard Olivier Delaître David Adams John-Laffnie de Jager3–6, 7–6, 6–4Loss12–5Auckland, New ZealandWorld SeriesHard Olivier Delaître Ellis Ferreira Rick Leach5–7, 4–6Loss12–6Tokyo, JapanChampionship SeriesHard Michael Hill Mahesh Bhupathi Leander Paes4–6, 7–6(7–1), 3–6Win13–6Brighton, United KingdomWorld SeriesHard Michael Hill Paul Goldstein Jim Thomas6–3, 7–5Loss13–7Marseilles, FranceWorld SeriesHard Michael Hill Julien Boutter Fabrice Santoro6–7(7–9), 5–7Win14–7Casablanca, MoroccoWorld SeriesClay Michael Hill Pablo Albano David Macpherson7–6(7–2), 6–3Loss14–8Gstaad, SwitzerlandWorld SeriesClay Michael Hill Roger Federer Marat Safin1–0 ret.Loss14–9Stuttgart, GermanyChampionship SeriesClay Michael Hill Guillermo Cañas Rainer Schüttler6–4, 6–7(1–7), 4–6Loss14–10Moscow, RussiaInternational SeriesCarpet Mahesh Bhupathi Max Mirnyi Sandon Stolle3–6, 0–6Loss14–11Stuttgart, GermanyMasters SeriesHard Ellis Ferreira Max Mirnyi Sandon Stolle6–7(1–7), 6–7(4–7)
ATP Challenger and ITF Futures finals
Singles: 6 (3–3) LegendATP Challenger (3–3)ITF Futures (0–0)Finals by surfaceHard (0–3)Clay (3–0)Grass (0–0)Carpet (0–0)
ResultW–LDateTournamentTierSurfaceOpponentScoreWin1–0Furth, GermanyChallengerClay Felipe Rivera6–0, 6–0Loss1–1Azores, PortugalChallengerHard Rodolphe Gilbert1–6, 7–5, 4–6Loss1–2Reunion, Reunion IslandChallengerHard Ronald Agénor3–6, 4–6Loss1–3Nantes, FranceChallengerHard Guillaume Raoux2–6, 5–7Win2–3Poznań, PolandChallengerClay David Rikl7–5, 6–3Win3–3Newcastle, United KingdomChallengerClay Ronald Agénor3–6, 6–0, 7–6
Doubles: 7 (4–3) LegendATP Challenger (3–3)ITF Futures (1–0)Finals by surfaceHard (2–2)Clay (2–1)Grass (0–0)Carpet (0–0)
ResultW–LDateTournamentTierSurfacePartnerOpponentsScoreLoss0–1Azores, PortugalChallengerHard Chris Bailey Bryan Shelton Roger Smith4–6, 4–6Win1–1Réunion, Réunion IslandChallengerHard Jonathan Canter Mark Kaplan Lan Bale6–4, 3–6, 7–5Loss1–2Košice, SlovakiaChallengerClay Adrian Voinea Jiří Novák David Rikl6–7, 2–6Win2–2Košice, SlovakiaChallengerClay Olivier Delaître Jan Kodeš Jr. Petr Pála7–6, 6–3Win3–2Braunschweig, GermanyChallengerClay Jens Knippschild Álex López Morón Albert Portas6–2, 6–2Loss3–3Andrezieux, FranceChallengerHard Stephen Huss David Škoch Lovro Zovko6–7(4–7), 6–0, 3–6Win4–3USA F21, MilwaukeeFuturesHard Edward Kelly Raven Klaasen Ryan Young6–3, 3–6. [11–9]
Performance timelines
Singles Tournament198719881989199019911992199319941995199619971998199920002001SRW–LWin %Grand Slam tournamentsAustralian OpenAA2RQ31R2R1R1R1R2R3R1R3R1R1R0 / 127–12French OpenAAAA1R2R3R2R1R3R2R2R1R1RQ10 / 108–10WimbledonAA1R1R1R1R1R1R3RA1R2R2R2RA0 / 115–11US Open1R1R3R1R2R2R1R2R1R3R3R1R1R1RA0 / 149–14Win–loss0–10–13–30–21–43–42–42–42–45–35–42–43–41–40–10 / 4729–47Olympic GamesSummer OlympicsNHANot HeldANot HeldANot Held2RNH0 / 11–1ATP Tour Masters 1000Indian Wells MastersAAAAAA1RQ3AA2RAAA1R0 / 31–3Miami OpenAAA3R2R1R3R2R1RA2RQF1R1RQ20 / 1011–10StuttgartNHAAAAAAAAA1RQ1AAA0 / 10–1Monte CarloAAAAAAAAAAA1RAAA0 / 10–1RomeAAAAA1RAAQFA1R1RQ11RQ10 / 53–5HamburgAAAAAAAAAA2RAA1RA0 / 21–2Canada MastersAA2R1R2R2R2R1R2RAA1RA1RA0 / 95–9Cincinnati MastersAAAAA1R2RAAAA2RA1RQ20 / 42–4Paris MastersAAAAA1RQ3Q3Q2Q11RQ1Q1AA0 / 20–2Win–loss0–00–01–12–22–21–54–41–24–30–03–65–50–10–50–10 / 3723–37
Doubles Tournament19871988198919901991199219931994199519961997199819992000200120022003SRW–LWin %Grand Slam tournamentsAustralian OpenAAAAAAAA1R3R1R1R2R1R3R3R1R0 / 97–9French OpenAAAAAAAA2R2R1R2RF1RSF1R1R0 / 911–9WimbledonAAAAAAAA2RA3R2R2R2R3R2R2R0 / 810–8US Open1RAAAAAA2R1R3R3R1R1R3R1R2R1R0 / 118–11Win–loss0–10–00–00–00–00–00–01–12–45–34–42–47–43–47–44–41–40 / 3736–37ATP Tour Masters 1000Indian Wells MastersAAAAAAAAAA1R1RA1RQF1RA0 / 52–5Miami OpenAAAAAAAAAA1R1R3R2R3R2RA0 / 63–6StuttgartNHAAAAAAAAAQ1A1RAFAA0 / 24–2Monte CarloAAAAAAAAAAA1RQF1R2R1RA0 / 52–5RomeAAAAAAAAQFAQF1RQF1R1R1RA0 / 76–7HamburgAAAAAAAAAA1RAA1R1R1RA0 / 40–4Canada MastersAA1RAAAAQFQFAA1RA1RQFQFA0 / 78–7Cincinnati MastersAAAAAAAAAAA1RA2RSF1RA0 / 44–4Paris MastersAAAAAAAA2RAQ2Q11RQF2RAA0 / 44–4Win–loss0–00–00–10–00–00–00–02–15–30–02–40–65–53–814–92–70–00 / 4433–44
Mixed doubles Tournament199519961997199819992000200120022003SRW–LWin %Grand Slam tournamentsAustralian OpenA1RAA2RQF1RQFA0 / 55–5French OpenAA2RAAQF1R2RA0 / 43–4WimbledonAAAQFAA3R1R2R0 / 46–4US Open2RAQFAAA2R2R1R0 / 55–5Win–loss1–10–12–23–11–14–23–44–41–20 / 1819–18
Junior Grand Slam finals
Doubles: 1 (1 runner-up) ResultYearTournamentSurfacePartnerOpponentsScoreLoss1986US OpenHard David Wheaton Tomás Carbonell Javier Sánchez4–6, 6–1, 1–6
References
External links