Industry News
ITHF names candidates for 2018
Wimbledon champions Pat Cash and Michael Stich, along with Anders Jarryd and Tom Okker, who both
won multiple doubles titles at Grand Slam tournaments, and Czech legend Helena Sukova, a 14-time major
champion in doubles and mixed doubles, have been named candidates for induction into the International
Tennis Hall of Fame in 2018. The candidates were first announced this morning, live on Tennis Channel’s
“Live from the US Open” show.
Induction into the International Tennis Hall of Fame is the ultimate honor in the sport of tennis, recognizing
the sum of one’s achievements at the highest possible level. All five individuals are candidates in the Player
Category. There are no candidates for 2018 in the Contributor or Wheelchair Tennis Categories.
“Among this year’s Hall of Fame candidates, we have Wimbledon champions, Olympic medalists, fierce
competitors, and athletes who consistently maintained rankings at the top of our sport over long durations
of time. The Class of 2018 candidates hail from five different nations,” stated Hall of Famer Stan Smith, who
serves as President of the International Tennis Hall of Fame and Chairman of the Enshrinee Nominating
Committee.
He continued, “The variety among their geographic backgrounds and the breadth of their accomplishments
and playing styles is highly representative of tennis as a whole, while this nomination is a great recognition
of each of them individually. Congratulations to Pat Cash, Anders Jarryd, Tom Okker, Michael Stich, and
Helena Sukova on this great recognition of their impressive careers.”
Over the years, the honor of Hall of Fame induction has been presented to 252 individuals hailing from 23
nations. Located in Newport, Rhode Island, the International Tennis Hall of Fame is a non-profit organiza-
tion committed to preserving and promoting the history of tennis and celebrating its greatest champions.
Voting for the Hall of Fame Class of 2018 will take place this fall, and the inductees will be announced in
the first quarter of 2018.
ABOUT THE CANDIDATES
PAT CASH, Australia
Driven by his strong serve-and-volley game, Australian tennis legend Pat Cash, reached a career-high
ranking of world No. 4. At the 1987 Wimbledon championships, Cash defeated Jimmy Connors in the semi-
finals and then world No. 1 Ivan Lendl in the final to become a Wimbledon champion.
Cash was an integral member of the Australian Davis Cup team for eight years, and was the winner of the
decisive singles rubber in two championships for the team in 1983 and 1986.
ANDERS JARRYD, Sweden
Anders Jarryd, of Sweden, is considered one of the greatest doubles players in the Open Era. He was
ranked No.1 in the world in doubles for a total of 98 weeks, winning 57 doubles titles. Jarryd is an 8-time
major champion in doubles, and he won three of the four Grand Slam tournament doubles titles in the same
year twice, in 1987 and 1991.
TOM OKKER, The Netherlands
The Netherlands’ Tom Okker was so quick with his movement on court that he earned the nickname “The
Flying Dutchman. He was the World No. 1 in doubles in 1969. Sporting a 541-152 career doubles record,
Okker claimed 67 titles, an ATP record that stood for 24 years, until Todd Woodbridge topped it.
MICHAEL STICH, Germany
Germany’s Michael Stich was the 1991 Wimbledon champion, and in 1992, he partnered with
John McEnroe to win the Wimbledon doubles title. In addition to his success at Wimbledon, he
was a finalist at both the US Open (1994) and the French Open (1996). In 1993, he defeated Pete
Sampras to win the year-end ATP World Tour Championships.
HELENA SUKOVA, Czech Republic
Helena Sukova, of the Czech Republic, was the world No. 1 ranked doubles player for 68 weeks
and she won 14 Grand Slam tournament titles in women’s doubles and mixed doubles over the
course of her career.
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