Ryan Harrison
Ryan Harrison is an American former professional tennis player. Harrison won one career ATP title in singles at the 2017 Memphis Open to go along with four in doubles, including the 2017 French Open.
Before turning 16, Harrison was regarded as a prodigy after cracking the top 10 in the junior rankings and becoming one of the youngest players ever to win an ATP match. Although he broke through onto the ATP level by the age of 20, Harrison then fell out of the top 100 for several years. He would return to the top 100 in 2016 after a strong second half of the season that included multiple wins over opponents ranked in the top 20 and his first career appearance in the round of 32 at a Grand Slam. Harrison built on that momentum in 2017 to reach a top-40 career-high ranking in singles after winning his first career ATP title.
Personal life
Harrison began playing tennis at age 2 and was coached by his father, Pat Harrison, who had a brief career as a professional, playing predominantly Challenger and Futures events. Harrison is an alumnus of IMG Academy and was coached by the USTA.Harrison has a younger brother Christian, who currently plays tennis on the ATP Challenger Tour. Christian joined Ryan to play doubles at the 2012 US Open, where they reached the quarterfinals. He also has a younger sister named Madison who played at Mississippi State University.
On March 5, 2016, Ryan Harrison announced his engagement to Lauren McHale, the sister of fellow tennis player Christina McHale. Harrison married Lauren McHale in April of the following year in Austin, Texas. The couple has since divorced.
Junior career
As a junior, Harrison compiled a 60–24 win–loss record in singles, reaching as high as No. 7 in the world.Junior Slam results:
- Australian Open: SF
- French Open: 3R
- Wimbledon: 2R
- US Open: 3R
Career
2007–2008: Early years
Harrison is notable for being the third-youngest player since 1990, after Richard Gasquet and Rafael Nadal, to have won an ATP level match, defeating world no. 130 Pablo Cuevas in the 2008 U.S. Men's Clay Court Championships. Entering the tournament as a qualifier ranked no. 1000, he was only the tenth player in the history of the ATP Tour to have won a match before turning 16. This puts Harrison among an elite group and makes him the youngest American to accomplish this feat since Michael Chang. Harrison played mainly futures tournaments in order to increase his ranking. Harrison competed in the qualifying tournament for the 2008 Cincinnati Masters, and the 2008 US Open, but lost in the first round in both. Harrison would finish 2008 ranked no. 742 in singles.2009
Harrison did not compete in any tournaments until late April in 2009. As a wildcard, he made it to the quarterfinals of a Challenger tournament in Sarasota. In June, Harrison would win his first futures title, defeating another rising star Filip Krajinović in the final. Having not defended the points from the Clay Court Championships, these points took Harrison's ranking to 706. Harrison would again try his luck in both the Cincinnati and US Open qualifying, and once again lost in the first round in both. After this, Harrison went to two consecutive Futures finals, losing the first to Michael McClune, and winning the second against Richard Bloomfield. This would put Harrison's ranking at 371 in the world. Directly after that final, Harrison made it to the semifinals of a Challenger tournament in Sacramento, losing to Jesse Levine. Harrison finished the year ranked no. 364.2010
Harrison played in a playoff against other Americans to decide who would receive America's wildcard into the 2010 Australian Open. Harrison defeated Alex Kuznetsov and Donald Young in two sets before defeating Jesse Levine in three straight sets. Once in the draw, Harrison lost in the first round to Janko Tipsarević in straight sets.At this point, Harrison began competing in some bigger tournaments. First he received a wildcard into the 2010 SAP Open, where he lost to eventual semifinalist Denis Istomin in the first round. Next, Harrison went through qualifying to face John Isner in the first round of the 2010 Regions Morgan Keegan Championships. Harrison lost in straight sets to the eventual finalist. Afterwards, Harrison went through qualifying in the 2010 Delray Beach International Tennis Championships, then lost to eventual champion Ernests Gulbis in the first round.
Harrison received a wildcard for the 2010 BNP Paribas Open, where he defeated Taylor Dent in the first round, before losing to the eventual winner Ivan Ljubičić. Having lost early, Harrison competed in the BMW Tennis Championship, where he lost in the first round. After receiving another wildcard into the 2010 Sony Ericsson Open, he lost in the first round to Michaël Llodra. Harrison played in a few Challengers afterwards without any major results.
In May, now ranked no. 263 in the world, Harrison entered the qualifying tournament for the 2010 French Open, after having lost in the final of the US Wildcard Playoff to Ryan Sweeting. Harrison lost in the final round of qualifying to Stefano Galvani. Harrison competed in the prestigious Queen's Championship, but lost in the first round to Jesse Levine. Next, Harrison competed in Wimbledon qualifying, but lost in the first round to up-and-coming Lithuanian Ričardas Berankis. Having not gained any points on his favorite surface, Harrison decided to compete in the 2010 Hall of Fame Tennis Championships. He defeated sixth seed Karol Beck, before defeating seventeen-year-old Denis Kudla. He then lost to Richard Bloomfield of Great Britain.
Harrison qualified for the US Open and defeated the 15th seed Ivan Ljubičić in the first round for his first win in a Grand Slam tournament. In the second round, Harrison fell to Sergey Stakhovsky in a grueling 5-setter, after failing to convert three match points when up 6–3 in the fifth set tiebreak.
He opted to stay in the U.S. instead of heading to Asia and trying to qualify into main tour events. He had a relatively successful fall on the Challenger tour, making the final in Tiburon, the quarterfinals in Calabasas, the second round in Charlottesville, and the second round in Bratislava where he defeated ATP no. 93 Dustin Brown.
2011: Top 100 debut
Harrison lost to Adrian Mannarino in straight sets in the first round of the 2011 Australian Open.Harrison won the 2011 Honolulu Challenger, beating Alex Kuznetsov in the final. He won the doubles title as well. He ousted 22nd-seeded Guillermo García López in the second round of the 2011 BNP Paribas Open at Indian Wells, California, as a wild card. In the third round, he defeated Canadian up-and-comer Milos Raonic in a tight three-setter to set up a fourth-round confrontation with world no. 3 Roger Federer, which Harrison lost.
At the 2011 French Open, Robin Söderling beat Harrison, but the young American was able to take a set off the two-time French Open finalist. His next tournament was Queen's in London, where he was given a wild card. However, he lost in the first round to Michael Berrer in three close sets, 6–7, 6–2, 5–7. He then competed in the qualifying competition for Wimbledon, in which he reached the final round but lost in five sets to Cedrik-Marcel Stebe. He received a spot in the main Wimbledon draw as a lucky loser. He beat Ivan Dodig in the first round. He faced seventh seed David Ferrer in the second round, losing in a five-set match that lasted two days.
With partner Matthew Ebden, he won the doubles tournament at the 2011 Campbell's Hall of Fame Tennis Championships in July. Harrison made his first ATP semifinal in Atlanta, where he lost to eventual champion Mardy Fish. This performance shot him into the top 100 for the first time, at no. 94. He followed this by another semifinal appearance in Los Angeles just the week after where Fish once again stopped him in three sets. As a result, his ranking jumped to world no. 82. His next tournament was Washington, D.C., where he lost to Viktor Troicki in the second round. He was also granted a wildcard to participate in the Cincinnati Masters. He lost to Novak Djokovic in the second round. By year's end, he had scored wins over Victor Hănescu and Troicki, and he had risen to no. 79 in the world rankings.
2012
During the Australian summer, Harrison lost in the first and second rounds of Brisbane and Auckland, respectively. At the Australian Open, he lost in the first round to world no. 4 Andy Murray, after taking the first set.In February, Harrison made his third appearance in the semifinals in San Jose, where he lost to eventual winner Milos Raonic.
In April, Harrison lost his inaugural Davis Cup matches to France's Jo Wilfried Tsonga and Gilles Simon. Despite Harrison's two losses, the U.S. still advanced to the semifinals, where the team faced Spain in September 2012 and lost.
Harrison played for the Philadelphia Freedoms of World Team Tennis in the summer as their 2012 wild-card player. It was his first season playing for WTT. Harrison played with the Freedoms in their home matches on July 11 and 14 at The Pavilion at Villanova University, and traveled with the team to face the New York Sportimes on July 13.
Harrison lost to Novak Djokovic in straight sets in the second round of the 2012 Wimbledon Championships.
Harrison participated in singles at the 2012 Summer Olympics. He lost in the first round to Santiago Giraldo of Colombia. An article in The New York Times made more note of his behavior than his tennis, reporting: "Though the match was considered winnable for Harrison, the loss itself will be less remembered than Harrison's petulant behavior as the match slipped away."