Sébastien René Grosjean (French pronunciation:[sebastjɛ̃ʁəneɡʁoʒɑ̃]; born 29 May 1978) is a Frenchtennis coach and a former professional player. Grosjean reached the semifinals at the2001 Australian andFrench Opens, and atWimbledon in2003 and2004. He finished eight consecutive seasons ranked in the top 30 (1999–2006), peaking at world No. 4 in October 2002. He is currently the director of theOpen de Roanne.[1]
As a junior, Grosjean posted a 90-20 singles record and a 58-12 doubles record, winning the1996 French Open boys' doubles. He reached Junior World No. 1 in both singles and doubles in December 1996, the first player to accomplish the feat sinceJason Stoltenberg in 1987.[2]
Grosjean joined the professional tour in 1996. In 2003 and 2004, he reached the final of theQueen's London Tournament. In the same two years, he also reached the semifinals of Wimbledon. He finished 2001 as the No. 1 player from his country and for the first time in the top 10 becoming the first Frenchman to finish a year in the top 10 sinceCédric Pioline in 1993. In 2001, Grosjean won theDavis Cup with the French team.
He has made four Grand Slam semifinal appearances. In addition to his two Wimbledon runs, he also reached the2001 French Open semifinals. His most famous chance was at the2001 Australian Open againstArnaud Clément. Grosjean led two sets to love and had a match point in the fourth set before Clément prevailed. This was long considered the worst 'choke' in five-set history,[citation needed] until the2004 French Open final.
Grosjean retired from professional tennis in May 2010.[3] He coachedRichard Gasquet from 2011 to 2016 (co-coached withSergi Bruguera 2014-2016).
In December 2018, he was named theDavis Cup captain forFrance.[4]He coachedArthur Fils from October 2023, after he stepped down from his Davis Cup captain role, until March 2025 (co-coach with Bruegera until May 2024).[5][6][7][8]
Considered one of the more popular players on the circuit, he is lauded for his attractive, graceful style and classical skills. Grosjean is known for his extreme forehand, his best shot, he utilizes something of a western grip, which is hit at high velocities. He was sponsored by Lacoste in apparel and Head rackets. He used the Head Radical Tour TwinTube 630 XL under various paint jobs throughout his career.
Grosjean married his wife Marie-Pierre on 16 November 1998 and has a daughter named Lola (born 11 October 1998), a son named Tom (2002), and a daughter named Sam (2006).[2] The family resided inBoca Raton, Florida (U.S.), where Grosjean trained at theEvert Tennis Academy. He is affectionately nicknamed 'Big John' by fans, a literal translation of his surname into English.
(W) winner; (F) finalist; (SF) semifinalist; (QF) quarterfinalist; (#R) rounds 4, 3, 2, 1; (RR) round-robin stage; (Q#) qualification round; (P#) preliminary round; (DNQ) did not qualify; (A) absent; (Z#) Davis/Fed Cup Zonal Group (with number indication) or (PO) play-off; (G) gold, (S) silver or (B) bronze Olympic/Paralympic medal; (NMS) not a Masters tournament; (NTI) not a Tier I tournament; (P) postponed; (NH) not held; (SR) strike rate (events won / competed); (W–L) win–loss record.
France
Lleyton Hewitt
Richard Krajicek
Yevgeny Kafelnikov
Stefan Koubek
Fernando Vicente
Byron Black
Andy Roddick
Rainer Schüttler
Daniel Nestor
Nenad Zimonjić
Tomáš Cibulec
Łukasz Kubot
Lovro Zovko
Johan Van Herck
Colin Fleming
Gustavo Kuerten
Magnus Norman
Guillermo Coria