.jpg) Yannick Noah (1979 Davis Cup) | |
| Country (sports) |  France |
|---|---|
| Born | (1960-05-18)18 May 1960 (age 65) |
| Height | 1.93 m (6 ft 4 in) |
| Turned pro | 1977 |
| Retired | 1996 |
| Plays | Right-handed (one-handed backhand) |
| Prize money | $3,440,660 |
| Int. Tennis HoF | 2005(member page) |
| Singles | |
| Career record | 478–209 (69.6%) |
| Career titles | 23 |
| Highest ranking | No. 3 (7 July 1986) |
| Grand Slam singles results | |
| Australian Open | SF (1990) |
| French Open | W (1983) |
| Wimbledon | 3R (1979,1985) |
| US Open | QF (1983,1985,1989) |
| Other tournaments | |
| Tour Finals | QF (1982) |
| Grand Slam Cup | 1R (1990) |
| WCT Finals | SF (1988) |
| Doubles | |
| Career record | 213–109 (66.1%) |
| Career titles | 16 |
| Highest ranking | No.1 (25 August 1986) |
| Grand Slam doubles results | |
| French Open | W (1984) |
| US Open | F (1985) |
| Team competitions | |
| Davis Cup | F (1982) |
Yannick Noah (French pronunciation:[janiknɔa]; born 18 May 1960) is a French former professionaltennis player and singer, who was inducted into theInternational Tennis Hall of Fame in 2005. Noah won theFrench Open in1983, and is a former captain of both France'sDavis Cup andBillie Jean King Cup teams. During his nearly two-decade career, Noah captured 23 singles titles and 16 doubles titles, reaching a career-high singles ranking of world No. 3 in July 1986 and attaining theworld No. 1 doubles ranking the following month. Since his retirement from the game, Noah has remained in the public eye as a popular music performer and as the co-founder, with his mother, of a charity organization for underprivileged children. Noah is also the father of formerNBA playerJoakim Noah.
Born inSedan, in the north of France in 1960, Yannick Noah is biracial. His late father was Cameroonianfootballer,Zacharie Noah, and his mother, Marie-Claire, was French. After a sports injury in 1963, Noah's father returned to Africa with his family. Yannick was living in Cameroon when he made his debut in tennis and was discovered at age 11 byArthur Ashe.[1] He soon showed an amazing talent that brought him to the French Tennis Federation's training center in Nice in 1971.[1]
Noah turned professional in 1977 and won his first pro title on the Italian Spring Satellite in 1977[2] and his first top-level singles title in 1978 inManila beatingPeter Feigl in the final.[3] He became France's most prominent tennis hero in 1983, becoming the first Frenchman in 37 years to win the French Open. He dropped only one set during the two-week-long tournament, and defeated the defending champion, Sweden'sMats Wilander, in straight sets in the final. Noah "boldly attacked the net and forced Wilander out of his baseline game".[4] He remains the last and most recent Frenchman to have won the French Open men's singles title.
Noah won the French Open men's doubles title in 1984 (with compatriot and best friendHenri Leconte). He was also the men's doubles runner-up at the 1985U.S. Open (with Leconte), and the 1987 French Open (with compatriotGuy Forget). In August 1986, Noah attained the world no. 1 doubles ranking, which he would hold for a total of 19 weeks. At the end of 1986, Noah received theATP Sportsmanship Award, as voted for by other ATP players. He reached the quarter-final stage or better on 10 occasions atGrand Slam level. He notably admitted usingmarijuana prior to matches in 1981,[5] saying thatamphetamines were the real problem in tennis as they wereperformance-enhancing drugs.
In 1992, Noah received theLegion of Honour medal. Noah was awarded thePhilippe Chatrier Award (theITF's highest accolade) in 2005 and was inducted into theInternational Tennis Hall of Fame that same year. He remains France's highest male ranked player since the introduction of rankings in 1973. Noah played onFrance's Davis Cup team for eleven years, with an overall win–loss record of 39–22 (26–15 in singles, and in 13–7 doubles). In 1982, he was part of the French team which reached theDavis Cup final, where they were defeated 4–1 by theUnited States.
In 1991, Noah captained the French team to its first Davis Cup victory in 59 years, defeating a heavily favoured US team 3–1 in the final.[6] This feat was repeated in 1996, when Noah coached the French team to defeatSweden 3–2 in the final held in Malmö. In 2017, Noah added a thirdDavis Cup win for France under his guidance as captain, defeatingBelgium in the final in Lille. In 1997, he also captainedFrance's Fed Cup team to its first ever win of that competition when they defeated theDutch in the final.
| W | F | SF | QF | #R | RR | Q# | DNQ | A | NH |
| Tournament | 1977 | 1978 | 1979 | 1980 | 1981 | 1982 | 1983 | 1984 | 1985 | 1986 | 1987 | 1988 | 1989 | 1990 | SR | W–L | Win % |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Australian Open | A/A | 1R | A | 1R | A | A | A | A | A | NH | QF | 4R | 1R | SF | 0 / 6 | 11–6 | 64.71 |
| French Open | 1R | 3R | 2R | 4R | QF | QF | W | QF | 4R | 4R | QF | 4R | 1R | 3R | 1 / 14 | 40–13 | 75.47 |
| Wimbledon | A | 2R | 3R | A | 1R | A | A | A | 3R | A | 2R | A | A | 1R | 0 / 6 | 6–6 | 50.00 |
| US Open | A | 1R | 4R | 4R | 4R | 4R | QF | A | QF | 3R | A | 2R | QF | 2R | 0 / 11 | 28–11 | 71.79 |
| Win–loss | 0–1 | 3–4 | 6–3 | 6–3 | 7–3 | 7–2 | 11–1 | 4–1 | 9–3 | 5–2 | 8–3 | 7–3 | 4–3 | 8–4 | 1 / 37 | 85–36 | 70.25 |
| Year-end ranking | 305 | 49 | 26 | 18 | 13 | 10 | 5 | 9 | 7 | 4 | 8 | 12 | 16 | 40 |
| Result | Year | Championship | Surface | Opponent | Score |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Win | 1983 | French Open | Clay |  Mats Wilander | 6–2, 7–5, 7–6(7–3) |
| Result | Year | Championship | Surface | Partner | Opponents | Score |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Win | 1984 | French Open | Clay | Henri Leconte |  Pavel SložilTomáš Šmíd | 6–4, 2–6, 3–6, 6–3, 6–2 |
| Loss | 1985 | US Open | Hard | Henri Leconte |  Ken FlachRobert Seguso | 7–6(7–5), 6–7(1–7), 6–7(6–8), 0–6 |
| Loss | 1987 | French Open | Clay | Guy Forget | Anders JärrydRobert Seguso | 7–6(7–5), 7–6(7–2), 3–6, 4–6, 2–6 |
| Result | No. | Year | Tournament | Surface | Opponent | Score |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Loss | 1. | 1978 | Nice, France | Clay |  José Higueras | 3–6, 4–6, 4–6 |
| Win | 1. | 1978 | Manila, Philippines | Clay |  Peter Feigl | 7–6, 6–0 |
| Win | 2. | 1978 | Calcutta, India | Clay | Pascal Portes | 6–3, 6–2 |
| Win | 3. | 1979 | Nancy, France | Hard (i) | Jean-Louis Haillet | 6–2, 5–7, 6–1, 7–5 |
| Win | 4. | 1979 | Madrid, Spain | Clay | Manuel Orantes | 6–3, 6–7, 6–3, 6–2 |
| Win | 5. | 1979 | Bordeaux, France | Clay | Harold Solomon | 6–0, 6–7, 6–1, 1–6, 6–4 |
| Loss | 2. | 1980 | Rome, Italy | Clay |  Guillermo Vilas | 0–6, 4–6, 4–6 |
| Win | 6. | 1981 | Richmond WCT, U.S. | Carpet | Ivan Lendl | 6–1, 3–1 ret. |
| Win | 7. | 1981 | Nice, France | Clay |  Mario Martinez | 6–4, 6–2 |
| Loss | 3. | 1981 | Gstaad, Switzerland | Clay |  Wojciech Fibak | 1–6, 6–7 |
| Win | 8. | 1982 | La Quinta, U.S. | Hard | Ivan Lendl | 3–6, 6–2, 7–5 |
| Loss | 4. | 1982 | Nice, France | Clay |  Balázs Taróczy | 2–6, 6–3, 11–13 |
| Win | 9. | 1982 | South Orange, U.S. | Clay |  Raúl Ramírez | 6–3, 7–6(7–2) |
| Win | 10. | 1982 | Basel, Switzerland | Hard (i) | Mats Wilander | 6–4, 6–2, 6–3 |
| Win | 11. | 1982 | Toulouse, France | Hard (i) | Tomáš Šmíd | 6–3, 6–2 |
| Loss | 5. | 1983 | Lisbon, Portugal | Clay | Mats Wilander | 6–2, 6–7(2–7), 4–6 |
| Win | 12. | 1983 | Madrid, Spain | Clay | Henrik Sundström | 3–6, 6–0, 6–2, 6–4 |
| Win | 13. | 1983 | Hamburg, West Germany | Clay | José Higueras | 3–6, 7–5, 6–2, 6–0 |
| Win | 14. | 1983 | French Open, Paris | Clay | Mats Wilander | 6–2, 7–5, 7–6(7–3) |
| Loss | 6. | 1984 | La Quinta, U.S. | Hard | Jimmy Connors | 2–6, 7–6(9–7), 3–6 |
| Loss | 7. | 1985 | Memphis, U.S. | Carpet | Stefan Edberg | 1–6, 0–6 |
| Win | 15. | 1985 | Rome, Italy | Clay | Miloslav Mečíř | 6–3, 3–6, 6–2, 7–6(7–4) |
| Win | 16. | 1985 | Washington, D.C., U.S. | Clay | Martín Jaite | 6–4, 6–3 |
| Win | 17. | 1985 | Toulouse, France | Hard (i) | Tomáš Šmíd | 6–4, 6–4 |
| Loss | 8. | 1985 | Basel, Switzerland | Hard (i) | Stefan Edberg | 7–6(9–7), 4–6, 6–7(5–7), 1–6 |
| Loss | 9. | 1986 | La Quinta, U.S. | Hard | Joakim Nyström | 1–6, 3–6, 2–6 |
| Loss | 10. | 1986 | Monte Carlo, Monaco | Clay | Joakim Nyström | 3–6, 2–6 |
| Win | 18. | 1986 | Forest Hills, U.S. | Clay | Guillermo Vilas | 7–6(7–3), 6–0 |
| Loss | 11. | 1986 | Basel, Switzerland | Hard (i) | Stefan Edberg | 6–7(5–7), 2–6, 7–6(9–7), 6–7(5–7) |
| Win | 19. | 1986 | Wembley, England | Carpet | Jonas Svensson | 6–2, 6–3, 6–7(12–14), 4–6, 7–5 |
| Win | 20. | 1987 | Lyon, France | Carpet | Joakim Nyström | 6–4, 7–5 |
| Loss | 12. | 1987 | Forest Hills, U.S. | Clay |  Andrés Gómez | 4–6, 6–7(5–7), 6–7(1–7) |
| Win | 21. | 1987 | Basel, Switzerland | Hard (i) |  Ronald Agénor | 7–6(8–6), 6–4, 6–4 |
| Win | 22. | 1988 | Milan, Italy | Carpet | Jimmy Connors | 4–4, ret. |
| Loss | 13. | 1989 | Indian Wells, U.S. | Hard | Miloslav Mečíř | 6–3, 6–2, 1–6, 2–6, 3–6 |
| Win | 23. | 1990 | Sydney Outdoor, Australia | Hard |  Carl-Uwe Steeb | 5–7, 6–3, 6–4 |
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Yannick Noah | |
|---|---|
 Noah performing live at a concert in 2015 | |
| Background information | |
| Genres | Pop |
| Occupation | Singer |
| Instrument | Vocals |
| Years active | 1991 – present |
| Website | www |
After retiring from playing tennis, Noah developed a career as a popular singer, performing throughout Europe. He began his music career in 1991 with the albumBlack & What, featuring the popular track "Saga Africa", which he made the stadium sing with his players after the famous Davis Cup final win. In 1993, he released the albumUrban Tribu with the single "Get on Back", followed by the albumZam Zam in 1998.
With the encouragement of his manager Jean-Pierre Weiller, his musical career got a great boost in 2000 with his self-titled 4th albumYannick Noah, written byErick Benzi andRobert Goldman. The single "Simon Papa Tara" was written by Robert Goldman. The album also contained songs byBob Marley and the groupTéléphone. In 2005, Noah performed atBob Geldof'sLive 8 concert, a fundraiser aimed at alleviatingpoverty in Africa. On 21 July 2009, Noah made his U.S. live debut, headlining a concert in front of a packed house at the popular free outdoor performing arts festival in New York City,Central Park SummerStage. The performance was part of France's global music celebrationFête de la Musique. In 2010, Yannick made a comeback with the release ofFrontières, his eighth album, containing the single "Angela", a tribute toAngela Davis. It also contained a duet withAṣa in "Hello". On 25 September 2010, he filled theStade de France for an exceptional concert that was attended by close to 80,000 spectators.
Noah is active in charity work. He supportsEnfants de la Terre, a charity created and run by his mother, Marie-Claire, in 1988. Noah also founded Fête le Mur in 1996, a tennis charity and adaptation for underprivileged children, especially in the poor areas and the banlieues. It is presided by Noah himself. He is also a spokesman for Appel des Enfants pour l'Environnement that was started by theWorld Wide Fund for Nature (WWF).
He took part in singing withLes Enfoirés to help Les Restos du Cœur. He also took part intelethons and sponsored the Téléthon 2005. He also sponsors the Association Terre-des-Hommes in Massongex (Suisse) and donated proceeds of his 2008 concert of Grands Gamins, toSol En Si, an AIDS charity.
Noah has taken a particular interest inUN-SDG6, supporting the delivery of clean water throughWhat Water ASBL. He has supported the cause on numerous occasions, including hosting an exhibition at his resort Village Noah in Yaoundé, Cameroon[7][8]
Partly because of his involvement in a number of charities, Noah topped the list of the most favourite French personalities according to a joint survey ofIfop andLe Journal du Dimanche in 2007.
| This section of abiography of a living persondoes notinclude anyreferences or sources. Please help by addingreliable sources. Contentious material about living people that is unsourced or poorly sourcedmust be removed immediately. Find sources: "Yannick Noah" – news ·newspapers ·books ·scholar ·JSTOR(February 2024) (Learn how and when to remove this message) |
Noah first attended school inYaounde (Cameroon), where his parents had settled after meeting and marrying in France. He then left Cameroon to attend a sports-and-study program in France under the sponsorship of the French Tennis Federation. He dropped out of the program at age 17 to move to full time tennis schedule.
Noah's father,Zacharie Noah, was a former professional Cameroonian football star who won the French Cup withSedan in 1961. His mother, Marie-Claire, is a teacher and a former captain of France's basketball team.
Noah has six children, of whom two are from his first marriage in 1984 toCécilia Rodhe (Miss Sweden 1978 and now a sculptor):Joakim (born in 1985) and Yelena (born in 1986). Joakim had a 13-year career in the NBA and represented France in international competitions. Yelena is a model and jewelry creator. With his second wife in 1995, British modelHeather Stewart-Whyte, he has two daughters: Elijah (1996) and Jénayé (1997). After their divorce in 1999, Noah was awarded custody of his daughters from his second marriage by British courts. Then he married French TV producer Isabelle Camus, with whom he has a son named Joalukas (born 2004). He owns a restaurant inSaint Barthélemy in theFrench West Indies calledDo Brazil.He then met Malika, who gave birth to his sixth child, a girl named Keelaani (born October 22, 2024).
On 15 July 1996, the French fiscal authorities demanded payment of 6,807,701 francs in back taxes for 1993–1994. The Paris administrative tribunal court confirmed the decision alleging that Noah kept three non-declared bank accounts in Switzerland, the Netherlands and the United States. Noah disputed the court decision as unconstitutional.
| Year | Album | Charts | Notes | Sales | Certifications | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| FR [9] | BEL (Fl) | BEL (Wa) [10] | SWI [11] | |||||
| 1991 | Black & What | IncludesSaga Africa | ||||||
| 1993 | Urban Tribu | |||||||
| 1998 | Zaam Zam | |||||||
| 2000 | Yannick Noah | 1 | – | 2 | 26 | |||
| 2002 | Yannick Noah | 16 | – | 40 | 82 | |||
| 2003 | Pokhara | 1 | – | 2 | 23 | |||
| 2003 | Métisse(s) | 2 | – | 4 | 28 | |||
| 2006 | Charango | 1 | – | 1 | 7 | (including single Aux arbres citoyens) | ||
| 2010 | Frontières | 1 | – | 1 | 4 |
| ||
| 2012 | Hommage | 1 | – | 1 | 19 |
|
| |
| 2012 | Combats ordinaires | 1 | 162 | 2 | 20 |
|
| |
| 2019 | Bonheur indigo | 5 [20] | – | 6 | 40 | |||
| 2022 | La marfée | – | – | 20 | 69 | |||
Re-releases
| Year | Single | Charts | Certification | Album | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| FRA [9] | BEL (Wa) [21] | SWI | ||||
| 1991 | "Saga Africa (ambiance secousse)" | 2 | — | — | Black & What | |
| 1991 | "Don't Stay (Far Away Baby)" | 39 | — | — | ||
| 2000 | "Simon Papa Tara" | 12 | 32 | — | Yannick Noah | |
| 2001 | "La voix des sages (No More Fighting)" | 3 | 16 | — | ||
| 2002 | "Les lionnes" | 16 | — | — | ||
| 2002 | "Jamafrica" | 52 | — | — | ||
| 2003 | "Si tu savais" | 22 | 31 | 77 | Pokhara | |
| 2004 | "Ose" | 13 | 9 | 41 | ||
| 2004 | "Mon Eldorado (du soleil...)" | 19 | 23 | 59 | ||
| 2005 | "Métis(se)" (withDisiz La Peste) | 11 | 22 | 41 | Métisse(s) | |
| 2006 | "Donne-moi une vie" | 8 | 5 | 46 | Charango | |
| 2007 | "Aux arbres citoyens" | 1 | 2 | 41 | ||
| 2007 | "Destination ailleurs" | 8 | 19 | — | ||
| 2011 | "Ça me regarde" | 80 | 34 | — | Frontières | |
| 2012 | "Redemption Song" | 48 | 33 | — | Hommage | |
| 2014 | "On court" | 47 | 42 | — | Combats ordinaires | |
| 2019 | "Viens" | — | 17 | — | Bonheur indigo | |
| 2022 | "La vie c'est maintenant" | — | 49 | — | La marfée | |
| Awards and achievements | ||
|---|---|---|
| Preceded by | French Sportsperson of the Year 1983 | Succeeded by |
| Preceded by | Stefan Edberg Sportsmanship Award 1986 | Succeeded by |
| International | |
|---|---|
| National | |
| Artists | |
| People | |
| Other | |
