Yannick Noah

Yannick Noah

Yannick Noah (1979 Davis Cup)
Country (sports)	France
Born	(1960-05-18) 18 May 1960 Sedan, Ardennes, France
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
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
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: [janik nɔa]; born 18 May 1960) is a French former professional tennis player and singer, who was inducted into the International Tennis Hall of Fame in 2005. Noah won the French Open in 1983, and is currently the captain of both France's Davis Cup and Billie 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 the world 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 former NBA player Joakim Noah.

Early life

Born in Sedan, in the north of France in 1960, Yannick Noah is biracial. His late father was Cameroonian footballer, 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 by Arthur Ashe and Charlie Pasarell. He soon showed an amazing talent that eventually brought him to the French Tennis Federation's training center in Nice in 1971.

Tennis career

Noah turned professional in 1977 and won his first pro title on the Italian Spring Satellite in 1977 and his first top-level singles title in 1978 in Manila. He became France's most prominent tennis hero in 1983, becoming the first Frenchman in 37 years to win the French Open, one of the four Grand Slam singles events. He dropped only one set during the two-week-long tournament, and defeated the defending champion, Sweden's Mats Wilander, in straight sets in the final, 6–2, 7–5, 7–6. 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 friend Henri Leconte). He was also the men's doubles runner-up at the 1985 U.S. Open (with Leconte), and the 1987 French Open (with compatriot Guy 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 the ATP Sportsmanship Award, as voted for by other ATP players. He reached the quarter-final stage or better on 10 occasions at Grand Slam level. He notably admitted using marijuana prior to matches in 1981, saying that amphetamines were the real problem in tennis as they were performance-enhancing drugs.

In 1992, Noah received the Legion of Honour medal. Noah was awarded the Philippe Chatrier Award (the ITF's highest accolade) in 2005 and was inducted into the International Tennis Hall of Fame that same year. He remains France's highest male ranked player since the introduction of rankings in 1973. Noah played on France'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 the Davis Cup final, where they were defeated 4–1 by the United States.

Davis Cup/Fed Cup captain success

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. This feat was repeated in 1996, when Noah coached the French team to defeat Sweden 3–2 in the final held in Malmö. In 2017, Noah added a third Davis Cup win for France under his guidance as captain, defeating Belgium in the final in Lille. In 1997, he also captained France's Fed Cup team to its first ever win of that competition when they defeated the Dutch in the final.

Grand Slam singles performance timeline

Key

W

F

SF

QF

#R

RR

Q#

DNQ

A

NH

(W) winner; (F) finalist; (SF) semifinalist; (QF) quarterfinalist; (#R) rounds 4, 3, 2, 1; (RR) round-robin stage; (Q#) qualification round; (DNQ) did not qualify; (A) absent; (NH) not held; (SR) strike rate (events won / competed); (W–L) win–loss record.

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

Grand Slam finals

Singles: 1 (1–0)

Result	Year	Championship	Surface	Opponent	Score
Win	1983	French Open	Clay	Mats Wilander	6–2, 7–5, 7–6(7–3)

Doubles: 3 (1–2)

Result	Year	Championship	Surface	Partner	Opponents	Score
Win	1984	French Open	Clay	Henri Leconte	Pavel Složil Tomáš Šmíd	6–4, 2–6, 3–6, 6–3, 6–2
Loss	1985	US Open	Hard	Henri Leconte	Ken Flach Robert Seguso	7–6(7–5), 6–7(1–7), 6–7(6–8), 0–6
Loss	1987	French Open	Clay	Guy Forget	Anders Järryd Robert Seguso	7–6(7–5), 7–6(7–2), 3–6, 4–6, 2–6

Career finals

Singles (23 titles, 13 runners-up)

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	6–3, 2–6, 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

Doubles (16 titles, 9 runners-up)

Result	No.	Year	Tournament	Surface	Partner	Opponents	Score
Loss	1.	1978	Calcutta, India	Clay	Gilles Moretton	Sashi Menon Sherwood Stewart	6–7, 4–6
Win	1.	1981	Nice, France	Clay	Pascal Portes	Chris Lewis Pavel Složil	4–6, 6–3, 6–4
Win	2.	1981	Paris, France	Hard (i)	Ilie Năstase	Andrew Jarrett Jonathan Smith	6–4, 6–4
Win	3.	1982	Nice, France	Clay	Henri Leconte	Paul McNamee Balázs Taróczy	5–7, 6–4, 6–3
Win	4.	1982	Basel, Switzerland	Hard (i)	Henri Leconte	Fritz Buehning Pavel Složil	6–2, 6–2
Loss	2.	1982	Toulouse, France	Hard (i)	Jean-Louis Haillet	Pavel Složil Tomáš Šmíd	4–6, 4–6
Loss	3.	1983	Monte Carlo, Monaco	Clay	Henri Leconte	Heinz Günthardt Balázs Taróczy	2–6, 4–6
Loss	4.	1984	Philadelphia, U.S.	Carpet	Henri Leconte	Peter Fleming John McEnroe	2–6, 3–6
Win	5.	1984	French Open, Paris	Clay	Henri Leconte	Pavel Složil Tomáš Šmíd	6–4, 2–6, 3–6, 6–3, 6–2
Win	6.	1985	Chicago, U.S.	Carpet	Johan Kriek	Ken Flach Robert Seguso	3–6, 4–6, 7–5, 6–1, 6–4
Loss	5.	1985	U.S. Open, New York	Hard	Henri Leconte	Ken Flach Robert Seguso	7–6, 6–7, 6–7, 0–6
Loss	6.	1986	La Quinta, U.S.	Hard	Sherwood Stewart	Guy Forget Peter Fleming	4–6, 3–6
Win	7.	1986	Monte Carlo, Monaco	Clay	Guy Forget	Joakim Nyström Mats Wilander	6–4, 3–6, 6–4
Win	8.	1986	Rome, Italy	Clay	Guy Forget	Mark Edmondson Sherwood Stewart	7–6, 6–2
Win	9.	1986	Basel, Switzerland	Hard (i)	Guy Forget	Jan Gunnarsson Tomáš Šmíd	7–6, 6–4
Loss	7.	1986	Masters Doubles, London	Carpet	Guy Forget	Stefan Edberg Anders Järryd	3–6, 6–7, 3–6
Win	10.	1987	Lyon, France	Carpet	Guy Forget	Kelly Jones David Pate	4–6, 6–3, 6–4
Win	11.	1987	Indian Wells, U.S.	Hard	Guy Forget	Boris Becker Eric Jelen	6–4, 7–6
Win	12.	1987	Forest Hills, U.S.	Clay	Guy Forget	Gary Donnelly Peter Fleming	4–6, 6–4, 6–1
Win	13.	1987	Rome, Italy	Clay	Guy Forget	Miloslav Mečíř Tomáš Šmíd	6–2, 6–7, 6–3
Loss	8.	1987	French Open, Paris	Clay	Guy Forget	Anders Järryd Robert Seguso	7–6, 7–6, 3–6, 4–6, 2–6
Win	14.	1987	London/Queen's Club, England	Grass	Guy Forget	Rick Leach Tim Pawsat	6–4, 6–4
Win	15.	1988	Orlando, U.S.	Hard	Guy Forget	Sherwood Stewart Kim Warwick	6–4, 6–4
Win	16.	1990	Nice, France	Clay	Alberto Mancini	Marcelo Filippini Horst Skoff	6–4, 7–6
Loss	9.	1990	Bordeaux, France	Clay	Mansour Bahrami	Tomás Carbonell Libor Pimek	3–6, 7–6, 2–6

Music career

Yannick Noah
Noah performing live at a concert in 2015
Background information
Genres	Pop
Occupation	Singer
Instrument	Vocals
Years active	1991 – present
Website	www.yannicknoah.com

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 album Black & 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 album Urban Tribu with the single "Get on Back", followed by the album Zam 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 album Yannick Noah, written by Erick Benzi and Robert Goldman. The single "Simon Papa Tara" was written by Robert Goldman. The album also contained songs by Bob Marley and the group Téléphone. In 2005, Noah performed at Bob Geldof's Live 8 concert, a fundraiser aimed at alleviating poverty 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 celebration Fête de la Musique. In 2010, Yannick made a comeback with the release of Frontières, his eighth album, containing the single "Angela", a tribute to Angela Davis. It also contained a duet with Aṣa in "Hello". On 25 September 2010, he filled the Stade de France for an exceptional concert that was attended by close to 80,000 spectators.

Charity

Noah is active in charity work. He supports Enfants 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 the World Wide Fund for Nature (WWF).

He took part in singing with Les Enfoirés to help Les Restos du Cœur. He also took part in telethons 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, to Sol En Si, an AIDS charity.

Noah has taken a particular interest in UN-SDG6, supporting the delivery of clean water through What Water ASBL. He has supported the cause on numerous occasions, including hosting an exhibition at his resort Village Noah in Yaoundé, Cameroon

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 of Ifop and Le Journal du Dimanche in 2007.

Personal life

Noah first attended school in Yaounde (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 with Sedan 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 to Cécilia 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 model Heather 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 marrie French TV producer Isabelle Camus, with whom he has a son named Joalukas (born 2004). He owns a restaurant in Saint Barthélemy in the French West Indies called Do 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.

Discography

Yannick Noah, Rennes, 22 January 2011

Albums

Year	Album	Charts				Notes	Sales	Certifications
		FR	BEL (Fl)	BEL (Wa)	SWI
1991	Black & What					Includes Saga Africa
1993	Urban Tribu
1998	Zaam Zam
2000	Yannick Noah	1	–	2	26			BEL: Platinum FRA: Diamond SWI: Gold
2002	Yannick Noah	16	–	40	82
2003	Pokhara	1	–	2	23			BEL: Gold FRA: 3× Platinum SWI: Gold
2003	Métisse(s)	2	–	4	28			BEL: Gold FRA: Platinum
2006	Charango	1	–	1	7	(including single Aux arbres citoyens)		BEL: Platinum SWI: Gold
2010	Frontières	1	–	1	4		France: 585,000	BEL: Platinum FRA: Diamond
2012	Hommage	1	–	1	19		France: 120,000	FRA: Platinum
2012	Combats ordinaires	1	162	2	20		France: 115,000	FRA: Platinum
2019	Bonheur indigo	5	–	6	40
2022	La marfée	–	–	20	69

Re-releases

• 2004: Yannick Noah / Live (2 CDs – FR #134)
• 2010: Charango / Pokhara (2 Cds – FR #103)

Singles

Year	Single	Charts			Certification	Album
		FRA	BEL (Wa)	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)" (with Disiz 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

External links

• Official website
• Yannick Noah at the Association of Tennis Professionals
• Yannick Noah at the International Tennis Federation
• Yannick Noah at the Davis Cup
• Yannick Noah at Wimbledon
• Yannick Noah at the International Tennis Hall of Fame
• Biography as pop musician at the Wayback Machine (archived 12 April 2006), from Radio France Internationale