Gene Mayer (born April 11, 1956) is a former tennis player from the United States who won 14 singles titles during his career.
Mayer was born in Flushing, Queens, New York. He grew up in Wayne, New Jersey, and played tennis at Wayne Valley High School, where he went unbeaten in his two years on the tennis team. He was a double hander on both forehand and backhand.
The right-hander Mayer reached his highest ranking on the ATP Tour on October 6, 1980, when he reached the rank of World No. 4.
Mayer has been a resident of Woodmere, New York. In 2005, he was inducted into the Nassau County Sports Hall of Fame.
Gene's older brother Sandy was also a tour player. He achieved the rank of World No. 7 in 1982. They met each other in the Stockholm Open final 1981 and won 5 doubles tournaments together, including 1979 French Open.
Career finals
Singles: 26 (14-12)
Outcome | No. | Date | Championship | Surface | Opponent in the final | Score in the final |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Runner-up | 1. | 1976 | Hamilton, Bermuda | Clay | Cliff Richey | 6-7, 2-6 |
Winner | 1. | 1978 | Guadalajara, Mexico | Clay | John Newcombe | 6-3, 6-4 |
Runner-up | 2. | 1979 | Houston, U.S. | Clay | José Higueras | 3-6, 6-2, 6-7 |
Winner | 2. | 1979 | Cologne, Germany | Hard (i) | Wojtek Fibak | 6-3, 3-6, 6-1 |
Runner-up | 3. | 1979 | Stockholm, Sweden | Hard (i) | John McEnroe | 7-6, 3-6, 3-6 |
Winner | 3. | 1980 | Denver, U.S. | Carpet | Victor Amaya | 6-2, 6-2 |
Runner-up | 4. | 1980 | Rotterdam, Netherlands | Carpet | Heinz Günthardt | 2-6, 4-6 |
Winner | 4. | 1980 | Metz, France | Carpet | Gianni Ocleppo | 6-3, 6-3, 6-0 |
Winner | 5. | 1980 | Los Angeles | Hard | Brian Teacher | 6-3, 6-2 |
Runner-up | 5. | 1980 | Boston, U.S. | Clay | Eddie Dibbs | 2-6, 1-6 |
Winner | 6. | 1980 | Cleveland, U.S. | Hard | Victor Amaya | 6-2, 6-1 |
Winner | 7. | 1980 | San Francisco, U.S. | Carpet | Eliot Teltscher | 6-2, 2-6, 6-1 |
Runner-up | 6. | 1980 | Wembley, United Kingdom | Carpet | John McEnroe | 4-6, 3-6, 3-6 |
Winner | 8. | 1981 | Memphis, U.S. | Carpet | Roscoe Tanner | 6-2, 6-4 |
Winner | 9. | 1981 | Denver, U.S. | Carpet | John Sadri | 6-4, 6-4 |
Runner-up | 7. | 1981 | Rotterdam, Netherlands | Hard (i) | Jimmy Connors | 1-6, 6-2, 2-6 |
Winner | 10. | 1981 | Cleveland, U.S. | Hard | Dave Siegler | 6-1, 6-4 |
Winner | 11. | 1981 | Stockholm, Sweden | Hard (i) | Sandy Mayer | 6-4, 6-2 |
Runner-up | 8. | 1982 | Las Vegas, U.S. | Hard | Jimmy Connors | 2-5, retired |
Winner | 12. | 1982 | Munich, Germany | Clay | Peter Elter | 3-6, 6-3, 6-2, 6-1 |
Runner-up | 9. | 1982 | Sydney Indoor, Australia | Hard (i) | John McEnroe | 4-6, 1-6, 4-6 |
Runner-up | 10. | 1983 | Memphis, U.S. | Carpet | Jimmy Connors | 5-7, 0-6 |
Winner | 13. | 1983 | Rotterdam, Netherlands | Hard (i) | Guillermo Vilas | 6-1, 7-6 |
Winner | 14. | 1983 | Los Angeles | Hard | Johan Kriek | 7-6, 6-1 |
Runner-up | 11. | 1984 | Munich, Germany | Clay | Libor Pimek | 4-6, 6-4, 6-7, 4-6 |
Runner-up | 12. | 1984 | Stuttgart Outdoor, Germany | Clay | Henri Leconte | 6-7, 0-6, 6-1, 1-6 |
Doubles: 24 (15-9)
Outcome | No. | Date | Tournament | Surface | Partner | Opponents in the final | Score in the final |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Runner-up | 1. | 1976 | La Costa, U.S. | Hard | Peter Fleming | Marty Riessen Roscoe Tanner |
6-7, 6-7 |
Runner-up | 2. | 1976 | Charlotte WCT, U.S. | Carpet | Vitas Gerulaitis | John Newcombe Tony Roche |
3-6, 5-7 |
Runner-up | 3. | 1977 | Columbus, U.S. | Clay | Peter Fleming | Robert Lutz Stan Smith |
6-4, 5-7, 2-6 |
Winner | 1. | 1978 | Mexico City WCT, Mexico | Hard | Sashi Menon | Marcello Lara Raúl Ramírez |
6-3, 7-6 |
Winner | 2. | 1978 | Miami, Florida, U.S. | Carpet | Tom Gullikson | Bob Carmichael Brian Teacher |
7-6, 6-3 |
Runner-up | 4. | 1978 | Guadalajara, Mexico | Clay | Sashi Menon | Sandy Mayer Sherwood Stewart |
6-4, 6-7, 3-6 |
Winner | 3. | 1978 | San Jose, California, U.S. | Carpet | Sandy Mayer | Hank Pfister Brad Rowe |
6-3, 6-4 |
Winner | 4. | 1978 | French Open, Paris | Clay | Hank Pfister | Manuel Orantes José Higueras |
6-3, 6-2, 6-2 |
Winner | 5. | 1978 | Cincinnati, Ohio, U.S. | Clay | Raúl Ramírez | Ismail El Shafei Brian Fairlie |
6-3, 6-3 |
Winner | 6. | 1978 | Indianapolis, Indiana, U.S. | Clay | Hank Pfister | Jeff Borowiak Chris Lewis |
6-3, 6-1 |
Winner | 7. | 1979 | Rancho Mirage, California, U.S. | Hard | Sandy Mayer | Cliff Drysdale Bruce Manson |
6-4, 7-6 |
Winner | 8. | 1979 | Houston, U.S. | Clay | Sherwood Stewart | John Alexander Geoff Masters |
6-1, 5-7, 6-4 |
Winner | 9. | 1979 | French Open, Paris | Clay | Sandy Mayer | Ross Case Phil Dent |
6-4, 6-4, 6-4 |
Runner-up | 5. | 1979 | Forest Hills WCT, U.S. | Clay | Sandy Mayer | Peter Fleming John McEnroe |
7-6, 6-7, 3-6 |
Winner | 10. | 1979 | Indianapolis, Indiana, U.S. | Clay | John McEnroe | Jan Kodeš Tomáš Šmíd |
6-4, 7-6 |
Winner | 11. | 1979 | Cologne, Germany | Hard (i) | Stan Smith | Heinz Günthardt Pavel Složil |
6-3, 6-4 |
Winner | 12. | 1980 | Metz, France | Carpet | Colin Dibley | Chris Delaney Kim Warwick |
7-6, 7-5 |
Runner-up | 6. | 1980 | Las Vegas, U.S. | Hard | Wojtek Fibak | Robert Lutz Stan Smith |
2-6, 5-7 |
Winner | 13. | 1980 | Florence, Italy | Clay | Raúl Ramírez | Paolo Bertolucci Adriano Panatta |
6-1, 6-4 |
Winner | 14. | 1980 | Boston, U.S. | Clay | Sandy Mayer | Hans Gildemeister Andrés Gómez |
1-6, 6-4, 6-4 |
Runner-up | 7. | 1980 | Washington, D.C., U.S. | Clay | Sandy Mayer | Hans Gildemeister Andrés Gómez |
4-6, 5-7 |
Runner-up | 8. | 1980 | San Francisco, U.S. | Carpet | Sandy Mayer | Peter Fleming John McEnroe |
1-6, 4-6 |
Winner | 15. | 1981 | Memphis, U.S. | Carpet | Sandy Mayer | Mike Cahill Tom Gullikson |
7-6, 6-7, 7-6 |
Runner-up | 9. | 1981 | Rotterdam, Netherlands | Hard (i) | Sandy Mayer | Fritz Buehning Ferdi Taygan |
6-7, 6-1, 4-6 |