Jim Thomas (tennis)

Jim Thomas
Member of the Ohio House of Representatives from the 49th district
Incumbent
Assumed office January 1, 2023
Preceded by	Thomas West
Personal details
Political party	Republican

Jim Thomas (born September 24, 1974) is an American politician and former professional tennis player. His highest ATP world singles ranking was number 288, which he reached on November 2, 1998. His career high in doubles was at 29, set on August 21, 2006. He retired following the 2008 season.

Thomas was elected to the Ohio House of Representatives from the 49th district as a Republican in the 2022 Ohio House of Representatives election.

Biography

Jim Thomas

Country (sports)	United States
Residence	Canton, Ohio, United States
Born	(1974-09-24) September 24, 1974 Canton, Ohio, United States
Height	6 ft 4 in (1.93 m)
Turned pro	1996
Plays	Right-handed (single-handed backhand)
Prize money	$801,553
Singles
Career record	0–3 (at ATP Tour-level, Grand Slam-level, and in Davis Cup)
Career titles	0
Highest ranking	No. 288 (November 2, 1998)
Grand Slam singles results
Australian Open	Q2 (1998)
Wimbledon	Q2 (1998, 1999)
US Open	Q2 (1998)
Doubles
Career record	154–196 (at ATP Tour-level, Grand Slam-level, and in Davis Cup)
Career titles	6
Highest ranking	No. 29 (August 21, 2006)
Grand Slam doubles results
Australian Open	2R (2005)
French Open	2R (2002, 2007, 2008)
Wimbledon	1R (2001, 2002, 2003, 2004, 2005, 2006, 2008)
US Open	SF (2005)
Mixed doubles
Career record	1–9
Career titles	0
Grand Slam mixed doubles results
Australian Open	2R (2006)
French Open	1R (2007)
Wimbledon	1R (2001, 2002, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007)
US Open	1R (2006)

Thomas began playing tennis at age three and is the youngest of six children (four brothers, one sister). He has 16 nephews and nieces and considers his parents most inspirational people in his life. His father is a doctor and his mother is a teacher.

Favourite players he enjoyed watching while growing up were John McEnroe and Boris Becker. Jim played four years at Stanford University from 1992 to 1996 and earned a degree in American Studies before turning pro. He also earned All-American honours during his senior year and was a member of NCAA team champions in 1995–96.

Thomas is interested in national and international politics. He is involved with Victory Gallop in Bath, Ohio, an equestrian therapy organisation for at-risk children. He considers hard courts to be his favourite surface.

Thomas's career best effort at a Grand Slam was the 2005 US Open where he and Paul Goldstein made the semi-finals. He has 6 doubles ATP titles and 14 doubles Challenger titles to his name. He recorded doubles wins over Rafael Nadal, Roger Federer, Novak Djokovic, Andy Murray, Lleyton Hewitt, Marat Safin, the Bryan brothers and Pat Rafter amongst others, in his career.

ATP career finals

Doubles:13 (6–7)

Finals by surface Hard (2–6) Grass (3–0) Clay (1–1) Carpet (0–0)

Result	W–L	Date	Tournament	Surface	Partner	Opponents	Score
Loss	0–1	Nov 2000	Brighton, England	Hard (i)	Paul Goldstein	Michael Hill Jeff Tarango	3–6, 5–7
Win	1–1	Jan 2001	Auckland, New Zealand	Hard	Marius Barnard	David Adams Martín García	7–6(12–10), 6–4
Loss	1–2	Apr 2001	Houston, United States	Clay	Kevin Kim	Mahesh Bhupathi Leander Paes	6–7(4–7), 2–6
Loss	1–3	Sep 2001	Tashkent, Uzbekistan	Hard	Marius Barnard	Julien Boutter Dominik Hrbatý	4–6, 6–3, [11–13]
Win	2–3	Jul 2004	Newport, United States	Grass	Jordan Kerr	Grégory Carraz Nicolas Mahut	6–3, 6–7(5–7), 6–3
Win	3–3	Jul 2004	Indianapolis, United States	Hard	Jordan Kerr	Wayne Black Kevin Ullyett	6–7(7–9), 7–6(7–3), 6–3
Loss	3–4	Jan 2005	Delray Beach, United States	Hard	Jordan Kerr	Simon Aspelin Todd Perry	3–6, 3–6
Win	4–4	Jul 2005	Newport, United States	Grass	Jordan Kerr	Graydon Oliver Travis Parrott	7–6(7–5), 7–6(7–5)
Loss	4–5	Feb 2006	San Jose, United States	Hard (i)	Paul Goldstein	Jonas Björkman John McEnroe	6–7(2–7), 6–4, [7–10]
Win	5–5	May 2006	Pörtschach, Austria	Clay	Paul Hanley	Oliver Marach Cyril Suk	6–3, 4–6, [10–5]
Loss	5–6	Jul 2006	Indianapolis, United States	Hard	Paul Goldstein	Bobby Reynolds Andy Roddick	4–6, 4–6
Loss	6–6	Oct 2006	Tokyo, Japan	Hard	Paul Goldstein	Ashley Fisher Tripp Phillips	2–6, 5–7
Win	7–6	Jul 2007	Newport, United States	Grass	Jordan Kerr	Nathan Healey Igor Kunitsyn	6–3, 7–5

External links

• Jim Thomas at the Association of Tennis Professionals
• Jim Thomas at the International Tennis Federation
• Official Jim Thomas Website: http://jimthomas11.tripod.com
• Page at the Ohio State House