David Nainkin

David Nainkin
Country (sports)	South Africa
Residence	Los Angeles, California, United States
Born	20 September 1970 (age 53); Durban, South Africa
Height	6 ft 0 in (1.83 m)
Turned pro	1992
Plays	Right-handed
Prize money	US$501,132
Singles
Career record	27–45
Career titles	0
Highest ranking	No. 132 (8 Jan 1999)
Grand Slam singles results
Australian Open	1R (1994, 1996)
Wimbledon	2R (1998)
US Open	3R (1998)
Doubles
Career record	8–20
Career titles	0
Highest ranking	No. 138 (28 Feb 1994)
Grand Slam doubles results
US Open	1R (1994)

David Nainkin (born 20 September 1970) is a former professional tennis player from South Africa.^[1]

Career

Nainkin never reached a final on the ATP Tour but made it into the semi-finals of the 1995 Nokia Open in Beijing, before losing to Michael Chang.^[2]

He had the best win of his Grand Slam career at the 1996 US Open when he upset countryman and number nine seed Wayne Ferreira 6–4, 6–4, 2–6, 7–5 in the opening round. This was despite Nainkin being ranked 215 in the world and having never previously won a Grand Slam match in five attempts.^[3] He lost in straight sets to Jonas Björkman in the second round. In the 1998 US Open he made it into the third round, his best ever showing, with wins over fellow qualifier Mark Merklein (6–7, 6–0, 6–4, 6–4 ) and French Open winner Gustavo Kuerten (2–6, 6–4, 6–3, 6–4). He was then eliminated by eventual champion Patrick Rafter 6–1, 6–1, 6–1.

The South African represented his country at the 1998 and 1999 Davis Cups.^[4]

He now works for the United States Tennis Association and coaches top American players such as Mardy Fish, Sam Querrey and Sloane Stephens. Previously, he had been the personal coach of Wayne Ferreira.^[5]

In 2020 he was the head coach for the US Olympic Tennis Team.

Challenger titles

Singles: (1)

No.	Date	Tournament	Surface	Opponent	Score
1.	1994	Seoul, South Korea	Hard	Michael Joyce	6–7, 6–3, 7–5

Doubles: (4)

No.	Date	Tournament	Surface	Partner	Opponents	Score
1.	1989	Johannesburg, South Africa	Grass	Lan Bale	Neil Broad Stefan Kruger	4–6, 6–4, 6–2
2.	1992	Perth Australia	Hard	Lan Bale	Andrew Florent Andrew McLean	3–6, 7–6, 7–5
3.	1993	Rome, Italy	Clay	Grant Stafford	Danilo Marcelino Fernando Meligeni	6–0, 6–1
4.	1993	Jakarta, Indonesia	Hard	Lan Bale	Mathias Huning Adam Malik	6–7, 7–6, 7–6