List of nicknames used in tennis

This is a list of common nicknames for notable professional tennis players.

• "A-Rod" = Andy Roddick ^[1]
• "Baron von Slam" = Boris Becker
• "The Barcelona Bumblebee" = Arantxa Sánchez Vicario
• "Le basque bondissant" (French for "The Leaping Basque") = Jean Borotra
• "Big Bill" = William Tilden, Jr.
• "Big Pancho" = Pancho Gonzales
• "Boom Boom" = Boris Becker ^[2]
• "Butch" = Earl Buchholz
• "Can't-miss-Swiss" = Martina Hingis ^[3]
• "Chino" (Spanish word for "Chinese") = Marcelo Ríos
• "The Crocodile" = René Lacoste
• "DelPo" = Juan Martin Del Potro
• "Djoker" = Novak Djokovic
• "Dreddy" = Dustin Brown
• "El gato" = Miloslav Mecir
• "Fat Dave" = David Nalbandian ^[4]
• "FedEx" = Roger Federer ^[5]
• "The Four Musketeers" =
  • Jean Borotra
  • Jacques Brugnon
  • Henri Cochet
  • René Lacoste
• "Fräulein Forehand" = Steffi Graf
• "Gorgeous Gussie" = Gertrude Moran ^[6]
• "Guga" = Gustavo Kuerten
• "Ivan the Terrible" = Ivan Lendl
• "Indian Express" = Mahesh Bhupathi and Leander Paes (Doubles)
• "Handsome Eight" =
  • Pierre Barthes
  • Butch Buchholz
  • Cliff Drysdale
  • John Newcombe
  • Nikola Pilić
  • Dennis Ralston
  • Tony Roche
  • Roger Taylor
• "Ice Borg" or "Ice Man" = Björn Borg ^[7]
• "Ice Maiden" = Chris Evert ^[8]
• "Juju" = Justine Henin ^[9]
• "The King of Clay" = Rafael Nadal ^[10][11][12]
• "The Las Vegas Kid" = Andre Agassi
• "The Lithuanian Lion" = Vitas Gerulaitis ^[13]
• "Little Bill" = William Johnston
• "Little Miss Poker Face" = Helen Wills Moody ^[14]
• "Little Mo" = Maureen Connolly ^[15]
• "Little Pancho" = Pancho Segura
• "Mosquito" = Juan Carlos Ferrero
• "Muhammad Ali of Tennis" = Jo-Wilfried Tsonga ^[16]
• "Le Mozart Noir" (French for "The Black Mozart") = Yannick Noah
• "Muscles" = Ken Rosewall
• "Muzza" = Andy Murray ^[17]
• "Nasty" = Ilie Năstase ^[18]
• "Original 9" =
  • Billie Jean King
  • Rosemary Casals
  • Nancy Richey
  • Peaches Bartkowicz
  • Kristy Pigeon
  • Valerie Ziegenfuss
  • Julie Heldman
  • Kerry Reid
  • Judy Tegart
• "Peanut" = Maureen Louie-Harper ^[19]
• "Peachy" = Fern Kellmeyer
• "Pico" = Juan Mónaco
• "Pistol Pete" = Pete Sampras ^[20]
• "Prime Time" = Grigor Dimitrov
• "The Punisher" = Andre Agassi ^[21]
• "Rocket Man" = Andy Roddick ^[1]
• "Rusty" = Lleyton Hewitt
• "Sliderman" = Gaël Monfils
• "Smokin' Jo Willy" = Jo-Wilfried Tsonga
• "Special Kei" = Kei Nishikori ^[22]
• "Spice Girls"^[23] =
  • Anna Kournikova
  • Martina Hingis
• "Stan the Man" = Stanislas Wawrinka
• "Stanimal" = Stanislas Wawrinka
• "Superbrat" = John McEnroe ^[24]
• "The (Swiss) Maestro" = Roger Federer
• "Tabasco" = Fernando Verdasco ^[25]
• "The Terminator" = Ivan Lendl
• "Tiger Tim" = Tim Henman ^[26]
• "Ted" = Cuthbert Tinling ^[27][28]
• "Timbo" = Tim Henman
• "Tin Man" = Tim Henman
• "Tomic the Tank Engine" = Bernard Tomic ^[29]
• "Tsunami" = Jo-Wilfried Tsonga
• "The Woodies" = Todd Woodbridge and Mark Woodforde
• "Uncle Toni" = Antonio Nadal (coach)
• "Wild Thing" = Nick Kyrgios ^[30]
• "The Wizard" = Norman Brookes
• "X-man" = Xavier Malisse

See also

• Lists of nicknames

References

1. "Andy Roddick". Association of Tennis Professionals. Archived from the original on July 15, 2006. Retrieved 2008-05-14.
2. Ian Thomsen (1997-07-02). "Boom Boom Leads German Triple Threat". International Herald Tribune. Retrieved 2008-05-14.
3. "NAVRATILOVA HEARS HINGIS' CHEERS". Miami Herald. 10 April 1997. Retrieved 28 December 2012.
4. "Wimby day 1 as it happens". BBC Sport. 23 June 2008. Retrieved 10 May 2010.
5. Jeremy Stahl (2007-05-22). "French Open – Roland Garros – Men to watch". Eurosport. Archived from the original on 2008-03-14. Retrieved 2008-05-13. After a previously disappointing claycourt season, Fed-ex won his first clay title of the spring in Hamburg.
6. "Wimbledon Memories: Gertrude 'Gorgeous Gussie' Moran". Petticoated.com. Retrieved 2009-11-19.
7. Mark Hodgkinson (2007-10-25). "Björn Borg: My life is perfect". London: Daily Telegraph. Retrieved 2008-05-13.
8. Larry Schwartz. "Evert: grit, grace and glamour". ESPN. Retrieved 2008-05-13. While the titles piled up the next few year for the "Ice Maiden", the public that had adored her started to lose interest.
9. Bierley, Stephen (2008-05-14). "Henin announces retirement from tennis". The Guardian. Retrieved 2010-05-20.
10. Harwitt, Sandra (8 June 2008). "Is Rafael Nadal the best clay-court player ever?". ESPN 2008 French Open. ESPN.com. Retrieved 6 November 2008.
11. Bodo, Peter (8 June 2008). "Endgame on Clay". Peter Bodo's tennisworld. Tennis.com. Retrieved 6 November 2008.
12. Perrotta, Tom (28 April 2008). "Nadal Appearing Unbeatable on Clay". The Sun. The New York Sun. Retrieved 6 November 2008.
13. "Read 'em and Leap". People. 1979-11-19. Retrieved 2008-05-14.
14. Fein, Paul (April 2006). "Who is the greatest female player ever?". Inside Tennis. Archived from the original (– ^{Scholar search}) on 2007-05-19. Retrieved 2007-04-26.
15. "BBC SPORT | Tennis | 1955: American tennis star 'Little Mo' to quit". BBC News. 1955-02-22. Retrieved 2010-05-20.
16. Holt, Sarah (2007-06-30). "BBC SPORT | Tennis | The Muhammad Ali of tennis". BBC News. Retrieved 2009-11-19.
17. http://www.lta.org.uk/Articles/Australian-Open-2009/Australian-Open---As-it-Happens/Australian-Open---As-it-Happens/26012010---Muzza-mania/
18. "McEnroe overruled – by scientist". BBC News. 2008-04-16. Retrieved 2008-05-14.
19. Dwight Chapin, Chronicle Senior Writer (2002-02-10). "WHERE ARE THEY NOW? / 'Peanut' Louie-Harper / This tennis nut made a name for herself on court". Sfgate.com. Retrieved 2009-11-19.
20. George Gross. "Pistol Pete, man of emotion". Slam! Sports. Retrieved 2008-05-14.
21. "The Career of Andre Agassi". igotennis.com. 2009-03-15. Retrieved 2009-06-17.
22. {{cite news|url=http://www.dailymail.co.uk/sport/tennis/article-2747185/Kei-Nishikori-mini-marvel-superstar-Asian-sport-fell-giant-Marin-Cilic-US-Open-battle-little-large.html}}
23. "Hingis and Kournikova return". CNN. 5 May 2010. Retrieved 10 May 2010.
24. Ronald Atkin (2002-06-16). "John McEnroe: The golden rage of Superbrat (retd.)". London: The Independent. Retrieved 2008-05-13.
25. "Verdasco adds spice to Heineken Open" --New Zealand Herald
26. Steve Bierley (2007-06-27). "Gutsy Henman finds the inner Tiger Tim". London: The Guardian. Retrieved 2008-07-05.
27. Tinling, Ted (1979). Love and Faults: Personalities Who Have Changed the History of Tennis. Crown. ASIN B000RQF87C.
28. Tinling, Ted (1984). Tinling. Sidgwick & Jackson. ISBN 0-283-98963-7.
29. Take a break, Tomic urged
30. "A Temper, and a Shot, to Make McEnroe Proud" --The New York Times