Born in the USA
John McEnroe in Dublin for his match in the GOAL Challenge. The players used the Carrickmines grass in preparation for Wimbledon.
McEnroe reached the World No. 1 ranking in both singles and doubles. He won seven Grand Slam singles titles (3 Wimbledon & 4 US Opens) and 9 Grand Slam doubles titles.
John McEnroe in front of the Irish flag in the RDS to take on Matt Doyle in the Davis Cup.
USA won the Davis Cup in 1982. The following year Ireland qualified for the World Group for the first and only time and were drawn against the holders. The USA won the tie, 4/1.
In the photo also is Carrickmines member Sean Barron (wearing the tie). Sean sponsored the County Dublin Championships and many other tournaments. He owned and set up the Riverview Tennis Club in Clonskeagh before selling out to the David Lloyd Group.
Mikael Pernfors practising for Wimbledon at Carrickmines.
In 1988 Mikael Pernfors reached his only Grand Slam Final losing out to Ivan Lendl at the French Open after defeating Edberg, Becker and Henri Leconte on the way.
In the fourth round of the Australian Open in 1990, Pernfors faced John McEnroe when McEnroe became the first player to be disqualified under a new Code of Conduct that had recently been introduced in tennis.
McEnroe was apparently unaware that under the new rules three code violations would result in disqualification (instead of the previous four), and Pernfors won the match by default after McEnroe attempted to intimidate a lineswoman, smashed a racket, and then verbally abused the umpire.
In 1988, Pernfors won his first top-level singles title at Los Angeles, defeating Andre Agassi in the final
Pat Crowe and Roscoe Tanner conducting a coaching clinic in Carrickmines in 2003.
Tanner, best remembered for his rocket serve, lost in the Wimbledon final to Bjorn Borg in 1979 in a five-set thriller. In 1977, he won the Australian Open defeating Guillermo Villas in the final and was part of the USA team that won the Davis Cup in 1981.
Tanner was in the news in the 2000s for legal problems.
Laura Bryan on the right with Maureen Connelly (Little Mo)
Laura Bryan won her Carrickmines title in 1960 defeating June Ann Byrne in the final. She was one of the of the USA’s brightest prospects.
It was however Maureen Connolly who achieved greatness! As an 18-year-old she became the first woman ever to win a Calendar Grand slam. At 19, a horse riding accident ended her career and she died from cancer at 34 years of age.
She won nine Grand Slam Singles titles in her short career and is recognized as one of the greatest ever tennis players.
Elizabeth Ryan in action in Carrickmines
In the immediate post-war years, Elizabeth Ryan from the USA dominated the Ladies singles in Carrickmines winning five years in a row from 1919-1923.
Ryan defeated Geraldine Beamish in the final in 1920 and Hilda Wallis in 1921.
She won an incredible 26 Grand Slam titles including 12 Ladies Doubles & 7 Mixed Doubles at Wimbledon. Her Wimbledon record was eventually surpassed by Billie Jean King and subsequently by Martina Navratilova.
Elizabeth Ryan playing with the legendary Suzanne Lenglen of France on their way to winning the Wimbledon Championships. They won six Wimbledon doubles together.
Although Ryan lost all four of her appearances in the Slam Singles, she won 26 major Doubles and Mixed doubles titles. She still holds the record for the most Wimbledon wins in the Ladies Doubles (12) and in the Mixed Doubles (7).
Elizabeth Ryan is the only player to win at Carrickmines for five successive years.
Lenglen is recognised as the first female athlete to become a global sport celebrity. She became a hero after WW1 and was referred to by the French press as La Divine (The Goddess).
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