Ryan Harrison facts for kids

Quick facts for kids
Ryan Harrison

Harrison at the 2023 Washington Open
Country (sports)	United States
Residence	Atlanta, U.S.
Born	(1992-05-07) May 7, 1992 (age 33) Shreveport, Louisiana, U.S.
Height	1.85 m (6 ft 1 in)
Turned pro	2007
Retired	January 2024
Plays	Right-handed (two-handed backhand)
Coach	Davide Sanguinetti
Prize money	US $4,814,670
Official website	ryanharrisontennis.com
Singles
Career record	118–159 (42.6%)
Career titles	1
Highest ranking	No. 40 (17 July 2017)
Grand Slam singles results
Australian Open	3R (2018)
French Open	2R (2013)
Wimbledon	2R (2011, 2012, 2017, 2018)
US Open	3R (2016)
Other tournaments
Olympic Games	1R (2012)
Doubles
Career record	92–83 (52.57%)
Career titles	4
Highest ranking	No. 16 (20 November 2017)
Grand Slam doubles results
Australian Open	SF (2019)
French Open	W (2017)
Wimbledon	QF (2017)
US Open	QF (2012)
Other doubles tournaments
Tour Finals	SF (2017)
Grand Slam mixed doubles results
US Open	1R (2019, 2023)
Team competitions
Davis Cup	SF (2012, 2018)

Ryan Harrison (born May 7, 1992) is an American former professional tennis player. He won one singles title and four doubles titles during his career. This includes a big win at the 2017 French Open in doubles.

Before he turned 16, Ryan was seen as a very talented player. He was one of the youngest ever to win an ATP match. He reached the top 10 in junior rankings. Ryan became a top player by age 20. He later returned to the top 100 in 2016. That year, he beat several top 20 players. He also reached the third round of a Grand Slam for the first time. In 2017, he reached his highest singles ranking of No. 40. He also won his first ATP singles title that year. Ryan Harrison retired from professional tennis in January 2024 due to health issues.

About Ryan's Life

Ryan started playing tennis when he was just two years old. His father, Pat Harrison, coached him. Pat also played tennis professionally for a short time. Ryan went to the IMG Academy and was coached by the USTA.

Ryan has a younger brother named Christian. Christian also plays tennis professionally. The brothers played doubles together at the 2012 US Open. They made it all the way to the quarterfinals. Ryan also has a younger sister, Madison, who played tennis at Mississippi State University.

On March 5, 2016, Ryan Harrison got engaged to Lauren McHale. She is the sister of another tennis player, Christina McHale. Ryan and Lauren got married in April 2017 in Austin, Texas.

Junior Tennis Career

As a junior player, Ryan Harrison had a good record. He won 60 matches and lost 24 in singles. He reached No. 7 in the world for junior players in April 2008.

Junior Grand Slam Results

• Australian Open: Semifinals (2008)
• French Open: Third Round (2008)
• Wimbledon: Second Round (2008)
• US Open: Third Round (2008)

Before playing on the junior circuit, Ryan trained at the John Newcombe Tennis Ranch. His first junior Grand Slam was the 2007 US Open. He was 15 years old and played as a wildcard. He lost in the first round. At the 2008 Australian Open, he was seeded fourth. He lost in the semifinals. Ryan played in three more junior Grand Slams in 2008. He lost in the third round of the 2008 French Open. He lost in the second round at 2008 Wimbledon. He also lost in the third round at the 2008 US Open. His younger brother Christian also played in the 2008 US Open. Even though Ryan was only 16, the 2008 US Open was his last junior Grand Slam.

Professional Tennis Journey

Early Years (2007–2008)

Ryan Harrison is known for being one of the youngest players to win an ATP match. He was the third youngest since 1990, after Richard Gasquet and Rafael Nadal. He beat Pablo Cuevas at the 2008 U.S. Men's Clay Court Championships. Ryan was only 15 years old and ranked around No. 1000. This made him the youngest American to achieve this since Michael Chang. Ryan mostly played in smaller tournaments called Futures events. This helped him improve his ranking. He finished 2008 ranked No. 742 in singles.

2009 Season

Ryan did not play any tournaments until April 2009. He reached the quarterfinals of a Challenger tournament in Sarasota. In June, he won his first Futures title. He beat another young player, Filip Krajinović. Ryan's ranking went up to No. 371. He then reached the semifinals of a Challenger tournament in Sacramento. He finished 2009 ranked No. 364.

2010 Season

Ryan played in a special playoff to get a wildcard for the 2010 Australian Open. He won his matches and got into the main draw. He lost in the first round to Janko Tipsarević. Ryan then started playing in bigger tournaments. He received wildcards for the 2010 SAP Open and the 2010 BNP Paribas Open. At the BNP Paribas Open, he beat Taylor Dent. He then lost to the eventual winner, Ivan Ljubičić.

Ryan qualified for the US Open. He beat the 15th seed, Ivan Ljubičić, in the first round. This was his first win in a Grand Slam tournament. In the second round, he lost a tough five-set match to Sergey Stakhovsky. Ryan had a good fall season on the Challenger tour. He reached a final in Tiburon. He finished the year ranked No. 173.

Breaking into the Top 100 (2011)

Ryan won the 2011 Honolulu Challenger. He also won the doubles title there. At the 2011 BNP Paribas Open in Indian Wells, California, he beat Guillermo García López. In the third round, he defeated Milos Raonic. This set up a match against world No. 3 Roger Federer, which Ryan lost.

At the 2011 French Open, Ryan lost to Robin Söderling. But he managed to win one set against the top player. He then played at Wimbledon. He won his first-round match against Ivan Dodig. In the second round, he lost a five-set match to David Ferrer.

With his partner Matthew Ebden, Ryan won the doubles tournament at the 2011 Campbell's Hall of Fame Tennis Championships in July. Ryan reached his first ATP semifinal in Atlanta. This performance helped him enter the top 100 for the first time, at No. 94. He reached another semifinal in Los Angeles the next week. By the end of the year, he was ranked No. 79 in the world.

2012 Season

At the 2012 Australian Open, Ryan lost in the first round to world No. 4 Andy Murray. He won the first set in that match. In February, Ryan reached his third semifinal in San Jose. He lost to the eventual winner, Milos Raonic.

Ryan played in the Davis Cup for the U.S. team. He lost his matches against France. However, the U.S. team still made it to the semifinals. Ryan also played in the 2012 Summer Olympics in singles. He lost in the first round.

2013 Season

Ryan started 2013 well with a win over John Isner in Sydney. At the 2013 Australian Open, he beat Santiago Giraldo. He then lost to Novak Djokovic. Ryan won his first match at the 2013 French Open. He reached the semifinals of the BB&T Atlanta Open. He lost to Kevin Anderson.

2014 Season

2014 was a tough year for Ryan. He lost in the first round of many tournaments. He also struggled in Challenger events. His ranking dropped to No. 190.

2015 Season

Ryan won the Happy Valley Challenger. He beat Marcos Baghdatis in the final. At the 2015 Abierto Mexicano Telcel in Acapulco, he had a great run. He beat his first top-ten opponent, Grigor Dimitrov. He continued to win, reaching the semifinals. He eventually lost to David Ferrer. This strong performance boosted his ranking from No. 169 to No. 109.

Comeback in 2016

Ryan started his comeback in the summer of 2016. He reached the round of 16 at the 2016 Citi Open and the 2016 Rogers Cup. At the US Open, he had his biggest win. He beat 5th-seeded Milos Raonic. This helped him reach the third round of a Grand Slam for the first time. He returned to the Top 100 after this.

Ryan played for the San Diego Aviators in World Team Tennis. He was named the 2016 Male Most Valuable Player. He had the best winning percentage in men's singles. The Aviators won the championship that year.

First ATP Title and French Open Doubles Win (2017)

Ryan won his first match at the Australian Open. This was the first time he reached the second round there since 2013. He then lost to Tomáš Berdych.

Ryan won his fourth Challenger title at the 2017 RBC Tennis Championships of Dallas. In his next tournament, the Memphis Open, he reached both the singles and doubles finals. This was his first singles final ever. He won the singles final against Nikoloz Basilashvili. This was his first career ATP title. He did not lose a single set in these two tournaments.

At the French Open, Ryan teamed up with Michael Venus. They won the men's doubles title together. This was a huge achievement! Ryan reached his highest singles ranking of No. 40 on July 17, 2017. Two weeks later, he reached his second final of 2017 at the 2017 BB&T Atlanta Open. He lost to John Isner.

2018 Season

Ryan started 2018 by reaching the final of the 2018 Brisbane International. He lost to Nick Kyrgios. He also reached the final of the 2018 BB&T Atlanta Open again, losing to John Isner. He also made the doubles final there with Rajeev Ram.

Return to Tour (2020–2021)

Ryan returned to the tour at the 2020 Delray Beach Open. He had been out due to surgery. He won his first match since April 2019. In 2021, he reached the doubles final at Delray Beach. He partnered with his brother Christian Harrison.

Retirement (2024)

In January 2024, Ryan Harrison announced his retirement from professional tennis. He made this decision because of ongoing health issues.

Playing Style

Ryan Harrison is known for his powerful serve. He also plays a counterpunching game from the back of the court. He has a strong forehand. His second serve is also very good, both fast and with a lot of spin.

Big Wins in Finals

Grand Slam Doubles Final: 1 Title

Outcome	Year	Championship	Surface	Partner	Opponent	Score
Winner	2017	French Open	Clay	Michael Venus	Santiago González Donald Young	7–6(7–5), 6–7(4–7), 6–3

ATP Career Finals

Singles: 4 (1 Title, 3 Runner-ups)

Result	W–L	Date	Tournament	Tier	Surface	Opponent	Score
Win	1–0	Feb 2017	Memphis Open, United States	250 Series	Hard (i)	Nikoloz Basilashvili	6–1, 6–4
Loss	1–1	Jul 2017	Atlanta Open, United States	250 Series	Hard	John Isner	6–7(6–8), 6–7(7–9)
Loss	1–2	Jan 2018	Brisbane International, Australia	250 Series	Hard	Nick Kyrgios	4–6, 2–6
Loss	1–3	Jul 2018	Atlanta Open, United States	250 Series	Hard	John Isner	7–5, 3–6, 4–6

Doubles: 7 (4 Titles, 3 Runner-ups)

Result	W–L	Date	Tournament	Tier	Surface	Partner	Opponents	Score
Win	1–0	Jul 2011	Hall of Fame Championships, United States	250 Series	Grass	Matthew Ebden	Johan Brunström Adil Shamasdin	4–6, 6–3, [10–5]
Win	2–0	Jul 2012	Atlanta Open, United States	250 Series	Hard	Matthew Ebden	Xavier Malisse Michael Russell	6–3, 3–6, [10–6]
Loss	2–1	Feb 2017	Memphis Open, United States	250 Series	Hard (i)	Steve Johnson	Brian Baker Nikola Mektić	3–6, 4–6
Win	3–1	May 2017	Estoril Open, Portugal	250 Series	Clay	Michael Venus	David Marrero Tommy Robredo	7–5, 6–2
Win	4–1	Jun 2017	French Open, France	Grand Slam	Clay	Michael Venus	Santiago González Donald Young	7–6(7–5), 6–7(4–7), 6–3
Loss	4–2	Jul 2018	Atlanta Open, United States	250 Series	Hard	Rajeev Ram	Nicholas Monroe John-Patrick Smith	6–3, 6–7(5–7), [8–10]
Loss	4–3	Jan 2021	Delray Beach Open, United States	250 Series	Hard	Christian Harrison	Ariel Behar Gonzalo Escobar	7–6(7–5), 6–7(4–7), [4–10]

Wins Over Top-10 Players

Ryan Harrison has beaten two players ranked in the top 10 during his career.

#	Player	Rank	Event	Surface	Rd	Score
2015
1.	Grigor Dimitrov	10	Acapulco, Mexico	Hard	2R	7–5, 4–6, 6–0
2016
2.	Milos Raonic	6	US Open, New York, United States	Hard	2R	6–7(4–7), 7–5, 7–5, 6–1

Images for kids

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  Ryan Harrison practicing at the French Open

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  Ryan Harrison interviewed at the Hall of Fame Tennis Championships

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  Ryan Harrison congratulated after Wimbledon win

See also

In Spanish: Ryan Harrison para niños