It's All Relative - Tennis Family Trivia

Tennis is a forest full of family trees. The Williams sisters remain alive in the draw, so do the Bryan twins and Dinara Safina, the sister of the 2000 US Open men’s champion Marat Safin. Meanwhile, two McEnroes are doing television commentary. At this juncture, it seems appropriate to play tennis family trivia.

Q1: This Scottish player’s brother, Jamie, is the No.1-ranked doubles player in Great Britain.

A: Andy Murray. His older brother also teamed with Jelena Jankovic to win the mixed doubles title at Wimbledon in 2007.

Q2: Name three American twins who played doubles together in a final of a Grand Slam event.

A: Mike and Bob Bryan (achieved a career Grand Slam in 2006), Luke and Murphy Jensen (1993 French Open champions), and Tim and Tom Gullickson (1983 Wimbledon runners-up)

Q3: The father of these three siblings reached the third round of Wimbledon in 1953 and 1956 and built grass courts on his avocado farm in Zimbabwe so his children could play.

A: The late Don Black’s two sons Wayne (34), Byron (38) and daughter Cara (29) have all won doubles titles at Grand Slam events. In addition, Cara and Wayne won mixed doubles titles together at the 2002 French Open and 2004 Wimbledon. Cara is competing in mixed doubles at the US Open.

Q4: This Russian brother-sister combo’s mother also coached other young Russian players such as Elena Dementieva.

A: The mother of Marat Safin and Dinara Safina (Rauza Islanova) instilled the same work ethic in other champions such as 2008 Olympic gold medalist and US Open semifinalist Dementieva. Dementieva said, “She was very tough on us and forged our sports character.”

Q5: Nine-time US Open champion (and 2008 Champions Invitational Competitor) Martina Navratilova lost to all three of these Bulgarian sisters at some point in her 31-year professional career.

A: Manuela, Katerina, and Magdalena Maleeva

Q6: Sometimes, children break from the tennis lineage. This son and grandson of Danish Davis Cup players reportedly played in the French Open junior division before founding a heavy metal band that will go on a world tour later this month.

A: Lars Ulrich, drummer for Metallica.

For more information about some of tennis’ most prominent families, visit the US Open Gallery at the USTA Billie Jean King National Tennis Center. Admission to the exhibit, “Home Court: The Family Draw,” is free