Q&a / Former tennis world No 1 Jim Courier talks winning grand slams and working with Rolex

Over the years, Rolex has regularly added tennis players to its roster of testimonees, the designation it bestows upon its ambassadors. And boy, do they know how to pick them. Both this year’s Roland-Garros men’s singles and women’s singles winners – Spanish superstar Carlos Alcaraz and Polish clay specialist Iga Swiatek – are Rolex testimonees, after being talent-spotted early in their careers.

In recent years, the brand’s association with the sport’s most iconic tournaments has also deepened. Closely linked with Wimbledon since the 1970s, Rolex became the official timekeeper at the Australian Open in 2008. Just before the pandemic it completed the set, becoming the exclusive partner of the US Open in 2018 and Roland-Garros in 2019, the French Open becoming the final piece of the puzzle that incontrovertibly associated the watchmaker with all four grand slam tournaments.

“You just know that if you see that green clock in the corner [of the court] that you’re in the right place,” said former grand slam champion Jim Courier when we spoke to him at Roland-Garros. Courier, also a Rolex testimonee, greeted us with a flash of his trademark winning smile and an easy charm when we sat down to talk in the Rolex hospitality suite, just above the baseline of the tournament’s iconic Court Philippe-Chatrier.

Before he headed back to the commentary booth, we spoke with the former French Open favourite about winning, watchmaking and the pursuit of excellence.

Back in 1991 you were down there on Philippe-Chatrier, facing your former roommate Andre Agassi in the final, knowing your life would change forever if you won and became a grand slam winner. What was your mindset during that famous game?

Coming into Roland-Garros, I gave myself a chance to win the tournament. I was feeling good about my physique, feeling good about my game. What I didn’t know was how I would feel in the later stages of a tournament, playing in a situation I’d never been in. And that’s the challenge for players when they play in a final for the first time – how do you manage the moment?

It was difficult because I wanted it to feel like any other match. But when I got out on the court, it felt so different because I realised I was playing in a life-changing moment. There are many good players who get to finals of majors but never win one in their career. I knew that if I won that match, my life would never be the same. The first set went by in a hurry; I was very much living an out-of-body experience.

But then I settled in, was able to regroup and able to find my way to the finish line. But that is one of the most fascinating parts of tennis for me: how do people react to first-time situations? How do they manage the moment? The players that can keep their head and control their emotions at the critical moments are the ones that lift these trophies. They’re the ones who can overcome the moment and be normal in an abnormal moment.