Sport: Tennis
Born: January 26, 1977
Town: New Vernon, New Jersey
Justin Jeremy Gimelstob was born January 26, 1977 in Livingston and grew up in the wealthy New Vernon section of Harding Township, NJ. Justin began playing competitive tennis at the age of 8. Always big for his age, he would one day tower over opponents as he grew to 6’5″.
By age 12, Justin was nationally ranked, and he was the #1 player in his age group at 12, 14, 16 and 18. He attended Newark Academy in Livingston and led the tennis team to an undefeated season and state championship in 1993.
Justin graduated in 1995 and accepted a scholarship to UCLA, following in the footsteps of other Garden State court luminaries Peter Fleming and Fritz Buehning. That summer, Justin made the US Open draw as a wild card and beat David Prinosil, who was ranked #65 in the world. Justin wasn’t even ranked in the Top 1000 at the time.
Justin made All-American as a freshman and had a 4.0 GPA. After winning the NCAA doubles title and leading the Bruins to a #2 national ranking, he decided to leave school and join the pro tennis tour. He next made headlines at Wimbledon in 1997 when he beat Gustavo Kuerten, the 12th-ranked player in the world. Later that summer, he entered a tournament held on the UCLA campus and trounced Andre Agassi.
As one of the few Jewish players in pro tennis, Justin was proud of his role-model status, but usually joked when asked about anti-Semitism in the sport. When asked specifically about his treatment during the French Open, he told a Daily News reporter, “They’re so impolite and rude in general, you don’t know if they think I’m Jewish or whether I’m just another American tourist.”
Justin lacked the all-around game to be a consistent winner in singles. He never did crack the Top 50. But he proved to be a superb doubles player, winning a dozen tournaments and appearing for the US Davis Cup squad in 1998 and 2001.
Back problems forced him to retire from the tour in 2007, but he continued to play World Team Tennis and also worked as a commentator for The Tennis Channel. A go-to guy for quotes throughout his playing career, Justin was a popular guest on sports talk radio shows, but also was criticized for his occasional off-color candor. He served on the board of directors for the ATP and was a vocal advocate for the players, but resigned in 2019 after a public altercation in Los Angeles.