# Todd Witsken

Todd Witsken (November 4, 1963 – May 25, 1998) was an American tennis player.

## Biography

He was one of eight children born to Marilyn and Henry Witsken in Carmel, Indiana.
He specialized in playing doubles and began his professional career in 1985. He was a three-time all-American at the University of Southern California. His career-high rankings were world No. 43 in singles and No. 4 in doubles.
His biggest singles win was at the 1986 US Open, where he beat five-time US Open champion, Jimmy Connors, 6–2, 6–4, 7–5, in their third-round match. It was the first time since 1973 that Connors had failed to reach the US Open semifinals.
In 1989, Witsken lost to Greg Holmes 7–5, 4–6, 6–7$^{(5)}$, 6–4, 12–14, in the second round at Wimbledon, a match that was the longest men's singles match at Wimbledon, timed at 5 hours 28 minutes, until the record-breaking Isner-Mahut match in 2010.
Witsken retired just before the 1993 US Open and died from brain cancer on May 25, 1998, at the age of 34.

## Personal life

Witsken had four children. His nephew is professional tennis player Ben Shelton.

## ATP career finals

* Legend
* Grand Slam (0)
* ATP Masters Series (2)
* ATP International Series Gold (0)
* ATP Tour (10)

### Doubles: 21 (12 wins, 9 losses)

| Result | No. | Date | Tournament | Surface | Partner | Opponents | Score |
| Loss | 1. | Oct 1987 | San Francisco, US | Carpet (i) | Glenn Layendecker | Jim Grabb Patrick McEnroe | 2–6, 6–0, 4–6 |
| Loss | 2. | Mar 1988 | Indian Wells, US | Hard | Jorge Lozano | Boris Becker Guy Forget | 4–6, 4–6 |
| Loss | 3. | May 1988 | Charleston, US | Clay | Jorge Lozano | Pieter Aldrich Danie Visser | 6–7, 3–6 |
| Win | 1. | May 1988 | Forest Hills, US | Clay | Jorge Lozano | Pieter Aldrich Danie Visser | 6–3, 7–6 |
| Win | 2. | May 1988 | Rome, Italy | Clay | Jorge Lozano | Anders Järryd Tomáš Šmíd | 6–3, 6–3 |
| Win | 3. | Jul 1988 | Boston, US | Clay | Jorge Lozano | Bruno Orešar Jaime Yzaga | 6–2, 7–5 |
| Loss | 4. | Jul 1988 | Washington, US | Hard | Jorge Lozano | Rick Leach Jim Pugh | 3–6, 7–6, 2–6 |
| Win | 4. | Jul 1988 | Stratton Mountain, US | Hard | Jorge Lozano | Pieter Aldrich Danie Visser | 6–3, 7–6 |
| Loss | 5. | Nov 1988 | Itaparica, Brazil | Hard | Jorge Lozano | Sergio Casal Emilio Sánchez | 6–7, 6–7 |
| Win | 5. | Apr 1989 | Rio de Janeiro, Brazil | Carpet (i) | Jorge Lozano | Patrick McEnroe Tim Wilkison | 2–6, 6–4, 6–4 |
| Win | 6. | Jul 1989 | Gstaad, Switzerland | Clay | Cássio Motta | Petr Korda Milan Šrejber | 6–4, 6–3 |
| Win | 7. | Aug 1989 | Montreal, Canada | Hard | Kelly Evernden | Charles Beckman Shelby Cannon | 6–3, 6–3 |
| Win | 8. | Nov 1989 | Stockholm, Sweden | Carpet (i) | Jorge Lozano | Rick Leach Jim Pugh | 6–3, 5–7, 6–3 |
| Loss | 6. | Nov 1989 | Itaparica, Brazil | Hard | Jorge Lozano | Rick Leach Jim Pugh | 2–6, 6–7 |
| Loss | 7. | Jul 1990 | Washington, USA | Hard | Jorge Lozano | Grant Connell Glenn Michibata | 3–6, 7–6, 2–6 |
| Loss | 8. | Oct 1990 | Vienna, Austria | Carpet (i) | Jorge Lozano | Udo Riglewski Michael Stich | 4–6, 4–6 |
| Win | 9. | Apr 1991 | Hong Kong, UK | Hard | Patrick Galbraith | Glenn Michibata Robert Van't Hof | 6–2, 6–4 |
| Win | 10. | May 1991 | Munich, Germany | Clay | Patrick Galbraith | Anders Järryd Danie Visser | 7–5, 6–4 |
| Win | 11. | Jul 1991 | Montreal, Canada | Hard | Patrick Galbraith | Grant Connell Glenn Michibata | 6–4, 3–6, 6–1 |
| Win | 12. | Mar 1992 | Key Biscayne, US | Hard | Ken Flach | Kent Kinnear Sven Salumaa | 6–4, 6–3 |
| Loss | 9. | Jul 1992 | Washington, USA | Hard | Ken Flach | Bret Garnett Jared Palmer | 2–6, 3–6 |

### Singles: 1 (1 runner-up)

| Result | No. | Date | Tournament | Surface | Opponent | Score |
| Loss | 1. | Feb 1990 | San Francisco, US | Hard (i) | Andre Agassi | 1–6, 3–6 |