Steve Denton is a former professional tennis player for the Association of Tennis Professionals Tour.
Education
Denton attended Bishop High School in Bishop, Texas. As a prep, he won four consecutive UIL state 3A singles titles. He then attended the University of Texas at Austin, where he played tennis from 1976-1979.
He earned all-American honors in 1978.
Along with teammate Kevin Curren, he won the United States. Tennis Association amateur indoor and SWC doubles title in 1979. He completed his college career with an 85–22 singles record, which currently ranks third all-time in school history.
He also compiled a 72–18 doubles record, and a 78–27 team record. Foreign his collegiate and professional accomplishments, he was inducted into the Longhorn Hall of Honor in 2006.
Career
He is currently the head men"s tennis coach at Texas Agricultural and Mechanical University. After becoming an all-American at the University of Texas in 1978, Denton spent nine seasons playing for the Association of Tennis Professionals Tour. 12 in singles and World Number.
2 in doubles.
In 1984, his 138 miles per hour (222 km/h) serve broke the world record, which would not be broken until 13 years later. After retiring from the pros, he moved to Corpus Christi, Texas, coaching several local junior tennis teams. In 2001, he debuted his college coaching career at Texas Agricultural and Mechanical University–Corpus Christi, where he led his teams to three conference championships and a first-ever National Collegiate Athletic Association tournament appearance.
In 2006, he resigned to become the head coach at Texas Agricultural and Mechanical University.
High school and college Professional Denton was ranked as high as World Number. 12 on the Association of Tennis Professionals Rankings in singles and Number.
2 in doubles, both in 1983. Denton was known for his big serve and employed an unusual service motion which involved taking two steps forward prior to striking the ball.
Current Association of Tennis Professionals rules prohibit such a motion (or any service motion involving a running or walking start).
In 1984, Denton set a service record of 138 mph (222 km/h) that would stand for 13 years until it was broken in 1997 by Mark Philippoussis who recorded a 142 mph (229 km/h) delivery. The current record of 163 mph (262 km/h) is held by Sam Groth. He reached six singles finals, most notably the Australian Open (in 1981 and 1982) and the Cincinnati Masters (in 1982).
Singles, 2 (2 finals) Mixed Doubles, 3 (3 finals) Doubles titles (18) Singles runners-up (6) Denton made his first head coaching debut at Texas Agricultural and Mechanical–Corpus Christi in 2001.
In his five seasons there, he led the Islanders to three Southland Conference regular-season championships, two tournament championships, and the team"s first-ever National Collegiate Athletic Association Tournament appearance. He finished with a 64–48 overall record.
On August 8, 2006, Denton became the head men"s tennis coach at Texas Agricultural and Mechanical University. Coaching record.