A Brief History of Chang
compiled by Yuan-Kwan Chan

February 22, 1972: Born in Hoboken, NJ

1978: Picks up racquet for first time.

1984: Wins first national title, the USTA Junior Hardcourt Singles.

1987: Wins USTA Boys 18's Hardcourts. Becomes youngest (at the time) winner of the USTA Boys 18's Nationals.

February 1988: As 10th grader in Placentia, California, passes the GED and drops out of school. Turns pro at 16 after receiving endorsements from Reebok and Prince.

October 1988: Wins first pro tournament, the Transamerica Open, beating Johan Kriek in final. Ranking rises to 28. Named ATP Newcomer of the Year (Note: This is incorrect, the ATP was not in existence until 1990) and Tennis Magazine Rookie of the Year

June 5, 1989: Upsets #1 ranked Ivan Lendl at the French Open.

June 11, 1989: Defeats #3 ranked Stefan Edberg in final, becoming the youngest Grand Slam champion at 17 years, 3 months old, breaking the mark previously set by Boris Becker. Ranking rises to #6.

October 1990: Joins U.S. Davis Cup Team in semis against Austria. With match score tied 2-2, and down 2 sets to 1, darkness halts play between Chang and Horst Skoff. The next day, Chang wins in 5 sets, sending the U.S. to the finals.

December 1990: In Davis Cup finals against Australia, helps U.S. win for first time in 8 years.

September 1991: Ranked #28, begins comeback to top 10 with 5- set triumph over John McEnroe in U.S. Open third round. Older brother Carl takes over as official coach.

July 1992: Represents U.S. in Barcelona, Olympics.

September 1992: Reaches U.S. Open semifinals as #4 in the world, highest ranking to date (Note: Not anymore!!!). Loses to Edberg in longest match in Open history, five sets, five hours, 26 minutes.

1993: Begins his Asian invasion, winning 4 of 5 tournaments on the continent. End of year, is elected IBM/ATP Tour Charities chair.

1994: Wins 6 tournaments: Jakarta, Philadelphia, Hong Kong, Atlanta, Cincinnati, and Beijing.

February 1995: Named one of five USA Today Weekend "Most Caring Athletes."

June 1995: Reaches finals in French Open. Loses to Thomas Muster.

Nov. 1995: Reaches his second major final of the year, the ATP World Championships, where he loses to Becker. En route, he defeats Pete Sampras, Jim Courier, and Muster.

January 1996: Reaches third Slam final, Australian Open, losing again to Becker. Beats Agassi in straight sets in semis.

February 1996: Plays on Davis Cup team for the first time since 1990. Helps U.S. trounce Mexico.