James Scott Connors (born September 2, 1952) is a retired American world No. 1 tennis player, often considered among the greatest in the history of the sport. He held the top ATP ranking for a then-record 160 consecutive weeks from 1974 to 1977 and a career total of 268 weeks.\n', '

By virtue of his long and prolific career, Connors still holds three prominent Open Era men\'s singles records: 109 titles (he is the only man to win 100), 1535 matches played, and 1256 match wins. His titles include eight majors (five US Open, two Wimbledon, one Australian Open), three year-end championships, and 17 Grand Prix Super Series. In 1974, he became the second man in the Open Era to win three majors in a calendar year, and his total career match win rate remains in the top five of the era.\n', '

Connors grew up in East St. Louis, Illinois, across the Mississippi River from St. Louis, and was raised Catholic. During his childhood he was coached and trained by his mother and grandmother. He played in his first U.S. Championship, the U.S. boys\' 11-and-under of 1961, when he was nine years old. Connors\' mother, Gloria, took him to Southern California to be coached by Pancho Segura, starting at age 16, in 1968. He and his brother, John "Johnny" Connors, attended St. Phillip\'s grade school.\n', '

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