The origin of the most iconic and boring celebration in tennis

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It is described as one of the greatest points in tennis history – a 39-year-old Jimmy Connors putting up lob after lob as he tries to stay alive against Dutchman Paul Haarhuis at the 1991 US Open.

Haarhuis is pushing Connors side to side, running the eight-time singles champion off his feet.

Alex de Minaur, Ash Barty, Lleyton Hewitt and Jimmy Connors doing the fist pump.

Connors, the magnetic and eccentric American, had already amazed the home crowd with a run into the fourth round after receiving a wildcard to get into the tournament he’d last won almost a decade earlier.

After being pushed to the limit, Connors was finally able to get a forehand in to regulate the point, which was getting away from him. Haarhuis came to the net and sent the ball back, before Connors slipped a last-gasp passing forehand past Haarhuis to win the point.

And then, there it was, the iconic Connors fist pump as he went ballistic in front of an amazed American crowd.

Connors is credited with popularising the fist pump, and in that fourth-round match there he was, deploying it to fire up the New York crowd and muster as much energy as possible from it to win the match.

The first sighting of the fist pump is a mystery in itself. When was it first used? Was Connors the first player to instinctively raise his hand in a clenched fist in triumph? It’s hard to say. There’s probably a reference to the gesture in a gladiatorial fresco somewhere from ancient Rome.

But when it comes to the modern game of tennis, Connors is the fist pump man, and now, almost every player in a tennis match throughout the world can be spotted doing it.

Whether it’s Jannik Sinner’s quiet and composed clenching of the fist, or Aryna Sabalenka’s roaring celebration when she hits a winner, the fist pump is everywhere.

The fist pump certainly isn’t the most exciting celebration in tennis, but it’s definitely the most common.

When it comes to iconic, Lleyton Hewitt’s “C’mon” is one of the all-time greats.

The gesture, known as the vicht, is a Swedish celebration where the hand is pointed back towards the player’s own face like an arrow.

Lleyton Hewitt celebrating a point in a 2005 match at the Sydney International.

Although Hewitt popularised it, the gesture itself was inspired by celebrations by Swedish players Mats Wilander and Niclas Kroon.

It became a subject of contention between Wilander and Hewitt back in the day, when Hewitt snatched up the rights to the gesture after Wilander and Kroon didn’t renew the trademark.

Kroon has claimed to have invented the gesture while playing Yahtzee with his brother as a kid, and Hewitt’s team were said to have been aware of the trademark lapse when it happened in 2007.

Often these quirky, and at times controversial, celebrations can be how players are remembered, and they’re also often borrowed from champions before them.

Thanasi Kokkinakis and Nick Kyrgios celebrate.

Take the chest bump celebration between Australians Nick Kyrgios and Thanasi Kokkinakis when they play doubles. That celebration has become synonymous with the “Special Ks”, but it is most associated with twins Mike and Bob Bryan who deployed it during their illustrious careers, which included 16 grand slam titles, 39 Masters 1000 titles and 10 seasons where they finished as doubles world No.1.

Serbia’s Novak Djokovic will have no issue being remembered after winning 24 grand slam singles titles, but it will also be difficult to forget his heart gesture to all four sides of the stadium after victory. And even though that’s uniquely Djokovic, it’s reminiscent of when Andre Agassi would blow kisses to all four corners of the court after a win.

Novak Djokovic rips his shirt open after defeating Carlos Alcaraz at the 2023 Cincinnati Open.

And then, there are the one (or two) off celebrations that stick in the minds of fans because of how whacky and wonderful they are.

Such as when Djokovic ripped his shirt off after defeating Carlos Alcaraz in the final of the 2023 Cincinnati Open, or when Jim Courier went for a dip in Melbourne’s Yarra River after his coach flagged the potential celebration before the 1992 Australian Open.

Courier won the title in 1992 and 1993, and, staying true to his word, went head first into the river.

Nowadays, tennis is a little more reserved compared to the wild celebrations of the 1980s and ’90s, but there’s always room for some innovative celebrations and, of course, a fist pump or two.