Oct. 7, 2003

CHAPEL HILL, N.C. - Carolina alumnus Don Johnson, one of the top doubles players on the professional tour over the past decade, has been named as the top assistant men's tennis coach at the University of North Carolina. UNC head coach Sam Paul made the announcement Tuesday. Johnson had worked with the UNC program on a volunteer coaching basis the previous five seasons.

A native of Bethlehem, Pa., Johnson is a 1990 graduate of Carolina. He played for the Tar Heels for four years under coach Allen Morris. As a senior in 1990, Johnson was named All-Atlantic Coast Conference while captaining the Tar Heel team to its first Atlantic Coast Conference title in 12 years. His degree at UNC was in economics.

Johnson was married to his wife Krista on May 21, 1995 and the couple has resided in Chapel Hill for many years. Krista Johnson is a physician at UNC Hospitals.

Johnson holds two Wimbledon championships. He won the mixed doubles championship in 2000 with Kimberly Po as the duo teamed to defeat Australia's Lelyton Hewitt and Kim Clijsters 6-2, 7-6 in the final. The duo also made the finals of the U.S. Open in mixed doubles in 1999.

In 2001, Johnson combined with countryman Jared Palmer to win the Wimbledon men's doubles title while also reaching the finals of the U.S. Open. The Wimbledon title was the first for an American doubles team since 1990. The tandem also competed in doubles for the U.S. Davis Cup team that year. In 2002, Johnson and Palmer again had an outstanding season, reaching the semifinals at Wimbledon and the Australian Open and the quarterfinals at the U.S. Open.

Altogether, Johnson was 23 ATP Tour doubles championships in his professional career which began in 1992. All 23 titles were won in a seven-year period between 1996 and 2002. He was also a doubles finalist in 12 other events during his career. Johnson won over $2.28 million dollars during his professional career. His first ATP tour doubles win came in 1996 in Mexico City with Francisco Montana. Johnson and Montana reached the quarterfinals of the French Open in 1996 and 1998 and the semfinals of the World Championships in 1998. Johnson won the 2000 World Doubles Championship while teamed with South Africa's Piet Norval.

Johnson's best season on the ATP Tour was 2001 when he won seven titles in 10 finals and recorded 52 match victories.

Donald James Johnson was born September 9, 1968. He earned the sportsmanship award at the 1986 USTA National Junior Championships. A huge fan of the Pittsburgh Steelers, Johnson's professional coaches included Sam Paul and Juan Barcelo.