Thomas Blake, Jr. is an American professional tennis

Tennis

Tennis is a sport usually played between two players or between two teams of two players each . Each player uses a racket that is strung to strike a hollow rubber ball covered with felt over a net into the opponent's court. Tennis is an Olympic sport and is played at all levels of society at all...

 player. Blake was born in Yonkers, New York to Thomas Sr. (who is African-American) and Betty (who is English). He has a younger brother, James Blake

James Blake

James Riley Blake is an American professional tennis player. Blake is known for his speed and powerful, flat forehand. As of August 2011, Blake is ranked no. 63 among active male players with 24 career finals appearances...

, who is also a professional tennis player, as well as three half-brothers, Jason, Howard and Christopher, and a half-sister, Michelle.

Blake grew up in Fairfield

Fairfield, Connecticut

Fairfield is a town located in Fairfield County, Connecticut, United States. It is bordered by the towns of Bridgeport, Trumbull, Easton, Redding and Westport along the Gold Coast of Connecticut. As of the 2010 census, the town had a population of 59,404...

, Connecticut

Connecticut

Connecticut is a state in the New England region of the northeastern United States. It is bordered by Rhode Island to the east, Massachusetts to the north, and the state of New York to the west and the south .Connecticut is named for the Connecticut River, the major U.S. river that approximately...

 and attended Fairfield Warde High School

Fairfield Warde High School

Fairfield Warde High School is a co-educational secondary school located in Fairfield, Connecticut, United States.- History :In 2001, Fairfield High School was deemed overcrowded. To alleviate population overflow, Fairfield Ludlowe High School was opened at the former Roger Ludlowe High School site...

. A graduate of Harvard University

Harvard University

Harvard University is a private Ivy League university located in Cambridge, Massachusetts, United States, established in 1636 by the Massachusetts legislature. Harvard is the oldest institution of higher learning in the United States and the first corporation chartered in the country...

, he became a professional tennis player in 1996. He competed in the US Open

U.S. Open (tennis)

The US Open, formally the United States Open Tennis Championships, is a hardcourt tennis tournament which is the modern iteration of one of the oldest tennis championships in the world, the U.S. National Championship, which for men's singles was first contested in 1881...

 doubles in 1999 and 2002, both times partnering his brother James

James Blake

James Riley Blake is an American professional tennis player. Blake is known for his speed and powerful, flat forehand. As of August 2011, Blake is ranked no. 63 among active male players with 24 career finals appearances...

. He has played on the ATP Tour, appearing in such tournaments as the U.S. Men's Clay Court Championships

U.S. Men's Clay Court Championships

The U.S. Men's Clay Court Championship is an annual ATP Tour tennis tournament that started in 1910. It is the last remaining ATP Tour-level tournament in the United States to be played on clay courts....

 and Legg Mason Tennis Classic

Legg Mason Tennis Classic

The Legg Mason Tennis Classic is an annual late-summer men's tennis tournament played in Washington, D.C. as part of the ATP Tour. It was first held in 1969. It was later known as the Sovran Bank Classic. . Originally an event of the Grand Prix Tennis Tour and part of the Grand Prix Championship...

, both in 2003. He currently resides in Tampa

Tampa, Florida

Tampa is a city in the U.S. state of Florida. It serves as the county seat for Hillsborough County. Tampa is located on the west coast of Florida. The population of Tampa in 2010 was 335,709....

, Florida

Florida

Florida is a state in the southeastern United States, located on the nation's Atlantic and Gulf coasts. It is bordered to the west by the Gulf of Mexico, to the north by Alabama and Georgia and to the east by the Atlantic Ocean. With a population of 18,801,310 as measured by the 2010 census, it...

.

Despite being close to the top 200 three years in succession, Blake retired from professional singles tennis in October 2005. He is still playing occasionally in doubles on the professional tour. He has only entered one tournament in 2007, losing in the 1st round of an F10 Futures tournament in Orange Park, Florida

Orange Park, Florida

Orange Park is a town in Clay County, Florida, USA, and a suburb of Jacksonville. The population was 8,412 at the 2010 census. The name "Orange Park" is additionally applied to a wider area of northern Clay County outside the town limits, covering such communities as Fleming Island, Lakeside, and...

.

In June 2008 Thomas Blake was announced as head coach of the Washington Kastles

Washington Kastles

The Washington Kastles, a professional tennis team based in Washington, D.C., are a franchise of the World TeamTennis Pro League and the 2009 WTT Champions. The Kastles entered the World TeamTennis League in 2008 and are owned by Mark Ein. The team is named for Kastle Systems, a security company...

.

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