Player data updated: 2026-09-10 02:15 UTC

Mel Purcell

USA Age 67 178 cm / 5'10" Plays: Right-Handed ATP Tour years active: 1978–1989

Mel Purcell represented the United States on the ATP Tour and reached a career high of No. 21. TennisDB's records show a singles record of 190–164 and 3 singles titles.

Peak singles rank

21 (Nov 3, 1980)

Elo peak

1993 (90th percentile)

Singles record

190–164 (53.7%)

Singles titles

Prize money

$796,760

Records cover recorded main-draw singles results in TennisDB's ATP event archive, including credited walkovers; qualifying is shown separately below.

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ATP Matches full match log →

Mel Purcell's recent, live, and scheduled ATP matches
Opponent	Score	Result	H2H	Match Data	Date	Round	Tournament	Category	Surface
Slobodan Zivojinovic	2-6 6-7 6-3 4-6	L	H2H	Match data	Mar 21, 1989*	R128	Miami Open	ATP 500	Hard
Juan Aguilera #166	0-6 1-6	L	H2H	Match data	Jul 6, 1988*	R64	U.S. Pro Tennis Championships	ATP 250	Clay
Jimmy Connors #5	3-6 4-6	L	H2H	Match data	Jun 8, 1988*	R64	Queen's Club Championships	ATP 250	Grass
Arnaud Boetsch #465	4-6 1-6 6-2 5-7	L	H2H	Match data	May 25, 1988*	R128	Roland Garros	Grand Slam	Clay
Sammy Giammalva Jr	4-6 7-6 2-6	L	—	Match data	Apr 28, 1988*	R32	Charleston	ATP 250	Clay

Rivals all rivalries →

Mel Purcell's most-played ATP rivals
Opponent	W	L	M	Last Played	H2H
Ivan Lendl	1	7	8	Oct 1, 1987	H2H
Tim Wilkison	3	5	8	Feb 12, 1986	H2H
Jimmy Connors	0	6	6	Jun 8, 1988	H2H
Brian Gottfried	1	5	6	Oct 23, 1983	H2H
Jose Luis Clerc	0	6	6	Aug 8, 1982	H2H

Singles Titles (3)

Mel Purcell singles titles by season and category
Season	Age	Singles titles	GS	Masters 1000 including documented historical predecessor categories	ATP 500 including documented historical predecessor categories	ATP 250 including documented historical predecessor categories	ATP Finals	Tournaments
1981	21	3	—	—	—	3	—	Atlanta, Tampa, Tel Aviv
Total		3	—	—	—	3	—

Asterisked totals include editions mapped from documented historical predecessor categories. Mapping details.

Career Results

Mel Purcell career results by season
Season	Age	W	L	M	Win %	Start Rank	End Rank
1978	18	0	2	2	0.0%	555	555
1979	19	2	4	6	33.3%	245	245
1980	20	19	13	32	59.4%	44	27
1981	21	48	20	68	70.6%	28	24
1982	22	38	24	62	61.3%	26	28
1983	23	30	25	55	54.6%	27	28
1984	24	20	21	41	48.8%	28	67
1985	25	6	9	15	40.0%	66	129
1986	26	12	16	28	42.9%	127	72
1987	27	12	23	35	34.3%	74	140
1988	28	3	6	9	33.3%	141	268
1989	29	0	1	1	0.0%	269	504
Career		190	164	354	53.7%	—	—

Career Results by Surface

Mel Purcell career results by season and surface
Season	Age	Hard				Clay				Grass				Carpet				Total
Season	Age	W	L	M	Win %	W	L	M	Win %	W	L	M	Win %	W	L	M	Win %	W	L	M	Win %
1978	18	0	1	1	0.0%	0	1	1	0.0%	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	0	2	2	0.0%
1979	19	1	2	3	33.3%	1	2	3	33.3%	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	2	4	6	33.3%
1980	20	7	5	12	58.3%	12	5	17	70.6%	—	—	—	—	0	3	3	0.0%	19	13	32	59.4%
1981	21	20	3	23	87.0%	20	11	31	64.5%	1	1	2	50.0%	7	5	12	58.3%	48	20	68	70.6%
1982	22	14	8	22	63.6%	20	8	28	71.4%	0	1	1	0.0%	4	7	11	36.4%	38	24	62	61.3%
1983	23	9	8	17	52.9%	16	11	27	59.3%	4	1	5	80.0%	1	5	6	16.7%	30	25	55	54.5%
1984	24	9	7	16	56.3%	8	8	16	50.0%	1	2	3	33.3%	2	4	6	33.3%	20	21	41	48.8%
1985	25	3	4	7	42.9%	0	2	2	0.0%	0	1	1	0.0%	3	2	5	60.0%	6	9	15	40.0%
1986	26	4	5	9	44.4%	6	7	13	46.2%	—	—	—	—	2	4	6	33.3%	12	16	28	42.9%
1987	27	1	11	12	8.3%	6	7	13	46.2%	2	2	4	50.0%	3	3	6	50.0%	12	23	35	34.3%
1988	28	3	2	5	60.0%	0	3	3	0.0%	0	1	1	0.0%	—	—	—	—	3	6	9	33.3%
1989	29	0	1	1	0.0%	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	0	1	1	0.0%
Career	—	71	57	128	55.5%	89	65	154	57.8%	8	9	17	47.1%	22	33	55	40.0%	190	164	354	53.7%

Career Results by Opponent Rank

Mel Purcell career results by season and opponent rank
Season	Age	1-10				11-30				31-100				100+				Total
Season	Age	W	L	M	Win %	W	L	M	Win %	W	L	M	Win %	W	L	M	Win %	W	L	M	Win %
1979	19	0	1	1	0.0%	0	2	2	0.0%	1	1	2	50.0%	0	0	—	—	1	4	5	20.0%
1980	20	2	1	3	66.7%	2	6	8	25.0%	7	3	10	70.0%	0	0	—	—	11	10	21	52.4%
1981	21	1	7	8	12.5%	5	5	10	50.0%	17	2	19	89.5%	0	0	—	—	23	14	37	62.2%
1982	22	3	8	11	27.3%	3	5	8	37.5%	15	7	22	68.2%	0	0	—	—	21	20	41	51.2%
1983	23	1	3	4	25.0%	4	7	11	36.4%	10	6	16	62.5%	0	0	—	—	15	16	31	48.4%
1984	24	0	6	6	0.0%	2	2	4	50.0%	8	6	14	57.1%	5	3	8	62.5%	15	17	32	46.9%
1985	25	0	2	2	0.0%	2	3	5	40.0%	1	4	5	20.0%	1	0	1	100.0%	4	9	13	30.8%
1986	26	1	1	2	50.0%	0	4	4	0.0%	6	8	14	42.9%	3	2	5	60.0%	10	15	25	40.0%
1987	27	1	2	3	33.3%	0	4	4	0.0%	2	12	14	14.3%	7	5	12	58.3%	10	23	33	30.3%
1988	28	0	1	1	0.0%	1	0	1	100.0%	1	2	3	33.3%	1	2	3	33.3%	3	5	8	37.5%
Career		9	32	41	22.0%	19	38	57	33.3%	68	51	119	57.1%	17	12	29	58.6%	113	133	246	45.9%

Opponent ranking data available for 246/354 (69.5%) of Mel Purcell's ATP main draw matches.

Advanced Stats

Mel Purcell advanced statistics by season
Season	Age	Elo	P+	Serve+	Return+	PD	TPW%	Hard Elo	Clay Elo	Grass Elo	Set Win %	Set Margin	Dec. Set	Tiebreak	Pressure+	Schedule
1978	18	1475	97.5	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	20.0%	-1.80	0–1	0–1	—	+0.28
1979	19	1509	112.5	—	—	—	—	+27	+9	—	37.5%	-0.56	0–1	0–1	—	-0.34
1980	20	1744	150.0	—	—	—	—	-128	-24	—	56.8%	+0.69	4–5 (44%)	2–2 (50%)	101.1	-1.39
1981	21	1916	153.0	—	—	—	—	+8	-97	—	62.5%	+0.92	16–6 (73%)	7–4 (64%)	110.4	-2.73
1982	22	1838	155.1	—	—	—	—	-34	+108	—	60.0%	+0.68	6–5 (55%)	7–5 (58%)	101.1	-5.38
1983	23	1771	144.5	—	—	—	—	-61	+111	-55	54.8%	+0.29	8–13 (38%)	9–4 (69%)	97.5	+0.37
1984	24	1703	139.2	—	—	—	—	+12	+119	-31	49.5%	-0.08	7–8 (47%)	5–6 (45%)	96.6	-1.17
1985	25	1706	132.0	—	—	—	—	+24	—	—	39.5%	-0.89	3–1 (75%)	3–5 (38%)	103.1	-2.09
1986	26	1650	128.8	—	—	—	—	+22	+75	—	46.5%	-0.25	5–7 (42%)	3–1 (75%)	—	-1.07
1987	27	1530	132.0	—	—	—	—	+26	+134	+149	38.6%	-0.47	3–6 (33%)	2–5 (29%)	92.8	0.00
1988	28	1538	115.3	—	—	—	—	+78	+54	—	40.7%	-0.78	1–2 (33%)	3–0 (100%)	102.0	-0.36
1989	29	1526	103.2	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	25.0%	-1.00	—	0–1	—	-0.07
Career		1993	150.0	—	—	—	—	-13	+49	+19	52.7%	+0.23	53–55 (49%)	41–35 (54%)	100.0	-3.94

Tournament Results by Category

Grand Slams

Mel Purcell Grand Slams results by season
Season	Age	RG	W	USO	W-L Win %
1978	18	—	—	R128	0–1 (0%)
1979	19	—	—	R64	1–1 (50%)
1980	20	—	—	R32	2–1 (67%)
1981	21	R16	R64	R32	6–3 (67%)
1982	22	R16	R128	R32	5–3 (62%)
1983	23	R32	QF	R64	7–3 (70%)
1984	24	R32	R128	R128	2–3 (40%)
1985	25	—	R128	R64	1–2 (33%)
1986	26	—	—	R32	2–1 (67%)
1987	27	R64	R64	R128	2–3 (40%)
1988	28	R128	—	—	0–1 (0%)
W-L		11–6 (65%)	6–6 (50%)	11–10 (52%)	28–22 (56%)

ATP 500

Mel Purcell ATP 500 results by season
Season	Age	CIN	ITA	MIA	MIA	W-L Win %
1981	21	—	R32	—	—	1–1 (50%)
1982	22	R64	—	—	—	0–1 (0%)
1983	23	R16	—	—	—	2–1 (67%)
1984	24	R16	—	—	—	2–1 (67%)
1985	25	R64	—	—	—	0–1 (0%)
1986	26	R32	—	R64	—	2–2 (50%)
1987	27	R32	R64	—	R128	1–3 (25%)
1988	28	—	—	—	R32	2–1 (67%)
1989	29	—	—	—	R128	0–1 (0%)
W-L		6–6 (50%)	1–2 (33%)	1–1 (50%)	2–3 (40%)	10–12 (45%)

ATP 250

Mel Purcell ATP 250 results by season
Season	Age	ATL	BAR	DLB	GEN	GST	HAM	HKG	HOU	MC	MUN	U.S	PAR	QUE	ROT	STG	STO	TKY	VIE	WAS	MIA	BRU	CHA	CHI	COL	DEN	FOR	FOR	FOR	LA	LAS	LOS	LOU	MAU	MEM	MIL	MON	NIC	NOR	ORL	PHI	REP	RIC	SAN	SCO	SOU	STR	TAM	TEL	TOU	U.S	VEN	WEM	W-L Win %
1978	18	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	R64	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	0–1 (0%)
1979	19	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	R64	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	R32	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	R64	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	1–3 (25%)
1980	20	QF	—	—	—	—	—	R32	—	—	—	F	—	—	—	—	—	SF	—	R16	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	QF	—	—	—	—	R32	—	—	R32	—	R32	—	R16	—	—	—	—	R64	—	—	17–11 (61%)
1981	21	W	—	—	—	—	R32	—	QF	—	—	QF	—	—	—	R32	—	QF	—	QF	—	—	—	—	—	SF	—	QF	—	R16	R16	—	—	—	R16	—	—	—	R16	—	R32	—	R16	—	—	—	—	W	W	—	R64	—	—	41–15 (73%)
1982	22	—	—	R16	—	—	—	—	—	—	R16	QF	R16	—	R16	—	R16	—	—	R16	—	—	—	—	—	R16	—	QF	—	R16	R16	F	—	—	R32	R32	QF	—	QF	—	—	—	—	R32	—	—	—	QF	—	—	F	—	R32	33–20 (62%)
1983	23	—	—	—	—	SF	R64	—	—	F	R32	SF	—	—	R32	—	R32	—	F	R16	—	—	—	—	R32	—	—	—	—	R64	R16	R16	—	—	R32	—	—	R32	QF	—	R32	—	—	—	—	—	—	R32	—	—	R32	R32	R32	21–21 (50%)
1984	24	—	—	—	—	R32	—	—	—	R16	—	R32	—	R32	QF	—	R32	—	SF	QF	QF	R32	—	—	R16	—	—	—	—	—	—	R32	—	—	R32	—	—	R16	R64	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	R16	—	R32	16–17 (48%)
1985	25	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	R64	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	R64	—	—	—	R32	—	—	—	—	R16	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	QF	—	—	—	—	—	R32	—	—	—	—	—	—	5–6 (45%)
1986	26	R16	R64	—	R16	—	QF	—	R32	—	—	R16	—	—	—	—	R64	—	—	R64	—	—	—	—	—	—	R64	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	R32	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	R32	—	—	—	—	—	R64	—	R32	8–13 (38%)
1987	27	—	—	—	—	—	R64	—	—	—	SF	R32	—	R32	—	—	R64	—	R32	—	—	—	—	QF	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	R32	—	—	R64	—	—	R16	—	R32	R32	—	—	R32	R32	—	R64	—	—	R32	R64	—	—	9–17 (35%)
1988	28	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	R64	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	R32	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	R32	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	R64	—	—	1–4 (20%)
W-L		8–2 (80%)	0–1 (0%)	0–1 (0%)	1–1 (50%)	3–2 (60%)	4–4 (50%)	0–1 (0%)	2–2 (50%)	5–2 (71%)	4–3 (57%)	18–9 (67%)	1–1 (50%)	2–3 (40%)	3–3 (50%)	0–1 (0%)	3–5 (38%)	7–2 (78%)	7–3 (70%)	11–8 (58%)	2–1 (67%)	0–1 (0%)	0–1 (0%)	2–2 (50%)	1–2 (33%)	4–2 (67%)	0–1 (0%)	5–2 (71%)	1–1 (50%)	4–3 (57%)	3–3 (50%)	5–4 (56%)	0–2 (0%)	2–1 (67%)	5–7 (42%)	0–1 (0%)	2–1 (67%)	2–3 (40%)	9–5 (64%)	0–1 (0%)	5–4 (56%)	0–1 (0%)	1–1 (50%)	0–3 (0%)	0–2 (0%)	1–1 (50%)	1–2 (33%)	7–2 (78%)	5–0 (100%)	0–1 (0%)	6–8 (43%)	0–1 (0%)	0–4 (0%)	152–128 (54%)

Results show the best round reached per tournament and season.

ATP Ranking History full ranking history →

Career high

Career-high date

Nov 3, 1980

First Top 100

Aug 11, 1980

First Top 50

Aug 11, 1980

First Top 20

—

First Top 10

—

Ranking History Matrix

Mel Purcell ranking history by month and season
Season	Age	Jan	Feb	Mar	Apr	May	Jun	Jul	Aug	Sep	Oct	Nov	Dec
1978	18	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	555
1979	19	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	245
1980	20	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	42	40	22	28	27
1981	21	28	32	24	28	28	27	25	28	28	26	24	24
1982	22	26	28	36	26	30	29	21	26	26	26	31	28
1983	23	26	30	30	30	31	40	32	30	29	27	27	28
1984	24	26	24	21	26	25	23	30	52	58	66	61	67
1985	25	52	47	58	73	73	75	105	116	92	115	125	129
1986	26	127	193	231	194	142	141	99	76	51	55	76	72
1987	27	74	79	88	69	64	68	78	83	139	156	141	140
1988	28	142	151	117	156	201	243	255	252	246	249	267	268
1989	29	273	303	306	409	417	419	427	518	508	509	508	504
1990	30	501	500	511	649	662	664	673	—	—	—	—	—

Similar Players

Other ATP players with comparable peak level, era, career record, and career scale.

Mel Purcell's most statistically similar ATP players
Player	Country	Peak ranking	Peak Elo	M	W	L	Win %	Prize money	Titles	Years	Rivalries	Match log
Shlomo Glickstein	ISR	#22	1,864	306	159	147	52.0%	$588,443	2	1979–1987	Rivalries	Match log
Fritz Buehning	USA	#21	1,887	234	113	121	48.3%	$608,506	1	1978–1984	Rivalries	Match log
Hank Pfister	USA	#19	1,929	473	260	213	55.0%	—	2	1975–1988	Rivalries	Match log
Heinz Gunthardt	SUI	#22	1,969	414	225	189	54.3%	$1,550,007	5	1976–1987	Rivalries	Match log
Francesco Cancellotti	ITA	#21	1,858	223	111	112	49.8%	$464,876	2	1981–1991	Rivalries	Match log
Tim Wilkison	USA	#23	1,896	592	294	298	49.7%	$1,278,210	6	1977–1993	Rivalries	Match log
Greg Holmes	USA	#22	1,849	174	82	92	47.1%	$366,815	0	1982–1989	Rivalries	Match log
Ben Testerman	USA	#22	1,815	189	87	102	46.0%	$371,244	0	1979–1987	Rivalries	Match log
Paul Mcnamee	AUS	#24	1,900	446	229	217	51.3%	$1,233,615	2	1972–1988	Rivalries	Match log
Libor Pimek	BEL	#21	1,860	243	124	119	51.0%	$1,509,018	1	1983–1992	Rivalries	Match log
Matt Anger	USA	#23	1,818	188	82	106	43.6%	$484,631	1	1981–1989	Rivalries	Match log
Chris Lewis	NZL	#19	1,865	417	221	196	53.0%	$647,550	3	1973–1985	Rivalries	Match log

Frequently Asked Questions

How old is Mel Purcell?: Mel Purcell is 67 years old, born on July 18, 1959.
Which country does Mel Purcell represent?: Mel Purcell represents United States in TennisDB's ATP records.
How tall is Mel Purcell?: Mel Purcell is 178 cm / 5'10".
Is Mel Purcell left-handed or right-handed?: Mel Purcell plays right-handed.
How many Grand Slam singles titles has Mel Purcell won?: Mel Purcell has not won a Grand Slam singles title.
How many Masters 1000 titles has Mel Purcell won?: TennisDB does not group any of Mel Purcell's titles under the modern Masters 1000 category.
How many ATP titles has Mel Purcell won?: Mel Purcell has won 3 ATP singles titles across all categories. The most recent was Tel Aviv in 1981.
What is Mel Purcell's highest ATP ranking?: Mel Purcell's career-high ATP singles ranking is world No. 21, first achieved on November 3, 1980.
What is Mel Purcell's career win-loss record?: Mel Purcell has a career ATP singles record of 190 wins and 164 losses (53.7%).
How much career prize money has Mel Purcell earned?: Mel Purcell has earned at least $796,760 in career prize money from professional tennis.
Which seasons of Mel Purcell's career appear in TennisDB?: Mel Purcell appears in TennisDB's ATP main-tour match records from 1978 through 1989.
On which surface does Mel Purcell have the highest recorded win rate?: Among surfaces with at least 20 recorded matches, Mel Purcell's highest ATP main-draw win rate is on clay: 57.8% (89–65).
Who has Mel Purcell faced most often?: Mel Purcell's most frequent opponent is Ivan Lendl, with a head-to-head record of 1–7 across 8 meetings.