Thomas Samuel Okker (born 22 February 1944), nicknamed "the Flying Dutchman", is a Dutch former tennis player who was active from the mid-1960s until 1980. He won the 1973 French Open Doubles, the 1976 US Open Doubles, and two gold medals at the 1965 Maccabiah Games in Israel. He was ranked among the world's top-ten singles players for seven consecutive years, 1968–74, reaching a career high of world No. 3 in 1974. He also was ranked world No. 1 in doubles in 1979.

Early life Okker was born in Amsterdam, is Jewish on his father's side, and identifies as Jewish. Okker's father was imprisoned by the Nazis during World War II, but managed to go into hiding by assuming the papers and identity of another man.

Tennis career He played his first tournament at Wolfsburg, West Germany, on clay in 1963. Okker was the Dutch champion from 1964 through 1968.

In 1968, his first year as a registered professional, he won in singles and in doubles (with Marty Riessen) at the Italian Open. At Wimbledon, Okker reached the quarterfinals in 1968 and the semifinals in 1978. He achieved his best result in a Grand Slam tournament at the 1968 US Open, where he competed as a registered professional player, a professional player allowed to compete for prize money but playing under the control of their national associations and eligible to play in Davis Cup. Okker reached the final after defeating Pancho Gonzales in the quarterfinal and Ken Rosewall in the semifinal. He lost the final to Arthur Ashe in five sets. Okker was awarded the first prize money at the 1968 U.S. Open, as Ashe was still considered an amateur player rather than a registered professional. In February 1969, Okker signed a four-year contract with the Lamar Hunt's World Championship Tennis.

In his career, won 39 singles titles. He also was the runner-up in 39 singles tournaments.

Okker is also among the most successful men's doubles players of all time. He won two Grand Slam doubles titles, at the US Open in 1976 (with Riessen) and the French Open (with John Newcombe) in 1973. In total, Okker won 68 doubles events, a record that was finally broken by Todd Woodbridge in 2005. Okker's other doubles titles include the 1973 Italian Open, 1973 London Grass Courts (with Riessen), 1973 Spanish Open (with Ilie Năstase), 1975 Opel International (with Arthur Ashe), and 1978 WCT World Doubles (with Wojtek Fibak).

One of the first tennis professionals to win at least US$1 million in career prize money, Okker's WTC career earnings stood at $1,257,200 when he retired in 1980 ($ today).

Davis Cup Between 1964 and 1981, Okker represented the Netherlands in the Davis Cup, playing in 13 ties and accumulating a 15–20 win–loss record.

Maccabiah Games In 1965, Okker won both the singles and the mixed doubles titles at the 1965 Maccabiah Games in Israel. This event is open to all Israelis and to non-Israeli Jews.

Style of play He was among the first players of his era to hit the ball with heavy topspin.

Halls of Fame Okker was inducted into the International Jewish Sports Hall of Fame in 2003.

He was nominated for consideration in 2018, but not inducted into the International Tennis Hall of Fame.

Personal life Okker and his wife Anna-Marie have three children together. Since the mid-1980s Okker has been involved in art and was a founding partner in the Jaski art gallery in Amsterdam, specializing in works of the CoBrA movement. In 2005, he founded art gallery Tom Okker Art bv in Hazerswoude-Dorp, Netherlands, where he now lives.

Grand Slam finals

Singles: 1 (1 runner-up) ResultYearChampionshipSurfaceOpponentScoreLoss 1968 US Open Grass Arthur Ashe 12–14, 7–5, 3–6, 6–3, 3–6

Doubles: 5 (2 titles, 3 runner-ups) ResultYearChampionshipSurfacePartnerOpponentsScoreLoss 1969 Wimbledon Grass Marty Riessen John Newcombe Tony Roche 5–7, 9–11, 3–6Loss 1971 Australian Open Grass Marty Riessen John Newcombe Tony Roche 2–6, 6–7Win 1973 French Open Clay John Newcombe Jimmy Connors Ilie Năstase 6–1, 3–6, 6–3, 5–7, 6–4Loss 1975 US Open Grass Marty Riessen Jimmy Connors Ilie Năstase 4–6, 6–7Win 1976 US Open Grass Marty Riessen Paul Kronk Cliff Letcher 6–4, 6–4

Career finals Singles: 79 (41 titles, 38 runner-ups) ResultW-L DateTournamentSurfaceOpponentScoreWin1.Jun 1965Manchester, UKGrass Roger Taylor7–5, 6–3Loss1.Jul 1965Hilversum, NetherlandsClay John Newcombe6–2, 3–6, 6–1, 6–3 Loss2.Apr 1966Bournemouth, UKClay Ken Fletcher5–7, 4–6Win1.Jul 1966Hilversum, NetherlandsClay Bob Hewitt6–3, 6–3, 2–6, 6–3Win2.Feb 1967Paris, FranceWood (i) Jan Kodeš6–2, 3–6, 6–3, 6–4Win2.Feb 1967Brussels, Belgium(i) Jim Moore6–2, 6–1, 6–0Loss3.May 1967Brussels, BelgiumClay Roy Emerson6–3, 3–6, 7–5, 6–4Win3.Jun 1967Bristol, UKGrass Cliff Drysdale6–2, 5–7, 8–6Loss4.Nov 1967Porto Alegre, BrazilClay Cliff Richey4–6, 6–3, 3–6, 6–8Loss5.Nov 1967Rio de Janeiro, BrazilClay Thomaz Koch4–6, 9–11, 6–3, 3–6Win4.Dec 1967East London, South AfricaClay Mark Cox9–7, 7–5Loss6.Jan 1968Bloemfontein, South AfricaHard Marty Riessen5–7, 3–6Win5.Mar 1968Kingston, JamaicaHard (i) Manuel Orantes6–2, 6–4Win6.Mar 1968Barranquilla, ColombiaClay Marty Riessen8–6, 6–3, 6–3Loss8.Mar 1968Willemstad, CuraçaoClay Marty Riessen5–7, 6–3, 11–9, 2–6, 2–6Win7.Apr 1968Johannesburg, South AfricaHard Marty Riessen12–10, 6–1, 6–4 ↓  Open era  ↓Win8.May 1968Rome, ItalyClay Bob Hewitt10–8, 6–8, 6–1, 1–6, 6–0Loss9.Jun 1968West Berlin, West GermanyClay Manuel Santana8–6, 4–6, 1–6, 2–6Win9.Jun 1968Saltsjöbaden, SwedenClay Jan-Erik Lundqvist6–3, 3–6, 5–7Loss10.Jun 1968Lugano, SwitzerlandClay Ion Țiriac8–6, 5–7, 0–6Loss11.Jun 1968London, UKGrass Clark Graebnerfinal rained out Win10.Jul 1968Dublin, IrelandGrass Lew Hoad6–1, 6–2Loss12.Jul 1968Gstaad, SwitzerlandClay Cliff Drysdale3–6, 3–6, 0–6Loss13.Sep 1968US Open, New YorkGrass Arthur Ashe12–14, 7–5, 3–6, 6–3, 3–6Loss14.Apr 1969Johannesburg, South AfricaHard Rod Laver3–6, 8–10, 3–6Win11.Apr 1969Monte Carlo, MonacoClay John Newcombe8–10, 6–1, 7–5, 6–3Win12.May 1969Tokyo, JapanHard (i) Roy Emerson5–7, 6–2, 7–5Win13.May 1969Brussels, BelgiumClay Željko Franulović6–4, 1–6, 6–2, 6–3Win14.May 1969Amsterdam, NetherlandsClay Andrés GimenoRound robin Win15.Jul 1969Milwaukee, USClay Marty RiessenRound robinLoss15.Jul 1969Gstaad, SwitzerlandClay Roy Emerson1–6, 14–12, 4–6, 4–6Win16.Aug 1969Hilversum, NetherlandsHard Roger Taylor10–8, 7–9, 6–4, 6–4Loss16.Aug 1969Hamburg, GermanyClay Tony Roche1–6, 7–5, 5–7, 6–8Win17.Aug 1969Newport, USGrass Dennis Ralston4–6, 6–5, 6–1Loss17.Oct 1969Tucson, USHard Tony Roche6–9, 1–6Loss18.Nov 1969Casablanca, MoroccoClay Tony RocheRound robin Win18.Nov 1969Paris Masters, FranceCarpet (i) Butch Buchholz8–6, 6–2, 6–1Loss19.Jan 1970Auckland, New ZealandGrass Roger Taylor4–6, 4–6, 1–6Win19.May 1970Brussels, BelgiumClay Ilie Năstase6–3, 6–4, 0–6, 4–6, 6–4Win20.May 1970Atlanta WCT, USHard Dennis Ralston6–4, 10–8, 6–2Loss20.Jul 1970Gstaad, SwitzerlandClay Tony Roche5–7, 5–7, 3–6Win21.Jul 1970Leicester, UKGrass Roger Taylor6–1, 10–8Win22.Aug 1970Hilversum, NetherlandsHard Roger Taylor4–6, 6–0, 6–1, 6–3Win23.Aug 1970Hamburg, GermanyClay Ilie Năstase4–6, 6–3, 6–3, 6–4Loss21.Oct 1970West Berlin, West GermanyClay Rod LaverRound robin Loss22.Mar 1971New York, USHard (i) Rod Laver5–7, 2–6, 1–6Loss23.Apr 1971Monte Carlo, MonacoClay Ilie Năstase6–3, 6–8, 1–6, 1–6Loss24.Jul 1971Gstaad, SwitzerlandClay John Newcombe2–6, 7–5, 6–1, 5–7, 3–6Win24.Jul 1971Louisville WCT, USClay Cliff Drysdale3–6, 6–4, 6–1Win25.Aug 1971Quebec WCT, CanadaIndoor Rod Laver6–3, 7–6, 6–7, 6–4Loss25.Aug 1971Toronto, CanadaClay John Newcombe6–7, 6–3, 2–6, 6–7Loss26.Oct 1971Vancouver WCT, CanadaHard (i) Ken Rosewall2–6, 2–6, 4–6Win26.Mar 1972Chicago WCT, USCarpet (i) Arthur Ashe4–6, 6–2, 6–3Loss27.Aug 1972Boston WCT, USHard Bob Lutz4–6, 6–2, 4–6, 4–6Loss28.Nov 1972Stockholm, SwedenHard (i) Stan Smith4–6, 3–6Loss29.Nov 1972Rotterdam WCT, NetherlandsCarpet (i) Arthur Ashe6–3, 2–6, 1–6Win27.Mar 1973Washington WCT, USCarpet (i) Arthur Ashe6–3, 6–7, 7–6Win28.Jul 1973Hilversum, NetherlandsClay Andrés Gimeno2–6, 6–4, 6–4, 6–7, 6–3Loss30.Jul 1973Washington, D.C., USClay Arthur Ashe4–6, 2–6Win29.Aug 1973Toronto, CanadaClay Manuel Orantes6–3, 6–2, 6–1Win30.Sep 1973Seattle, USHard (i) John Alexander7–5, 6–4Loss31.Sep 1973Los Angeles, USHard Jimmy Connors5–7, 6–7Win31.Sep 1973Chicago, USCarpet (i) John Newcombe3–6, 7–6, 6–3Win32.Oct 1973Madrid, SpainClay Jaime Fillol4–6, 6–3, 6–3, 7–5Win33.Nov 1973London, UKCarpet (i) Ilie Năstase6–3, 6–4Loss32.Dec 1973Masters, BostonCarpet (i) Ilie Năstase3–6, 5–7, 6–4, 3–6Win34.Feb 1974Toronto WCT, CanadaCarpet (i) Ilie Năstase6–3, 6–4Loss33.Mar 1974Washington WCT, USCarpet (i) Ilie Năstase3–6, 3–6Win35.Mar 1974Rotterdam, NetherlandsCarpet (i) Tom Gorman4–6, 7–6, 6–1Loss34.Aug 1974Boston, USClay Björn Borg6–7, 1–6, 1–6Loss35.Nov 1974Stockholm, SwedenHard (i) Arthur Ashe2–6, 2–6Loss36.Mar 1975Rotterdam WCT, NetherlandsCarpet (i) Arthur Ashe6–3, 2–6, 4–6Loss37.Apr 1975Johannesburg WCT, South AfricaHard Buster Mottram4–6, 2–6Loss38.Apr 1975Stockholm WCT, SwedenCarpet (i) Arthur Ashe4–6, 2–6Win36.Jun 1975Nottingham, UKGrass Tony Roche6–1, 3–6, 6–3Win37.Nov 1975Paris Masters, FranceHard (i) Arthur Ashe6–3, 2–6, 6–3, 3–6, 6–4Win38.Feb 1977Richmond WCT, USCarpet (i) Vitas Gerulaitis3–6, 6–3, 6–4Loss39.Jul 1978Hilversum, NetherlandsClay Balázs Taróczy6–2, 1–6, 2–6, 4–6Win39.Oct 1979Tel Aviv, IsraelHard Per Hjertquist6–4, 6–3

Doubles: 104 (68 titles, 36 runner-ups)