John Van Nostrand

John Van Nostrand
Country (sports)	United States
Born	July 17, 1961; Long Island, New York
Died	April 15, 1984 (aged 22); near San Juan del Río,; Mexico
Height	6 ft 2 in (1.88 m)
Plays	Right-handed
Singles
Career record	2–3
Career titles	0
Highest ranking	No. 220 (January 2, 1984)
Doubles
Career record	8–8
Career titles	1
Highest ranking	No. 239 (January 2, 1984)
Grand Slam doubles results
Australian Open	1R (1983)

John Van Nostrand (July 17, 1961 – April 15, 1984) was a professional tennis player from the United States.^[1] His sister Molly Van Nostrand also played tennis professionally. Both were coached by their father, Kingdon Van Nostrand.

Career

Van Nostrand was a dual NCAA All-American for Pepperdine University, in 1982 and 1983.^[2]

He appeared in the main draw of one Grand Slam during his career, the 1983 Australian Open, in the men's doubles, but never got to play a point, as he and partner Jim Gurfein defaulted the match.^[2]

The American was a quarter-finalist at the 1983 Hall of Fame Tennis Championships, held in Newport, Rhode Island.^[2] He beat world number 46 Mike De Palmer in the opening round and Mike Leach in the second round.^[2]

In the first tournament of the 1984 Grand Prix season, at Auckland, Van Nostrand and partner Brian Levine were doubles champions.^[2] The pair upset top seeds Broderick Dyke and Rod Frawley in the quarter-finals.^[2]

Three months later, Van Nostrand was killed in a car accident, along with fellow player Joe Heldman. They had been traveling from Mexico City to the San Luis Potosí Challenger tournament. On a mountainous road near San Juan del Río, their car went off a curve and fell 660 feet down the mountain.^[3]