I came out of nowhere to reach Wimbledon finals then disappeared from tennis

Some tennis stars annually dominate the green grass on Centre Court.

If Carlos Alcaraz returns to the men’s final at Wimbledon in 2024, no one will be shocked.

But other tennis names briefly appear in the middle of the tennis world at SW19, then just as quickly disappear and are never seen again.

No one better captures that anomaly than MaliVai Washington.

The right-hander born in New York won 254 matches, captured four tournament titles and reached No. 11 in the world.

But in 1996, Washington had the run of his life as he powered through round after round in south west London.

Boris Becker, Andre Agassi and Jim Courier were knocked out at Wimbledon.

Washington kept winning and advancing.

“I remember thinking, ‘This is an opportunity for someone to maybe get through to their first Wimbledon final,’ ” Washington said. “I was in that position.”

Previous wins over Mats Wilander, Michael Chang and Stefan Edberg set up his ’96 magic.

4

4

So did a triumph over a No. 1 Andre Agassi.

But Washington was different at Wimbledon — just like Chang at the 1989 French Open — and his once-in-a-lifetime run was highlighted by an unbelievable match against Todd Martin.

Washington was down 5-1 to Martin in the fifth set of the semifinals.

The American flipped the match upside down, winning 10-8 in the decider.

With 300-to-1 odds to win the most prestigious tournament in the sport, Washington was suddenly in the finals.

“Down 5-1, how I’ve explained it is, it’s the great thing about sports,” Washington said. “Every year in every sport, every Grand Slam, there are things that defy logic.

“How do I come back from 5-1 down against Todd Martin, one of the biggest servers on tour, on grass? I don’t know.

“I jokingly say that, one day, if I make it to heaven, what I’m going to do is I’m going to ask God and say, ‘Hey, God, you have all these players out there with like 20 majors. Why couldn’t I just get one?’

4

“I have this vision of God saying, ‘Really, that’s the question? The reason you made the final and won from 5-1 down is because you prayed so hard on the changeover. I said, ‘You know what? It’s 5-1. Let’s throw them a bone.’

“I threw you a bone, and now, here you are in heaven, and you’re sitting here asking me why you didn’t get (to) win (the) tournament. Come on, Mal!’ That’s my vision of what might happen.”

Washington almost won Wimbledon despite his 300-to-1 odds — and a surreal appearance of a streaker.

But his magical run finally ended.

He had a serious knee injury seven months after reaching the finals, then retired after two operations.

Washington never played Wimbledon again.

He focused on real estate and the MaliVai Washington Youth Foundation, which supported inner-city children.

“We started really as a tennis program but now we’re more of an education and life skills-based program with a tennis component,” Washington said.

The 2024 Wimbledon tournament starts Monday with the men’s and women’s first round.