The 1986 Nabisco Grand Prix was the only tennis circuit held that year. The tour consisted of 70 tournaments in 23 different countries. It incorporated three of the four grand slam tournaments, three World Championship Tennis tournaments and the Grand Prix tournaments. The season ending Masters tournament was moved from the January slot to December.

Ivan Lendl is a Czech-American former professional tennis player. He is widely regarded as one of the greatest tennis players of all time. Lendl was ranked world No. 1 in singles for a then-record 270 weeks and won 94 singles titles. He won eight major singles titles and was runner-up 11 times, making him the first man to contest 19 major finals. Lendl also contested a record eight consecutive US Open finals, and won five year-end championships. Lendl is the only man in professional tennis history to have a match winning percentage of over 90% in five different years. He also had a comfortable head-to-head winning record against his biggest rivals, which translates to a 22–13 record against Jimmy Connors and a 21–15 record against John McEnroe. Lendl's dominance of his era was the most evident at the year-end championships, which feature the eight best-ranked singles players. He holds a win–loss record at the event of 39–10, having contested the final nine consecutive times, a record. Commonly referred to as the 'Father Of Modern Tennis' and 'The Father Of The Inside-Out Forehand', Lendl pioneered a new style of tennis; his game was built around his forehand, hit hard and with a heavy topspin, and his success is cited as a primary influence in popularizing the now-common playing style of aggressive baseline power tennis. After retirement, he became a tennis coach for several players; in particular, he helped Andy Murray win three major titles and reach the world No. 1 ranking.