During his career, he won singles titles on all four major court surfaces: hard, clay, grass and carpet.

In singles in 1985, Leconte reached the quarterfinals of the French Open and Wimbledon, the latter run of which included a dazzling win over world no.

In 1988, Leconte reached the men's singles final at the French Open beating Simon Youl, Bruno Orešar, Horacio de la Peña, Boris Becker, Andrei Chesnokov and Jonas Svensson.

In the final, despite strong support from the French crowd, Leconte could not overcome two-time former champion Mats Wilander who defeated him in straight sets.

There, he obtained a cult following as a result of a zany exhibition doubles performance, and his passionate and often parochial commentary, especially for compatriot Jo-Wilfried Tsonga, whose winning shots he routinely described as "unbelievable!

[citation needed] He participated in 2005 in the second season of La Ferme Célébrités, a TV reality game show.

In 2007, his son Maxime also participated in the TV reality game show Secret Story, the French version of Big Brother.