Tennis/Catalogs/Famous players
This is a supplement to the article about Tennis and to the articles about the individual players.
Under construction: this will be a list of famous players, in chronological order. Although other players will also be included, this list will, at a minimum, include all players who have ever been considered to be the World No. 1 player or Co-No. 1 for an entire year.
Name | Biographical | Technique | Record | |||||||
Event | S | D | MD | Wins | ||||||
|
Nationality: NZ |
Right handed Class: Amateur only Strength:Hit his drives with great pace and overspin; defense and baseline play |
Grand Slam | 6 | 5 | 11 | ||||
Davis Cup | 15-6 | 6-3 | 6 teams | 4 wins | ||||||
World #1 player | 1913 | |||||||||
National #1 player | {{{national rank years}}} | |||||||||
Trivia: Joined the Royal Marines in World War I, rose to Captain; along with the American Joe Hunt, probably the most prominent tennis player ever killed on active service | ||||||||||
|
Nationality: American |
Right handed Class: Amateur only Strength:"Cannonball" serve; overhead smash; volleying Weakness:Retired at 29, perhaps worn out from his violent on-court exertions |
Grand Slam | 2 | 3 | 5 | ||||
Davis Cup | 9-4 | 3-4 | 4 teams | 1 wins | ||||||
World #1 player | 1914 | |||||||||
National #1 player | {{{national rank years}}} | |||||||||
Trivia: The first of the great serve-and-volley attackers | ||||||||||
|
Nationality: American |
Right handed Class: Amateur only Strength:Took ball on the rise using the Continental grip, going for winners on every shot; unbeatable when his game was "on" Weakness:Extremely erratic, could lose to much inferior players |
Grand Slam | 2 | 3 | 1 | 6 | |||
Davis Cup | 6-3 | 4-0 | 6 teams | 5 wins | ||||||
World #1 player | Was the U.S.A. No. 1 in 1916, when there were no world rankings because of World War I | |||||||||
National #1 player | {{{national rank years}}} | |||||||||
Trivia: Was a Titanic survivor, nearly had his legs amputated after being rescued from the near-freezing waters. | ||||||||||
|
Nationality: American |
Right handed Class: Strength:"Cannonball" serve; all-court game; speed and court coverage; intelligence and analytic ability to change strategy and tactics during matches Weakness:Initially, his backhand; possibly his overhead smash |
Grand Slam | 10 | 6 | 5 | 21 | |||
Davis Cup | 25-5 | 9-2 | 11 teams | 7 wins | ||||||
World #1 player | 1920, 1921, 1922, 1923, 1924, 1925, 1931, second most to Pancho Gonzales | |||||||||
National #1 player | {{{national rank years}}} | |||||||||
Trivia: Amateur until December 31, 1930; beat Karel Koželuh before 14,000 in his professional debut at Madison Square Garden on February 18, 1931; thereafter toured for many years against other top professionals. Served two periods of incarceration near Los Angeles for morals charges involving underage males Davis Cup info: On 7 consecutive winning teams, 1920 through 1926, still a record | ||||||||||
|
Nationality: American |
Right handed Class: Amateur only; retired from competition in 1927 Strength:Topspin forehand drive hit shoulder-high with a Western grip; volleying from the service line Weakness:Backhand, which he hit with the same face of the racquet as his forehand; occasional physical fraility |
Grand Slam | 3 | 3 | 1 | 7 | |||
Davis Cup | 14-3 | 4-0 | 8 teams | 7 wins | ||||||
World #1 player | 1919 | |||||||||
National #1 player | {{{national rank years}}} | |||||||||
Trivia: Died of tuberculosis at age 51 Davis Cup info: On 7 consecutive winning teams, 1920 through 1926, still a record | ||||||||||
|
Nationality: Australian |
Right handed Class: Amateur only Strength:Very hard serve, both flat and twist; smash; volleying; forehand |
Grand Slam | 3 | 5 | 1 | 9 | |||
Davis Cup | 21-10 | 11-4 | 6 teams | 1 wins | ||||||
World #1 player | 1919 | |||||||||
National #1 player | {{{national rank years}}} | |||||||||
Trivia: Won the Military Cross with Australian army in World War I; nephew of diva Dame Nellie Melba | ||||||||||
|
Nationality: French |
Right handed Class: Amateur only as a player; for a while was a teaching professional in California Strength:Doubles -- was the doubles specialist of the Musketeers; "A player of rare stroke variety and delicacy of touch." [1] |
Grand Slam | 10 | 2 | 12 | ||||
Davis Cup | 4-2 | 22-9 | 11 teams | 6 wins | ||||||
World #1 player | ||||||||||
National #1 player | {{{national rank years}}} | |||||||||
Trivia: Oldest and smallest of the Musketeers; nearly made the finals of the 1926 Wimbledon championship, having 5 match points in the semi-finals against Bob Kinney without winning any of them Davis Cup info: On 6 consecutive winning teams, from 1927 through 1932, but actually played in only 4 of them | ||||||||||
|
Nationality: French |
Right handed Class: Amateur only Strength:Attacking game and volleying; skillful gamesmanship; a great indoor player who won the French indoor title 12 times, the British 11, and the U.S. 4 |
Grand Slam | 4 | 9 | 3 | 16 | |||
Davis Cup | 19-12 | 17-6 | 17 teams | 6 wins | ||||||
World #1 player | ||||||||||
National #1 player | {{{national rank years}}} | |||||||||
Trivia: Always wore a blue beret during his matches; intensely disliked by Bill Tilden, the consummate showman, master of gamesmanship, and show-off — Tilden considered Borotra to be a show-off "a charlatan, the greatest faker in tennis history";[2] "Borotra [Tilden wrote] was what passes for 'typically' French. That is to say, he had all the charm, warmth, glamour and insincerity which is Paris." [3] Davis Cup info: On 6 consecutive winning teams, from 1927 through 1932; | ||||||||||
|
Nationality: French |
Right handed Class: Amateur until 1934; had an undistinguished professional career; reinstated as an amateur in 1945 Strength:Taking the ball on the rise to make volleys and half-volleys; overhead; successful shots from apparently impossible positions; winning matches that apparently had been lost Weakness:"A weak serve, he seldom bothered to lob, and he had a backhand which Tilden characterized as 'a little too cramped and defensive.' "[4] |
Grand Slam | 7 | 5 | 3 | 15 | |||
Davis Cup | 34-8 | 10-6 | 11 teams | 6 wins | ||||||
World #1 player | 1928, 1929 | |||||||||
National #1 player | {{{national rank years}}} | |||||||||
Trivia: The only one of the Four Musketeers who turned professional | ||||||||||
|
Nationality: French |
Right handed Class: Amateur only Strength:Relentless backcourt returning; passing shots and lobs Weakness:Fragile health; retired in 1929 at age 25 |
Grand Slam | 7 | 3 | 10 | ||||
Davis Cup | 32-8 | 8-3 | 6 teams | 2 wins | ||||||
World #1 player | 1926, 1927 | |||||||||
National #1 player | {{{national rank years}}} | |||||||||
Trivia: For many years his polo shirts with the crocodile logo on the breast have been sold worldwide; developed the first successful metal racket, the Wilson T2000, used by Jimmy Connors; his daughter, Catherine Lacoste, won the U.S. Open gold title in 1967 | ||||||||||
|
Nationality: American |
Right handed Class: Amateur until 1933, then a touring professional through 1939 Strength:Tremendously hard serve and forehand, both hit flat with no spin, "murderous" overhead, good volleying Weakness:Very erratic, played with no margin of safety when hitting shots |
Grand Slam | 3 | 2 | 1 | 6 | |||
Davis Cup | 13-3 | 0 | 2 teams | 0 wins | ||||||
World #1 player | 1932, 1935, 1936, 1937 | |||||||||
National #1 player | {{{national rank years}}} | |||||||||
Trivia: Lost interest in tennis and at 28 became a professional golfer; won one professional golf tournament and reached the semi-finals of the 1951 PGA championship. |
- Ellsworth Vines
- Fred Perry
- Don Budge
- Bobby Riggs
- Frank Kovacs
- Pancho Segura
- Jack Kramer
- Frank Sedgman
- Pancho Gonzales
- Ken Rosewall
- Lew Hoad
- Boris Becker
- Rod Laver
- Arthur Ashe
- Jimmy Connors
- Björn Borg
- John McEnroe
- Pete Sampras
- Andre Agassi
- Juan Carlos Ferrero
- Lleyton Hewitt
- James Blake
- Roger Federer
- Rafael Nadal
References
- ↑ Wallis Myers, quoted in Total Tennis, The Ultimate Tennis Encyclopedia, edited by Bud Collins, Sport Classic Books, Toronto, 2003, page 650
- ↑ Big Bill Tilden, The Triumphs and the Tragedy - Frank DeFord, Simon and Schuster, New York, 1976, page 139
- ↑ Big Bill Tilden, The Triumphs and the Tragedy - Frank DeFord, Simon and Schuster, New York, 1976, page 139
- ↑ Big Bill Tilden, The Triumphs and the Tragedy - Frank DeFord, Simon and Schuster, New York, 1976, page 142
Sources
- Big Bill Tilden, The Triumphs and the Tragedy - Frank DeFord, Simon and Schuster, New York, 1976, ISBN 0-671-22254-6
- Total Tennis, The Ultimate Tennis Encyclopedia, edited by Bud Collins, Sport Classic Books, Toronto, 2003