Wimbledon 1921
A late start
Gilbert first played Wimbledon at 33 and won the All England Plate at his first attempt. He kept playing at the Championships until 1934, when he was 46.
Source: OlympediaBetween the wars
Brian Gilbert
Great Britain · born Barnes, Surrey, 1887 · died 1974 · Wimbledon mixed doubles champion 1924 with Kitty McKane
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1924
Wimbledon mixed doubles title with Kitty McKane
1922
Wimbledon singles semi-final, lost to Randolph Lycett
2
All England Plate titles, 1921 and 1926
33
His age at his Wimbledon debut in 1921
0-2
Sets down before he beat Henri Cochet in a Davis Cup rubber at Eastbourne, 1924
Playing career
John Brian Gilbert was born in Barnes, Surrey, on 17 July 1887. He did not play Wimbledon until 1921, when he was 33, and in that first year he won the All England Plate, the event for players beaten in the early rounds of the singles, beating Frank Fisher of New Zealand 7-5, 4-6, 6-0 in the final.
In 1922, the first Championships at Church Road, he reached the singles semi-finals, beating Theodore Mavrogordato before losing to Randolph Lycett. His best season followed in 1923: he won singles titles in England, made his Davis Cup debut against Belgium in Brussels and reached the final of the World Covered Court Championship in Barcelona, losing to Henri Cochet.
In 1924 he won the Wimbledon mixed doubles with Kitty McKane and, less than four weeks later, beat Cochet in five sets in a Davis Cup rubber at Eastbourne. He and McKane also reached the Olympic mixed doubles semi-finals in Paris that summer. He played one more Davis Cup rubber, against Norway in 1925, won the Plate again in 1926 and lost its final in 1928. He died at Roehampton in 1974.
On grass
| Wimbledon 1924 mixed final | With Kitty McKane beat Leslie Godfree and Dorothy Shepherd Barron 6-3, 3-6, 6-3, the year McKane also won the ladies' singles |
|---|---|
| Wimbledon 1922 singles | Reached the semi-finals in the first year without a Challenge Round, losing to Randolph Lycett |
| All England Plate | Won in 1921, beating Frank Fisher 7-5, 4-6, 6-0, and in 1926, beating Leslie Crawford 10-8, 6-2; lost the 1928 final to Mohammed Sleem 6-3, 6-3 |
| Davis Cup, Eastbourne 1924 | Beat Henri Cochet in five sets after losing the first two, weeks after his Wimbledon title |
Every grass title: 1
Show every title, tournament by tournament
| Wimbledon | ||
|---|---|---|
| 1924 | Mixed doubles | with Kathleen McKane Godfree |
Leading grass titles only: the grass majors, tour-level grass events since 1968 and the leading grass championships before 1968. †single source; ‡ sources disagree. Roll of champions
Anecdotes
The person behind the player.
Eastbourne 1924
From two sets down
In a Davis Cup tie at Eastbourne less than four weeks after his Wimbledon win, Gilbert lost the first two sets to Henri Cochet and then won the next three. Olympedia calls it probably his finest Davis Cup moment.
Source: OlympediaParis 1924
A medal not played for
At the Paris Olympics Gilbert and Kitty McKane reached the mixed doubles semi-finals but scratched from the match for the bronze medal.
Source: OlympediaWimbledon 1924 and 1926
Beaten by a future husband, then by a married pair
The runner-up to Gilbert and McKane in the 1924 mixed final was Leslie Godfree. Two years later Godfree won the title with McKane, by then Kitty Godfree, his wife.
Source: Wimbledon Compendium 2025 (AELTC)Join Grass Tennis Club
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Where they won on grass
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Elsewhere online
Sources
- Wimbledon Compendium 2025 (AELTC)
- Brian Gilbert, Olympedia
- Brian Gilbert (tennis), Wikipedia
- GTC roll of grass champions, checked against a second source where one exists
Page updated 4 November 2026. Spotted an error? Send a correction.
