The amateur years
South Africa · born Johannesburg, 1920 · died 2004 · right-handed · Wimbledon mixed champion 1949 and 1950, US singles finalist 1948
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48
Games in the 1949 Wimbledon mixed final, the most in any Wimbledon mixed final
1949
With Sheila Summers, the first South Africans to win a Wimbledon title
11
South African singles titles, a record, 1939 to 1957
6
Major titles, all in doubles or mixed, 1947 to 1950
No. 6
World ranking in 1948 and 1949 (John Olliff, Daily Telegraph)
Eric Sturgess was born in Johannesburg in 1920 and went to Parktown Boys' High School. By 19, as an accountancy student, he had already won a South African title. In the Second World War he joined the South African Air Force and became an instructor with No. 4 Spitfire Squadron. In October 1944 his Spitfire was hit by anti-aircraft fire and he baled out; he was held at Stalag Luft III and then at Luckenwalde, which Soviet forces liberated in 1945.
After the war he became one of the most consistent players in the world. He reached three major singles finals and lost them all: the French in 1947 and 1951, and the US Championships on grass at Forest Hills in 1948, where Pancho Gonzales beat him 6-2, 6-3, 14-12. He won the 1947 French doubles with Eustace Fannin, the French mixed in 1947 and 1949, the Wimbledon mixed in 1949 and 1950 and the US mixed in 1949. All six of his major titles came in doubles or mixed.
He won the British Hard Court Championships in 1947 and 1948, the first three Swedish Opens at Båstad from 1948, and a record 11 South African singles titles between 1939 and 1957. He played six Davis Cup ties for South Africa with a 13-5 record. John Olliff of the Daily Telegraph ranked him sixth in the world in 1948 and 1949. He died in Johannesburg on 14 January 2004.
| Wimbledon mixed finals | 1949 with Sheila Summers: beat John Bromwich and Louise Brough 9-7, 9-11, 7-5, still the longest Wimbledon mixed final by games. 1950 with Louise Brough: beat Geoff Brown and Pat Todd 11-9, 1-6, 6-4 |
|---|---|
| Wimbledon men's doubles finals | 1951 with Jaroslav Drobny: lost to Ken McGregor and Frank Sedgman 3-6, 6-2, 6-3, 3-6, 6-3. 1952 with Vic Seixas: lost to McGregor and Sedgman 6-3, 7-5, 6-4 in 56 minutes |
| Wimbledon singles | Seeded eighth in 1951, he beat Armando Vieira in the quarter-finals and lost the semi-final to Ken McGregor 6-4, 3-6, 6-3, 7-5. In 1947 he won the All England Plate, the event for early losers, beating Tony Mottram 6-3, 6-3 |
| US Championships | Singles final 1948 at Forest Hills, lost to Pancho Gonzales 6-2, 6-3, 14-12. Mixed 1949 with Louise Brough: beat Margaret Osborne duPont and Bill Talbert 4-6, 6-3, 7-5 |
| Australian Championships 1950 | Lost the doubles final with Drobny to Bromwich and Adrian Quist 3-6, 7-5, 6-4, 3-6, 6-8, and the mixed final with Joyce Fitch to Doris Hart and Sedgman 6-8, 4-6 |
| Wimbledon | ||
|---|---|---|
| 1949 | Mixed doubles | with Sheila Piercey Summers |
| 1950 | Mixed doubles | with Louise Brough |
| US Championships | ||
| 1949 | Mixed doubles | with Louise Brough |
| Queen's Club | ||
| 1951 | Men's singles | |
| Scottish Championships | ||
| 1951 | Men's singles | |
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
The person behind the player.
Johannesburg, 1939
When war broke out he was a 19-year-old accountancy student who had already won a South African title. He went on to win a record 11 South African singles championships, the last in 1957, among them a 1954 final against Jaroslav Drobny.
Source: Daily Maverick, 2023October 1944
His Daily Telegraph obituary, quoted by Daily Maverick, records that he was flying at 50 ft when his Spitfire was hit by anti-aircraft fire. With the engine on fire he climbed to 700 ft, rolled the plane on to its back, slid back the canopy and baled out. He was captured on landing and sent to Stalag Luft III.
Source: Daily Maverick, quoting the Daily Telegraph obituary, 2004Cricket
He also played a few first-class cricket matches in the war years as a right-arm medium-pace bowler.
Source: ESPNcricinfoWimbledon 1947
Beaten in the early rounds of the 1947 singles, he won the All England Plate, the consolation event for players beaten in the first rounds, beating Tony Mottram of Britain 6-3, 6-3 in the final. Two years later he was a Wimbledon champion.
Source: Wimbledon Compendium 2025Wimbledon 1949
The 1949 mixed final, 9-7, 9-11, 7-5 against Bromwich and Brough, ran to 48 games, the most in any Wimbledon mixed final. Sturgess and Sheila Summers were the first South Africans to win a Wimbledon title.
Source: Wimbledon Compendium 2025Wimbledon 1992
In 1992 the All England Club invited him back as a special guest of the Last 8 Club, alongside Jaroslav Drobny, Budge Patty and Beverly Fleitz.
Source: Wimbledon Compendium 2025Free membership: player news, the grass court Atlas, the rankings and the grass season calendar.
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