The early years
Great Britain · born Edgbaston, Birmingham, 1884 · died 1972 · Australasian champion in 1915
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1915
Australasian singles champion, in Brisbane
2
Wimbledon singles semi-finals, 1911 and 1923
3-0
Wimbledon singles record against his brother Arthur, 1909 to 1912
6 of 8
Davis Cup singles won, 1921 to 1926
50+
Tournaments won in a 25-year career
Francis Gordon Lowe was born in Edgbaston on 21 June 1884, a son of Sir Francis Lowe, the Birmingham solicitor and MP for Birmingham Edgbaston. He went to Charterhouse and Cambridge, graduating in 1905, and first played Wimbledon in 1906. His younger brother Arthur was also a leading player; they met three times in the Wimbledon singles, and Gordon won all three. In 1910 he won the South of England Championships at Eastbourne, the final against Arthur going to him by walkover, and the British Covered Court title at Queen's, beating Arthur 6-4, 6-0, 6-1.
He reached the Wimbledon semi-finals in 1911, and at the 1912 Olympic Games in Stockholm finished fourth in the indoor singles after losing the bronze medal match to Tony Wilding. In 1914 he and Arthur reached the All-Comers' final of the Wimbledon doubles. A. Wallis Myers ranked him No. 8 in the world that year.
In August 1915 he won the Australasian Championships in Brisbane, beating Horace Rice 4-6, 6-1, 6-1, 6-4 in the final, and was runner-up in the doubles with Bert St John. From 1916 to 1919 he served with the Indian Army in Mesopotamia and was mentioned in dispatches.
After the war he won the World Covered Court Championship at Queen's in 1920 and three Monte Carlo titles between 1920 and 1923, reached a second Wimbledon semi-final in 1923, and won six of his eight Davis Cup singles between 1921 and 1926. He and Arthur were runners-up in the 1921 Wimbledon doubles. He succeeded his father as second baronet in 1929, ran a sports business, Gordon Lowe Sports, and published his own lawn tennis annual in the 1930s. He died in London on 17 May 1972.
| 1915 Australasian Championships | Beat Roy Highett 6-3, 6-2, 6-3, Bert St John 3-6, 6-3, 7-5, 7-5 in the semi-final and Horace Rice 4-6, 6-1, 6-1, 6-4 in the final. Doubles runner-up with St John to Rice and Clarence Todd 8-6, 6-4, 7-9, 6-3 |
|---|---|
| Wimbledon, brother against brother | Beat Arthur Lowe 3-6, 6-2, 6-3, 6-2 in 1909, 5-7, 7-5, 6-4, retired in 1911 and 2-6, 6-2, 6-1, 6-3 in 1912. Only the Renshaw brothers have also met three times in the gentlemen's singles |
| Wimbledon doubles | With Arthur: lost the 1914 All-Comers' final to Norman Brookes and Tony Wilding 6-2, 8-6, 6-1, and the 1921 final to Randolph Lycett and Max Woosnam 6-3, 6-0, 7-5 |
| All England Plate | Won the Plate, for players beaten in the early rounds of the singles, in 1913, beating F. F. Roe 8-10, 6-3, 6-3, and in 1920, beating Charles Dixon 1-6, 8-6, 6-3 |
| Eastbourne | South of England champion in 1910; runner-up four years running, 1922 to 1925, to Brian Norton, Cotah Ramaswami, Mohammed Sleem and Charles Kingsley |
| Eastbourne | ||
|---|---|---|
| 1910 | Men's singles South of England Championships | |
| Australian Championships | ||
| 1915 | Men's singles Australasian Championships | |
| Queensland Championships | ||
| 1915 | 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.
Wimbledon, 1909 to 1912
Gordon and Arthur Lowe met in the Wimbledon singles in 1909, 1911 and 1912. Gordon won each time, the 1911 match when Arthur retired in the fourth set. Only the Renshaw brothers have also met three times in the gentlemen's singles.
Source: Wimbledon Compendium 2025Wimbledon, 1913
In the first round in 1913 he beat H. B. Bland 6-0, 6-0, 6-0, one of 16 such whitewashes in the history of the gentlemen's singles.
Source: Wimbledon Compendium 2025Eastbourne, 1910
His first big grass title came without a final: when he reached the last round of the South of England Championships against his brother, Arthur gave him a walkover.
Source: Wikipedia, citing The Sydney Morning Herald, 1 November 1910Stockholm, 1912
At the 1912 Olympic Games he played the indoor singles and reached the bronze medal match, where he lost to Tony Wilding in four sets. He played the doubles with Arthur, and returned for the 1920 Games in Antwerp.
Source: OlympediaMesopotamia, 1916 to 1919
A year after his Australasian title he was serving with the Indian Army in Mesopotamia, where he stayed until 1919 and was mentioned in dispatches. He was back at Queen's to win the World Covered Court title in 1920.
Source: OlympediaLondon, 1930s
Olympedia calls him a fine journalist. He was the proprietor of Gordon Lowe Sports and from 1932 to 1936 edited Lowe's Lawn Tennis Annual.
Source: Olympedia; WikipediaFree membership: player news, the grass court Atlas, the rankings and the grass season calendar.
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