The early years
Australia · born Sydney, 1872 · died 1950 · left-handed · Australasian champion 1907 who won a major mixed title at 50
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1907
Australasian singles champion, at Brisbane
3
Australasian singles finals lost: 1910, 1911 and 1915
50
His age when he won the 1923 Australasian mixed doubles
1900 to 1922
Span of his state singles titles in New South Wales, Victoria, Queensland, South Australia and Tasmania
1913
Davis Cup for Australasia against the United States in New York
Horace Rice, known as Horrie, was born in Sydney on 5 September 1872 into a family of professional musicians: his father was a conductor and his brothers were violinists in professional musical circles. He was a small, neat left-hander who always played in knickerbockers, with a particularly good backhand.
He won the New South Wales singles in 1900 and the Queensland and Victorian titles in 1901. In August 1907 he won the Australasian Championships at Brisbane, beating Harry Parker 6-3, 6-4, 6-4 in the final, and that year also took the New South Wales and Queensland titles again. He lost three more Australasian singles finals, to Rodney Heath in 1910, Norman Brookes in 1911 and Gordon Lowe in 1915, and won the Australasian doubles with Ashley Campbell in 1910 and Clarence Todd in 1915.
In 1913 he travelled to Britain and America. He played at Wimbledon, won the Scottish Championships and played for Australasia against the United States in the Davis Cup at the West Side Tennis Club in New York. He went on winning state titles into his late forties, reached the Australasian singles semi-finals at 47 in 1920 and at 50 in 1923, and in August 1923 won the mixed doubles with Sylvia Lance at 50 years and 347 days. He died in Roseville, New South Wales, on 18 January 1950, aged 77.
| Australasian singles finals lost | 1910 to Rodney Heath 6-4, 6-3, 6-3. 1911 to Norman Brookes 6-2, 6-3, 6-3. 1915 to Gordon Lowe 4-6, 6-1, 6-2, 6-4 |
|---|---|
| Australasian doubles finals | Won 1910 with Ashley Campbell, beating Rodney Heath and James O'Dea 6-3, 6-3, 6-2; won 1915 with Clarence Todd, beating Gordon Lowe and Bert St. John 8-6, 6-4, 7-9, 6-3. Lost 1907 with George Wright, 1920 with Roy Taylor and 1923 with Dudley Bullough |
| Australasian mixed 1923 | With Sylvia Lance: beat Margaret Molesworth and Bert St. John 2-6, 6-4, 6-4, at 50 years and 347 days |
| Late semi-finals | 1920 Australasian singles, aged 47: lost to Ronald Thomas in five sets after saving two match points. 1923, aged 50: lost to Bert St. John in four sets |
| Queensland Championships | ||
|---|---|---|
| 1901 | Men's singles | |
| 1907 | Men's singles | |
| 1911 | Men's singles | |
| 1912 | Men's singles | |
| 1922 | Men's singles | |
| Australian Championships | ||
| 1907 | Men's singles Australasian Championships | |
| 1910 | Men's doubles Australasian Championships | with Ashley Campbell |
| 1915 | Men's doubles Australasian Championships | with Clarence Todd |
| 1923 | Mixed doubles Australasian Championships | with Sylvia Lance Harper |
| New South Wales Championships | ||
| 1900 | Men's singles | |
| 1907 | Men's singles | |
| South Australian Championships | ||
| 1914 | Men's singles | |
| 1915 | Men's singles | |
| Victorian Championships | ||
| 1901 | Men's singles | |
| Scottish Championships | ||
| 1913 | Men's singles | |
| Tasmanian Championships | ||
| 1916 | 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.
Sydney
Rice came from a musical family. His father was a conductor and his brothers were violinists; his brother William played viola in J. C. Williamson's orchestra and married the dancer Minnie Everett. A writer in The Referee in 1933 thought Rice might have made a fine cricketer, and that his own violin playing may have made him wary of games that risked his fingers.
Source: Horace Rice, Wikipedia, citing J. C. Davis, "Great Families in Games", The Referee, 1933Style
Contemporaries described him as a small, neat left-hander who always played in knickerbockers and had an especially good backhand.
Source: Horace Rice, WikipediaAugust 1923
On 18 August 1923, at 50 years and 347 days, he won the Australasian mixed doubles with Sylvia Lance. The tennis database db4tennis lists it as the oldest title won by a man at the highest level of the game.
Source: db4tennisFree membership: player news, the grass court Atlas, the rankings and the grass season calendar.
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