Between the wars
France · born Paris, 1895 · died 1978 · four times Wimbledon doubles champion
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10
Major men's doubles titles, 1926 to 1934
4
Wimbledon doubles titles, with two partners
17
Major men's doubles finals, 1925 to 1939
26-11
Davis Cup record, 1921 to 1934
44
Age at his 1939 Wimbledon doubles semi-final
Born in Paris in 1895, Brugnon was the doubles specialist of the Four Musketeers. He won ten major men's doubles titles: five at the French Championships, four at Wimbledon and one at the Australian Championships, partnering Henri Cochet or Jean Borotra, and reached 17 major doubles finals between 1925 and 1939. With Suzanne Lenglen he won the French mixed doubles in 1925 and 1926. He never won a major singles title, but reached the Wimbledon semi-final in 1926 and was ranked world No. 9 by A. Wallis Myers for 1927. He played 31 Davis Cup ties for France between 1921 and 1934, winning 26 of 37 rubbers, mostly in doubles, and won Olympic doubles silver with Cochet in Paris in 1924. He played his last Wimbledon in 1948 and died in 1978.
| Wimbledon doubles titles | 4: 1926 and 1928 with Henri Cochet; 1932 and 1933 with Jean Borotra |
|---|---|
| Wimbledon doubles finals lost | 3: 1927 and 1931 with Cochet; 1934 with Borotra |
| Australian Championships | Doubles champion 1928 with Jean Borotra |
| Wimbledon singles | Semi-final 1926, lost to Howard Kinsey in five sets. Played 20 Wimbledons between 1920 and 1948 |
| Finals to remember | 1928: with Cochet beat John Hawkes and Gerald Patterson 13-11, 6-4, 6-4. 1932: with Borotra beat Pat Hughes and Fred Perry 6-0, 4-6, 3-6, 7-5, 7-5 |
| Davis Cup on grass | 1927 Challenge Round, Germantown Cricket Club, Philadelphia: with Borotra lost the doubles to Bill Tilden and Frank Hunter 3-6, 6-3, 6-3, 4-6, 6-0; France won the tie 3-2 |
| Late career | Wimbledon doubles semi-final 1939 with Borotra, aged 44 |
| Wimbledon | ||
|---|---|---|
| 1926 | Men's doubles | with Henri Cochet |
| 1928 | Men's doubles | with Henri Cochet |
| 1932 | Men's doubles | with Jean Borotra |
| 1933 | Men's doubles | with Jean Borotra |
| Australian Championships | ||
| 1928 | Men's doubles | with Jean Borotra |
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
"Jacques is a player of rare stroke variety and touch."
The person behind the player.
Paris 1924
At the Paris Olympics he and Henri Cochet reached the final of the men's doubles and took the silver medal. Two years later the same pair won Wimbledon. Olympedia calls him perhaps the least known of the Four Musketeers, the doubles specialist among three singles champions.
Source: OlympediaWimbledon 1926
In the year of his first Wimbledon doubles title he also went deep in the singles, reaching the semi-final before losing to the American Howard Kinsey in five sets. Kinsey then lost the final to Brugnon's teammate Jean Borotra. A. Wallis Myers ranked him among the world's top ten that season and ninth the next.
Source: WikipediaGermantown 1927
In the Davis Cup Challenge Round he and Borotra lost the doubles to Bill Tilden and Frank Hunter, 6-0 in the fifth set. The defeat was not wasted: they had kept Tilden on court for five sets, and the next day René Lacoste beat a tired Tilden. Henri Cochet then won the deciding rubber and France had the Cup.
Source: Tennis AbstractParis, 1921 to 1926
Before his great doubles years he was Suzanne Lenglen's mixed doubles partner at the French Championships, and the pair won the title in 1921, 1922, 1923, 1925 and 1926. Only the last two count as majors, and they remain the only mixed doubles majors of his career.
Source: WikipediaWimbledon, 1930s
His reserved manner complemented Borotra's lively personality, and the two made a popular team that played together until 1939. He also gave France long service in the Davis Cup, playing in it from 1921 to 1934 and captaining the team for six years.
Source: BritannicaWimbledon 1939
Seeded third with Borotra in his last pre-war Wimbledon, he reached the semi-final of the gentlemen's doubles at 44; Bobby Riggs and Elwood Cooke went on to take the title. After the war he came back once more, and his twentieth and last Wimbledon was in 1948, when he was 53.
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