The amateur years
Australia · born Glebe, Sydney, 1934 · died 1994 · twice Wimbledon champion
All playersBack to the rankings
2
Wimbledon singles titles, 1956 and 1957
3
Wimbledon doubles titles, 1953 to 1956
57
Minutes to win the 1957 final
17-4
Davis Cup match record
$125,000
Kramer's guarantee to turn professional, 1957
Born in Glebe, an inner suburb of Sydney, on 23 November 1934, Hoad built his strength at a police boys' club, where he also boxed. He played as an amateur from 1951 to 1957, five of those years in the world top ten. In 1956 he won the Australian, French and Wimbledon titles and was ranked world No. 1, but lost the US final to Ken Rosewall. After retaining Wimbledon in 1957 he turned professional with Jack Kramer. A bad back, which he dated to an exercise devised during National Service in 1954, troubled him through his first professional seasons, and he lost the 1958 series with Pancho Gonzales 51-36. He won the 1959 Tournament of Champions, semi-retired in 1967, settled in Fuengirola, Spain, and died there in 1994. He entered the International Tennis Hall of Fame in 1980.
| Major singles titles | 3: Wimbledon (1956, 1957); Australian (1956) |
|---|---|
| Major singles finals lost | 2: Australian 1955, US 1956 |
| Other grass singles titles | 10: NSW Championships 2 (1953, 1955); Queen's 2 (1953, 1954); Queensland Championships 2 (1953, 1954); Victorian Championships 2 (1953, 1955); Northern Championships (1957); SA Pro (1959) |
| Major doubles titles | 7 doubles (Wimbledon 3, Australian 3, US 1) |
| Wimbledon doubles | 1953 and 1956 with Ken Rosewall; 1955 with Rex Hartwig, beating Neale Fraser and Rosewall 7-5, 6-4, 6-3 |
| Finals to remember | 1956: beat Ken Rosewall 6-2, 4-6, 7-5, 6-4 in the first all-Australian Wimbledon final since 1922. 1957: beat Ashley Cooper 6-2, 6-1, 6-2 in 57 minutes |
| The Grand Slam that got away | 1956: won the Australian, French and Wimbledon titles, then lost the US final at Forest Hills to Rosewall in four sets |
| Davis Cup on grass | 1953 Challenge Round at Kooyong, aged 19: beat Vic Seixas, then Tony Trabert 13-11, 6-3, 2-6, 3-6, 7-5 in the deciding rubber. 1955 at Forest Hills: beat Trabert in four sets and won the doubles with Hartwig as Australia regained the cup. In the cup-winning sides of 1953, 1955 and 1956 |
| Queen's doubles | 1955 with Rex Hartwig |
| Wimbledon | ||
|---|---|---|
| 1953 | Men's doubles | with Ken Rosewall |
| 1955 | Men's doubles | with Rex Hartwig |
| 1956 | Men's doubles | with Ken Rosewall |
| 1956 | Men's singles | |
| 1957 | Men's singles | |
| Australian Championships | ||
| 1953 | Men's doubles | with Ken Rosewall |
| 1956 | Men's doubles | with Ken Rosewall |
| 1956 | Men's singles | |
| 1957 | Men's doubles | with Neale Fraser |
| Eastern Grass Court Championships (South Orange) | ||
| 1953 | Men's singles | |
| 1954 | Men's singles | |
| New South Wales Championships | ||
| 1953 | Men's singles | |
| 1955 | Men's singles | |
| Queen's Club | ||
| 1953 | Men's singles | |
| 1954 | Men's singles | |
| Queensland Championships | ||
| 1953 | Men's singles | |
| 1954 | Men's singles | |
| Victorian Championships | ||
| 1953 | Men's singles | |
| 1955 | Men's singles | |
| US Championships | ||
| 1956 | Men's doubles | with Ken Rosewall |
| Northern Championships | ||
| 1957 | Men's singles | |
| South Australian Championships | ||
| 1959 | 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
"He was the only guy who, if I was playing my best tennis, could still beat me."
The person behind the player.
Kooyong 1953
In the Challenge Round at Kooyong, Harry Hopman's Australians faced the holders, the United States. The 19-year-old Hoad beat Vic Seixas, then Tony Trabert in five sets on a slick court where both wore spikes. Trabert reportedly said the Americans had been beaten by two babes and a fox, the fox being Hopman.
Source: International Tennis Hall of FameForest Hills 1955
Two years on, the cup was back in American hands and the Challenge Round was at Forest Hills. Hoad beat Trabert in four sets and won the doubles with Rex Hartwig to bring the cup home. Trabert said that trying to stop Hoad in the final set was like fighting a machine gun with a rubber knife.
Source: WikipediaJune 1955
In June 1955 he married Jenny Staley, who had reached the Australian Championships final the year before. The wedding fell on the day of the Queen's Club final. A few weeks later he won the Wimbledon doubles with Rex Hartwig, beating Neale Fraser and Ken Rosewall in straight sets.
Source: WikipediaWimbledon 1957
He beat Ashley Cooper 6-2, 6-1, 6-2 in 57 minutes to keep his title, then signed a two-year professional contract with Jack Kramer. The guarantee of US$125,000 was a record and included a US$25,000 bonus for winning Wimbledon. On 14 July he beat Frank Sedgman at Forest Hills in his first professional match.
Source: WikipediaUnited States 1958
His first professional tour against Pancho Gonzales was planned at 100 matches. Hoad led 8-5 after Australia and New Zealand and won 18 of the first 27 in the United States before his back stiffened in Palm Springs. Gonzales won the series 51-36. Their next tour, in 1959, was so hard on Gonzales that he said he had blisters under his blisters.
Source: WikipediaFuengirola, Spain
After his playing days he and Jenny built Lew Hoad's Campo de Tenis in Fuengirola and ran it together. They lived in Spain for about thirty years. Neale Fraser, remembering him in 1994, called him the first of the charismatic players of the 1950s.
Source: International Tennis Hall of FameFree membership: player news, the grass court Atlas, the rankings and the grass season calendar.
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