The amateur years
Australia · born Theodore, Queensland, 1935 · died 2026 · US champion 1957
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1957
First unseeded US champion, at Forest Hills
3
Seeds beaten on the way to that title
36
His age in the 1972 Australian final
13-6
Davis Cup record, 1957 to 1973
Born in Theodore, Queensland, in 1935, Anderson grew up on a cattle station and was coached by Charlie Hollis at Rockhampton Grammar School. In 1957 he won the Australian mixed with Fay Muller, the French doubles with Ashley Cooper and, unseeded, the US singles, and helped Australia keep the Davis Cup. He reached world No. 2 and lost the 1958 Australian and US finals to Cooper. Jack Kramer signed him as a professional late in 1958, and he won the 1959 Wembley Pro before eyesight problems ended his pro career in 1963. He then ran a tennis and squash centre in Brisbane. Semi-retired, he reached the 1972 Australian Open final and won the 1973 Australian doubles with John Newcombe and the Davis Cup. He entered the International Tennis Hall of Fame in 2000 and died in May 2026.
| Major singles titles | 1: US (1957) |
|---|---|
| Major singles finals lost | 3: Australian 1958, Australian 1972, US 1958 |
| Other grass singles titles | 10: Kent 2 (1956, 1957); Newport 2 (1957, 1958); Victorian Championships 2 (1957, 1958); Eastern Grass Court Championships (1958); Queen's (1958); SA Championships (1957); WA Championships (1958) |
| Major doubles titles | 1 doubles (Australian 1), 1 mixed (Australian 1) |
| US 1957 | Unseeded, beat second seed Dick Savitt in the fourth round, third seed Sven Davidson in five sets in the semi-final and top seed Ashley Cooper 10-8, 7-5, 6-4 in the final |
| Finals to remember | US 1958: led Ashley Cooper two sets to one and lost 2-6, 6-3, 6-4, 8-10, 6-8. Australian 1972: beat John Newcombe in five sets in the quarter-final, lost the final to Ken Rosewall 6-7, 3-6, 5-7 |
| Wimbledon singles | Quarter-finalist 1956 and 1958 |
| Doubles and mixed | Australian doubles 1973 with John Newcombe; Australian mixed 1957 with Fay Muller; Australian doubles finalist 1957 with Ashley Cooper |
| Davis Cup on grass | 1957 Challenge Round at Kooyong: beat Barry MacKay and Vic Seixas, both in five sets, as Australia kept the Cup against the United States |
| Australian Championships | ||
|---|---|---|
| 1957 | Mixed doubles | with Fay Muller |
| 1973 | Men's doubles Australian Open | with John Newcombe |
| Newport, Rhode Island | ||
| 1957 | Men's singles Newport Casino Invitational | |
| 1958 | Men's singles Newport Casino Invitational | |
| Victorian Championships | ||
| 1957 | Men's singles | |
| 1958 | Men's singles | |
| Surrey Championships (Surbiton) | ||
| 1955 | Men's singles | |
| Kent Championships (Beckenham) | ||
| 1957 | Men's singles | |
| South Australian Championships | ||
| 1957 | Men's singles | |
| US Championships | ||
| 1957 | Men's singles | |
| Eastern Grass Court Championships (South Orange) | ||
| 1958 | Men's singles | |
| Queen's Club | ||
| 1958 | Men's singles | |
| Western Australian Championships | ||
| 1958 | Men's singles | |
| Tasmanian Championships | ||
| 1969 | Men's doubles | with Roger Taylor |
| Queensland Championships | ||
| 1971 | Men's singles | |
| New South Wales Championships | ||
| 1973 | Men's singles New South Wales Open | |
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 finest exhibition of groundstrokes at Forest Hills since Gonzales in 1949."
The person behind the player.
Theodore, Queensland
His father built a dirt court with ant nests on the family's cattle station. As a boy he also played the Laver brothers, who had a court near Rockhampton, and he loved recalling Trevor and Bob telling their younger brother Rod to get off the court. "I just loved tennis from the earliest age," he said.
Source: Tennis AustraliaParis 1957
Cliff Sprowl, manager of the Australian touring team, paired him with his fellow Queenslander Ashley Cooper for the French doubles. "Ashley Cooper and I, it was the first time we played together and we were unseeded and we won the tournament," he recalled. They did not lose a set in best-of-five matches.
Source: Tennis AustraliaForest Hills 1957
Cooper had beaten him in the Australian semi-finals that year, and the word before the US final was that Ash always cools Mal. Anderson, unseeded, won 10-8, 7-5, 6-4. Cooper took his revenge in both the Australian and US finals of 1958, the second after Anderson had led two sets to one.
Source: International Tennis Hall of FameKooyong 1957
In the Challenge Round against the United States he won two five-set singles, against Barry MacKay and Vic Seixas. He credited his captain, Harry Hopman, for his fitness: "He would say you may not be the best player, but you can be the fittest." He called his Davis Cup selection one of his greatest moments as a player.
Source: Tennis AustraliaQueen's Club · later years
He mentored Pat Rafter, Scott Draper, Wally Masur and John Fitzgerald, and ran with satellite players at 6.30am before hitting for hours. Rafter said Anderson took him to Wimbledon for the first time, and that at Queen's Club, where Anderson had won in 1958, the crowd stood when his name was announced.
Source: Tennis AustraliaTheodore 2022
For the town's centenary he returned to Theodore and gave his 1957 US singles trophy to the local tennis club, along with a Davis Cup trophy and a doubles trophy won with John Newcombe. "Mal felt that Theodore was where tennis began for him," said the club secretary, Melanie Shannon.
Source: Queensland Country LifeFree membership: player news, the grass court Atlas, the rankings and the grass season calendar.
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