The amateur years
Australia · born Coffs Harbour, New South Wales, 1930 · died 2017 · left-handed · Australian champion 1954, Wimbledon doubles champion 1954 and mixed champion 1957
All playersBack to the rankings
7
Major titles: two singles, four doubles, one mixed
2
Wimbledon titles: doubles 1954, mixed 1957
3
Major doubles titles with Rex Hartwig, 1953 and 1954
2
Davis Cup titles with Australia, 1951 and 1957
No. 3
World ranking in 1958, his highest
Mervyn Gordon Rose was born in Coffs Harbour, New South Wales, in 1930. An attacking left-hander with a kicking serve and sharp volleys, he was ranked in the world's top ten seven times between 1951 and 1958 and played Davis Cup for Australia from 1951 to 1957, in winning teams in 1951 and 1957.
Most of his major titles came on grass. He lost the 1953 Australian final to Ken Rosewall, then in 1954 beat Rosewall, the top seed, in the semi-finals and his doubles partner Rex Hartwig in the final in Sydney. He won the US doubles in 1952 with Vic Seixas and in 1953 with Hartwig, and with Hartwig took the Australian and Wimbledon doubles in 1954. In 1957 he won the Wimbledon mixed with Darlene Hard. His other singles major, the 1958 French, came on clay, as did the Italian title the same year.
He turned professional in 1959 and played in Jack Kramer's troupe. As a coach he worked with Margaret Court, Billie Jean King and Arantxa Sánchez Vicario, among many others. He received the Australian Sports Medal in 2000, entered the International Tennis Hall of Fame in 2001 and the Australian Tennis Hall of Fame in 2002, and was made a Member of the Order of Australia in 2006. He died in 2017, aged 87.
| Australian singles | 1953: lost the final to Ken Rosewall 6-0, 6-3, 6-4. 1954: beat Rosewall 6-3, 6-3, 3-6, 1-6, 7-5 in the semi-final and Rex Hartwig 6-2, 0-6, 6-4, 6-2 in the final at White City, Sydney |
|---|---|
| Wimbledon doubles | 1953 final with Hartwig: lost to Lew Hoad and Ken Rosewall 6-4, 7-5, 4-6, 7-5. 1954 final: beat Vic Seixas and Tony Trabert 6-4, 6-4, 3-6, 6-4 |
| Wimbledon mixed | 1951 final with Nancye Wynne Bolton: lost to Frank Sedgman and Doris Hart 7-5, 6-2. 1957 final with Darlene Hard: beat Neale Fraser and Althea Gibson 6-4, 7-5 |
| US doubles | 1952 with Vic Seixas: beat Ken McGregor and Frank Sedgman 3-6, 10-8, 10-8, 6-8, 8-6. 1953 with Hartwig: beat Gardnar Mulloy and Bill Talbert 6-4, 4-6, 6-2, 6-4 |
| Wimbledon marathon | 1958, second round, with Barry MacKay: beat Billy Knight and Tony Pickard 13-11, 6-4, 26-24, an 84-game doubles match listed in the Wimbledon Compendium |
| Wimbledon | ||
|---|---|---|
| 1954 | Men's doubles | with Rex Hartwig |
| 1957 | Mixed doubles | with Darlene Hard |
| US Championships | ||
| 1952 | Men's doubles | with Vic Seixas |
| 1953 | Men's doubles | with Rex Hartwig |
| Australian Championships | ||
| 1954 | Men's doubles | with Rex Hartwig |
| 1954 | Men's singles | |
| Northern Championships | ||
| 1953 | Men's singles | |
| South Australian Championships | ||
| 1953 | 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
"Of all the grand slams and tournaments I have won in my career, nothing stands out more than the 1958 Italian Open"
The person behind the player.
On tour
His local paper described him in 2012 as cheeky, with a larrikin manner on tour and a short temper, "the John McEnroe of his era". He told the paper he had once broken three Slazenger racquets in a match, and had played a final in the rain wearing just his socks, and won it.
Source: International Tennis Hall of FameRome, 1958
His favourite win was over Nicola Pietrangeli in the 1958 Italian final, 5-7, 8-6, 6-4, 1-6, 6-2. The home crowd threw bottles and cans at him, and he left the court in such a hurry that he never got his hands on the trophy.
Source: International Tennis Hall of FameSydney, 1954
Seeded fifth, he met the top seed Rosewall in the semi-finals a year after Rosewall had beaten him 6-0, 6-3, 6-4 in the final. Rose won in five sets, 7-5 in the fifth, then beat his own doubles partner, Rex Hartwig, for the title.
Source: International Tennis Hall of FameCoaching
After his playing days he coached Margaret Court, Billie Jean King and Arantxa Sánchez Vicario. Tennis Australia, announcing his death in 2017, called him a seven-time Grand Slam champion; the AFP report noted his chip-and-charge game.
Source: Sky Sports (AFP)Free membership: player news, the grass court Atlas, the rankings and the grass season calendar.
Join freePage updated 4 November 2026. Spotted an error? Send a correction.
