Between the wars
South Africa · born Queenstown, 1898 · died 1983 · Wimbledon mixed doubles champion 1928 with Elizabeth Ryan
All playersBack to the rankings
1928
Wimbledon mixed doubles title with Elizabeth Ryan
2
Scottish singles titles, 1922 and 1923
1926
Wimbledon singles quarter-final
12
Wimbledon appearances, 1923 to 1936
14-7
Davis Cup record for South Africa, 1924 to 1931
Patrick Dennis Benham Spence was born in Queenstown, Cape Colony, on 11 February 1898. After the First World War he went to Edinburgh to study medicine, and he spent almost his whole tennis career in Britain while working as a doctor, first at Guy's Hospital in London and then in Richmond and in private practice in Kingston upon Thames.
His first big title was the Scottish Championships in 1922, which he defended in 1923. In 1924 he won the Middlesex Championships and the covered courts title at Queen's Club, and in 1925 the British Hard Court Championships. He played at Wimbledon 12 times between 1923 and 1936, reached the singles quarter-finals in 1926 and won the mixed doubles with Elizabeth Ryan in 1928. In 1927 he reached the semi-finals of the French Championships, and in 1931 he won the French mixed with Betty Nuthall.
He played Davis Cup for South Africa from 1924 to 1931, winning 14 of 21 matches, and competed at the 1924 Olympics. He died in Johannesburg in November 1983.
| Wimbledon mixed 1928 | Seeded second with Elizabeth Ryan, beat the unseeded Jack Crawford and Daphne Akhurst in the final 7-5, 6-4 |
|---|---|
| Scottish Championships | 1922: beat Alex Blair 6-0, 2-6, 7-5, 1-6, 6-3. 1923: beat Eric Rayner 6-2, 10-8, 6-3 |
| Wimbledon singles | Quarter-finalist in 1926; his best men's doubles result there was the semi-finals in 1924 |
| Surrey Grass Courts 1935 | Lost the final to Eskell Andrews of New Zealand at the tournament where a new foot-fault rule, letting the server swing a leg over the baseline, was tried for the first time |
| Wimbledon | ||
|---|---|---|
| 1928 | Mixed doubles | with Elizabeth Ryan |
| Scottish Championships | ||
| 1922 | Men's singles | |
| 1923 | 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.
Edinburgh
He studied medicine at Edinburgh University, practised at Guy's Hospital and in Richmond, and later had a private practice in Kingston upon Thames, from which he retired in 1934. His first major tennis title, the Scottish Championships of 1922, came while he was in Edinburgh.
Source: OlympediaStyle
The British Davis Cup player Nigel Sharpe described him as an attacking player who preferred pace to spin and went to the net, though his volley could be indecisive. His backhand was weak, and he always placed himself to take the ball on his forehand.
Source: Pat Spence, WikipediaSurrey, 1935
His run to the 1935 Surrey Grass Court Championships final, lost to Eskell Andrews, came at the first tournament to trial a new service rule that let the server swing a leg over the baseline.
Source: Pat Spence, WikipediaBerlin, 1930
Playing for the International Club of Great Britain against Rot-Weiss Berlin in 1930, he won all four of his matches, two singles and two doubles, beating Daniel Prenn and Heinrich Kleinschroth.
Source: Pat Spence, WikipediaFree 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.
