The amateur years
United States · born Cincinnati, 1930 · died 2021 · Wimbledon champion 1955
All playersBack to the rankings
0
Sets lost winning Wimbledon in 1955
5-0
Record in major singles finals
106-7
Match record in 1955
3-2
US win over Australia, Sydney 1954
Born Marion Anthony Trabert in Cincinnati in 1930, he learned on public clay courts, won the 1951 NCAA singles title for the University of Cincinnati, where he also started for the basketball team, and then spent two years in the Navy during the Korean War. Between 1953 and 1955 he won five major singles titles from five finals: the US Championships in 1953 and 1955, the French in 1954 and 1955, and Wimbledon in 1955. That year he won 18 tournaments and 106 of 113 matches. He turned professional for Jack Kramer late in 1955 and won the French Pro in 1956 and 1959. He later captained the US Davis Cup team to titles in 1978 and 1979, worked for CBS for more than 30 years and was president of the International Tennis Hall of Fame from 2001 to 2011.
| Major singles titles | 3: Wimbledon (1955); US (1953, 1955) |
|---|---|
| Other grass singles titles | 5: Kent (1955); Newport (1953); Pennsylvania Grass Court (1955); SA Championships (1954); Southampton (1951) |
| Major doubles titles | 2 doubles (Australian 1, US 1) |
| Wimbledon singles | Champion 1955 without losing a set, the first man to do so since 1938. Semi-finalist 1954, when blisters on his racquet hand and feet ended his run |
| Finals to remember | Wimbledon 1955: beat Kurt Nielsen 6-3, 7-5, 6-1. US 1955: beat Ken Rosewall 9-7, 6-3, 6-3. US 1953: beat Vic Seixas 6-3, 6-2, 6-3 |
| Grass doubles | US Championships 1954 and Australian Championships 1955, both with Vic Seixas. Wimbledon finalist with Seixas in 1954 |
| Davis Cup on grass | Melbourne 1953: lost to Lew Hoad 7-5 in the fifth set as Australia came back from 1-2 down. Sydney 1954: beat Hoad at White City as the United States won 3-2 and ended Australia's four-year hold on the Cup |
| Australian Championships | Semi-finalist 1955, beaten by Ken Rosewall, the only major he lost that year |
| Wimbledon | ||
|---|---|---|
| 1955 | Men's singles | |
| US Championships | ||
| 1953 | Men's singles | |
| 1954 | Men's doubles | with Vic Seixas |
| 1955 | Men's singles | |
| Southampton (Meadow Club) | ||
| 1951 | Men's singles Southampton Invitational | |
| Newport, Rhode Island | ||
| 1953 | Men's singles Newport Casino Invitational | |
| South Australian Championships | ||
| 1954 | Men's singles | |
| Australian Championships | ||
| 1955 | Men's doubles | with Vic Seixas |
| Kent Championships (Beckenham) | ||
| 1955 | Men's singles | |
| Pennsylvania Grass Court Championships (Merion) | ||
| 1955 | 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
"I guarantee you next year will be my day."
The person behind the player.
Melbourne 1953 · Davis Cup
The United States led Australia 2-1 before Hoad beat Trabert 7-5 in the fifth set and Rosewall beat Seixas the next day. At the ceremony an Australian official said yesterday was Hoad's day and today was Rosewall's. Trabert took the microphone and said: "I guarantee you next year will be my day."
Source: International Tennis Hall of FameSydney 1954 · White City
The rematch on grass at White City drew crowds of more than 25,000. Trabert and Seixas each beat the man who had beaten them in Melbourne, Trabert reversing his loss to Hoad, and the Americans won the doubles the next day to take the Cup 3-2. Trabert said the Davis Cup was the achievement he was proudest of.
Source: International Tennis Hall of FameWimbledon 1955 · Final
About 17,000 watched the final, and the crowd favoured the Dane Kurt Nielsen. Trabert played as he had on the first day: a safe three-quarter serve, attacks on Nielsen's Continental-grip forehand and his weaker second serve, and high lobs that drew missed overheads. A year earlier blisters on his hand and feet had ended his run.
Source: Sports IllustratedWimbledon 1955 · Prize
As an amateur his reward for winning Wimbledon was modest. "When I won Wimbledon I got a 10-pound certificate, which was worth $27 dollars at a sporting good store," he said. Before the year was out Jack Kramer had offered him a guaranteed $75,000 to turn professional, and he accepted.
Source: Associated Press, via ClickOrlandoCincinnati, 1940s
His family had little money, and his father, Arch, took out loans to pay for his trips to national junior events. His father also taught him to arrive on time, and Trabert thanked umpires after every match, win or lose, calling it "a very small thing" that "means a lot."
Source: International Tennis Hall of FameUS Open 1984
On Super Saturday, 8 September 1984, Trabert and Pat Summerall were on CBS for 12 hours straight. He prepared for each US Open with a red binder of highlighted articles, and at his junior camp the slogan was that the one thing always seen at Tony Trabert Tennis Camp was Tony Trabert.
Source: International Tennis Hall of FameFree membership: player news, the grass court Atlas, the rankings and the grass season calendar.
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