Bryan Morel "Bitsy" Grant Jr. (December 25, 1909 – June 5, 1986) was an American amateur

tennis Tennis is a racket sport that is played either individually against a single opponent ( singles) or between two teams of two players each ( doubles). Each player uses a tennis racket that is strung with cord to strike a hollow rubber ball ...

champion. At and , Grant was the smallest American man to win a championship on the international tennis circuit. A right-handed retriever, he was able to beat heavy-hitting greats such as Don Budge and

Ellsworth Vines Henry Ellsworth Vines Jr. (September 28, 1911 – March 17, 1994) was an American tennis champion of the 1930s, the World No. 1 player or the co-No. 1 in 1932, 1934, 1935, 1936 and 1937, able to win Pro Slam titles on three different surfaces. ...

even when playing on grass. His nickname was "Itsy Bitsy the Giant Killer". At a young age, Grant was already a star in

football Football is a family of team sports that involve, to varying degrees, kicking a ball to score a goal. Unqualified, the word ''football'' normally means the form of football that is the most popular where the word is used. Sports commonly c ...

, basketball and tennis at local Atlanta schools. In 1929, he won the Georgia state (GIAA) tennis title. Grant had gained national stature in tennis long before his graduation from the

University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill A university () is an institution of higher (or tertiary) education and research which awards academic degrees in several academic disciplines. Universities typically offer both undergraduate and postgraduate programs. In the United States ...

in 1933. During World War II, he served in the

Pacific Islands Collectively called the Pacific Islands, the islands in the Pacific Ocean are further categorized into three major island groups: Melanesia, Micronesia, and Polynesia. Depending on the context, the term ''Pacific Islands'' may refer to one of se ...

as a US Army rifleman in and around Papua

New Guinea New Guinea (; Hiri Motu Hiri Motu, also known as Police Motu, Pidgin Motu, or just Hiri, is a language of Papua New Guinea, which is spoken in surrounding areas of Port Moresby (Capital of Papua New Guinea). It is a simplified version of ...

. His letters to his future wife attest that he fought out of a

foxhole Foxhole may refer to: * Foxhole, a type of defensive fighting position constructed in a military context * Foxholes, Hertford, an eastern suburb of Hertford * Foxholes, North Yorkshire, a village and civil parish in Northern England * Foxhole, C ...

for several months, and saw heavy and repeated firefights. Grant died at the age of 76 at his home in Townsend Place.

Tennis career

Between 1930 and 1941, Grant was ranked nine times in the U.S. Top Ten (USLTA). He was third in 1935 and second in 1936 (USLTA).

A. Wallis Myers Arthur Wallis Myers (24 July 1878 – 17 June 1939) was an English tennis correspondent, editor, author and player. He was one of the leading tennis journalists of the first half of the 20th century. Family life Myers was son of the Rev. John ...

The Daily Telegraph ''The Daily Telegraph'', known online and elsewhere as ''The Telegraph'', is a national British daily broadsheet newspaper published in London by Telegraph Media Group and distributed across the United Kingdom and internationally. It was fo ...

ranked Grant World No. 6 in 1937 and World No. 8 in 1936."Wallis Myers' Rankings"
''The Age'', 24th September 1936. Grant won 8 of 11 tournaments entered in 1935, and did not lose one match on clay courts. He won the U.S. Clay Court Championships thrice (1930, 1934, 1935). Grant reached the U.S. semifinals in 1935 by defeating second-seeded Don Budge, before losing to Sidney Wood and in 1936, he lost in the semifinals to eventual champion Fred Perry. He was a quarterfinalist in 1937, losing to

Gottfried von Cramm Gottfried Alexander Maximilian Walter Kurt Freiherr von Cramm (; 7 July 1909 – 8 November 1976) was a German tennis champion who won the French Open twice and reached the final of a Grand Slam on five other occasions. He was ranked number 2 in ...

, and reached the same round a year later. Grant was a standout on the Davis Cup team in 1935, 1936 and 1937, helping the U.S. regain the prize in 1937 after a 10-year slump. At this time he also defeated in major tournaments Don Budge,

Frank Shields Francis Xavier Alexander Shields Sr. (November 18, 1909 – August 19, 1975) was an American amateur tennis player of the 1920s and 1930s, and an actor known for ''Hoosier Schoolboy'' (1937). Tennis career Between 1928 and 1945 he was ranked e ...

, and Wilmer Allison. He reached the quarterfinals at

Wimbledon Wimbledon most often refers to: * Wimbledon, London, a district of southwest London * Wimbledon Championships, the oldest tennis tournament in the world and one of the four Grand Slam championships Wimbledon may also refer to: Places London * ...

in 1936 and 1937, losing to Fred Perry and

Bunny Austin Henry Wilfred "Bunny" Austin (26 August 1906 – 26 August 2000) was an English tennis player. For 74 years he was the last Briton to reach the final of the men's singles at Wimbledon, until Andy Murray did so in 2012. He was also a finalist ...

. Also in 1937, Grant and Wayne Sabin were the 3rd-ranked U.S. doubles team. He also won the singles and the doubles titles at the tournament in

Cincinnati Cincinnati ( ) is a city in the U.S. state of Ohio and the county seat of Hamilton County. Settled in 1788, the city is located at the northern side of the confluence of the Licking and Ohio rivers, the latter of which marks the state line wit ...

in both 1939 and 1933.

, who had had his issues both with interactions with other players, and with alcohol, was known for making fun of Grant, saying "the little shaver" was hiding behind the net. Once a drunk Shields held Grant upside down, outside a hotel window. Grant continued to compete as a senior, winning 19 U.S. singles titles on the four surfaces: grass court-45s (1956 and 1957), 55s (1965, 1966, 1967 and 1968); indoor 55s (1966); clay court-45s (1959, 1960, 1961 and 1963), 55s (1965, 1966, 1967, 1968 and 1969), 65s (1976 and 1977); and hard court-65s (1976). Atlanta's largest tennis center, the Bitsy Grant Tennis Center, was named for him in 1954. Grant was inducted into the International Tennis Hall of Fame in 1972.

References

External links

* * *
Bitsy Grant Tennis Center website

The New Georgia Encyclopedia article
{{DEFAULTSORT:Grant, Bitsy American male tennis players North Carolina Tar Heels men's tennis players Tennis players from Atlanta International Tennis Hall of Fame inductees Tennis people from Georgia (U.S. state) 1910 births 1986 deaths