Vernon Gordon 'Bob' Kirby (22 June 1911 – 27 September 1994) was a South African tennis player.

Biography

Kirby was educated at the Durban High School where he played cricket and football. He started tennis at the age of five and played in his spare time while at school. In May 1931 Kirby and his teammate and compatriot Norman Farquharson, were runners-up in the doubles final of the

French Championships The French Open (french: Internationaux de France de tennis), also known as Roland-Garros (), is a major tennis tournament held over two weeks at the Stade Roland Garros in Paris, France, beginning in late May each year. The tournament and ven ...

, losing in straight sets to the American pair George Lott and

John Van Ryn John Van Ryn (June 30, 1905 – August 7, 1999) was an American tennis champion of the 1930s. He was primarily known as the doubles partner of Wilmer Allison. Van Ryn won the Men's Doubles at Wimbledon three straight years (1929–31). He t ...

. In July he won against

George Lyttleton-Rogers George Lyttleton Rogers (10 July 1906 – 19 November 1962) was an Irish tennis player, promoter and coach. He won the Irish Championships title three times, (1926, 1936–1937). He was the Canadian and Argentine champion as well. He was a three ...

in the final of the Wimbledon Plate, a tournament for players who were defeated in the first or second rounds of the singles competition at the

Wimbledon Championships The Wimbledon Championships, commonly known simply as Wimbledon, is the oldest tennis tournament in the world and is widely regarded as the most prestigious. It has been held at the All England Lawn Tennis and Croquet Club, All England Club in ...

. Later in July Kirby beat his doubles partner in straight sets in the singles final of the Scottish Championships at Peebles. He also won the North of England Championships in

Scarborough, North Yorkshire Scarborough () is a seaside town in the Borough of Scarborough in North Yorkshire, England. Scarborough is located on the North Sea coastline. Historic counties of England, Historically in the North Riding of Yorkshire, the town lies between 10 ...

in singles and doubles. In 1933 he won the

Kent Championships The Kent Championships also known as the Kent All-Comers' Championships was a tennis tournament held in Foxgrove Road, Beckenham, Kent, England between 1886 and 1996 and was held in the first half of June. From 1887 until 1910 the tournament was ...

and in January 1934 he was victorious in the Estoril tournament. In 1934 Kirby reached the singles quarterfinal of the

but lost in four sets to American Sidney Wood. Later that same year at the U.S. National Championships he defeated future Grand Slam winner Don Budge in the fourth round to reach the semifinal in which he lost to eventual champion Fred Perry in four sets. In 1935 he reached the mixed doubles final of the Australian Championships with the Australian Birdie Bond. They were defeated by Australian Louise Bickerton and Frenchman Christian Boussus in three sets. Kirby reached the singles final of the South African Championships on four occasions (1933, 1935, 1937, 1938). He was victorious in the doubles in 1931 and 1932. He was ranked the third in the South African rankings in 1932 and World No. 9 in 1935 by J. Brooks Fenno, Jr. of

The Literary Digest ''The Literary Digest'' was an influential American general interest weekly magazine published by Funk & Wagnalls. Founded by Isaac Kaufmann Funk in 1890, it eventually merged with two similar weekly magazines, ''Public Opinion'' and '' Current O ...

. In 1937 he won the

East Grinstead Open The East Grinstead Open was a combined grass court tennis tournament held at the East Grinstead Lawn Tennis and Croquet Club(f.1882), East Grinstead, West Sussex, England from 1882 to 1939.Nieuwland, Alex (2011–2022). Sourchttps://www.tennisarch ...

in England, the same year he was ranked No. 1 in South Africa. Between 1931 and 1937 he played in ten ties for the South African

Davis Cup The Davis Cup is the premier international team event in men's tennis. It is run by the International Tennis Federation (ITF) and is contested annually between teams from competing countries in a knock-out format. It is described by the organis ...

team. The best team result was reaching the semifinal of the European Zone in

1935 Events January * January 7 – Italian premier Benito Mussolini and French Foreign Minister Pierre Laval conclude Franco-Italian Agreement of 1935, an agreement, in which each power agrees not to oppose the other's colonial claims. * ...

against

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. Kirby had a Davis Cup match record of 16 wins vs. 8 losses and was more successful in doubles (7–1) than singles (9–7). Kirby died in September 1994 in Perth, Australia.Billion Graves: V.G. (Bob) Kirby
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Grand Slam finals

Doubles (2 runners-up)

Mixed doubles (1 runner-up)

References

External links

* * *
New South Wales State Library Image of Vernon Kirby
{{DEFAULTSORT:Kirby, Vernon 1911 births 1994 deaths South African male tennis players Sportspeople from Durban White South African people