Cecil Roberts Blackbeard (26 January 1900 – 19 April 1954) was a South African male

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 ...

player who represented South Africa in the Davis Cup and the

Olympic Games The modern Olympic Games or Olympics (french: link=no, Jeux olympiques) are the leading international sporting events featuring summer and winter sports competitions in which thousands of athletes from around the world participate in a vari ...

. He competed in the doubles event at the 1920 Summer Olympics. With compatriot George Dodd, he reached the quarterfinal round after victories over Alfred Beamish and Francis Lowe in the first round, followed by a win over

Jean-Pierre Samazeuilh Jean-Pierre Samazeuilh, best known as Jean Samazeuilh (17 January 1891, Bordeaux – 13 April 1965, Mérignac) was a right-handed tennis player competing for France. Samazeuilh reached three singles finals at the Amateur French Championships, w ...

and Daniel Lawton in the second. In the quarterfinal they were defeated in four sets by

Max Decugis Maxime Omer Mathieu Decugis or Décugis (; 24 September 1882 – 6 September 1978) was a tennis player from France who held the French Championships record of winning the tournament eight times (a French club members only tournament before 1925) ...

and

Pierre Albarran Pierre Albarran (18 May 1893 – 24 February 1960) was a French auction and contract bridge player and theorist, and a tennis player. It has been reported that he was born in the West Indies, and also in Chaville, Hauts-de-Seine, France. He d ...

. Blackbeard participated in the 1920 Wimbledon Championships playing in all three events (singles, doubles, mixed). In the singles event he made it to the quarterfinal round after victories over Yasin Mohamed, Ambrose Dudley, his doubles partner George Dodd and Frank Jarvis. In the quarterfinal he lost in four sets to Chuck Garland. With countryman George Dodd he also reached the quarterfinal of the doubles event in which

Algernon Kingscote Algernon Robert Fitzhardinge "Algy" Kingscote (3 December 1888 – 21 December 1964) was a British tennis player, who won the Men's Singles event at the Australasian Championships in 1919. Kingscote also competed in the 1924 Summer Olympics i ...

and Cecil Parke proved too strong. He was less successful in the mixed doubles, reaching the second round with D.K. Betty. In May 1920, he reached the final of the doubles event at the

World Hard Court Championships World Hard Court Championships was an annual major tennis tournament sanctioned by the International Lawn Tennis Federation and held from 1912 to 1923. It was principally held in Paris, on clay courts of the Stade Français in the Paris suburb of ...

, played at the Stade Français in Paris. With his teammate Nicolae Mişu they were defeated in the final by the French pair

André Gobert André Henri Gobert (30 September 1890 – 6 December 1951) was a tennis player from France. Gobert is a double Olympic tennis champion of 1912. At the Stockholm Games, he won both the men's singles and doubles indoor gold medals. Career Gober ...

and

William Laurentz William Laurentz (; 26 Feb 1895 – 7 March 1922) was a French tennis player of the early 20th century whose main achievements were winning the singles title at the World Hard Court Championships and World Covered Court Championships. Career La ...

in straight sets. In 1926, Blackbeard reached the final of the singles event at the South African Championships which he lost in three straight sets to countryman Jack Condon. At the same championships he won the doubles title in 1923 with his brother, D. Blackbeard, and in 1926 with

Charles Winslow Charles Lyndhurst Winslow (1 August 1888 – 15 September 1963) was a three-time Olympic tennis medalist from South Africa. He won two gold medals: Men's Singles and Doubles at the 1912 Summer Olympics in Stockholm. Eight years later, in Antw ...

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* {{DEFAULTSORT:Blackbeard, Cecil 1900 births 1954 deaths Sportspeople from Qonce Cape Colony people South African male tennis players Olympic tennis players for South Africa Tennis players at the 1920 Summer Olympics