Donald L. M. Black (2 December 1927 – 19 October 2000) was a Rhodesian

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.

Early life

Black was born in

Hartley Hartley may refer to: Places Australia *Hartley, New South Wales *Hartley, South Australia **Electoral district of Hartley, a state electoral district Canada *Hartley Bay, British Columbia United Kingdom *Hartley, Cumbria *Hartley, Plymou ...

(now Chegutu), to an English mother and Scottish father.

Career

Black made his

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 * ...

debut in 1953 and defeated Czeslaw Spychala in the opening round.Tennis Archive Profile
He came from two sets down to beat John Horn in the second round and was then eliminated from the tournament by Belgium's

Jacques Brichant Jacques "Jacky" Brichant (28 March 1930 – 9 March 2011) was a Belgian tennis player. He was ranked world No. 9 for 1957. Brichant was a clay court specialist and won many clay court tournaments in Europe. Brichant has played the most Davis ...

. Another Belgian,

Jacques Peten Jacques Peten (8 December 1912 – 3 January 1995) was a Belgian alpine skier and tennis player. He competed in the men's combined event at the 1936 Winter Olympics. Peten represented Belgium in the Davis Cup, appearing in seven ties between 1 ...

, beat Black in the first round of the 1954 Wimbledon Championships. Black reached the third round of Wimbledon again in 1956, with wins over Gerald Oakley and Oliver Prenn, the latter in five sets. He had four match points against Australian Ashley Cooper in the third round but lost the final set 7–9. The following year he returned to Wimbledon for what would be the final time and he lost in the first round, to Emilio Martinez. The Rhodesian also competed twice at 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 ...

. In 1956 he won his first round match against Ecuador's Wladimir Lerque, in five sets, then lost to fourth seed

Art Larsen Arthur David "Art" or "Tappy" Larsen (April 17, 1925 – December 7, 2012) was an American No. 1 male tennis player best remembered for his victory at the U.S. Championships in 1950 and for his eccentricities. He won the "Times" national sport ...

. He lost in the opening round of the

1963 French Championships The 1963 French Championships (now known as the French Open) was a tennis tournament that took place on the outdoor clay courts at the Stade Roland-Garros in Paris, France. The tournament ran from 13 May until 26 May. It was the 67th staging of th ...

Abe Segal Alan Abraham Segal (23 October 1930 – 4 April 2016) was a South African tennis player. Early life and career He was born in Johannesburg, South Africa, and was Jewish. During the 1950s and 1960s, he was the doubles partner of Gordon Forb ...

Family

Black, who worked as a

high school A secondary school describes an institution that provides secondary education and also usually includes the building where this takes place. Some secondary schools provide both '' lower secondary education'' (ages 11 to 14) and ''upper seconda ...

teacher after leaving tennis, was the father of

Byron George Gordon Byron, 6th Baron Byron (22 January 1788 – 19 April 1824), known simply as Lord Byron, was an English romantic poet and Peerage of the United Kingdom, peer. He was one of the leading figures of the Romantic movement, and h ...

Cara Cara or CARA may refer to: Places * Čara, a village on the island of Korčula, Croatia * Cara, a village in Cojocna Commune, Cluj County, Romania * Cara Island, off the west coast of Argyll, Scotland * Cara Paraná River, Colombia * Cara Sucia ...

and

Wayne Black Wayne Hamilton Black (born 17 November 1973) is a former professional tennis player from Zimbabwe. The son of former player Don Black, Black turned professional in 1994 and reached his highest singles ranking of 69 on 30 March 1998. He is the y ...

, all professional tennis players. He coached them himself on the four grass courts and one hard court that he had built in the backyard of his 22-acre avocado farm. The siblings would win a total of 13

Grand Slam Grand Slam most often refers to: * Grand Slam (tennis), one player or pair winning all four major annual tournaments, or the tournaments themselves Grand Slam or Grand slam may also refer to: Games and sports * Grand slam, winning category te ...

doubles titles.

Death

Black died on 19 October 2000, following complications from surgery. He had been suffering

bowel cancer Colorectal cancer (CRC), also known as bowel cancer, colon cancer, or rectal cancer, is the development of cancer from the colon or rectum (parts of the large intestine). Signs and symptoms may include blood in the stool, a change in bowel m ...

.All Africa.com: Hamba Kahle, Don Black
/ref>

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Black, Don 1927 births 2000 deaths Sportspeople from Mashonaland West Province Rhodesian male tennis players Zimbabwean male tennis players White Zimbabwean sportspeople Zimbabwean people of English descent Zimbabwean people of Scottish descent Deaths from colorectal cancer Deaths from cancer in Zimbabwe