Geoffrey Frederick Covey (1881-1957) was world champion from 1912 to 1914 and from 1916 until 1928 at

real tennis Real tennis – one of several games sometimes called "the sport of kings" – is the original racquet sport from which the modern game of tennis (also called "lawn tennis") is derived. It is also known as court tennis in the United Sta ...

, the original

racquet sport Racket sports are games in which players use a racket or paddle to hit a ball or other object. Rackets consist of a handled frame with an open hoop that supports a network of tightly stretched strings. Paddles have a solid face rather than a ne ...

from which the modern game of

lawn 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 cove ...

(which has usurped the name "tennis"), is descended. He was born in 1881 in

Woolwich, England Woolwich () is a district in southeast London, England, within the Royal Borough of Greenwich. The district's location on the River Thames led to its status as an important naval, military and industrial area; a role that was maintained throu ...

. Covey was a professional, who, apart from service in the Great War, spent his career at Lady Wentworth's private court at Crabbet Park, in Sussex, where she bred some of the world's most influential

Arabian horse The Arabian or Arab horse ( ar, الحصان العربي , DIN 31635, DMG ''ḥiṣān ʿarabī'') is a horse breed, breed of horse that originated on the Arabian Peninsula. With a distinctive head shape and high tail carriage, the Arabian is ...

bloodstock. Covey won the world championship in 1912 from Cecil Fairs, lost it in 1914 to

Jay Gould Jason Gould (; May 27, 1836 – December 2, 1892) was an American railroad magnate and financial speculator who is generally identified as one of the robber barons of the Gilded Age. His sharp and often unscrupulous business practices made hi ...

, in Philadelphia, regained it in 1916 when Gould could not play the promised return match in England because of the war, defended it successfully in 1922 and 1923 against Walter Kinsella and in 1927, by 7 sets to 5, against the great

Pierre Etchebaster Pierre Etchebaster (8 December 1893 – 24 March 1980) was a French real tennis player, (in French ''jeu de paume''), the original List of sports#Racket sports, racquet sport from which the modern game of lawn tennis is descended. Life Born in Sa ...

Prince's Club The Prince's Club was a socially exclusive gentlemen's multisports club in London, England. The original 'Prince's Club' was founded in 1853 in Chelsea by George and James Prince and its main sports were rackets and real tennis. Cricket, croquet ...

. In 1928 he lost at Prince's, 5 sets to 7, to Etchebaster, who then held the title until 1952.

Books

''FRED COVEY: World Champion of Tennis'' edited by Neil Covey; 1st standard edition of 1994; 125 pp in large 4to.

Books

See also