Iván Balás ( sr, Iván Balaž, Иван Балаж ; hu, Balázs Iván ; 1894 – 1971) was a
Yugoslav tennis player of
Hungarian ethnicity. He was one of the first to play for the
Yugoslavian team at the
International Lawn Tennis Challenge
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 ...
, and later the
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 ...
in 1927. Technically, his match was the second rubber of the tie. Apart from team competitions, he clinched international championships for
Yugoslavia
Yugoslavia (; sh-Latn-Cyrl, separator=" / ", Jugoslavija, Југославија ; sl, Jugoslavija ; mk, Југославија ;; rup, Iugoslavia; hu, Jugoszlávia; rue, label=Pannonian Rusyn, Югославия, translit=Juhoslavija ...
, Hungary, Austria, Romania and Slovakia in various events.
Early life and family
Iván Balás was born in 1894 in
Elemir
Elemir (; hu, Elemér) is a village located in the Zrenjanin municipality, in the Central Banat District of Serbia. It is situated in the province of Vojvodina. As of 2011 census, the village has a population of 4,338 inhabitants.
Name
In Serbi ...
,
Bečkerek
Zrenjanin ( sr-Cyrl, Зрењанин, ; hu, Nagybecskerek; ro, Becicherecu Mare; sk, Zreňanin; german: Großbetschkerek) is a List of cities in Serbia, city and the administrative center of the Central Banat District in the autonomous pro ...
(renamed Zrenjanin in 1946),
Banat
Banat (, ; hu, Bánság; sr, Банат, Banat) is a geographical and historical region that straddles Central and Eastern Europe and which is currently divided among three countries: the eastern part lies in western Romania (the counties of T ...
, then part of
Austria-Hungary
Austria-Hungary, often referred to as the Austro-Hungarian Empire,, the Dual Monarchy, or Austria, was a constitutional monarchy and great power in Central Europe between 1867 and 1918. It was formed with the Austro-Hungarian Compromise of ...
and now
Serbia
Serbia (, ; Serbian language, Serbian: , , ), officially the Republic of Serbia (Serbian language, Serbian: , , ), is a landlocked country in Southeast Europe, Southeastern and Central Europe, situated at the crossroads of the Pannonian Bas ...
. He was born into a wealthy landowner family of ethnic Hungarians, the son of Iván Balás, Sr. (1866,
Tápióbicske – 1909,
Budapest
Budapest (, ; ) is the capital and most populous city of Hungary. It is the ninth-largest city in the European Union by population within city limits and the second-largest city on the Danube river; the city has an estimated population ...
and Erna Koronghy (1874,
Baracháza – 1850, Budapest).
His family's wealth contributed to his rapid growth in tennis. His Hungarian father, built two tennis courts in Elemir where his son Iván learned tennis. Iván attended the
Nagybecskerek
Zrenjanin ( sr-Cyrl, Зрењанин, ; hu, Nagybecskerek; ro, Becicherecu Mare; sk, Zreňanin; german: Großbetschkerek) is a city and the administrative center of the Central Banat District in the autonomous province of Vojvodina, Serbi ...
high school.
He continued his studies in Budapest.
Tennis career
In college Balás played tennis as well as basketball, hockey, football and athletics. He began to win club and international tournaments in
Nagybecskerek
Zrenjanin ( sr-Cyrl, Зрењанин, ; hu, Nagybecskerek; ro, Becicherecu Mare; sk, Zreňanin; german: Großbetschkerek) is a city and the administrative center of the Central Banat District in the autonomous province of Vojvodina, Serbi ...
. Balás' first public triumph was recorded in 1922 in the men's singles of the National Championship in
Novi Sad
Novi Sad ( sr-Cyrl, Нови Сад, ; hu, Újvidék, ; german: Neusatz; see below for other names) is the second largest city in Serbia and the capital of the autonomous province of Vojvodina. It is located in the southern portion of the Pan ...
.
At the
1924 Olympics in Paris, he played both singles in doubles. In the men's singles, he was defeated in the
first round
First or 1st is the ordinal form of the number one (#1).
First or 1st may also refer to:
*World record, specifically the first instance of a particular achievement
Arts and media Music
* 1$T, American rapper, singer-songwriter, DJ, and reco ...
by
Jack Nielsen (Norway). And in doubles, he and
Đorđe Dunđerski advanced to the
second round
The second (symbol: s) is the unit of time in the International System of Units (SI), historically defined as of a day – this factor derived from the division of the day first into 24 hours, then to 60 minutes and finally to 60 seconds e ...
but lost to
Jacques Brugnon
Jacques Marie Stanislas Jean Brugnon (11 May 1895 – 20 March 1978), nicknamed "Toto", was a French tennis player, one of the famous " Four Musketeers" from France who dominated tennis in the late 1920s and early 1930s. He was born in and died ...
/
Henri Cochet
Henri Jean Cochet (; 14 December 1901 – 1 April 1987) was a French tennis player. He was a world No. 1 ranked player, and a member of the famous " Four Musketeers" from France who dominated tennis in the late 1920s and early 1930s.
Born in ...
(France).
In 1926, he was crowned the champion of Yugoslavia. He was drafted into the
Kingdom of Yugoslavia Davis Cup team for the first-ever
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 ...
match against India in
Zagreb
Zagreb ( , , , ) is the capital (political), capital and List of cities and towns in Croatia#List of cities and towns, largest city of Croatia. It is in the Northern Croatia, northwest of the country, along the Sava river, at the southern slop ...
in May 1927, joined by
Đorđe Dunđerski. Although they didn't win a game or set, both of them provided strong resistance. Balás even had two balls to have a chance to serve out the first set in the match against
Hassan-Ali Fyzee, but did not succeed, as the Indian player came back to claim the match. On the third ball, the game was suspended due to bad weather, and so the match was decided after the first two days' results. The organizers agreed not to wait on Monday, but to pass the remaining two
dead rubber Dead rubber is a term used in sporting parlance to describe a match in a series where the series result has already been decided by earlier matches. The dead rubber match therefore has no effect on the winner and loser of the series, other than the ...
s and the victory to India.
Balás next represented Hungary, debuting in a match against
Austria
Austria, , bar, Östareich officially the Republic of Austria, is a country in the southern part of Central Europe, lying in the Eastern Alps. It is a federation of nine states, one of which is the capital, Vienna, the most populous ...
. At the time, he was fifth/sixth on the Hungarian rankings. In 1930, he earned the second place in mixed doubles at the Bucharest International Championship (lost to
Ghica Poulief and
Nini Golescu) In
Cluj-Napoca
; hu, kincses város)
, official_name=Cluj-Napoca
, native_name=
, image_skyline=
, subdivision_type1 = Counties of Romania, County
, subdivision_name1 = Cluj County
, subdivision_type2 = Subdivisions of Romania, Status
, subdivision_name2 ...
he lifted the doubles' trophy with partner
Béla Kehrling, defeating Romanian champion
Constantin Cantacuzino and
Alexandru Botez; he also finished third in singles and mixed contest. In 1931, he reached four doubles finals, including the Hungarian Covered Courts tournament mixed and men's doubles, and the Warsaw International Championships doubles and mixed doubles.
Personal life
In 1928, Balás was engaged in Hungary, and he was no longer in the Davis Cup team of Yugoslavia. He mostly played and practised in Budapest and joined the
Magyar Atlétikai Club. In 1944, he moved to Austria, where he continued his tennis career and married Zita Kremmel in 1950. On April 11, 1951, their daughter Charlotte was born. As of 1951 he lived and worked in France, where he was a devoted tennis player and coach for the rest of his life.
Balás died in Paris in 1971. The tennis club ''Galeb'' in
Zrenjanin
Zrenjanin ( sr-Cyrl, Зрењанин, ; hu, Nagybecskerek; ro, Becicherecu Mare; sk, Zreňanin; german: Großbetschkerek) is a List of cities in Serbia, city and the administrative center of the Central Banat District in the autonomous pro ...
organizes a traditional tournament each year that bears his name.
Footnotes
Works cited
Primary
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Secondary
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*Cluj-Napoca
External links
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{{DEFAULTSORT:Balas, Ivan
1894 births
1971 deaths
Yugoslav male tennis players
Hungarian male tennis players
Sportspeople from Central Banat District
French male tennis players
Tennis players at the 1924 Summer Olympics
Olympic tennis players for Yugoslavia
Date of birth missing
Date of death missing
Hungarian emigrants to France
Hungarians in Vojvodina