Pierre Gillou (17 September 1880 – 3 January 1953) was a French

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, captain and administrator. Gillou was the manager and non-playing captain of the French Davis Cup team, consisting of

Jean Borotra Jean Laurent Robert Borotra (, ; 13 August 1898 – 17 July 1994) was a French tennis champion. He was one of the "The Four Musketeers (tennis), Four Musketeers" from his country who dominated tennis in the late 1920s and early 1930s. Borotra wa ...

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 ...

and

René Lacoste Jean René Lacoste was a French people, French tennis player and businessman. He was nicknamed "the Crocodile" because of how he dealt with his opponents; he is also known worldwide as the creator of the Lacoste polo shirt, tennis shirt, which h ...

, collectively known as the Four Musketeers, who won 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 and successfully defended it from 1928 until 1932. As a promotor and investor Gillou played an important role in the creation of the

Stade Roland Garros Stade Roland Garros (; "Roland Garros Stadium") is a complex of tennis courts, including stadiums, located in Paris that hosts the French Open. That tournament, also known as ''Roland Garros'', is a Grand Slam (tennis), Grand Slam tennis champio ...

which opened in 1928. He became president of the national French tennis association,

Fédération Française de Tennis The French Tennis Federation (french: Fédération française de tennis, FFT) is the governing body for tennis in France. It was founded in 1920, and is tasked with the organisation, co-ordination and promotion of the sport. It is recognised by the ...

(FFT) in 1930 after the death of

Albert Canet Henry Albert Canet (17 April 1878 – 25 July 1930) was a male tennis player from France. He competed in the 1912 Summer Olympics in Stockholm, Sweden where he won two bronze medals. In the singles division, he succeeded in beating Norwegian Con ...

and was also president of the omnisport club

Racing Club de France Racing Club de France, also known as RCF, is a French Sports club, omnisport club that was founded on 20 April 1882 under the name Racing Club. Racing Club changed its name to Racing Club de France (RCF) on 21 November 1885. The club is located a ...

in Paris. At the time of his death in 1953 he was the vice-president of the

International Tennis Federation The International Tennis Federation (ITF) is the governing body of world tennis, wheelchair tennis, and beach tennis. It was founded in 1913 as the International Lawn Tennis Federation by twelve national tennis associations. As of 2016, there a ...

(ITF). From 1953 until 1978 the trophy awarded to the winner of the men's singles at the French Open was called the "coupe Pierre-Gillou" in his honour. His annual ranking of the world best tennis players, issued from the early 1930s until his death, was regarded as authoritative.

Family

Gillou was the older brother of

Antoinette Gillou Antoinette is a given name, that is a diminutive feminine form of Antoine and Antonia (from Latin ''Antonius''). People with the name include: Nobles * Antoinette de Maignelais, Baroness of Villequier by marriage (1434–1474), mistress of Ch ...

and

Kate Gillou Catherine Marie Blanche "Katie" Gillou (17 February 1887 – 1 January 1964) was a French tennis player in the first decade of the 20th century. Gillou won the French Women's Singles Championship in each of 1904, 1905, 1906 and 1908, having lo ...

and an uncle to Antoine Gentien, all tennis players.

References

External links

Record at the Bibliothèque nationale de France (BnF)
{{DEFAULTSORT:Gillou, Pierre 1880 births 1953 deaths French male tennis players French sports executives and administrators Presidents of the French Tennis Federation Presidents of the International Tennis Federation