Rodney George Laver (born 9 August 1938) is an Australian former

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. Laver was the world number 1 ranked professional in some sources in 1964, in all sources from 1965 to 1969 and in some sources in 1970, spanning four years before and three years after the start of the

Open Era The racket sport traditionally named lawn tennis, invented in Birmingham, England now commonly known simply as tennis, is the direct descendant of what is now denoted real tennis or royal tennis, which continues to be played today as a separate sp ...

in 1968. He was also ranked the world number 1 amateur in 1961 by Lance Tingay and 1962 by Tingay and Ned Potter. Laver's 200 singles titles are the most in tennis history. This included his all-time men's record of 10 or more titles per year for seven consecutive years (1964–1970). He excelled on all of the court surfaces of his time:

grass Poaceae () or Gramineae () is a large and nearly ubiquitous family of monocotyledonous flowering plants commonly known as grasses. It includes the cereal grasses, bamboos and the grasses of natural grassland and species cultivated in lawns an ...

clay Clay is a type of fine-grained natural soil material containing clay minerals (hydrous aluminium phyllosilicates, e.g. kaolin, Al2 Si2 O5( OH)4). Clays develop plasticity when wet, due to a molecular film of water surrounding the clay par ...

hard Hard may refer to: * Hardness, resistance of physical materials to deformation or fracture * Hard water, water with high mineral content Arts and entertainment * ''Hard'' (TV series), a French TV series * Hard (band), a Hungarian hard rock supe ...

carpet A carpet is a textile floor covering typically consisting of an upper layer of pile attached to a backing. The pile was traditionally made from wool, but since the 20th century synthetic fibers such as polypropylene, nylon, or polyester hav ...

, and

wood Wood is a porous and fibrous structural tissue found in the stems and roots of trees and other woody plants. It is an organic materiala natural composite of cellulose fibers that are strong in tension and embedded in a matrix of lignin th ...

. Laver won 11

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 ...

singles titles, though he was banned from playing those tournaments for the five years prior to the Open Era. Laver is the only player, male or female, to win a

(winning all four major titles in the same calendar year) twice in singles, in 1962 and 1969; the latter remains the only time a man has done so in the Open Era. He is the first male player out of two to be winner and runner up at all four grand slams, followed by

Roger Federer Roger Federer (; born 8 August 1981) is a Swiss former professional tennis player. He was ranked List of ATP number 1 ranked singles tennis players#Weeks at No. 1, world No. 1 by the Association of Tennis Professionals (ATP) for 310 weeks, in ...

. He is the second of four male players to win each major title twice (preceded by

Roy Emerson Roy Stanley Emerson (born 3 November 1936) is an Australian former tennis player who won 12 Grand Slam singles titles and 16 Grand Slam doubles titles, for a total of 28 Grand Slam titles. He is the only male player to have completed a caree ...

and followed by

Novak Djokovic Novak Djokovic ( sr-Cyrl, Новак Ђоковић, translit=Novak Đoković, ; born 22 May 1987) is a Serbian professional tennis player. He has been ranked world No. 1 for a record total 373 weeks, and has finished as the year-end No. 1 ...

and

Rafael Nadal Rafael Nadal Parera (, ; born 3 June 1986) is a Spanish professional tennis player. He is currently ranked world No. 2 in singles by the Association of Tennis Professionals (ATP). He has been ranked List of ATP number 1 ranked singles tennis ...

). Laver also won eight Pro Slam titles, including the "pro Grand Slam" in 1967, and he contributed to five

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 ...

titles for Australia during an age when the Davis Cup was deemed as significant as the four majors. The

Laver Cup The Laver Cup is an international indoor hard court men's team tennis tournament between Team Europe and Team World, the latter of which is composed of players from all other continents except Europe. Usually held annually since 2017, the tournam ...

tournament and the

Rod Laver Arena Rod Laver Arena is a multipurpose arena located within Melbourne Park, in Melbourne, Victoria, Australia. The arena is the main venue for the Australian Open, the first Grand Slam tennis tournament of the calendar year. History Replacing ...

are named after him.

Personal life

Rodney George Laver was born in

Rockhampton Rockhampton is a city in the Rockhampton Region of Central Queensland, Australia. The population of Rockhampton in June 2021 was 79,967, Estimated resident population, 30 June 2018. making it the fourth-largest city in the state outside of the ...

Queensland ) , nickname = Sunshine State , image_map = Queensland in Australia.svg , map_caption = Location of Queensland in Australia , subdivision_type = Country , subdivision_name = Australia , established_title = Before federation , established_ ...

, Australia, on 9 August 1938. He was the third of four children of Roy Laver, a cattleman and butcher, and his wife Melba Roffey. Relatives include the cricketers

Frank Laver Frank Jonas Laver (7 December 1869 – 24 September 1919) was an Australian cricketer and baseball player. He played in 15 Test matches between 1899 and 1909 and visited England as a player and team manager on four occasions. An accomplished p ...

and

Jack Laver Jack Francis Lee Laver (9 March 1917 – 3 October 2017) was a Tasmanian cricketer who played 13 matches of first class cricket for Tasmania between 1946 and 1952. Laver was an off-spin bowler and lower-order batsman. He made his highest first ...

. In 1966, Laver, aged 27, married Mary Benson in San Rafael, California. Born Mary Shelby Peterson in Illinois, she was a divorcee with three children. After their wedding ceremony, a group of well-known tennis players in attendance, including

Lew Hoad Lewis Alan Hoad (23 November 1934 – 3 July 1994) was an Australian tennis player whose career ran from 1950 to 1973. Hoad won four Major singles tournaments as an amateur (the Australian Championships, French Championships and two Wimbledon ...

Ken Rosewall Kenneth Robert Rosewall (born 2 November 1934) is an Australian former world top-ranking amateur and professional tennis player. He won a record 23 Majors in singles, including eight Grand Slam singles titles and, before the Open Era, a record ...

Mal Anderson Malcolm James Anderson (born 3 March 1935) is a former tennis player from Australia who was active from the mid-1950s to the early 1970s. He won the singles title at the 1957 U.S. National Championships and achieved his highest amateur ranki ...

and Barry MacKay, stood outside the church with raised tennis rackets that formed an archway for the newlyweds to walk under. Laver and Mary had a son and the family lived at various locations in California including

Rancho Mirage Rancho Mirage is a city in Riverside County, California, United States. The population was 17,218 at the 2010 census, up from 13,249 at the 2000 census, but the seasonal (part-time) population can exceed 20,000. Incorporated in 1973 and locate ...

Corona del Mar Corona del Mar (Spanish for "Crown of the Sea") is a seaside neighborhood in the city of Newport Beach, California. It generally consists of all the land on the seaward face of the San Joaquin Hills south of Avocado Avenue to the city limits, as ...

, a ranch near Santa Barbara and Carlsbad. Mary Laver died in November 2012 at the age of 84 at their home in Carlsbad.

Career

Amateur (1956–62)

Laver was a teenager when he left school to pursue a tennis career that lasted 24 years. He was coached in

by Charlie Hollis and later by the Australian

team captain Harry Hopman, who gave Laver the nickname "Rocket". Laver was both Australian and US Junior champion in 1957. He had his breakthrough on the world stage in 1959, when he reached all three finals at

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 * ...

, winning the mixed doubles title with

Darlene Hard Darlene Ruth Hard (January 6, 1936 – December 2, 2021) was an American professional tennis player, known for her aggressive volleying ability and strong serves. She captured singles titles at the French Championships in 1960 and the U.S. Champ ...

. As an unseeded player, he lost the singles final to Peruvian

Alex Olmedo Alex is a given name. It can refer to a shortened version of Alexander, Alexandra, Alexis. People Multiple * Alex Brown (disambiguation), multiple people * Alex Gordon (disambiguation), multiple people * Alex Harris (disambiguation), multiple ...

after surviving an 87-game semifinal against American Barry MacKay. His first major singles title was the Australian Championships in 1960, where he defeated fellow Australian

Neale Fraser Neale Andrew Fraser (born 3 October 1933) is a former number one amateur male tennis-player from Australia, born in Melbourne, Victoria, the son of a Victorian judge. Fraser is the last man to have completed the triple crown, i.e. having won ...

in a five-set final after coming back from two sets down and saving a Fraser championship point in the fourth set. Laver captured his first Wimbledon singles crown in 1961 beating Chuck McKinley in straight sets in the final, which lasted just 53 minutes (one of the shortest men's singles Wimbledon finals on record). Laver was ranked the world No. 1 amateur in 1961 by Lance Tingay. Rod Laver signing autographs Dutch Championships 1962

Rod Laver signing autographs Dutch Championships 1962

In 1962, Laver became the first male player since

Don Budge John Donald Budge (June 13, 1915 – January 26, 2000) was an American tennis player. He is most famous as the first tennis player — male or female, and still the only American male — to win the Grand Slam, and to win all four Grand Slam ev ...

in 1938 to win all four

singles titles in the same year. He won an additional 18 titles, for a season total of 22. Among those titles were the Italian Championships and the German Championships, giving Laver the "clay court triple" of Paris, Rome, and Hamburg that had been achieved previously only by

in 1956. At the Australian championships, Laver beat

in the final. The biggest hurdle to Laver's winning the Grand Slam was 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 ...

on slow clay, where Laver won three consecutive five-setters beginning with the quarterfinals. In his quarterfinal with

Martin Mulligan Martin "Marty" Mulligan (born 18 October 1940) is a former tennis player from Australia. He is best known for reaching the men's singles final at Wimbledon in 1962, where he was defeated by fellow Australian Rod Laver. Personal life Mulligan ...

, Laver saved a matchpoint in the fourth set with a backhand volley after coming to the net behind a second serve. In the final, Laver lost the first two sets and was down 0–3 in the fourth set before coming back to defeat Emerson. At Wimbledon, his progress was much easier. Laver lost only one set the whole tournament, to

Manuel Santana Manuel Santana Martínez (10 May 1938 – 11 December 2021), also known as Manolo Santana, was a Spanish tennis player. He was ranked as amateur world No. 1 in 1965 by Ned Potter and in 1966 by Lance TingayUS Championships, Laver lost only two sets during the tournament and defeated Emerson again in the final. Laver was ranked world number one amateur for 1962 by Tingay, by Ned Potter and by an Ulrich Kaiser panel of 13 experts. In February 1963, he appeared on the panel game show To Tell the Truth, where all four panelists identified him based on his knowledge of the history of tennis.

Professional

Before the Open Era (1963–68)

In December 1962 Laver turned professional after winning the

with the Australian team. After an initial period of adjustment he quickly established himself among the leading professional players such as

and

Andrés Gimeno Andrés Gimeno Tolaguera (3 August 1937 – 9 October 2019) was a Spanish tennis player. His greatest achievement came in 1972, when he won the French Open and became the oldest first-time Grand Slam champion in the Open era at 34 years of age. ...

, and also

Pancho Gonzales Ricardo Alonso "Pancho" González (May 9, 1928 – July 3, 1995), known sometimes as Richard Gonzales, was an American tennis player. He won 15 major singles titles, including two U.S. National Singles Championships in 1948 and 1949, and 13 P ...

when Gonzales returned to a full-time schedule in 1964. During the next seven years, Laver won the U.S. Pro Tennis Championships five times, including four in a row beginning in 1966. In the beginning of 1963, Laver was beaten consistently by both Rosewall and Hoad on an Australasian tour. Hoad won the first eight matches against Laver, and Rosewall won 11 out of 13. However, Laver won the best-of-five set matches against Rosewall at Kooyong Stadium and at Adelaide's Memorial Stadium. By the end of the year, with six tournament titles, Laver had become the No. 2 professional player behind Rosewall. In the first phase of the World Series tour, Laver finished second, with a 25–16 record. The top two players Rosewall and Laver then played a series of matches against each other to determine the champion. Rosewall won 14–4. Laver's gross earnings for 1963 were first among the pro players. In 1964, Laver and Rosewall both won seven important titles (in minor tournaments Laver won four and Rosewall won three), but Laver won 17 of 24 matches against Rosewall and captured the two most prestigious titles, the US Pro Championships over Gonzales and the

Wembley Championships The Wembley Championships was a men's professional tennis tournament held from 1934–1990 with some periods of inactivity in between and is often considered to be one of the three Major professional tennis tournaments before the Open Era from 1 ...

over Rosewall. In Tennis Week, Raymond Lee described the Wembley match, where Laver came from 5–3 down in the fifth set to win 8–6, as possibly their best ever and one that changed tennis history. Lee regards this win as the one that began and established Laver's long reign as world number one. The other prestige title, the French pro, was won by Rosewall. Rosewall finished top of the official points table in 1964 and after winning at Wembley, Laver said "I’ve still plenty of ambitions left and would like to be the world's No. 1. Despite this win, I am not there yet – Ken is." In 1965, Laver was clearly the No. 1 professional player, winning 17 titles and 13 of 18 matches against Rosewall. In ten finals, Laver won eight against the still dangerous Gonzales. Laver won the Wembley Pro, beating Gimeno in the final. In 1966, Laver won 16 events, including the US Pro Championships (beating Rosewall in a five-set final), the Wembley Pro Championship (beating Rosewall easily in the final), and eight other important tournaments. In 1967, Laver won 19 titles, including the

Wimbledon Pro The Wimbledon World Lawn Tennis Professional Championships also known as the Wimbledon Pro, was a men's tennis tournament held in August 1967. The tournament was sponsored and broadcast by the BBC to mark the invention of colour television. It ...

(beating Rosewall in straight sets in the final), the US Pro Championships (beating Gimeno in the final), the Wembley Pro Championships (beating Rosewall in the final), and the

French Pro Championship In 1930 the "Association Française des Professeurs de Tennis (AFPT)" held its first pro tournament, titled "Championnat International de France Professionnel" (French Pro Championships) June 18–22, 1930, and is considered as a part of the prof ...

(beating Gimeno in the final), which gave him a clean sweep of the four most important professional titles, a professional Grand Slam. The

tournament in 1967 was the only professional event ever staged on

Centre Court Centre Court is a tennis court at the All England Lawn Tennis and Croquet Club (also known as the All England Club) and is the main court used in The Championships at Wimbledon, the third annual Grand Slam event of the tennis calendar. It is con ...

before the Open Era began.

During the Open Era (1968–76)

With the dawn of the

in 1968, professional players were once again allowed to compete in

events. Laver became Wimbledon's first Open Era champion in 1968, beating the best amateur, American

Arthur Ashe Arthur Robert Ashe Jr. (July 10, 1943 – February 6, 1993) was an American professional tennis player who won three Grand Slam singles titles. He started to play tennis at six years old. He was the first black player selected to the Un ...

, in a semifinal and fellow-Australian

Tony Roche Anthony Dalton Roche AO MBE (born 17 May 1945) is an Australian former professional tennis player. A native of Tarcutta, Roche played junior tennis in the New South Wales regional city of Wagga Wagga. He won one Grand Slam singles title, t ...

in the final, both in straight sets. Laver was also the runner-up to

in the first French Open. In this first "open" year, there were only eight open events besides Wimbledon and the French Open, where professionals, registered players, and amateurs could compete against each other. The professionals mainly played their own circuit, with two groups – National Tennis League (NTL) and World Championships Tennis (WCT) – operating. Laver was ranked No. 1 universally, winning the US Professional Championships on grass and the French Pro Championship on clay (both over

John Newcombe John David Newcombe AO OBE (born 23 May 1944) is an Australian former professional tennis player. He is one of the few men to have attained a world No. 1 ranking in both singles and doubles. At the majors, he won seven singles titles, a fo ...

). Laver also won the last big open event of the year, the Pacific Southwest in Los Angeles on hard courts. Ashe regarded Laver's 4–6, 6–0, 6–0 final win over Ken Rosewall as one of his finest performances. Laver's post-match comment was, "This is the kind of match you always dream about. The kind you play at night in your sleep." Laver ranked No. 1 for 1968 by the panel of journalists for the '

Martini and Rossi Martini & Rossi is an Italian multinational alcoholic beverage company primarily associated with the Martini brand of vermouth and also with sparkling wine (for example, Asti). It also produces the French vermouth, Noilly Prat. History The co ...

' Award, by an Ulrich Kaiser panel of 18 experts, by Seagrams (a panel of 15 journalists), by ''World Tennis'', by Lance Tingay, by Rino Tommasi,Almanacco illustrato del tennis 1989, Edizioni Panini, p.694 by Bud Collins and by ''The Times''. In 1969, Laver won all four Grand Slam tournaments in the same calendar year for the second time, sealing the achievement with a four-set win over Roche in the US Open final. He won 18 of the 32 singles tournaments he entered (still the Open Era titles record) and compiled a 106–16 win–loss record. In beating Newcombe in four sets in the Wimbledon final, he captured the title at the

All England Club The All England Lawn Tennis and Croquet Club, also known as the All England Club, based at Church Road, Wimbledon, London, England, is a private members' club. It is best known as the venue for the Wimbledon Championships, the only Grand Slam ...

for the fourth consecutive time that he had entered the tournament (and reached the final for the sixth consecutive time as he had been runner-up in 1959 and 1960). He set a record of 31 consecutive match victories at Wimbledon between 1961 and 1970, which lasted until 1980 when it was eclipsed by Björn Borg. Unlike his first Grand Slam year in 1962, Laver in 1969 played in events open to all the best professional and amateur players of the world. In the year's Grand Slam tournaments, Laver had five five-set-matches, twice coming back from two sets down in early rounds. In the four finals, however, he lost a total of only two sets. His hardest match was a marathon 90-game semifinal against Roche at the Australian Open under tropical hot conditions. Other opponents at the Australian Open included

Fred Stolle Frederick Sydney Stolle, AO (born 8 October 1938) is an Australian former amateur world No. 1 tennis player and commentator. He was born in Hornsby, New South Wales, Australia. He is the father of former Australian Davis Cup player Sandon S ...

, and

. At the French Open, Laver beat Gimeno,

Tom Okker Tom or TOM may refer to: * Tom (given name), a diminutive of Thomas or Tomás or an independent Aramaic given name (and a list of people with the name) Characters * Tom Anderson, a character in ''Beavis and Butt-Head'' * Tom Beck, a character ...

, and Rosewall. At Wimbledon, Laver overcame strong challenges from Stan Smith,

Cliff Drysdale Eric Clifford Drysdale (born 26 May 1941) is a South African former tennis player. After a career as a highly ranked professional player in the 1960s and early 1970s, he became a well-known tennis announcer. Drysdale won the singles title at t ...

, Ashe, and Newcombe. At the US Open on slippery grass courts, he defeated

Dennis Ralston Richard Dennis Ralston (July 27, 1942 – December 6, 2020) was an American professional tennis player whose active career spanned the 1960s and 1970s. As a young player, he was coached by tennis pro Pancho Gonzales. He attended the University o ...

, Emerson, Ashe, and Roche. Laver proved his versatility by winning the Grand Slam tournaments on grass and clay, plus the two most important hard court titles (South African Open at Ellis Park, Johannesburg and the US Professional Championships at Boston) and the leading indoor tournaments (Philadelphia US Pro Indoor and Wembley British Indoor). Laver ranked No. 1 for 1969 by the panel of 13 international journalists for the 'Martini and Rossi' Award, by Tingay, by Collins, by Tommasi, by Frank Rostron and by ''World Tennis''. In the early 1970s, Laver lost his grip on the major tournaments. He played only five Grand Slam tournaments from 1970 through 1972. This was partly because of his contracts with NTL and WCT. But on the WCT tours, he remained the leading player and by far the leading prize money winner. Rodney George Laver

In 1970, Laver won 15 titles and US$201,453 in prize money, including the rich "Tennis Champions Classic" and five other big events (Sydney Dunlop Open, Philadelphia, Wembley, Los Angeles, South African Open). Those were the equivalent of the modern day

ATP Masters Series The ATP Masters 1000 tournaments (previously known as ATP Masters Series) is an annual series of nine tennis tournaments featuring the top-ranked players on the ATP Tour. The series' events have been held in Europe and North America since the ...

and most had 8 or more of the world's top ranked players participating. With only two majors played by all the best players (Wimbledon and the US Open), there was no clear-cut World No. 1 in 1970. Wimbledon champion Newcombe, US champion Rosewall, and Laver (who won the most titles and had a 3–0 win–loss record against Newcombe and a 5–0 record against Rosewall) were ranked the highest by different journalists and expert panels. The panel of 10 international journalists who voted for the 'Martini and Rossi' Award, ranked Rosewall No. 1 with 97 points over Laver (89 pts) and Newcombe (81 pts). The panel of 12 journalists which made the WCT draw for 1971 ranked Laver 1st, Rosewall 2nd and Newcombe 3rd. Rex Bellamy ranked Laver No. 1, with Rosewall No. 2. Judith Elian of ''L'Equipe'' Magazine (Paris) and Rino Tommasi placed Rosewall No. 1, while Robert Geist co-ranked Rosewall, Laver and Newcombe No. 1. Newcombe later wrote in his autobiography "Newk-Life On and Off the Court" (2002) that the top honour for 1970 belonged to Laver. Lance Tingay, John McCauley and Bud Collins. ranked Newcombe ahead of Rosewall and Laver. In 1971 Laver won seven titles, including the Italian Open in Rome on clay over

Jan Kodeš Jan Kodeš (born 1 March 1946) is a Czech former professional tennis player. A three-time major singles champion, Kodeš was one of the premier players in the early 1970s. Kodeš's greatest success was achieved on the clay courts of the French ...

, the reigning French Open champion. Laver successfully defended his title at the "Tennis Champions Classic", winning 13 consecutive winner-take-all matches against top opponents and US$160,000. For the year, Laver won a then-record US$292,717 in tournament prize money and became the first tennis player to surpass US$1 million in career prize money. In 1971 and 1972, Laver finished as the points leader of the WCT tournament series but lost the playoff finals at Dallas to Rosewall. The last match is rated as one of the best of all time and drew a TV audience of over 20 million. In 1972, Laver cut back his tournament schedule, partly because of back and knee injuries and his tennis camp businesses, but he still won five titles that year. In 1973, Laver won seven titles and successfully participated in the semifinals and final of the

, where he won all six of his rubbers for Australia. In 1974 Laver won six titles from 13 tournaments and ended the year as World No. 4 based on the ATP point system. At 36, he was the oldest player during the Open Era to have been included in the year-ending top five. In 1975, Laver set a record for WCT tournaments by winning four titles and 23 consecutive matches but in 1976, he semi-retired from the main tour, playing only a few selected events. He also signed with

World Team Tennis World TeamTennis (WTT) is a mixed-gender professional tennis league played with a team format in the United States, which was founded in 1973. The league's season normally takes place in the summer months. Players from the ATP and WTA take a ...

, where he became "Rookie of the Year" at the age of 38 but won five titles overall that season. Overall, despite turning 30 just months after the Open Era began, Laver had tremendous success, winning 74 singles titles, which remains seventh most of the era. Plus, like most players of his day, he regularly played doubles, winning 37 titles. Laver's career earnings were approximately $1,540,000.

Rivalries

Laver had a long-running, friendly rivalry with Ken Rosewall between 1963, when he started out as a pro, and 1976, when both were semi-retired from the main tour. Including tournaments and one-night stands, they played over 130 matches, all of them as professionals, with some results from the barnstorming pro tours lost or badly recorded. Overall a match score of 89–75 in favour of Laver can be documented. Against the older

, whom he played 1964 to 1970 on the pro tour, Laver had a lead of 43–22. Laver had another, even longer rivalry with his fellow Queenslander Roy Emerson. They met first on the senior amateur tour in 1958 and dominated the amateur circuit until 1962, before Laver turned pro. When open tennis arrived in 1968, Emerson joined the pro tour, and had many new battles with Laver. Overall the score is 49–18 in favour of Laver, with 7–2 in major Grand Slam tournaments. Laver had also many battles with Lew Hoad in his first years on the pro circuit 1963–1966. Although he lost the first eight matches in January 1963, Laver later in the year began to turn around their rivalry, and until 1966, he had built a 38–21 lead. Against

, Laver had a head-to-head lead of 21–3, winning all of the first 18 matches. Ashe's first win came in 1974, when Laver was 35. Another younger rival in the Open Era was John Newcombe, whom Laver led 16–5 in their head-to-head score.

Davis Cup

Laver helped Australia win the

four consecutive times from 1959 to 1962. In 1973, professionals were permitted to play in the Davis Cup for the first time, and Laver was on a winning team for the fifth time, claiming two singles and a doubles rubber in the final as Australia beat the United States 5–0. Australia were crowned Davis Cup champions in each of the five seasons Laver played in the competition. Laver won 16 out of 20 Davis Cup singles matches and all four of his doubles.

Playing style

Although of a slightly short and medium build (1.73 m/5 ft 8"), Laver developed a technically complete serve-and-volley game, with aggressive

groundstroke In racket sports a groundstroke, or ground stroke, refers to a forehand or backhand shot that is executed after the ball has bounced on the court. The term is commonly used in the sports of tennis and pickleball, and is counter to a volley shot ...

s to back it up. Commentator

Dan Maskell Daniel Maskell (11 April 1908 – 10 December 1992) was an English tennis professional who later became a radio and television commentator on the game. He was described as the BBC's "voice of tennis", and the "voice of Wimbledon". Early lif ...

described him as "technically faultless". His left-handed serve was well disguised and wide swinging. His groundstrokes on both flanks were hit with topspin, as was the attacking topspin lob, which Laver developed into a weapon. His stroke technique was based on quick shoulder turns, true swings, and accurate timing. His backhand, often hit on the run, was a point-ender that gave him an advantage. Laver was very quick and had a strong left forearm. Rex Bellamy wrote, "The strength of that wrist and forearm gave him blazing power without loss of control, even when he was on the run and at full stretch. The combination of speed and strength, especially wrist strength, enabled him to hit ferocious winners when way out of court." At the net, he had forcing volleys, often hit as stroke volleys. Especially on the backhand, he could hit sharp underspin angles as well. He was difficult to lob, because of his springing agility, and when forced to retreat, he could come up with a vicious counterpunch. As an amateur, Laver was a somewhat flashy player, often a late starter. He had to learn to control his adventurous shot-making and integrate percentage tennis into his game when he turned professional. In his prime, he could adapt his style to all surfaces and to all conditions. Laver had a strong record in five-set-matches, often turning things around with subtle changes of tactics.

Tennis legacy

Laver is widely regarded as one of the greatest tennis players in the history of the sport. Laver was ranked the world No. 1 amateur in 1961 by Lance Tingay and in 1962 by Tingay and Ned Potter. Laver was the number one professional in some rankings in 1964, in all rankings from 1965 to 1969 and in some rankings in 1970.

Jack Kramer John Albert Kramer (August 1, 1921 – September 12, 2009) was an American tennis player of the 1940s and 1950s. He won three Grand Slam tournaments (the U.S. Championships in 1946 and 1947, Wimbledon in 1947). He led the U.S. Davis Cup tennis ...

, the long-time tennis promoter, ranked Laver only in the "second echelon" of great players, just behind the six best. He writes that although Laver was "absolutely unbeatable for a year or two late in the 1960s", a "careful comparison" could be made between Laver and the somewhat older Gonzales and that Kramer is "positive that Gonzales could have beaten Laver regularly." Kramer's main argument for downgrading Laver is that, "

beat Laver in those two World Championship of Tennis finals and that was a title Laver really wanted." Kramer sees as evidence of Gonzales' superiority over Laver the fact that Gonzales defeated Laver in a five-set match before 15,000 spectators in New York City's

Madison Square Garden Madison Square Garden, colloquially known as The Garden or by its initials MSG, is a multi-purpose indoor arena in New York City. It is located in Midtown Manhattan between Seventh and Eighth avenues from 31st to 33rd Street, above Pennsylva ...

in January 1970, when Gonzales was 41 years old and Laver was still considered the World No. 1 player. On the other hand, Gonzales was still a top ten player when this match took place and Laver subsequently won this event, beating Gonzales in a straight-sets semifinal. Overall, his head-to-head-record with Gonzales was either 35–19 or 38–21 in favour of Laver, depending on the source. Laver was 12–5 against Gonzales during the Open Era, although Gonzales was then in his late thirties. In 1975, Don Budge ranked his top five players of all time and rated Laver number five behind Vines, Kramer, Perry and Tilden. In 1978, Ellsworth Vines ranked his all time top 10 in ''Tennis Myth and Method'' and rated Laver number four behind Budge, Kramer and Gonzales. In the early years of the 21st century,

Sidney Wood Sidney Burr Wood Jr. (November 1, 1911 – January 10, 2009) was an American tennis player who won the 1931 Wimbledon singles title. Wood was ranked in the world's Top 10 five times between 1931 and 1938, and was ranked World No. 6 in 1931 and ...

compiled his list of the Greatest Players of All Time (later published posthumously in a memoir "The Wimbledon final that never was and other tennis tales from a bygone era"). Wood first entered Wimbledon in 1927 and won the title in 1931. "From that time on, through to the late 1970s (doubles only towards the end), I was privileged to compete against virtually every top player in the world" said Wood. Wood ranked Laver number five, behind Budge, Kramer, Tilden and Gonzales. In 2014, Frank Sedgman ranked Laver number three, behind Jack Kramer and Roger Federer, in his greatest male tennis players of all time list in his autobiography 'Game, Sedge and Match'. Many experts disagree with Kramer's assessment of Laver. For example,

, John Barrett,

Butch Buchholz Earl Henry "Butch" Buchholz, Jr. (born September 16, 1940) is a former professional tennis player from the United States who was one of the game's top players in the late 1950s and early 1960s. Tennis career Juniors Buchholz was an outstanding ...

, Joe McCauley,

Ted Schroeder Frederick Rudolph "Ted" Schroeder (July 20, 1921 – May 26, 2006) was an American tennis player who won the two most prestigious amateur tennis titles, Wimbledon and the U.S. National. He was the No. 1-ranked American amateur player in 1942; ...

, and

Tony Trabert Tony may refer to: People and fictional characters * Tony (given name), including a list of people and fictional characters * Gregory Tony (born 1978), American law enforcement officer * Motu Tony (born 1981), New Zealand international rugby leag ...

rank Laver as the best of all time. Schroeder has been quoted by Alan Trengove as saying, "You take all the criteria – longevity, playing on grass and clay, amateur, professional, his behaviour, his appearance – in all criteria, Laver's the best player of all time." Trabert said in January 2008, "I still maintain that Rod Laver is the best player who ever played the game because he's done something no one has ever done in the 120 or 140-year history of our sport: he won the Grand Slam as an amateur and he won the Grand Slam as a pro. If someone in some other sport held a world record no one else had, you would say that person was the best in that sport. So in my view, you've got to say Laver is the best player of all time." Similarly, the tennis author Peter Bodo wrote in May 2008, "Give him credit? Shoot, the only real issue is whether the GOAT reatest of All Timeargument is a debate at all, given that posting those two Slams puts Laver in a league of his own." Other experts cite the fact that during his amateur, touring professional, and Open Era careers, Laver won a record 184 singles titles. He also holds the record for most titles won in a single year during the amateur era (22 in 1962), during the touring pro era (19 in 1967), and during the Open Era (18 in 1969). After turning professional in 1963, Laver won the U.S. Pro Tennis Championships five times and the Wembley Pro Championship four times from 1964 to 1967. In 1967, Laver won a "Professional Grand Slam" by winning all four of the major professional tournaments: the US Pro Championships, the Wembley Pro Championships, the

, and the

In 1983, Fred Perry ranked the greatest male players of all time and put them in to two categories, before World War 2 and after. Perry ranked Laver number one in the post-World War 2 list. Laver came out on top in various experts polls for the best of all time. In 1986, the US magazine ''Inside Tennis'' polled 37 experts, which resulted in a computerised tournament. Laver ranked first on this list ahead of

John McEnroe John Patrick McEnroe Jr. (born February 16, 1959) is an American former professional tennis player. He was known for his shot-making and volleying skills, his rivalries with Björn Borg and Jimmy Connors, and his confrontational on-court beha ...

, Kramer, Björn Borg, Gonzales, Tilden, Jimmy Connors,

Fred Perry Frederick John Perry (18 May 1909 – 2 February 1995) was a British tennis and table tennis player and former world No. 1 from England who won 10 Majors including eight Grand Slam tournaments and two Pro Slams single titles, as well ...

, and

. In a poll by the

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in 2000, Laver was voted "The Male Tennis Player of the Century", ahead of

Pete Sampras Petros "Pete" Sampras ( el, Πέτρος Σάμπρας; born August 12, 1971) is an American former world No. 1 tennis player. His professional career began in 1988 and ended at the 2002 US Open, which he won, defeating longtime rival Andre ...

, Tilden, Borg, Budge, McEnroe and Hoad (tied), Rosewall and

(tied), and Kramer. In an article in ''Tennis Week'' in 2007, the tennis historian Raymond Lee statistically analysed the all-time best players. Laver topped his list ahead of Tilden and Borg (tied),

, Gonzales, Rosewall, Budge,

Ivan Lendl Ivan Lendl (; born March 7, 1960) is a Czech–American former professional tennis player. He is widely regarded as one of the greatest tennis players of all time. Lendl was ranked world No. 1 in singles for 270 weeks and won 94 singles titles. ...

, Connors, Sampras, McEnroe, and Kramer. In 2009 it was written that Rod Laver "is considered by most folks who saw him play and many who've heard of his accomplishments, to be as great a tennis player that ever lived—current players included.". In July 2017, tennis player Roger Federer called Rod Laver the greatest of all-time. In 1989,

Bud Collins Arthur Worth "Bud" Collins Jr. (June 17, 1929 – March 4, 2016) was an American journalist and television sportscaster, best known for his tennis commentary. Collins was married to photographer Anita Ruthling Klaussen. Education Collins was b ...

wrote, "I remain unconvinced that there ever was a better player than Rod Laver". Thirteen years later, however, as editor of the "Total Tennis, The Ultimate Tennis Encyclopedia", Collins was more guarded. He wrote that Laver would "be known as possibly the greatest player ever", but also said that Gonzales was "probably as good as anyone who ever played the game, if not better"—and called Tilden "perhaps the greatest player of them all". In an August 2006 article for

MSNBC MSNBC (originally the Microsoft National Broadcasting Company) is an American news-based pay television cable channel. It is owned by NBCUniversala subsidiary of Comcast. Headquartered in New York City, it provides news coverage and political ...

, Collins ranked Laver as one of the five top men's tennis stars of all time, along with Tilden, Gonzales, Borg, and Sampras. He pointed to Tilden's "phenomenal .938 winning percentage", and said "If I had to choose someone to play for my life it would be Pancho Gonzalez", praised Borg's uncanny transition from the French Open to Wimbledon, cited Sampras's "assault on the citadels of the past", and called Laver "in my eyes, the greatest player ever". In 1973, the ATP's computer rankings were established. Laver attained his highest ranking on that computer of World No. 3 in 1974. Laver's highest year-end ranking by the ATP was World No. 4 in 1974. Laver semi-retired from the main professional tennis tour in 1975 while still being ranked in the top 10. In terms of yearly prize money won, Laver was the leader from 1964 until 1971. The number of tournament singles titles that Laver won during his career varies depending on the source. The ATP credits Laver with 72 Open Era titles while "Total Tennis: The Ultimate Tennis Encyclopedia" (edited by Bud Collins), give him 47 or 54 titles during the Open Era. Collins credits him with 184 titles in amateur, professional, and open competition, without listing them in detail. Laver's eleven Grand Slam singles titles currently place him tied with Borg for sixth place on the all-time list. Among his contemporaries, only Emerson won more Grand Slam singles titles during his career (12 to Laver's 11), though more recently Federer, Nadal, Sampras, and Djokovic have surpassed this number. Laver also won eight Major doubles titles. Laver is the only player to have twice won all four Grand Slam singles tournaments during the same calendar year – the Australian Open, US Open, and Wimbledon. Because none of the Majors were played on hardcourts in Laver's era, he never won a Grand Slam tournament on that surface. The tennis landscape today is different as half of the year's Majors are played on hardcourts. Only six players have won Major titles on clay, grass and hardcourts: Jimmy Connors,

Mats Wilander Mats Arne Olof Wilander (; born 22 August 1964) is a Swedish former world No. 1 tennis player. From 1982 to 1988, he won seven major singles titles (three at the French Open, three at the Australian Open, and one at the US Open), and one major ...

Andre Agassi Andre Kirk Agassi ( ; born April 29, 1970) is an American former world No. 1 tennis player. He is an eight-time major champion and an Olympic gold medalist, as well as a runner-up in seven other majors. Agassi is the second of five men to ach ...

and

. Federer, Nadal and Djokovic are the only players in history to have simultaneously held Grand Slam tournament titles on the three surfaces. Previous observations change substantially if we also consider professional grand slam majors, which were played on two different surfaces in the 1963-67 period (grass and wood/parquet), and wherein Laver, like Rosewall, excelled. Furthermore, the ATP Performance Zone website lists his (partial) career win/loss percentage on hardcourt as .813, on carpet as .766, on grass as .827 and on clay as .764. Laver was unable to compete in the Grand Slam tournaments during his professional career between 1963 and 1968 and it is argued he would likely have won more titles had he been able to do so. Sports columnist Malcolm Knox of the

Sydney Morning Herald ''The Sydney Morning Herald'' (''SMH'') is a daily compact newspaper published in Sydney, New South Wales, Australia, and owned by Nine. Founded in 1831 as the ''Sydney Herald'', the ''Herald'' is the oldest continuously published newspaper i ...

assesses the effect of Laver's ban on competing in Grand Slams. He states: "..if grand slams are taken as the benchmark, consider this. Laver won 11 of the 16 grand slam titles he contested in his prime. The pro tour put him out of 20 grand slams from age 23 to 28". Based on this he puts Laver and Rosewall in "a class of two".

Honours

The hall at the Rockhampton Tennis Association's Victoria Park precinct in Wandal where Laver competed until the age of 14 was named the Rod Laver Hall upon its completion in December 1963 in recognition of his Grand Slam win the previous year. In 1969, Laver was awarded the ABC Sportsman of the Year Award. He was inducted into the

International Tennis Hall of Fame The International Tennis Hall of Fame is located in Newport, Rhode Island, United States. It honors both players and other contributors to the sport of tennis. The complex, the former Newport Casino, includes a museum, grass tennis courts, an indo ...

in 1981. He was inducted into the

Sport Australia Hall of Fame The Sport Australia Hall of Fame was established on 10 December 1985 to recognise the achievements of Australian sportsmen and sportswomen. The inaugural induction included 120 members with Sir Don Bradman as the first inductee and Dawn Fraser th ...

in 1985 and upgraded to a Legend of Australian Sport in 2002. He is also an Australian Living Treasure. In 1998, Laver received the

Philippe Chatrier Award The Philippe Chatrier Award is an annual International Tennis Federation (ITF) award. It was introduced in 1996 to recognise individuals or organisations considered to have made outstanding contributions to tennis globally, both on and off the cou ...

(the ITF's highest accolade) for his contributions to tennis and in 2000, Centre Court at the National Tennis Centre in Melbourne was renamed

. Laver was named as a

Queensland Great Queensland Day is officially celebrated on 6 June as the birthday of the Australian state of Queensland. History Moves towards statehood began with a public meeting in 1851 to consider separation of Queensland from the Colony of New South Wa ...

in June 2005. In 2009, he was inducted into the Queensland Sport Hall of Fame. Also in 2009, as part of the Q150 celebrations, Laver was named one of the Q150 Icons of Queensland. Bronze busts of Laver and Margaret Court by sculptor Barbara McLean were unveiled at Melbourne Park in 1993 upon their induction into the

Australian Tennis Hall of Fame The Australian Tennis Hall of Fame was established in 1993 by Tennis Australia under the leadership of then-president Geoff Pollard. Described by Tennis Australia as "one of the highest honours Australian tennis players can receive", inductees are ...

. Another bronze bust of Laver, also by McLean, was installed on the banks of the Fitzroy River in Rockhampton's city centre which was unveiled by Laver and

Rockhampton City Council The City of Rockhampton was a local government area in the Central Queensland region of Queensland, Australia, encompassing most of the suburban area of the regional city of Rockhampton. The city covered an area of , and existed as a local gove ...

deputy mayor Dell Bunt on 7 December 2002. There was some concern raised by the local community when the bust was removed in 2016 during the riverbank redevelopment. However, the bust was re-installed upon the completion of the redevelopment which was officially opened in 2018, with the recreational precinct on the low bank being named Rod Laver Plaza. A bronze statue of Laver by sculptor Lis Johnson was unveiled at Melbourne Park prior to the 2017 Australian Open.

Post-retirement

On 27 July 1998, Laver suffered a stroke while being interviewed by

ESPN ESPN (originally an initialism for Entertainment and Sports Programming Network) is an American international basic cable sports channel owned by ESPN Inc., owned jointly by The Walt Disney Company (80%) and Hearst Communications (20%). The ...

-TV in the United States for their ''

SportsCentury ''SportsCentury'' is an ESPN biography television program that reviews the people and events that defined sports in North America throughout the 20th and 21st centuries. Using stock footage, on-camera interviews, and photographs of their athletic l ...

'' 20th Century sports retrospective series. He was hospitalised for a month and suffered from memory and speech difficulties after the stroke, but recovered over the course of the following year. In 2000, the centre court at

Melbourne Park Melbourne Park is a sports venue in the Melbourne Sports and Entertainment Precinct in Melbourne, Victoria (Australia), Victoria, Australia. Since 1988 Australian Bicentenary, Australia's bicentenary, Melbourne Park has been home of the Austra ...

, which today hosts the Australian Open, was named the

in his honour. In 2003, Laver, along with his fellow Australian tennis superstar

Margaret Court Margaret Court (''née'' Smith; born 16 July 1942), also known as Margaret Smith Court, is an Australian retired former world No. 1 tennis player and a Christian minister. Considered one of the greatest tennis players of all time, her 24 maj ...

, was honoured with his portrait on a

postage stamp A postage stamp is a small piece of paper issued by a post office, postal administration, or other authorized vendors to customers who pay postage (the cost involved in moving, insuring, or registering mail), who then affix the stamp to the fa ...

by the "Australia Post Australian Legends Award". Laver returned to his native country to present Roger Federer in 2006 and 2017, Rafael Nadal in 2009, and Novak Djokovic in 2012, the

Norman Brookes Sir Norman Everard Brookes (14 November 187728 September 1968) was an Australian tennis player. During his career he won three Grand Slam singles titles; Wimbledon in 1907 and 1914 (the first non-British individual to do so) and the Austral ...

Challenge Cup, which is awarded to the Men's Singles winner of the Australian Open. He was present at Wimbledon to witness Federer make tennis history, when he surpassed Pete Sampras' record by winning his 15th Grand Slam Title. After the short-lived reintroduction of knighthoods in Australia in 2014, there were calls for Laver to be knighted within the

Order of Australia The Order of Australia is an honour that recognises Australian citizens and other persons for outstanding achievement and service. It was established on 14 February 1975 by Elizabeth II, Queen of Australia, on the advice of the Australian Gove ...

. In 2016 he was appointed a

Companion of the Order of Australia The Order of Australia is an honour that recognises Australian citizens and other persons for outstanding achievement and service. It was established on 14 February 1975 by Elizabeth II, Queen of Australia, on the advice of the Australian Gove ...

, by which time knighthoods had again been abolished and the Companion was the highest honour available in the Order. Laver resides in Carlsbad, California, and attended

San Diego Chargers The San Diego Chargers were a professional American football team that played in San Diego from 1961 until the end of the 2016 season, before relocating to Los Angeles, where the franchise had played its inaugural 1960 season. The team is now ...

games on occasion. On October 1, 2017, he was inducted into the Southern California Tennis Hall of Fame.

Performance timeline

Laver joined the professional tennis circuit in 1963 and as a consequence was banned from competing in the amateur Grand Slams until the start of the Open Era at the 1968 French Open.

Career statistics and records

All-time tournament records

* Records in bold indicate peerless achievements. * Combined tours:

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, WCT and

Grand Prix Grand Prix ( , meaning ''Grand Prize''; plural Grands Prix), is a name sometimes used for competitions or sport events, alluding to the winner receiving a prize, trophy or honour Grand Prix or grand prix may refer to: Arts and entertainment ...

Notes on sources: John Bercow's book ''Tennis Maestros: The Twenty Greatest Male Tennis Players of All Time'' confirms in chapter 9 Rod Laver's titles for the following years 1962 (22), 1965 (17), 1966 (16), 1967 (19), 1970 (15), 1971 (7), 1972 (5), 1973 (7), 1974 (6). The ITF confirms titles in 1975 (5) titles.

Open Era records

Notes

References

Sources

* * * Bercow, John (2014). ''Tennis Maestros: The Twenty Greatest Male Tennis Players of All Time'', Biteback Publishing, ASIN: B00KPSCV40 * Bellamy, Rex (1990). ''Love Thirty. Three Decades of Champions''. * * * * * * Heldman, Julius. ''The Style of Rod Laver.'' In * * * Newcombe, John; Writer, Larry (2002). ''Newk – Life on and Off the Court''. * Sutter, Michel (1992). ''Vainqueurs-Winners 1946–1991'' (forewords by Arthur Ashe and Mark Miles). * Trengove, Alan (2003). ''Advantage Australia. Rod Laver and Margaret Court: Legends of the Grand Slam''. *

External links

Personal life

Career

Amateur (1956–62)

Professional

Before the Open Era (1963–68)

During the Open Era (1968–76)

Rivalries

Davis Cup

Playing style

Tennis legacy

Honours

Post-retirement

Performance timeline

Career statistics and records

All-time tournament records

Open Era records

See also

Notes

References

Sources

External links