Arthur William Charles Wentworth Gore (2 January 1868 – 1 December 1928) was a British

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 cov ...

player. He is best known for winning three singles titles at the

Wimbledon Championship The Wimbledon Championships, commonly known simply as Wimbledon, is the oldest tennis tournament in the world and is widely regarded as the most prestigious. It has been held at the All England Club in Wimbledon, London, since 1877 and is play ...

and was runner-up a record 5 times (shared with

Herbert Lawford Herbert Fortescue Lawford (15 May 1851 – 20 April 1925) was a former world No. 1 tennis player from Scotland Scotland (, ) is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. Covering the northern third of the island of Great Britain, ...

). He also won gold medals at the

1908 Summer Olympics The 1908 Summer Olympics (officially the Games of the IV Olympiad and also known as London 1908) were an international multi-sport event held in London, England, United Kingdom, from 27 April to 31 October 1908. The 1908 Games were o ...

in London, England, winning the Men's Indoor Singles and the Men's Indoor Doubles (with Herbert Barrett). He also competed at the

1912 Summer Olympics The 1912 Summer Olympics ( sv, Olympiska sommarspelen 1912), officially known as the Games of the V Olympiad ( sv, Den V olympiadens spel) and commonly known as Stockholm 1912, were an international multi-sport event held in Stockholm, Sweden, b ...

in Stockholm, Sweden. Gore's Wimbledon win in 1909, at age 41, makes him the oldest player to date to hold the Wimbledon Gentlemen's Singles title.

Career

He played his first tournament at London Athletic Club in 1887, and his first title came at a grass court tournament in Stevenage in August 1888. Gore won the singles title at the Scottish Championships in 1892 and successfully defended the title in the Challenge Round in 1893. In 1894 he won the North London Championships on grass, an event at that tournament that he won five times (1894, 1898, 1899, 1900, 1906). He won the singles title at the

Kent Championships The Kent Championships also known as the Kent All-Comers' Championships was a tennis tournament held in Foxgrove Road, Beckenham, Kent, England between 1886 and 1996 and was held in the first half of June. From 1887 until 1910 the tournament was ...

on two occasions; in 1900 by defeating Harold Mahony in the final in straight sets and in 1906 against A.L. Bentley, also in straight sets. In 1900 and 1908 he won the singles title at the

British Covered Court Championships The British Covered Court Championships (BCCC) was an indoor tennis event held from 1885 through 1971 and played in London, England. The dates of the tournament fluctuated between October and March. History For its first five years the tournament ...

, played at the Queen's Club in London. In May 1908 he won the singles title at the

, played at the

Queen's Club The Queen's Club is a private sporting club in West Kensington, London, England. The club hosts the annual Queen's Club Championships men's grass court lawn tennis tournament (currently known as the "cinch Championships" for sponsorship r ...

in London, defeating New Zealander

Anthony Wilding Anthony Frederick Wilding (31 October 1883 – 9 May 1915), also known as Tony Wilding, was a New Zealand world No. 1 tennis player and soldier who was killed in action during World War I. Considered the world's first tennis superstar, Wildin ...

in the Challenge Round in four sets. Gore had the longest ever span (34 years) in the Wimbledon men's singles (he entered a record 30 times in singles from 1888 to 1922)., In addition he also won the Leicestershire Championships three times (1913, 1914, 1919) and the Nottinghamshire Championships four times (1905, 1910, 1912, 1913). He also holds the all-time record for the longest tennis career of any player between their first and last titles, that being 30 years, 11 months and one day. Gore was a successful all surface player winning 51 singles titles and reaching the finals of 26 other tournaments on clay, grass and hard asphalt & wood courts from 1888 to 1919. Gore 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 2006.

Grand Slam finals

Singles: 8 (3 titles, 5 runner-ups)

Doubles: 3 (1 title, 2 runner-ups)

Performance timeline

Events with a challenge round: (W_C) won; (CR) lost the challenge round; (F_A) all comers' finalist

Career finals

Singles 77 (51 titles, 26 runner-ups)

References

External links

* * * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Gore, Arthur 1868 births 1928 deaths 19th-century English people 19th-century male tennis players English male tennis players English Olympic medallists Olympic gold medallists for Great Britain Olympic tennis players of Great Britain People from Lyndhurst, Hampshire International Tennis Hall of Fame inductees Tennis players at the 1908 Summer Olympics Tennis players at the 1912 Summer Olympics Wimbledon champions (pre-Open Era) Olympic medalists in tennis Grand Slam (tennis) champions in men's singles Grand Slam (tennis) champions in men's doubles Medalists at the 1908 Summer Olympics British male tennis players Tennis people from Hampshire