John Newcombe
Encyclopedia
- For additional information on John Newcombe, please see John Newcombe career statisticsJohn Newcombe career statisticsThis is a list of the main career statistics of professional tennis player John Newcombe.-Singles: 10 :-Wins :* A sudden-death tie-break instead of 5th set-Runner-ups :-Wins :-Runner-up:...
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John David Newcombe, AO
Order of Australia
The Order of Australia is an order of chivalry established on 14 February 1975 by Elizabeth II, Queen of Australia, "for the purpose of according recognition to Australian citizens and other persons for achievement or for meritorious service"...
, OBE
Order of the British Empire
The Most Excellent Order of the British Empire is an order of chivalry established on 4 June 1917 by George V of the United Kingdom. The Order comprises five classes in civil and military divisions...
(born 23 May 1944 in Sydney) is a former World No. 1 tennis player.
Biography
He won seven Grand SlamGrand Slam (tennis)
The four Major tennis tournaments, also called the Slams, are the most important tennis events of the year in terms of world tour ranking points, tradition, prize-money awarded, strength and size of player field, and public attention. They are the Australian Open, the French Open, Wimbledon, and...
singles titles, A natural athlete, Newcombe played several sports as a boy until devoting himself to tennis. He was the Australian junior champion in 1961, 1962, and 1963 and was a member of Australia's Davis Cup
Davis Cup
The Davis Cup is the premier international team event in men's tennis. It is run by the International Tennis Federation and is contested between teams of players from competing countries in a knock-out format. The competition began in 1900 as a challenge between Britain and the United States. By...
winning team in 1964. He won his first Grand Slam title in 1965 by taking the Australian Championships
Australian Open
The Australian Open is the only Grand Slam tennis tournament held in the southern hemisphere. The tournament was held for the first time in 1905 and was last contested on grass in 1987. Since 1972 the Australian Open has been held in Melbourne, Victoria. In 1988, the tournament became a hard court...
doubles title with fellow Australian Tony Roche
Tony Roche
Anthony "Tony" Dalton Roche is a former professional Australian tennis player, native of Tarcutta. He played junior tennis in the New South Wales regional city of Wagga Wagga. He won one Grand Slam singles title and twelve Grand Slam doubles titles. He is also very well known for coaching...
. That same year, the duo won the Wimbledon doubles title. They teamed to win the Australian doubles championship three more times, Wimbledon another four times and the US Championships
U.S. Open (tennis)
The US Open, formally the United States Open Tennis Championships, is a hardcourt tennis tournament which is the modern iteration of one of the oldest tennis championships in the world, the U.S. National Championship, which for men's singles was first contested in 1881...
in 1967, the French Championships in 1967, and the French Open in 1969. They won 12 Grand Slam titles, more than any other men's team in tennis history.
Newcombe's powerful serve and volley was the backbone of his attacking game. He frequently came up with a second-serve ace. He was the top ranked amateur in the world in 1967 according to Lance Tingay, although Rex Bellamy ranked him second behind Roy Emerson
Roy Emerson
Roy Stanley Emerson is an Australian former tennis player who won 12 Grand Slam singles titles and 16 Grand Slam men's doubles titles. He is the only male player to have won singles and doubles titles at all four Grand Slam tournaments. His 28 Grand Slam titles are an all-time record for a male...
. As a professional, Newcombe was the joint world number one player in 1970 and 1971. In singles play, he was a two-time winner of the Australian Open, a three-time winner of Wimbledon, and a two-time winner of the US Open.
As a member of Lamar Hunt
Lamar Hunt
Lamar Hunt was an American sportsman and promoter of American football, soccer, basketball, and ice hockey in the United States and an inductee into three sports' halls of fame. He was one of the founders of the American Football League and Major League Soccer , as well as MLS predecessor the...
's World Championship Tennis
World Championship Tennis
World Championship Tennis was a tour for professional male tennis players established in 1968 and lasted until the emergence of the ATP Tour in 1990...
professional tour group and the players' union, he was banned by the International Tennis Federation
International Tennis Federation
The International Tennis Federation is the governing body of world tennis, made up of 205 national tennis associations.It was established as the International Lawn Tennis Federation by 12 national associations meeting at a conference in Paris, France on 1 March 1913...
from competing in the 1972 Wimbledon Championships
1972 Wimbledon Championships
List of the 1972 Wimbledon champions:-Men's singles: Stan Smith def. Ilie Năstase, 4–6, 6–3, 6–3, 4–6, 7–5*It was Smith's 2nd career Grand Slam title, and his 1st Wimbledon title.-Women's singles: Billie Jean King def...
and he boycotted the event in 1973.
Newcombe was the last of the Australians who dominated tennis in the 1950s and 1960s. In his 1979 autobiography, Jack Kramer
Jack Kramer (tennis player)
John Albert Kramer was an American tennis player of the 1940s. A World Number 1 player for a number of years, he is a possible candidate for the title of the greatest tennis player of all time. He was considered the father and the leading promoter of the professional tennis tours...
, the long-time tennis promoter and great player himself, included Newcombe in his list of the 21 greatest players of all time, and also considered Newcombe to have the best second serve in tennis history.
Newcombe hosted the 1984 Los Angeles Summer Olympic Games (Australian broadcast) for Channel 10.
Newcombe lives in a north shore suburb of Sydney, Australia.
Distinctions
- He served as President of the Association of Tennis ProfessionalsAssociation of Tennis ProfessionalsThe Association of Tennis Professionals or ATP was formed in 1972 by Donald Dell, Jack Kramer, and Cliff Drysdale to protect the interests of male professional tennis players. Since 1990, the association has organized the worldwide tennis tour for men and linked the title of the tour with the...
in 1977 and 1978. - Overall, he won 26 Grand Slam major titles in singles, doubles, and mixed doubles.
- Newcombe and Rod LaverRod LaverRodney George "Rod" Laver MBE is an Australian former tennis player who holds the record for titles won in career, and was the World No. 1 player for seven consecutive years, from 1964 to 1970...
are the only players to ever win both the US Open and Wimbledon men's singles titles as an amateur and as a professional. The grass surfaces favoured his game and the French Open's clay surface was the only major singles championship he never won. However, he did take the French doubles title on three occasions. - In 1986, his achievements were recognised with his induction into the International Tennis Hall of FameInternational Tennis Hall of FameThe International Tennis Hall of Fame is located in Newport, Rhode Island, United States. The hall of fame and honors players and contributors to the sport of tennis and includes a museum, grass tennis courts, an indoor tennis facility, and a court tennis facility.-History:The hall of fame and...
. - Still active in tennis, he was made captain of Australia's Davis Cup team in 1995.
- He is an Australian Living TreasureAustralian Living TreasuresAustralian Living Treasures are people who have been nominated by the National Trust of Australia. The first list of 100 Living Treasures was published in 1997....
. - He runs the John Newcombe Tennis Ranch & Tennis Academy in New Braunfels, TexasNew Braunfels, TexasNew Braunfels is a city in Comal and Guadalupe counties in the U.S. state of Texas that is a principal city of the metropolitan area. Braunfels means "brown rock" in German; the city is named for Braunfels, in Germany. The city's population was 57,740 as of the 2010 census, up 58% from the 2000...
. - Notoriously, he was revealed to be President George W. BushGeorge W. BushGeorge Walker Bush is an American politician who served as the 43rd President of the United States, from 2001 to 2009. Before that, he was the 46th Governor of Texas, having served from 1995 to 2000....
's drinking companion on the night of 4 September 1976, when he was charged with driving under the influence. This controversy surfaced during the 2000 US Presidential Election. - He partners with Cliff DrysdaleCliff DrysdaleCliff Drysdale is a former top-ranked professional tennis player of the 1960s and early 1970s who became a well-known tennis announcer. He was one of the Handsome Eight, signed by Lamar Hunt in 1968 for the newly formed World Championship Tennis group...
to develop the John Newcombe Estate & Country Club in New Braunfels, TexasNew Braunfels, TexasNew Braunfels is a city in Comal and Guadalupe counties in the U.S. state of Texas that is a principal city of the metropolitan area. Braunfels means "brown rock" in German; the city is named for Braunfels, in Germany. The city's population was 57,740 as of the 2010 census, up 58% from the 2000...
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See also
- World number one male tennis player rankings
- Tennis male players statisticsTennis male players statistics-Professional tennis before the start of the open era:Before the start of the open era in 1968, the professional circuit was much less popular than the traditional amateur circuit. For example, Wimbledon in 1957 was a success despite its being an amateur-only tournament and exclusion of Pancho...