Rod Laver

Rod Laver
AC MBE
Laver in 2015
Full nameRodney George Laver
Country (sports)Australia Australia
ResidenceCarlsbad, California, U.S.
Born (1938-08-09) 9 August 1938 (age 86)
Rockhampton, Queensland, Australia
Height173 cm (5 ft 8 in)[1]
Turned pro1963 (amateur tour from 1956)
Retired1979
PlaysLeft-handed (one-handed backhand)
Prize moneyUS$1,565,413
Int. Tennis HoF1981 (member page)
Singles
Career record1689–538 in pre Open-Era & Open Era[2]
Career titles198 [3] (72 open era titles listed by ATP)
Highest rankingNo. 1 (1961, Lance Tingay)[4]
Grand Slam singles results
Australian OpenW (1960, 1962, 1969)
French OpenW (1962, 1969)
WimbledonW (1961, 1962, 1968, 1969)
US OpenW (1962, 1969)
Other tournaments
Tour FinalsRR – 2nd (1970)
WCT FinalsF (1971, 1972)
Professional majors
US ProW (1964, 1966, 1967)
Wembley ProW (1964, 1965, 1966, 1967)
French ProW (1967)
Doubles
Career record235–77 (75.32%)[a]
Career titles28[a]
Highest rankingNo. 11 (per ATP)
Grand Slam doubles results
Australian OpenW (1959, 1960, 1961, 1969)
French OpenW (1961)
WimbledonW (1971)
US OpenF (1960, 1970, 1973)
Mixed doubles
Grand Slam mixed doubles results
Australian OpenF (1959)
French OpenW (1961)
WimbledonW (1959, 1960)
Team competitions
Davis CupW (1959, 1960, 1961, 1962, 1973)

Rodney George Laver AC MBE (born 9 August 1938) is an Australian former tennis player. Laver was ranked the world number 1 professional player indisputably for five years from 1965 to 1969 and by some sources also in 1964 and 1970. He was also ranked as the number 1 amateur in 1961 and 1962. Laver won 198 singles titles which is the most won by a player in history.[3]

Laver won 11 Grand Slam singles titles and 8 Pro Majors titles. He completed the Grand Slam (winning all four slams in a calendar year) in singles twice in 1962 and 1969; the latter remains the only time a man has done so in the Open Era. He also completed the Pro Slam (winning all three pro majors in one year) in 1967.[5][6] Laver won titles on all court surfaces of his time (grass, clay, hard, carpet, wood) and he contributed to five Davis Cup titles for Australia during an age when the Davis Cup was deemed as significant as the four majors.[7] The Rod Laver Arena and the Laver Cup tournament are named after him.[8]

  1. ^ "Rod Laver". atptour.com. Association of Tennis Professionals (ATP). Archived from the original on 7 July 2022. Retrieved 7 July 2022.
  2. ^ "Rod Laver: Career match record-pre open era and open era". thetennisbase.com. Tennismem SL. Archived from the original on 20 November 2017. Retrieved 22 September 2021.
  3. ^ a b "Record: Most Titles". thetennisbase.com. Tennis Base. Archived from the original on 7 November 2017. Retrieved 31 October 2017.
  4. ^ United States Lawn Tennis Association (1972). Official Encyclopedia of Tennis (First Edition), p. 427.
  5. ^ Cite error: The named reference NYT2009 was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  6. ^ "Rod Laver: Hall of Famers Inductee". tennisfame.com. International Tennis Hall of Fame. Archived from the original on 3 March 2016. Retrieved 27 January 2016.
  7. ^ Tignor, Steve (6 December 2013). "40 Years Ago: Look Out, Cleveland". tennis.com. Archived from the original on 21 July 2015. Retrieved 12 May 2015.
  8. ^ "Dynamic Doubles Duo: Roger Federer, Rafael Nadal to team up in inaugural Laver Cup". Tennis.com. 24 August 2016. Archived from the original on 8 November 2020. Retrieved 21 September 2019.


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