Tennis Career
In 1942 and 1943 while attending Fairfax High School, Bob won the National Interscholastic singles title and won the national doubles title with his brother, Tom. In 1943, Bob became the Los Angeles city singles title holder. The following year he claimed the United States doubles crown with Don McNeill at Forest Hills, NY.
In 1943, Bob became one of the youngest players to enter the US Top 10 amateur ranks. He remained in the US Top 10 for 5 years, whilst he reached a career-high of World No. 7.
From 1944 to 1945, during World War II he served in the military as an air cadet. However, being enlisted in the service did not put a complete halt to Bob's tennis career and he continued to occasionally play while in the Air Force. In 1946, while attending the University of Southern California, he won the NCAA singles and doubles titles. He teamed again with his brother Tom Falkenburg to capture that NCAA doubles final.
Bob was very agile and was known for his powerful serves. At the age of 20 he was considered to have “the fastest serve in tennis.”
After marrying a Brazilian, Bob moved to Rio de Janeiro in 1950, where he played on the 1954 and 1955 Brazilian Davis Cup teams.
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