John Newcombe - Biography

Biography

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 winning team in 1964. He won his first Grand Slam title in 1965 by taking the Australian Championships doubles title with fellow Australian Tony Roche. 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 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. 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's World Championship Tennis professional tour group and the players' union, he was banned by the International Tennis Federation from competing in the 1972 Wimbledon Championships 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, the long-time tennis promoter and great player himself, included Newcombe in his list of the 21 greatest players of all time.