Sidney Wood

Sidney Wood

Sidney Burr Wood Jr. (November 1, 1911 – January 10, 2009) was an American tennis player.

Wood was born in Black Rock, Connecticut. He won the Arizona State Men’s Tournament on his 14th birthday, which qualified him for the French Championship and led to him earning a spot at Wimbledon He attended The Hill School in Pottstown, Pennsylvania, where he created the tradition of "J-ball." In the 1927 Wimbledon Championships, Wood became the youngest competitor in the Men's Singles at 15 years 231 days and the Men's Doubles at 15 years 234 days. He was the third youngest winner of the Wimbledon Championships, which he won in 1931 at the age of 19 after Frank Shields withdrew due to an ankle injury. Shields did so on on request of the U.S. Davis Cup Committee, "Frank wanted to play me and it was an insult to Wimbledon and the public that he didn't" recalled Wood. Wood is the only uncontested winner of a Wimbledon final. He also reached the finals of the Mixed Doubles of the French Championships in 1932, the Davis Cup in 1934, and the U.S. National Championships Men's Singles in 1935. Wood was ranked in the world's Top 10 five times between 1931 and 1938, and was ranked World No. 6 in 1931 and 1934 and No. 5 in 1938 by A. Wallis Myers of The Daily Telegraph.

Wood is credited with inventing, designing and patenting Supreme Court, a synthetic playing surface used for indoor courts. It was used by the World Championship Tennis tour from 1973 to 1978. He was inducted into the Tennis Hall of Fame in 1964. At the time of his death, he was the oldest living Hall of Famer.