Cliff Drysdale

Cliff Drysdale

Eric Clifford 'Cliff' Drysdale (born 26 May 1941, Nelspruit (former Transvaal, present-day Mpumalanga), South Africa) 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, a group of players signed by Lamar Hunt in 1968 for the newly formed professional World Championship Tennis (WCT) group. He became President of the Association of Tennis Professionals (ATP) when it was formed by Jack Kramer, Donald Dell, and himself in 1972. Drysdale's career-high singles ranking was World No. 4, achieved in 1965.

During his career, Drysdale captured five singles titles and six doubles titles including winning the 1972 U.S. Open doubles crown with Roger Taylor. He defeated Rod Laver in the fourth round of the first US Open in 1968. He became a naturalized United States citizen after retiring as a player. Today, he serves as a tennis commentator on ESPN. He is the founder of Cliff Drysdale Tennis (along with partners Don Henderson and Tom Brownhill) which specializes in resort, hotel, and club tennis management.

In 1998 Drysdale won the William M. Johnston Award for contribution to men’s tennis, given by the USTA.