Lew Hoad

Lew Hoad

Lewis Alan ("Lew") Hoad (Glebe, New South Wales, 23 November 1934 – 3 July 1994 in Fuengirola, Spain) was a former World No. 1 tennis player.

In his 1979 autobiography, Jack Kramer, the long-time tennis promoter and great player himself, ranked Hoad as one of the 21 best players of all time. For five straight years, beginning in 1952, he was ranked in the world top 10 for amateurs, reaching the World No. 1 spot in 1956. Hoad turned professional in July 1957.

Hoad won four majors as an amateur, and won the 1959 Tournament of Champions as a professional. Rod Laver, writing for the Herald Sun newspaper in 2012, ranked Lew as the greatest player of the 'Past Champions' era of tennis. Laver described his strengths of "power, volleying and explosiveness" as justification of his accolade.