Rod Laver

Rodney George Laver AC MBE (born 9 August 1938) is an Australian former tennis player. Laver was
Rod Laver
ranked the world number 1 professional player indisputably for five years from 1965 to 1969 and by some
AC MBE
sources also in 1964 and 1970. He was also ranked as the number 1 amateur in 1961 and 1962. Laver won
198 singles titles, which is the most won by a player in history.[3]

Laver won 11 major singles titles and 8 Pro major titles. He completed the Grand Slam (winning all four
majors in a calendar year) in singles twice—in 1962 and 1969; the latter remains the only time a man has
done so in the Open Era. He also completed the Pro Slam (winning all three pro majors in one year) in
1967.[5][6] Laver won titles on all court surfaces of his time (grass, clay, hard, carpet, wood), and he
contributed to five Davis Cup titles for Australia during an age when the Davis Cup was deemed as
significant as the four majors.[7] The Rod Laver Arena and the Laver Cup tournament are named after
him.[8]

Early life
Rodney George Laver was born in Rockhampton, Australia, on 9 August 1938.[9][10] He was the third of
four children of Roy Laver, a cattleman and butcher, and his wife Melba Roffey.[11]
Laver in 2015
Amongst his relatives were the cricketers Frank Laver and Jack Laver.[12]
Full name Rodney George Laver
Country (sports) Australia
Career Residence Carlsbad, California, U.S.
Born 9 August 1938
Rockhampton, Queensland,
Amateur (1956–62) Australia
Laver was a teenager when he left school to pursue a tennis career that lasted 24 years. He was coached in Height 173 cm (5 ft 8 in)[1]
Queensland by Charlie Hollis and later by the Australian Davis Cup team captain Harry Hopman, who gave
Turned pro 1963 (amateur tour from 1956)
Laver the nickname "Rocket".
Retired 1979
Laver was both Australian and US Junior champion in 1957. He had his breakthrough on the world stage in Plays Left-handed (one-handed
1959, when he reached all three finals at Wimbledon, winning the mixed doubles title with Darlene Hard. backhand)
As an unseeded player, he lost the singles final to Peruvian Alex Olmedo after surviving an 87-game
Prize money US$1,565,413
semifinal against American Barry MacKay (tennis). His first major singles title was the Australian
Int. Tennis HoF 1981 (member page ([Link]
Championships in 1960, where he defeated fellow Australian Neale Fraser in a five-set final after coming
[Link]/hall-of-fa
back from two sets down and saving a Fraser championship point in the fourth set. Laver captured his first
mers/inductees/rod-laver/))
Wimbledon singles crown in 1961 beating Chuck McKinley in straight sets in the final, which lasted just
53 minutes (one of the shortest men's singles Wimbledon finals on record).[13] Laver was ranked the world Singles
No. 1 amateur in 1961 by Lance Tingay.[4] Career record 1689–538 in pre Open-Era &
Open Era[2]
In 1962, Laver became the first male player since Don Budge in
Career titles 198 [3] (72 open era titles
1938 to win all four Grand Slam singles titles in the same year. He
listed by ATP)
won an additional 18 titles, for a season total of 22.[14] Among those
Highest ranking No. 1 (1961, Lance Tingay)[4]
titles were the Italian Championships and the German
Championships, giving Laver the "clay court triple" of Paris, Rome, Grand Slam singles results
and Hamburg that had been achieved previously only by Lew Hoad Australian Open W (1960, 1962, 1969)
in 1956. At the Australian championships, Laver beat Roy Emerson French Open W (1962, 1969)
in the final.[15] The biggest hurdle to Laver's winning the Grand
Wimbledon W (1961, 1962, 1968, 1969)
Slam was the French Championships on slow clay, where Laver
won three consecutive five-setters beginning with the quarterfinals. US Open W (1962, 1969)
In his quarterfinal with Martin Mulligan, Laver saved a matchpoint Other tournaments
Rod Laver signing autographs at the in the fourth set with a backhand volley after coming to the net Tour Finals RR – 2nd (1970)
Dutch Championships in July 1962 behind a second serve. In the final, Laver lost the first two sets and
WCT Finals F (1971, 1972)
was down 0–3 in the fourth set before coming back to defeat
Professional majors
Emerson. At Wimbledon, his progress was much easier. Laver lost only one set the whole tournament, to
Manuel Santana in a quarterfinal, who held a set point for a two set lead. In the final, Laver beat Mulligan US Pro W (1964, 1966, 1967)
in 52 minutes (a minute shorter than the previous year's final).[16] At the US Championships, Laver lost Wembley Pro W (1964, 1965, 1966, 1967)
only two sets during the tournament and defeated Emerson again in the final. Laver was ranked world French Pro W (1967)
number one amateur for 1962 by Tingay,[17] by Ned Potter[18] and by an Ulrich Kaiser panel of 13
Doubles
experts.[19]
Career record 235–77 (75.32%)[a]
Career titles 28[a]
Highest ranking No. 11 (per ATP)
Grand Slam doubles results
In February 1963, he appeared on the panel game show To Tell the Truth, where all four panelists identified Australian Open W (1959, 1960, 1961, 1969)
him based on his knowledge of the history of tennis.[20] French Open W (1961)
Wimbledon W (1971)
Professional US Open F (1960, 1970, 1973)
Mixed doubles
Before the Open Era (1963–68) Grand Slam mixed doubles results
In December 1962 Laver turned professional after winning the Davis Cup with the Australian team. After Australian Open F (1959)
an initial period of adjustment he quickly established himself among the leading professional players such French Open W (1961)
as Ken Rosewall, Lew Hoad and Andrés Gimeno, and also Pancho Gonzales when Gonzales returned to a
Wimbledon W (1959, 1960)
full-time schedule in 1964. During the next seven years, Laver won the U.S. Pro Tennis Championships
five times, including four in a row beginning in 1966. Team competitions
Davis Cup W (1959, 1960, 1961, 1962,
In the beginning of 1963, Laver was beaten consistently by both Rosewall and Hoad on an Australasian 1973)
tour. Hoad won the first eight matches against Laver, and Rosewall won 11 out of 13. However, Laver won
the best-of-five set matches against Rosewall at Kooyong Stadium and at Adelaide's Memorial Stadium.[21] By the end of the year, with six tournament titles,
Laver had become the No. 2 professional player behind Rosewall.[22][23][24] In the first phase of the World Series tour, Laver finished second, with a 25–16
record. The top two players Rosewall and Laver then played a series of matches against each other to determine the champion. Rosewall won 14–4.

Laver's gross earnings for 1963 were first among the pro players.[25]

In 1964, Laver and Rosewall both won seven important titles (in minor tournaments Laver won four and Rosewall won three), but Laver won 17 of 24 matches
against Rosewall and captured the two most prestigious titles, the US Pro Championships over Gonzales and the Wembley Championships over Rosewall. In
Tennis Week, Raymond Lee described the Wembley match, where Laver came from 5–3 down in the fifth set to win 8–6, as possibly their best ever and one that
changed tennis history. Lee regards this win as the one that began and established Laver's long reign as world number one. The other prestige title, the French
pro, was won by Rosewall. Rosewall finished top of the official points table in 1964 and after winning at Wembley, Laver said "I've still plenty of ambitions left
and would like to be the world's No. 1. Despite this win, I am not there yet – Ken is."[26]

In 1965, Laver was clearly the No. 1 professional player,[27] winning 17 titles[28] and 13 of 18 matches against Rosewall.
In ten finals, Laver won eight against the still dangerous Gonzales. Laver won the Wembley Pro, beating Gimeno in the
final.[29]

In 1966, Laver won 16 events,[28] including the US Pro Championships (beating Rosewall in a five-set final),[30] the
Wembley Pro Championship (beating Rosewall easily in the final),[31] and eight other important tournaments.

In 1967, Laver won 19 titles,[28] including the Wimbledon Pro (beating Rosewall in straight sets in the final),[32] the US
Pro Championships (beating Gimeno in the final),[33] the Wembley Pro Championships (beating Rosewall in the
final),[34] and the French Pro Championship (beating Gimeno in the final),[35] which gave him a clean sweep of the four
most important professional titles, a professional Grand Slam. The Wimbledon Pro tournament in 1967 was the only
professional event ever staged on Wimbledon's Centre Court before the Open Era began.

During the Open Era (1968–76)

With the dawn of the Open Era in 1968, professional players were once again allowed to compete in Grand Slam events.
Laver became Wimbledon's first Open Era champion in 1968, beating the best amateur, American Arthur Ashe, in a
semifinal and fellow-Australian Tony Roche in the final, both in straight sets.[36][37] Laver was also the runner-up to Ken Rod Laver at Noordwijk in 1964
Rosewall in the first French Open. In this first "open" year, there were only eight open events besides Wimbledon and the
French Open, where professionals, registered players, and amateurs could compete against each other. The professionals
mainly played their own circuit, with two groups – National Tennis League (NTL) and World Championships Tennis (WCT) – operating. Laver was ranked No.
1 universally, winning the US Professional Championships on grass and the French Pro Championship on clay (both over John Newcombe).[38] Laver also won
the last big open event of the year, the Pacific Southwest in Los Angeles on hard courts.[39] Ashe regarded Laver's 4–6, 6–0, 6–0 final win over Ken Rosewall as
one of his finest performances.[40] Laver's post-match comment was, "This is the kind of match you always dream about. The kind you play at night in your
sleep." Laver ranked No. 1 for 1968 by the panel of journalists for the 'Martini and Rossi' Award,[41] by an Ulrich Kaiser panel of 18 experts,[42] by Seagrams (a
panel of 15 journalists),[43] by World Tennis,[44] by Lance Tingay,[45] by Rino Tommasi,[46] by Bud Collins[47] and by The Times.[48]

In 1969, Laver won all four Grand Slam tournaments in the same calendar year for the second time, sealing the achievement with a four-set win over Roche in
the US Open final. He won 18 of the 32 singles tournaments he entered (still the Open Era titles record) and compiled a 106–16 win–loss record. In beating
Newcombe in four sets in the Wimbledon final, he captured the title at the All England Club for the fourth consecutive time that he had entered the tournament
(and reached the final for the sixth consecutive time as he had been runner-up in 1959 and 1960). He set a record of 31 consecutive match victories at
Wimbledon between 1961 and 1970, which lasted until 1980 when it was eclipsed by Björn Borg. Unlike his first Grand Slam year in 1962, Laver in 1969
played in events open to all the best professional and amateur players of the world. In the year's Grand Slam tournaments, Laver had five five-set-matches,
twice coming back from two sets down in early rounds. In the four finals, however, he lost a total of only two sets. His hardest match was a marathon 90-game
semifinal against Roche at the Australian Open under tropical hot conditions. Other opponents at the Australian Open included Roy Emerson, Fred Stolle, and
Andrés Gimeno. At the French Open, Laver beat Gimeno, Tom Okker, and Rosewall. At Wimbledon, Laver overcame strong challenges from Stan Smith, Cliff
Drysdale, Ashe, and Newcombe. At the US Open on slippery grass courts, he defeated Dennis Ralston, Emerson, Ashe, and Roche. Laver proved his versatility
by winning the Grand Slam tournaments on grass and clay, plus the two most important hard court titles (South African Open at Ellis Park, Johannesburg and
the US Professional Championships at Boston) and the leading indoor tournaments (Philadelphia US Pro Indoor and Wembley British Indoor). Laver ranked
No. 1 for 1969 by the panel of 13 international journalists for the 'Martini and Rossi' Award,[49] by Tingay,[45] by Collins,[47] by Tommasi,[46] by Frank
Rostron[50] and by World Tennis.[51]

In the early 1970s, Laver lost his grip on the major tournaments. He played only five Grand Slam tournaments from 1970 through 1972. This was partly
because of his contracts with NTL and WCT. But on the WCT tours, he remained the leading player and by far the leading prize money winner.
 In 1970, Laver won 15 titles[28] and US$201,453 in prize money, including the
rich "Tennis Champions Classic" and five other big events (Sydney Dunlop Open,
Philadelphia, Wembley, Los Angeles, South African Open). Those were the
equivalent of the modern day ATP Masters Series and most had 8 or more of the
world's top ranked players participating. With only two majors played by all the
best players (Wimbledon and the US Open), there was no clear-cut World No. 1 in
1970. Wimbledon champion Newcombe, US champion Rosewall, and Laver (who
won the most titles and had a 3–0 win–loss record against Newcombe and a 5–0
record against Rosewall) were ranked the highest by different journalists and
expert panels. The panel of 10 international journalists who voted for the 'Martini
and Rossi' Award, ranked Rosewall No. 1 with 97 points over Laver (89 pts) and
Newcombe (81 pts).[52] The panel of 12 journalists which made the WCT draw
for 1971 ranked Laver 1st, Rosewall 2nd and Newcombe 3rd.[53] Rex Bellamy
ranked Laver No. 1, with Rosewall No. 2.[54] Judith Elian of L'Equipe Magazine
(Paris) and Rino Tommasi[46] placed Rosewall No. 1, while Robert Geist co-
ranked Rosewall, Laver and Newcombe No. 1.[55] Newcombe later wrote in his
Rod Laver at the 1976 ABN World autobiography "Newk-Life On and Off the Court" (2002) that the top honour for
Tennis Tournament in Rotterdam 1970 belonged to Laver.[56] Lance Tingay,[45] John McCauley[57] and Bud
Collins.[47] ranked Newcombe ahead of Rosewall and Laver.
Laver during the Top Tennis
In 1971 Laver won seven titles,[28] including the Italian Open in Rome on clay over Jan Kodeš, the reigning French Tournament in Amsterdam in May
Open champion. Laver successfully defended his title at the "Tennis Champions Classic", winning 13 consecutive 1969
winner-take-all matches against top opponents and US$160,000. For the year, Laver won a then-record US$292,717 in
tournament prize money and became the first tennis player to surpass US$1 million in career prize money. In 1971 and
1972, Laver finished as the points leader of the WCT tournament series but lost the playoff finals at Dallas to Rosewall. The last match is rated as one of the
best of all time and drew a TV audience of over 20 million.

In 1972, Laver cut back his tournament schedule, partly because of back and knee injuries and his tennis camp businesses, but he still won five titles[28] that
year. In 1973, Laver won seven titles[28] and successfully participated in the semifinals and final of the Davis Cup, where he won all six of his rubbers for
Australia. In 1974 Laver won six titles[28] from 13 tournaments and ended the year as World No. 4 based on the ATP point system. At 36, he was the oldest
player during the Open Era to have been included in the year-ending top five.

In 1975, Laver set a record for WCT tournaments by winning four titles and 23 consecutive matches but in 1976, he semi-retired from the main tour, playing
only a few selected events. He also signed with World Team Tennis, where he became "Rookie of the Year" at the age of 38 but won five titles[58] overall that
season.

Overall, despite turning 30 just months after the Open Era began, Laver had tremendous success, winning 74 singles titles, which remains seventh most of the
era. Plus, like most players of his day, he regularly played doubles, winning 37 titles.

Laver's career earnings were approximately $1,540,000.[59]

Rivalries
Laver had a long-running, friendly rivalry with Ken Rosewall between 1963, when he started out as a pro, and 1976, when both were semi-retired from the
main tour. Including tournaments and one-night stands, they played over 130 matches, all of them as professionals, with some results from the barnstorming pro
tours lost or badly recorded. Overall a match score of 89–75 in favour of Laver can be documented.[60]

Against the older Pancho Gonzales, whom he played 1964 to 1970 on the pro tour, Laver had a lead of 43–22.

Laver had another, even longer rivalry with his fellow Queenslander Roy Emerson. They met first on the senior amateur tour in 1958 and dominated the
amateur circuit until 1962, before Laver turned pro. When open tennis arrived in 1968, Emerson joined the pro tour, and had many new battles with Laver.
Overall the score is 49–18 in favour of Laver, with 7–2 in major Grand Slam tournaments.

Laver had also many battles with Lew Hoad in his first years on the pro circuit 1963–1966. Although he lost the first eight matches in January 1963, Laver later
in the year began to turn around their rivalry, and until 1966, he had built a 38–21 lead. Against Arthur Ashe, Laver had a head-to-head lead of 21–3, winning all
of the first 18 matches. Ashe's first win came in 1974, when Laver was 35. Another younger rival in the Open Era was John Newcombe, whom Laver led 16–5
in their head-to-head score.

Davis Cup
Laver helped Australia win the Davis Cup four consecutive times from 1959 to 1962. In 1973, professionals were permitted to play in the Davis Cup for the first
time, and Laver was on a winning team for the fifth time, claiming two singles and a doubles rubber in the final as Australia beat the United States 5–0.
Australia were crowned Davis Cup champions in each of the five seasons Laver played in the competition. Laver won 16 out of 20 Davis Cup singles matches
and all four of his doubles.
 Tie
Zone Round Date Opponents Location Surface Match Opponent W/L Rubber score
score
1959 Davis Cup
Singles 2 Mario Llamas L 4–6, 4–6, 3–6
18–20 Jul
NCA SF Mexico 4–1 Mexico City Clay 6–3, 6–8, 4–6,
1959 Singles 4 Tony Palafox W
7–5, 6–3
Singles 2 Robert Bédard W 8–6, 6–3, 6–4
24–26 Jul
NCA F Canada 5–0 Montreal Grass François 7–9, 6–4, 6–2,
1959 Singles 5 W
Godbout 6–1
Orlando Garrido
31 Jul–2 Doubles
AIZ F Cuba 5–0 Montreal Grass Reynaldo W 6–4, 6–4, 6–4
Aug 1959 (Emerson)
Garrido
Nicola 6–4, 2–6, 6–3,
Singles 1 W
7–10 Jul Pietrangeli 6–3
IZ SF Italy 4–1 Philadelphia Grass
1959 4–6, 6–4, 6–0,
Singles 4 Orlando Sirola W
6–3
Ramanathan 1–6, 4–6, 10–8,
14–16 Aug Singles 1 L
IZ F India 4–1 Boston Grass Krishnan 4–6
1959
Singles 4 Premjit Lall W 6–2, 10–8, 6–4
Barry MacKay
Singles 1 L 5–7, 4–6, 1–6
28–31 Aug New York (tennis)
CR F United States 3–2 Grass
1959 City 7–9, 6–4, 8–10,
Singles 4 Alex Olmedo L
10–12
1960 Davis Cup
Nicola
26–28 Dec Singles 2 W 8–6, 6–4, 6–3
CR F Italy 4–1 Sydney Grass Pietrangeli
1960
Singles 4 Orlando Sirola W 9–7, 6–2, 6–3
1961 Davis Cup
Singles 2 Orlando Sirola W 6–1, 6–4, 6–3
26–28 Dec
CR F Italy 5–0 Melbourne Grass Nicola 6–3, 3–6, 4–6,
1961 Singles 4 W
Pietrangeli 6–3, 8–6
1962 Davis Cup
Singles 1 Rafael Osuna W 6–2, 6–1, 7–5
Doubles Rafael Osuna
26–28 Dec W 7–5, 6–2, 6–4
CR F Mexico 5–0 Brisbane Grass (Emerson) Tony Palafox
1962
6–1, 4–6, 6–4,
Singles 5 Tony Palafox W
8–6
1973 Davis Cup
Singles 1 Jan Kodeš W 6–3, 7–5, 7–5
Doubles Jan Kodeš 6–4, 14–12, 7–
16–18 Nov W
IZ SF 4–1 Melbourne Grass (Rosewall) Vladimir Zednik 9, 8–6
1973 Czechoslovakia
6–1, 4–6, 6–4,
Singles 4 Jiří Hřebec W
8–6
8–10, 8–6, 6–8,
Singles 2 Tom Gorman W
6–3, 6–1
30 Nov–2 Carpet Doubles Stan Smith
CR F United States 5–0 Cleveland W 6–1, 6–2, 6–4
Dec 1973 (i) (Newcombe) Erik van Dillen
6–3, 6–4, 3–6,
Singles 5 Stan Smith W
6–2

Playing style
Although of average height and medium build (1.73 m; 5 ft 8 in), Laver developed a technically complete serve-and-volley game, with aggressive
groundstrokes to back it up. Commentator Dan Maskell described him as "technically faultless".[61] His left-handed serve was well disguised and wide
swinging. His groundstrokes on both flanks were hit with topspin, as was the attacking topspin lob, which Laver developed into a weapon. His stroke technique
was based on quick shoulder turns, true swings, and accurate timing. His backhand, often hit on the run, was a point-ender that gave him an advantage. Laver
was very quick and had a strong left forearm. Rex Bellamy wrote, "The strength of that wrist and forearm gave him blazing power without loss of control, even
when he was on the run and at full stretch. The combination of speed and strength, especially wrist strength, enabled him to hit ferocious winners when way out
of court." At the net, he had forcing volleys, often hit as stroke volleys. Especially on the backhand, he could hit sharp underspin angles as well. He was difficult
to lob, because of his springing agility, and when forced to retreat, he could come up with a vicious counterpunch.
As an amateur, Laver was a somewhat flashy player, often a late starter. He had to learn to control his adventurous shot-
making and integrate percentage tennis into his game when he turned professional. In his prime, he could adapt his style
to all surfaces and to all conditions. Laver had a strong record in five-set-matches, often turning things around with
subtle changes of tactics.

Tennis legacy
Laver reaches for a backhand volley
Laver is regarded by many as the greatest tennis player in the history of the sport.[b] Laver was ranked the world No. 1
against Jovanović during their
amateur in 1961 by Lance Tingay and in 1962 by Tingay and Ned Potter. Laver was the number one professional in some singles semifinal match in the 1962
rankings in 1964, in all rankings from 1965 to 1969 and in some rankings in 1970. Italian Open.

Jack Kramer, the long-time tennis promoter, ranked Laver only in the "second echelon" of great players, just behind the
six best.[71] He writes that although Laver was "absolutely unbeatable for a year or two late in the 1960s", a "careful
comparison" could be made between Laver and the somewhat older Gonzales and that Kramer is "positive that Gonzales
could have beaten Laver regularly." Kramer's main argument for downgrading Laver is that, "Ken Rosewall beat Laver
in those two World Championship of Tennis finals and that was a title Laver really wanted." Kramer sees as evidence of
Gonzales' superiority over Laver the fact that Gonzales defeated Laver in a five-set match before 15,000 spectators in
New York City's Madison Square Garden in January 1970, when Gonzales was 41 years old and Laver was still
considered the World No. 1 player. On the other hand, Gonzales was still a top ten player when this match took place and
Laver subsequently won this event, beating Gonzales in a straight-sets semifinal. Overall, his head-to-head-record with
Gonzales was either 35–19 or 38–21 in favour of Laver, depending on the source. Laver was 12–5 against Gonzales
during the Open Era, although Gonzales was then in his late thirties.[72]

In 1975, Don Budge ranked his top five players of all time and rated Laver number five behind Vines, Kramer, Perry and
Tilden.[73]

In 1978, Ellsworth Vines ranked his all-time top 10 in Tennis Myth and Method and rated Laver number four behind
Bust of Laver at the Pat Rafter
Budge, Kramer and Gonzales.[74]
Arena, in Queensland.

In the early years of the 21st century, Sidney Wood compiled his list of the Greatest Players of All Time (later published
posthumously in a memoir "The Wimbledon final that never was and other tennis tales from a bygone era"). Wood first entered Wimbledon in 1927 and won the
title in 1931. "From that time on, through to the late 1970s (doubles only towards the end), I was privileged to compete against virtually every top player in the
world" said Wood. Wood ranked Laver number five, behind Budge, Kramer, Tilden and Gonzales.[75]

In 2014, Frank Sedgman, in his autobiography Game Sedge and Match, ranked Laver number three, behind Jack Kramer and Roger Federer, in his list of
greatest male tennis players of all time.[76]

Many experts disagree with Kramer's assessment of Laver. For example, Dan Maskell, John Barrett, Butch Buchholz,[77] Cliff Drysdale,[77] Joe McCauley,[78]
Ted Schroeder, and Tony Trabert rank Laver as the best of all time. Schroeder has been quoted by Alan Trengove as saying, "You take all the criteria –
longevity, playing on grass and clay, amateur, professional, his behaviour, his appearance – in all criteria, Laver's the best player of all time." Trabert said in
January 2008, "I still maintain that Rod Laver is the best player who ever played the game because he's done something no one has ever done in the 120 or 140-
year history of our sport: he won the Grand Slam as an amateur and he won the Grand Slam as a pro. If someone in some other sport held a world record no one
else had, you would say that person was the best in that sport. So in my view, you've got to say Laver is the best player of all time."[67] Similarly, the tennis
author Peter Bodo wrote in May 2008, "Give him credit? Shoot, the only real issue is whether the GOAT [Greatest of All Time] argument is a debate at all,
given that posting those two Slams puts Laver in a league of his own."[79] Other experts cite the fact that during his amateur, touring professional, and Open Era
careers, Laver won a record 184 singles titles. He also holds the record for most titles won in a single year during the amateur era (22 in 1962),[80] during the
touring pro era (19 in 1967),[81] and during the Open Era (18 in 1969).[82] After turning professional in 1963, Laver won the U.S. Pro Tennis Championships
five times and the Wembley Pro Championship four times from 1964 to 1967. In 1967, Laver won a "Professional Grand Slam" by winning all four of the major
professional tournaments: the US Pro Championships, the Wembley Pro Championships, the French Pro Championship, and the Wimbledon Pro.

In 1983, Fred Perry ranked the greatest male players of all time and put them in to two categories, before World War 2
and after. Perry ranked Laver number one in the post-World War 2 list.[83]

Laver came out on top in various experts polls for the best of all time. In 1986, the US magazine Inside Tennis polled 37
experts, which resulted in a computerised tournament. Laver ranked first on this list ahead of John McEnroe, Don Budge,
Kramer, Björn Borg, Gonzales, Tilden, Jimmy Connors, Fred Perry, and Lew Hoad. In a poll by the Associated Press in
2000, Laver was voted "The Male Tennis Player of the Century", ahead of Pete Sampras, Tilden, Borg, Budge, McEnroe
and Hoad (tied), Rosewall and Roy Emerson (tied), and Kramer. In an article in Tennis Week in 2007, the tennis historian
Raymond Lee statistically analysed the all-time best players. Laver topped his list ahead of Tilden and Borg (tied), Roger
Federer, Gonzales, Rosewall, Budge, Ivan Lendl, Connors, Sampras, McEnroe, and Kramer. In 2009 it was written that
Rod Laver "is considered by most folks who saw him play and many who've heard of his accomplishments, to be as
Sculpture depicting Rod Laver great a tennis player that ever lived—current players included.". In July 2017, tennis player Roger Federer called Rod
outside the Rod Laver Arena, Laver the greatest of all time.[84]
Melbourne.
In 1989, Bud Collins wrote, "I remain unconvinced that there ever was a better player than Rod Laver".[85] Thirteen
years later, however, as editor of the "Total Tennis, The Ultimate Tennis Encyclopedia", Collins was more guarded. He
wrote that Laver would "be known as possibly the greatest player ever", but also said that Gonzales was "probably as good as anyone who ever played the
game, if not better"—and called Tilden "perhaps the greatest player of them all".[86] In an August 2006 article for MSNBC, Collins ranked Laver as one of the
five top men's tennis stars of all time, along with Tilden, Gonzales, Borg, and Sampras. He pointed to Tilden's "phenomenal .938 winning percentage", and said
"If I had to choose someone to play for my life it would be Pancho Gonzalez", praised Borg's uncanny transition from the French Open to Wimbledon, cited
Sampras's "assault on the citadels of the past", and called Laver "in my eyes, the greatest player ever".[87]
In 1973, the ATP's computer rankings were established. Laver attained his highest ranking on that computer of World No. 3 in 1974. Laver's highest year-end
ranking by the ATP was World No. 4 in 1974. Laver semi-retired from the main professional tennis tour in 1975 while still being ranked in the top 10. In terms
of yearly prize money won, Laver was the leader from 1964 until 1971.[88] The number of tournament singles titles that Laver won during his career varies
depending on the source. The ATP credits Laver with 72 Open Era titles while "Total Tennis: The Ultimate Tennis Encyclopedia" (edited by Bud Collins), give
him 47 or 54 titles during the Open Era. Collins credits him with 184 titles in amateur, professional, and open competition, without listing them in detail.

Laver's eleven Grand Slam singles titles currently place him tied with Borg for sixth place on the all-time list. Among his contemporaries, only Emerson won
more Grand Slam singles titles during his career (12 to Laver's 11), though more recently Federer, Nadal, Sampras, and Djokovic have surpassed this number.
Laver also won eight Major doubles titles. Laver is the only player to have twice won all four Grand Slam singles tournaments during the same calendar year –
the Australian Open, French Open, Wimbledon and the US Open.[89] Because none of the Majors were played on hardcourts in Laver's era, he never won a
Grand Slam tournament on that surface. The tennis landscape today is different as half of the year's Majors are played on hardcourts. Only six players have won
Major titles on clay, grass and hardcourts: Jimmy Connors, Mats Wilander, Andre Agassi, Roger Federer, Rafael Nadal and Novak Djokovic. Federer, Nadal and
Djokovic are the only players in history to have simultaneously held Grand Slam tournament titles on the three surfaces.

Previous observations change substantially if we also consider professional grand slam majors, which were played on two different surfaces in the 1963-67
period (grass and wood/parquet), and wherein Laver, like Rosewall, excelled. Furthermore, the ATP Performance Zone website lists his (partial) career win/loss
percentage on hardcourt as .813, on carpet as .766, on grass as .827 and on clay as .764.[90][91][92][93]

Laver was unable to compete in the Grand Slam tournaments during his professional career between 1963 and 1968 and it is argued he would likely have won
more titles had he been able to do so.[5] Sports columnist Malcolm Knox of the Sydney Morning Herald assesses the effect of Laver's ban on competing in
Grand Slams. He states: "..if grand slams are taken as the benchmark, consider this. Laver won 11 of the 16 grand slam titles he contested in his prime. The pro
tour put him out of 20 grand slams from age 23 to 28". Based on this he puts Laver and Rosewall in "a class of two".[94]

Honours
In 2000, the centre court at Melbourne Park, which today hosts the Australian Open, was named the Rod Laver Arena in his honour. In 2016, he was appointed a
Companion of the Order of Australia.[95]

The hall at the Rockhampton Tennis Association's Victoria Park precinct in Wandal where Laver competed until the age of 14 was named the Rod Laver Hall
upon its completion in December 1963 in recognition of his Grand Slam win the previous year.[96]

In 1969, Laver was awarded the ABC Sportsman of the Year Award and the BBC Overseas Sports Personality of the Year.[97][98] He was inducted into the
International Tennis Hall of Fame in 1981. He was inducted into the Sport Australia Hall of Fame in 1985 and upgraded to a Legend of Australian Sport in
2002.[99] He is also an Australian Living Treasure. In 1998, Laver received the Philippe Chatrier Award (the ITF's highest accolade) for his contributions to
tennis and in 2000, Centre Court at the National Tennis Centre in Melbourne was renamed Rod Laver Arena.

Laver was named as a Queensland Great in June 2005.[100] In 2009, he was inducted into the Queensland Sport Hall of Fame.[101] Also in 2009, as part of the
Q150 celebrations, Laver was named one of the Q150 Icons of Queensland.[102]

Bronze busts of Laver and Margaret Court by sculptor Barbara McLean were unveiled at Melbourne Park in 1993 upon their induction into the Australian
Tennis Hall of Fame.[103] Another bronze bust of Laver, also by McLean, was installed on the banks of the Fitzroy River in Rockhampton's city centre which
was unveiled by Laver and Rockhampton City Council deputy mayor Dell Bunt on 7 December 2002.[104] There was some concern raised by the local
community when the bust was removed in 2016 during the riverbank redevelopment.[105] However, the bust was re-installed upon the completion of the
redevelopment which was officially opened in 2018, with the recreational precinct on the low bank being named Rod Laver Plaza.[106][107] A bronze statue of
Laver by sculptor Lis Johnson was unveiled at Melbourne Park prior to the 2017 Australian Open.[108]

Member of the Order of the British

Empire (MBE) 1970 Queen's Birthday Honours – "For service to Tennis"[109]

Australian Sports Medal 30 August 2000 – "Possibly the greatest player ever. The only player to capture two "Grand Slams""[110]

Companion of the Order of 2016 Australia Day Honours – "For eminent service to tennis as a player, representative and mentor, at the national and
Australia (AC) international level, and as a role model for young sportsmen and women".[95]

Personal life
On 27 July 1998, Laver suffered a stroke while being interviewed by ESPN-TV in the United States for their SportsCentury 20th Century sports retrospective
series. He was hospitalised for a month and suffered from memory and speech difficulties after the stroke, but recovered over the course of the following
year.[111]

In 1966, Laver married Mary Benson in San Rafael, California. Born Mary Shelby Peterson in Illinois, she was a divorcee with three children and ten years his
senior.[112][113] Together, they had a son named Rick. The family lived at various locations in California including Rancho Mirage, Corona del Mar, a ranch near
Santa Barbara and Carlsbad.[113] Mary Laver died in November 2012 at the age of 84 at their home in Carlsbad.[113] Since 2018, he has been living with his
partner Susan Johnson, a widow from Florida.[114]

In 1985, Laver's cousin was killed in the crash of Delta Air Lines Flight 191; the latter's son survived the crash.[115]
Laver resides in Carlsbad, California,[116] and attended San Diego Chargers games on occasion.[117] On 1 October 2017, he was inducted into the Southern
California Tennis Hall of Fame.[118]

Performance timeline

Key
W F SF QF #R RR Q# DNQ A NH

(W) winner; (F) finalist; (SF) semifinalist; (QF) quarterfinalist; (#R) rounds 4, 3, 2, 1; (RR) round-robin stage; (Q#) qualification round; (DNQ) did not qualify;
(A) absent; (NH) not held; (SR) strike rate (events won / competed); (W–L) win–loss record.
Laver joined the professional tennis circuit in 1963 and as a consequence was banned from competing in the amateur Grand Slams until the start of the Open
Era at the 1968 French Open.[14]

Amateur career Professional career Open career

Tournament
'56 '57 '58 '59 '60 '61 '62 '63 '64 '65 '66 '67 '68 '69 '70 '71 '72 '73 '74 '75 '76 '7
Grand Slam tournaments
Australian Open 1R 1R 2R 3R W F W A A A A A A W A 3R A A A A A A
French Open 1R A 2R 3R 3R SF W A A A A A F W A A A A A A A A
Wimbledon 1R A 3R F F W W A A A A A W W 4R QF A A A A A 2R
US Open 1R A 4R QF F F W A A A A A 4R W 4R A 4R 3R A 4R A A
Pro Slam tournaments
U.S. Pro A A A A A A A F W F W W not a Major
French Pro A A A A A A A F F F F W not a Major
Wembley Pro A A A A A A A QF W W W W not a Major

Career statistics and records

All-time tournament records

Records in bold indicate peerless achievements.
Combined tours: NTL, WCT and Grand Prix

Championship Record accomplished Player tied Reference

Pro Major tournaments Won the Professional Grand Slam (1967) Ken Rosewall [5][119]

Grand Slam tournaments Won the Grand Slam twice (1962, 1969) Stands alone [120][121]

Reached 14 consecutive Major finals (1964–68) Stands alone [122]

Ellsworth Vines
Don Budge
Ken Rosewall
All Major tournaments
Jimmy Connors
(Slams + Pro Majors) [123]
Titles on 3 different surfaces Mats Wilander
Andre Agassi
Roger Federer
Rafael Nadal
Novak Djokovic

Wembley Professional Championships Won 4 consecutive titles overall (1964–67) Ken Rosewall [124]

Pro Tournaments Most singles titles, pro tournaments, 70 (1963–68) Stands alone [125]

198 career titles (1956–76) Stands alone [126]

286 career finals. (198 titles, 88 runners-up) (1956–76) Stands alone [127]

30 finals in a single season (1965) Stands alone [127]

55 career indoor titles (1963–75) Stands alone [127]

81 career indoor finals (1963–75) Stands alone [127]

Career all tournaments 15+ title in 6 seasons (1962, 65, 66, 67, 69, 70) Stands alone [28][128]

7 consecutive 10+ title seasons (1964–70) Stands alone [28][129]

16 consecutive 5+ title seasons (1960–75) Stands alone [28][58][129][130]

21 consecutive 1+ title seasons (1956–76) Ken Rosewall

147 match wins in a single season (1961) Stands alone

114 outdoor titles Anthony Wilding
Notes on sources: John Bercow's book Tennis Maestros: The Twenty Greatest Male Tennis Players of All Time confirms in chapter 9 Rod Laver's titles for the
following years 1962 (22), 1965 (17), 1966 (16), 1967 (19), 1970 (15), 1971 (7), 1972 (5), 1973 (7), 1974 (6). The ITF confirms titles in 1975 (5) titles.[28]

Open Era records

Championship Years Record accomplished Player tied Reference

Australian Open–US Open 1969 Grand Slam Stands alone [131]

Wimbledon 1968 Andre Agassi

Australian Open 1969 Roger Federer [132]
Career Grand Slam
French Open 1969 Rafael Nadal
US Open 1969 Novak Djokovic

Grand Slam tournaments 1969 100% (26–0) match winning percentage in 1 season Jimmy Connors [133]

Roger Federer [134]

Grand Slam tournaments 1969 All 4 finals in a calendar year
Novak Djokovic

Combined tours 1968–70 3 consecutive years with 10+ titles Roger Federer [129]

Combined tours 1969 18 titles in 1 season Stands alone [135]

Grand Prix Tour 1969–75 90% (18–2) career match winning percentage in hard court finals Stands alone

Grand Prix Tour 1968–75 38 titles at age 30+ Stands alone [136]

See also

Tennis portal

All-time tennis records – men's singles

Open Era tennis records – men's singles

Notes
a. Open Era
b. See[62][63][64][65][66][67][68][69][70]

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External links
Rod Laver ([Link] at the Association of Tennis Professionals
Rod Laver ([Link] at the International Tennis Federation
Rod Laver ([Link] at the Davis Cup
Rod Laver ([Link] at the International Tennis Hall of Fame
Rod Laver ([Link] at Tennis Australia
Rod Laver ([Link] at the Sport Australia Hall of Fame
Official [Link] profile ([Link]
(archived 11 October 2006)
BBC profile ([Link]

Retrieved from "[Link]