Roy Emerson

Roy Emerson, born in 1936, Australian tennis player, who dominated the men’s game in the mid-1960s. A talented right-handed player, Emerson won 12 singles grand slam titles—that is, titles at Wimbledon and at the Australian, French, and United States championships. In his notable career he added 16 grand slam doubles titles.

Born in Blackbutt, Queensland, Australia, Emerson grew up on a large dairy farm. He began playing tennis at home on a clay court that his family constructed with material from anthills and fenced in with chicken wire. As a teenager he experienced success in the Queensland state junior championships.

Emerson became a regular member of the Australian Davis Cup team in 1959, when he and Neale Fraser won the doubles match in the finals. Playing with Fraser and other talented Australians such as Rod Laver and John Newcombe, Emerson led his country to eight Davis Cup titles between 1959 and 1967. Emerson also teamed with Fraser to win the U.S. and Wimbledon doubles championships in 1959. He went on to win 14 more grand slam doubles titles, with five different partners.

In 1961 Emerson won his first major singles title by upsetting Laver in the finals of the Australian championships. This victory was the first in a series of major singles titles for Emerson. Between 1962 and 1967 he won two Wimbledon singles titles (1964, 1965), two French singles titles (1963, 1967), two U.S. singles titles (1961, 1964), and five consecutive Australian singles titles (1963-1967). Emerson became the only male player to win doubles and singles championships at all four grand slam events. He was elected to the Tennis Hall of Fame in 1982.