Patrick Francis "Frank" Hadow (2 January 1855 – 29 June 1946) was an English

tennis Tennis is a racket sport that is played either individually against a single opponent (singles) or between two teams of two players each (doubles). Each player uses a tennis racket that is strung with cord to strike a hollow rubber ball cov ...

player, who won the

Wimbledon championship The Wimbledon Championships, commonly known simply as Wimbledon, is the oldest tennis tournament in the world and is widely regarded as the most prestigious. It has been held at the All England Club in Wimbledon, London, since 1877 and is play ...

in 1878.

Personal life

Born 2 January 1855

Regent's Park Regent's Park (officially The Regent's Park) is one of the Royal Parks of London. It occupies of high ground in north-west Inner London, administratively split between the City of Westminster and the Borough of Camden (and historically betwee ...

, his father was Patrick Douglas Hadow who was educated at

Harrow School Harrow School () is a Public school (United Kingdom), public school (English Independent school (United Kingdom), independent boarding school for boys) in Harrow on the Hill, Greater London, England. The school was founded in 1572 by John Lyon (sc ...

and

Balliol College Balliol College () is one of the constituent colleges of the University of Oxford in England. One of Oxford's oldest colleges, it was founded around 1263 by John I de Balliol, a landowner from Barnard Castle in County Durham, who provided the ...

Oxford University Oxford () is a city in England. It is the county town and only city of Oxfordshire. In 2020, its population was estimated at 151,584. It is north-west of London, south-east of Birmingham and north-east of Bristol. The city is home to the ...

and became Chairman of the P&O Shipping Company. Frank Hadow attended Harrow School along with six of his seven brothers who were known as the "Harrow Hadows". Hadow represented Harrow at rackets and the brothers were well known as distinguished cricketers. Hadow's oldest brother Douglas Robert Hadow died during the descent after the first ascent of the

Matterhorn The (, ; it, Cervino, ; french: Cervin, ; rm, Matterhorn) is a mountain of the Alps, straddling the main watershed and border between Switzerland and Italy. It is a large, near-symmetric pyramidal peak in the extended Monte Rosa area of the ...

in 1865.

Sporting career

He was the loftiest Wimbledon Champion. He played at Wimbledon whilst on holiday from his coffee plantation in

Ceylon Sri Lanka (, ; si, ශ්‍රී ලංකා, Śrī Laṅkā, translit-std=ISO (); ta, இலங்கை, Ilaṅkai, translit-std=ISO ()), formerly known as Ceylon and officially the Democratic Socialist Republic of Sri Lanka, is an ...

. He did not defend his title – and is therefore the only male champion never to have lost a set in singles there. He returned to Wimbledon nearly half a century later to collect a commemorative medal from Queen Mary for being the oldest surviving champion. When asked if he would defend his title Hadow is reported to have said "No sir. It's a sissy's game played with a soft ball." Hadow was also a distinguished big game hunter, hunting in Africa in the early years of the 20th century. He has listings in many categories of the 1928 Rowland Ward "Records of Big Game", including ranking trophies in the sable antelope, Cape buffalo, Uganda kob and eland categories. As a cricketer, he also represented

Marylebone Cricket Club Marylebone Cricket Club (MCC) is a cricket club founded in 1787 and based since 1814 at Lord's Cricket Ground, which it owns, in St John's Wood, London. The club was formerly the governing body of cricket retaining considerable global influe ...

(MCC),

Middlesex Middlesex (; abbreviation: Middx) is a historic county in southeast England. Its area is almost entirely within the wider urbanised area of London and mostly within the ceremonial county of Greater London, with small sections in neighbour ...

, the

Orleans Club The Orleans Club was a London-based cricket Cricket is a bat-and-ball game played between two teams of eleven players on a field at the centre of which is a pitch with a wicket at each end, each comprising two bails balanced on three s ...

, the South and the Gentlemen of England as a right-handed batsman in seven first-class matches between 1883 and 1891. He also played cricket in Ceylon. He died on 29 June 1946 in

Bridgwater, Somerset Bridgwater is a large historic market town and civil parish in Somerset, England. Its population currently stands at around 41,276 as of 2022. Bridgwater is at the edge of the Somerset Levels, in level and well-wooded country. The town lies al ...

Creator of the lob

Hadow introduced the tennis technique of lobbing—sending the ball high and deep into the opponent's

court A court is any person or institution, often as a government institution, with the authority to adjudicate legal disputes between parties and carry out the administration of justice in civil, criminal, and administrative matters in acco ...

—and used it to defeat the volleyer Spencer Gore in the 1878 (second) Wimbledon Men's Final, 7–5, 6–1, 9–7.

Grand Slam tournaments

Singles: 1 (1 title)

References

External links

Cricinfo

{{DEFAULTSORT:Hadow, Frank 1855 births 1946 deaths 19th-century English people 19th-century male tennis players English cricketers English male tennis players Marylebone Cricket Club cricketers Middlesex cricketers People educated at Harrow School People from Westminster People of British Ceylon Wimbledon champions (pre-Open Era) Grand Slam (tennis) champions in men's singles North v South cricketers Cricketers from Greater London British male tennis players Tennis people from Greater London Gentlemen of England cricketers