Frederick Sydney Stolle, AO (born 8 October 1938) is an Australian former amateur world No. 1

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 ...

player and commentator. He was born in

Hornsby, New South Wales Hornsby is a suburb in the Northern Sydney region, or Upper North Shore of Sydney in the state of New South Wales, Australia, approximately north-west of the Sydney central business district. It is the administrative centre of the local gove ...

, Australia. He is the father of former Australian Davis Cup player

Sandon Stolle Sandon Stolle (born 13 July 1970) is a former professional male tennis player and at one time ranked No. 2 in World doubles. Sandon is the son of Australian tennis champion Fred Stolle, the former was born in Sydney and now lives in Aventura, ...

Career

Stolle is notable for being the only male player in history to have lost his first five

Grand Slam Grand Slam most often refers to: * Grand Slam (tennis), one player or pair winning all four major annual tournaments, or the tournaments themselves Grand Slam or Grand slam may also refer to: Games and sports * Grand slam, winning category te ...

singles finals, the fifth of which he led by two sets to love. However, Stolle went on to win two Grand Slam tournament singles titles, the

1965 French Championships The 1965 French Championships (now known as the French Open) was a tennis tournament that took place on the outdoor clay courts at the Stade Roland-Garros in Paris, France. The tournament ran from 17 May until 29 May. It was the 69th staging of t ...

and the 1966 US Championships. At Wimbledon and the Australian Championships he finished as runner-up in these tournaments and losing to compatriot

Roy Emerson Roy Stanley Emerson (born 3 November 1936) is an Australian former tennis player who won 12 Grand Slam singles titles and 16 Grand Slam doubles titles, for a total of 28 Grand Slam titles. He is the only male player to have completed a caree ...

on no fewer than five occasions. ''World Tennis'' magazine ranked Stolle world No. 1 amateur in 1966. Stolle won ten Grand Slam doubles titles, partnering with compatriots Bob Hewitt (4 titles), Roy Emerson (4 titles) and

Ken Rosewall Kenneth Robert Rosewall (born 2 November 1934) is an Australian former world top-ranking amateur and professional tennis player. He won a record 23 Majors in singles, including eight Grand Slam singles titles and, before the Open Era, a record ...

(2 titles). In addition Stolle won 7 Grand Slam mixed doubles titles. As a member of the Australian Davis Cup team Stolle won the Davis Cup title in 1964, 1965 and 1966. In 1964 Stolle and Emerson were briefly suspended from the Australian Davis Cup team for going on an overseas tour in defiance of a Lawn Tennis Association of Australia order to remain in Australia until April. Stolle turned professional in 1966, and as a pro, won two singles and 13 doubles titles. He earned about US$500,000 in career prize money. Stolle coached

Vitas Gerulaitis Vytautas Kevin Gerulaitis (July 26, 1954 – September 17, 1994) was an American professional tennis player, known as Vitas Gerulaitis. In 1975, he won the men's doubles title at Wimbledon, partnering with Sandy Mayer. He won the men's singles ...

from 1977 until 1983. For many years, Stolle did TV commentary for ESPN and other tennis broadcasts. He currently provides commentary on

tennis tournaments for Australia's

Fox Sports Fox Sports is the brand name for a number of sports channels, broadcast divisions, programming, and other media around the world. The ''Fox Sports'' name has since been used for other sports media assets. These assets are held mainly by the F ...

and the Nine Network.

Honours

For his contribution to the tennis sport Fred Stolle was inducted into the

International Tennis Hall of Fame The International Tennis Hall of Fame is located in Newport, Rhode Island, United States. It honors both players and other contributors to the sport of tennis. The complex, the former Newport Casino, includes a museum, grass tennis courts, an indo ...

in 1985. In 1988 he was inducted into the

Sport Australia Hall of Fame The Sport Australia Hall of Fame was established on 10 December 1985 to recognise the achievements of Australian sportsmen and sportswomen. The inaugural induction included 120 members with Sir Don Bradman as the first inductee and Dawn Fraser th ...

. He received an

Australian Sports Medal The Australian Sports Medal is an award given to recognise achievements in Australian sport to commemorate Australian participation in major sporting events. Original recipients of the award included competitors, coaches, sports scientists, offi ...

in 2000 and was made an Officer of the

Order of Australia The Order of Australia is an honour that recognises Australian citizens and other persons for outstanding achievement and service. It was established on 14 February 1975 by Elizabeth II, Queen of Australia, on the advice of the Australian Gov ...

in 2005. In 2020, Stolle was awarded the ITF

Philippe Chatrier Award The Philippe Chatrier Award is an annual International Tennis Federation (ITF) award. It was introduced in 1996 to recognise individuals or organisations considered to have made outstanding contributions to tennis globally, both on and off the cou ...

, for his contribution to tennis both during his career and post-retirement.

Grand Slam finals

Singles (2 titles, 6 runners-up)

Doubles (10 titles, 6 runners-up)

Open-era doubles titles (10)

Performance timeline

Singles

Note: The Australian Open was held twice in 1977, in January and December.

References

External links

* * * * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Stolle, Fred Australian Championships (tennis) champions Australian male tennis players Australian Open (tennis) champions French Championships (tennis) champions French Open champions People from the North Shore, Sydney Tennis players from Sydney Australian tennis commentators Officers of the Order of Australia Recipients of the Australian Sports Medal International Tennis Hall of Fame inductees Sport Australia Hall of Fame inductees United States National champions (tennis) US Open (tennis) champions Wimbledon champions Wimbledon champions (pre-Open Era) 1938 births Living people Grand Slam (tennis) champions in men's singles Grand Slam (tennis) champions in mixed doubles Grand Slam (tennis) champions in men's doubles Professional tennis players before the Open Era Australian people of German descent World number 1 ranked male tennis players