József Asbóth (; 18 September 1917 – 22 September 1986) was a Hungarian

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. Born to a family of railway workers, he is best remembered for being the first Hungarian and first player from Eastern Europe to win a Grand Slam singles title, at the 1947 French Open (where as the fifth seed he beat

Yvon Petra Yvon Petra (; 8 March 1916 – 12 September 1984) was a French male tennis player. He was born in Cholon, French Indochina. Petra is best remembered as the last Frenchman to win the Wimbledon Championships men's singles title (in 1946), beatin ...

, Tom Brown and

Eric Sturgess Eric William Sturgess (10 May 1920 – 14 January 2004) was a South African male tennis player and winner of six Grand Slam doubles titles. He also reached the singles final of a Grand Slam tournament three times but never won. Sturgess was ra ...

). He remains the only Hungarian male player to win a Grand Slam singles title. Asbóth was a clay court specialist who was good at keeping the ball in play. Asbóth also reached the semifinals at Wimbledon in 1948 (beating Sturgess and Brown, then losing to

John Bromwich John Edward Bromwich (14 November 1918 – 21 October 1999) was an Australian tennis player who, along with fellow countryman Vivian McGrath, was one of the first great players to use a two-handed backhand. He was a natural left-hander, though ...

). Hungary's Communist government had let him leave the country only after the personal warrant of the Swedish King

Gustaf V Gustaf V (Oscar Gustaf Adolf; 16 June 1858 – 29 October 1950) was King of Sweden from 8 December 1907 until his death in 1950. He was the eldest son of King Oscar II of Sweden and Sophia of Nassau, a half-sister of Adolphe, Grand Duke of Luxe ...

that Asbóth would return to his homeland and wasn't going to emigrate. In 1941, he was a member of the Hungarian team that won the Central European Cup. Asboth won the

Open de Nice Côte d'Azur The ATP Nice Open (or ''Open de Nice Côte d'Azur'' in French) was an ATP World Tour 250 series and, formerly, Grand Prix tennis circuit affiliated men's tennis tournament. It was held in Nice, France at the Nice Lawn Tennis Club and played ...

or Nice French Riviera Open tournament in 1947 defeating

Bob Falkenburg Robert Falkenburg (January 29, 1926 – January 6, 2022) was an American amateur tennis player and entrepreneur. He is best known for winning the Men's Singles at the 1948 Wimbledon Championships and for introducing soft ice cream and American f ...

and again in 1948 defeating

Budge Patty Edward John Patty (February 11, 1924 – October 4, 2021), better known as Budge Patty, was an American world no. 1 tennis player whose career spanned a period of 15 years after World War II. He won two Grand Slam singles titles in 1950. He wa ...

and

Jaroslav Drobný Jaroslav Drobný (; 12 October 1921 – 13 September 2001) was a World No. 1 amateur tennis and ice hockey champion. He left Czechoslovakia in 1949 and travelled as an Egyptian citizen before becoming a citizen of the United Kingdom in 1959, w ...

in the semifinal and final. He won the

Monte-Carlo Masters The Monte-Carlo Masters is an annual tennis tournament for male professional players held in Roquebrune-Cap-Martin, France, a commune that borders on Monaco. The event is part of the ATP Tour Masters 1000 on the Association of Tennis Professiona ...

tournament in 1948 defeating Patty in the semifinal in five sets. Asbóth was ranked World No. 8 by John Olliff of ''The Daily Telegraph'' in 1948 (and No. 9 in 1947). His Davis Cup record was 24 wins and 17 losses. He won the Hungarian National Tennis Championships 13 times. After his career, he became responsible for the next generation of tennis players at the Belgian Tennis Federation. He later became a trainer in Munich. In 1993 a street was named after Asbóth in Szombathely, the city where he was born.

Grand Slam finals

Singles (1 title)

References

External links

* * * 1917 births 1986 deaths Sportspeople from Szombathely Hungarian male tennis players Grand Slam (tennis) champions in men's singles Professional tennis players before the Open Era 20th-century Hungarian people {{Hungary-tennis-bio-stub