Jean Laurent Robert Borotra (, ; 13 August 1898 – 17 July 1994) was a French

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 ...

champion. He was one of the " Four Musketeers" from his country who dominated tennis in the late 1920s and early 1930s. Borotra was imprisoned in

Itter Castle Itter Castle (german: Schloss Itter) is a 19th-century castle in Itter, a village in Tyrol, Austria. In 1943, during World War II, it was turned into a Nazi prison for French VIPs. The castle was the site of an extraordinary instance of the U.S. ...

during the latter years of World War II and subsequently fought in the

Battle for Castle Itter The Battle of Castle Itter was fought on 5 May 1945, in the Austrian village of Itter in the North Tyrol region of the country, during the last days of the European Theater of World War II. Troops of the 23rd Tank Battalion of the 12th Armo ...

Career

Borotra was born in Domaine du Pouy,

Biarritz Biarritz ( , , , ; Basque also ; oc, Biàrritz ) is a city on the Bay of Biscay, on the Atlantic coast in the Pyrénées-Atlantiques department in the French Basque Country in southwestern France. It is located from the border with Spa ...

Aquitaine Aquitaine ( , , ; oc, Aquitània ; eu, Akitania; Poitevin-Saintongeais: ''Aguiéne''), archaic Guyenne or Guienne ( oc, Guiana), is a historical region of southwestern France and a former administrative region of the country. Since 1 Janu ...

, the oldest of four children. Known as "the Bounding Basque", he won four Grand Slam singles titles in the

French French (french: français(e), link=no) may refer to: * Something of, from, or related to France ** French language, which originated in France, and its various dialects and accents ** French people, a nation and ethnic group identified with Franc ...

, Australian, and All England championships. The 1924 French Championship does not count towards his grand slam total as the French was only open to French nationals and members of French clubs. He only failed to win the U.S. Championships, as he was defeated in the final by his countryman

René Lacoste Jean René Lacoste was a French tennis player and businessman. He was nicknamed "the Crocodile" because of how he dealt with his opponents; he is also known worldwide as the creator of the Lacoste tennis shirt, which he introduced in 1929, and e ...

in straight sets, thus missing a career Grand Slam. His 1924 Wimbledon victory made him the first player from outside the English-speaking world to win the tournament. His first appearance was in the French Davis Cup team of 1921. He also made the final of the

World Covered Court Championships The World Covered Court Championships were part of a series of three major world championships sanctioned from 1913 to 1923 by the International Lawn Tennis Federation (ILTF). The tournament was played indoors on wood floors, and its venue changed ...

in 1922, losing to Henri Cochet, but won the doubles and mixed doubles. The other major he did well in was the

World Hard Court Championships World Hard Court Championships was an annual major tennis tournament sanctioned by the International Lawn Tennis Federation and held from 1912 to 1923. It was principally held in Paris, on clay courts of the Stade Français in the Paris suburb of S ...

(played on clay) – he won the doubles with Henri Cochet there in 1922. Borotra was ranked as high as world No. 1 by

Bill Tilden William Tatem Tilden II (February 10, 1893 – June 5, 1953), nicknamed "Big Bill", was an American tennis player. Tilden was the world No. 1 amateur for six consecutive years, from 1920 to 1925, and was ranked as the world No. 1 professional ...

in 1930, although Tilden didn't include himself in the ranking. He was ranked No. 2 by

A. Wallis Myers Arthur Wallis Myers (24 July 1878 – 17 June 1939) was an English tennis correspondent, editor, author and player. He was one of the leading tennis journalists of the first half of the 20th century. Family life Myers was son of the Rev. John ...

of ''

The Daily Telegraph ''The Daily Telegraph'', known online and elsewhere as ''The Telegraph'', is a national British daily broadsheet newspaper published in London by Telegraph Media Group and distributed across the United Kingdom and internationally. It was f ...

'' in 1926.United States Lawn Tennis Association (1972). ''Official Encyclopedia of Tennis'' (First Edition), p. 424. Borotra won his last major in 1936 when he teamed up with

Marcel Bernard Marcel Bernard (; 18 May 1914 – 29 April 1994) was a French tennis player. He is best remembered for having won the French Championships in 1946 (reaching the semifinals a further three times). Bernard initially intended to play only in the do ...

for the French Championship doubles at Roland Garros. In 1974, Borotra was one of the last three people to be awarded the IOC's

Olympic Diploma of Merit The Olympic Diploma of Merit was an award given by the International Olympic Committee (IOC) to recognise outstanding services to sports or a notable contribution to the Olympic Games. By 1974, the last time the awards were granted, just 58 peop ...

. And in 1976, he along with the three other Musketeers were inducted simultaneously into the International Tennis Hall of Fame in

Newport, Rhode Island Newport is an American seaside city on Aquidneck Island in Newport County, Rhode Island. It is located in Narragansett Bay, approximately southeast of Providence, south of Fall River, Massachusetts, south of Boston, and northeast of New Yor ...

. In 1984, Borotra received a Distinguished Service award from the United States Sports Academy in recognition of his achievements. As the oldest living gentleman's singles champion, Borotra was invited to present the singles champion his trophy at the 100th Wimbledon Championship in 1986. On 17 July 1994, Borotra, founder and president of honour of the CIFP ( International Committee for Fair Play) died at the age of 95, after a short illness. He was buried at

Arbonne Arbonne (; eu, Arbona) is a commune in the Pyrénées-Atlantiques department in the Nouvelle-Aquitaine region of southwestern France. The inhabitants of the commune are known as ''Arbonars'' Brigitte Jobbé-Duval, ''Dictionary of place names - ...

. The

International Fair Play Committee The International Fair Play Committee (french: Comité International pour le Fair Play), abbreviated as the CIFP, is a not for profit international non-governmental organisation which serves to foster sportsmanship in international competition. I ...

, which recognises achievements annually, awards a Jean Borotra World Fair Play Trophy. In 1998, the International Club (IC) introduced the Jean Borotra Sportsmanship Award, to recognise tennis players deemed to have shown outstanding sportsmanship throughout their career.

Jean Borotra Sportsmanship Award

The Jean Borotra Sportsmanship Award is an International Club (IC) award. It was introduced in 1998 to recognise tennis players deemed to have shown outstanding sportsmanship throughout their career. The selection process involves a panel of international tennis journalists selecting a group of players who meet the IC's core value, namely to "develop, encourage and maintain the highest standards of sportsmanship and understanding among players of all nations and among young players in particular." The shortlist is then endorsed (or added to) by the 38 International Clubs around the world, from which a winner is picked. The recipient typically receives their award in a private ceremony in London at the

All England Club The All England Lawn Tennis and Croquet Club, also known as the All England Club, based at Church Road, Wimbledon, London, England, is a private members' club. It is best known as the venue for the Wimbledon Championships, the only Grand Slam ...

during the

Wimbledon Championships 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 pla ...

Personal life

In 1938 Borotra married Mabel de Forest and they had one son. The couple divorced in 1947. In 1988 he married Janine Bourdin. A member of François de la Rocque's ''

Parti social français , logo = French Social Party emblem.svg , leader1_title = President , leader1_name = François de La Rocque , foundation = , dissolution = , predecessor = Croix-de-Feu , headquarters = Rue de Milan, ...

'' (PSF), he became 1st General Commissioner for Education and Sports from August 1940 to April 1942 during

Vichy France Vichy France (french: Régime de Vichy; 10 July 1940 – 9 August 1944), officially the French State ('), was the fascist French state headed by Marshal Philippe Pétain during World War II. Officially independent, but with half of its t ...

, leading the '' Révolution nationale''s efforts in sports policy. Arrested by the

Gestapo The (), abbreviated Gestapo (; ), was the official secret police of Nazi Germany and in German-occupied Europe. The force was created by Hermann Göring in 1933 by combining the various political police agencies of Prussia into one orga ...

in November 1942, Borotra was deported to a concentration camp in Germany and then

in North Tyrol until May 1945. He was freed from the castle after the

, in which he played a courageous role by vaulting from the fortress and running to a nearby town to summon reinforcements.

Grand Slam finals

Singles: 10 (4 titles, 6 runners-up)

Doubles: 12 (9 titles – 3 runners-up)

Mixed doubles: 5 titles

Performance timeline

(OF) only for French club members

References

External links

* * * * * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Borotra, Jean 1898 births 1994 deaths Sportspeople from Biarritz French-Basque people French Social Party politicians People of Vichy France French male tennis players Olympic tennis players of France Olympic bronze medalists for France French Championships (tennis) champions Australian Championships (tennis) champions United States National champions (tennis) Wimbledon champions (pre-Open Era) Olympic medalists in tennis International Tennis Hall of Fame inductees Grand Slam (tennis) champions in men's singles Grand Slam (tennis) champions in mixed doubles Grand Slam (tennis) champions in men's doubles Recipients of the Croix de Guerre 1914–1918 (France) Recipients of the Croix de Guerre 1939–1945 (France) Order of the Francisque recipients Recipients of the Resistance Medal Commandeurs of the Légion d'honneur Tennis players at the 1924 Summer Olympics Medalists at the 1924 Summer Olympics Nazi concentration camp survivors Presidents of the International Tennis Federation World number 1 ranked male tennis players