Kurt von Wessely, also Curt von Wessely (; 18 October 1881 – 25 October 1917), was an Austrian

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 was active during the beginning of the 20th century.

Career

In July 1905 he played for the Austrian

Davis Cup The Davis Cup is the premier international team event in men's tennis. It is run by the International Tennis Federation (ITF) and is contested annually between teams from competing countries in a knock-out format. It is described by the organi ...

team in a semifinal match against Australasia. The match was played on the

grass court A grass court is one of the four different types of tennis court on which the sport of tennis, originally known as "lawn tennis", is played. Grass courts are made of grasses in different compositions depending on the tournament. Although grass c ...

s at the

Queen's Club The Queen's Club is a private sporting club in West Kensington, London, England. The club hosts the annual Queen's Club Championships men's grass court lawn tennis tournament (currently known as the "cinch Championships" for sponsorship r ...

, London, England and was won 5–0 by Australasia. Von Wessely lost his singles match against

Tony Wilding Anthony Frederick Wilding (31 October 1883 – 9 May 1915), also known as Tony Wilding, was a New Zealand world No. 1 tennis player and soldier who was killed in action during World War I. Considered the world's first tennis superstar, Wildin ...

in four sets and his match against

Norman Brookes Sir Norman Everard Brookes (14 November 187728 September 1968) was an Australian tennis player. During his career he won three Grand Slam singles titles; Wimbledon in 1907 and 1914 (the first non-British individual to do so) and the Austral ...

in three straight sets. Von Wessely participated in the Wimbledon Championships in 1903 and 1907 and on both occasions lost his first round match. At the time players who were defeated in the first or second rounds of the singles competition were entitled to compete for the

All England Plate The All England Plate, also referred to as the Wimbledon Plate, was a tennis competition held at the Wimbledon Championships The Wimbledon Championships, commonly known simply as Wimbledon, is the oldest tennis tournament in the world and is ...

. In 1907 he reached the final of that competition in which he lost in two straight sets to future four–time Wimbledon champion

Anthony Wilding Anthony Frederick Wilding (31 October 1883 – 9 May 1915), also known as Tony Wilding, was a New Zealand world No. 1 tennis player and soldier who was killed in action during World War I. Considered the world's first tennis superstar, Wildin ...

from New Zealand. In 1901 and 1903 von Wessely reached the singles final at the Austrian Championship, played in Prague but on both occasions lost in straight sets to

Major Ritchie Major Josiah George Ritchie (18 October 1870 – 28 February 1955) was a tennis player from Great Britain. Major was his first name, not a military title. He was born in Westminster, educated at Brighton College and died in Ashford. Career Ritc ...

. In 1909 he again reached the singles final and this time won the title, defeating compatriot

Fritz Pipes Fritz Felix Pipes (also "Piepes"; 15 April 1887 – 20 January 1983) was an Austrian tennis player who was born in Prague. He was Jewish, and was a medical doctor. At the 1912 Stockholm Olympics he teamed up with Arthur Zborzil to win a silver ...

in three straight sets. In August 1904 he reached the challenge round of the German International Championships in Hamburg and was beaten once more by

Ritchie Ritchie may refer to: People Surname *Adele Ritchie (1874–1930), singer – comic opera, musical comedy and vaudeville *Albert Ritchie (1876–1936), governor of Maryland 1920 to 1935 *Alistair Ferguson Ritchie (1890–1954), crossword compiler ...

, this time in straight sets. In July 1905 Von Wessely won the Franzensbad tournament, through a walkover in the final against his compatriot Rolf Kinzl, and the following Marienbad tournament. In September 1908 he won the singles title of the Championships of the Suisse Romande in Territet. In the final he defeated R. Norris Williams in three straight sets. During

World War I World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was List of wars and anthropogenic disasters by death toll, one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, ...

he became a lieutenant in the cavalry until a gunshot wound in the arm prevented further active duty. He died on 25 October 1917 in Vienna as a result of complications of this wound.

References

External links

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Wesseley, Kurt von 1881 births 1917 deaths Austrian male tennis players Counts of Austria Austro-Hungarian military personnel killed in World War I Deaths by firearm in Austria