Rice Thomas Hopkins Gemmell (1896–1972) was an Australian

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. Born in

Caulfield, Victoria Caulfield is a suburb in Melbourne, Victoria, Australia, south-east of Melbourne's Central Business District, located within the City of Glen Eira local government area. Caulfield recorded a population of 5,748 at the 2021 census. It is bo ...

, by 1916 he was living in

Claremont, Western Australia Claremont is a western suburb of Perth, Western Australia, on the north bank of the Swan River. History Prior to European settlement, the Noongar people used the area as a source of water, for fishing and for catching waterfowl. In 1830, Jo ...

and was enlisted in World War 1 as a bombardier. Gemmell is best known for winning the 1921

Australasian Championships The Australian Open is a tennis tournament held annually at Melbourne Park in Melbourne, Australia. The tournament is the first of the four Grand Slam tennis events held each year, preceding the French Open, Wimbledon, and the US Open. ...

men's singles title, held at Perth, where he beat

Alf Hedeman Alfred Hedemann was an Australian tennis player. He won the doubles title alongside Ernie Parker at the Australasian Championships, the future Australian Open, in 1913. In the 1921 Australasian championships, held at Perth, Hedemann beat Kei ...

in the final. In the same year, he also won the men's doubles title, partnering Stanley Eaton. Gemmell was Western Australia's top player during the 1920s. In 1924 Gemmell opened a store which sold sports equipment with fellow player Keith McDougall. Gemmell turned professional in 1927. In 1932 he became a gold miner and in 1940 he survived a car crash in which the driver of the car died. He died in 1972 and is interred in Tewantin,

Queensland ) , nickname = Sunshine State , image_map = Queensland in Australia.svg , map_caption = Location of Queensland in Australia , subdivision_type = Country , subdivision_name = Australia , established_title = Before federation , establishe ...

Grand Slam finals

Singles (1)

Winner (1)

Doubles (1)

Winner (1)

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Gemmell, Rice 1896 births 1972 deaths Australasian Championships (tennis) champions Australian male tennis players Tennis players from Melbourne Grand Slam (tennis) champions in men's doubles Grand Slam (tennis) champions in men's singles 20th-century Australian people People from Caulfield, Victoria Tennis players from Perth, Western Australia Military personnel from Western Australia Australian military personnel of World War I