Sam Giammalva Sr. (born August 1, 1934), is an American former professional

tennis player 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 cove ...

in the mid-20th century. Giammalva played for the United States Davis Cup team, earning a 7–3 record in match play between 1956 and 1958. He was on the victorious U.S. teams of 1957 and 1958. In 1958, he teamed up with Barry MacKay to reach the doubles final at the

U.S. Nationals United States nationality law details the conditions in which a person holds United States nationality. In the United States, nationality is typically obtained through provisions in the U.S. Constitution, various laws, and international agree ...

. The pair fell to Alex Olmedo and Ham Richardson, 3–6, 6–3, 6–4, 6–4. It was Michigan’s MacKay who beat Giammalva, of the

University of Texas at Austin The University of Texas at Austin (UT Austin, UT, or Texas) is a public research university in Austin, Texas. It was founded in 1883 and is the oldest institution in the University of Texas System. With 40,916 undergraduate students, 11,07 ...

, in the final of the 1957 NCAA Championship in five sets. Giammalva also reached the NCAA doubles final in 1955. He won three straight Southwest Conference singles titles from 1956-1958. Giammalva won the Eastern Grasscourt Championships in 1955, defeating Seixas, Nielsen, and Shea to win the title. Giammalva also reached four finals at the Cincinnati Masters. In 1958, he knocked out Crawford Henry,

Gustavo Palafox Gustavo Palafox (15 November 1923 – 21 August 2006) was a Mexican tennis player. Life and career Palafox won five Pan American Games gold medals during the 1950s. He competed at the US National Championships four times and made the third rou ...

, and

Donald Dell Donald L. Dell (born June 17, 1938) is an American sports attorney, writer, commentator, and former tennis player. Dell was the first sports agent in professional tennis, and represented Arthur Ashe, Stan Smith, Jimmy Connors, and Ivan Lendl duri ...

before falling to fellow Texan Bernard Bartzen in the singles final by a score of 7–5, 6–3, 6–2. He also reached the singles final in 1954Smith, Phillip S
From Club Court to Center Court: The Evolution of Professional Tennis in Cincinnati
pp25 and doubles finals in 1952 and 1958. Giammalva's best grand slam singles result was reaching the quarter-finals of the 1955 U.S. National Championships, where he lost to No. 4 seed

Lew Hoad Lewis Alan Hoad (23 November 1934 – 3 July 1994) was an Australian tennis player whose career ran from 1950 to 1973. Hoad won four Major singles tournaments as an amateur (the Australian Championships, French Championships and two Wimbledon ...

in four sets. Sam Giammalva started as tennis professional in 1959 on The Jack Kramer Championships, playing in the Forest Hills Professional Tournament of Champions that year. He won the 1959 Southern U.S. Pro Grasscourt title beating Budge and Riggs. He played the US Pro Championships in 1960, 1964, 1965, 1966 and 1967. Giammalva went on to coach at

Rice University William Marsh Rice University (Rice University) is a private research university in Houston, Texas. It is on a 300-acre campus near the Houston Museum District and adjacent to the Texas Medical Center. Rice is ranked among the top universities ...

for 14 years from 1959 to 1972, leading the Owls to 10 Southwest Conference titles and second-place NCAA tournament finishes in 1968 and 1970. Giammalva’s sons, Tony Giammalva and

Sammy Giammalva, Jr. Sammy Giammalva Jr. (born March 24, 1963) is a former professional tennis player from the United States. During his career he won 2 singles titles and 4 doubles titles. He achieved a career-high singles ranking of World No. 28 in 1985 and a care ...

, were also tennis players. Sam Jr. won two singles titles and four doubles titles on the

ATP Tour The ATP Tour is a worldwide top-tier tennis tour for men organized by the Association of Tennis Professionals. The second-tier tour is the ATP Challenger Tour and the third-tier is the ITF Men's World Tennis Tour. The equivalent women's organ ...

, and was ranked as high as world no. 28 in singles and no. 22 in doubles during his career. Elder son Tony won 4 doubles titles and reached a career high singles ranking of 70 in 1981.

Grand Slam finals

Doubles: 1 runner-up

References

External links

* * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Giammalva, Sam 1934 births Living people American male tennis players American people of Italian descent Tennis players from Houston Rice Owls men's tennis coaches Texas Longhorns men's tennis players Professional tennis players before the Open Era American tennis coaches