Sidney Burr Wood Jr. (November 1, 1911 – January 10, 2009) was an American

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 won the 1931 Wimbledon singles title. Wood was ranked in the world's Top 10 five times between 1931 and 1938, and was ranked World No. 6 in 1931 and 1934 and No. 5 in 1938 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 ...

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 ...

Career

Wood was born in Black Rock,

Connecticut Connecticut () is the southernmost state in the New England region of the Northeastern United States. It is bordered by Rhode Island to the east, Massachusetts to the north, New York (state), New York to the west, and Long Island Sound to the ...

. He won the Arizona State Men's Tournament on his 14th birthday, which qualified him for the French Championship and earned him a spot at Wimbledon.Tennis Master Sydney Wood Dies
Southampton Press, January 15, 2009. He attended

The Hill School The Hill School (commonly known as The Hill) is a coeducational preparatory boarding school located on a campus in Pottstown, Pennsylvania, about northwest of Philadelphia. The Hill is part of the Ten Schools Admissions Organization (TSAO). ...

in Pottstown, Pennsylvania, where he created the tradition of "J-ball." At the French Championships in 1927, 15 year old Wood was the youngest competitor ever in the men's singles event. In the 1927 Wimbledon Championships, Wood became the youngest competitor in the Men's Singles at 15 years 231 days old and the Men's Doubles at 15 years 234 days old. He was the third youngest winner of 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 ...

, which he won in 1931 at the age of 19 (beating

Fred Perry Frederick John Perry (18 May 1909 – 2 February 1995) was a British tennis and table tennis player and former world No. 1 from England who won 10 Majors including eight Grand Slam tournaments and two Pro Slams single titles, as well ...

in the semi finals and then Frank Shields withdrew from the final due to an ankle injury). Shields did so on request of the U.S. Davis Cup Committee, "Frank wanted to play me and it was an insult to Wimbledon and the public that he didn't," recalled Wood. Wood is the only uncontested winner of a Wimbledon final. He also reached the finals of the Mixed Doubles of the French Championships in 1932, the

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 ...

in 1934, and the U.S. National Championships Men's Singles in 1935 (losing to

Wilmer Allison Wilmer Lawson Allison Jr. (December 8, 1904 – April 20, 1977) was an American amateur tennis champion of the 1930s. Allison's career was overshadowed by the arrival of Don Budge, although he was both a fine singles player and, along with his ...

). Wood is credited with inventing, designing and patenting Supreme Court, a synthetic playing surface used for indoor courts. It was used by the

World Championship Tennis World Championship Tennis (WCT) was a tour for professional male tennis players established in 1968 (the first players signed a contract at the end of 1967) and lasted until the emergence of the ATP Tour in 1990. A number of tennis tournaments aro ...

tour from 1973 to 1978. He was inducted into the

Tennis Hall of Fame The International Tennis Hall of Fame is located in Newport, Rhode Island, United States. It honors both players and other contributors to the sport of tennis. The complex, the former Newport Casino, includes a museum, grass tennis courts, an indo ...

in 1964. In 2000, he led the Parade of Champions at Wimbledon as the oldest surviving title holder. At the time of his death, he was the oldest living Hall of Famer.

Grand Slam finals

Singles: 2 (1 title, 1 runner-up)

Doubles: 1 runner-up

Mixed Doubles: 1 runner-up

Family

Wood's uncle

Watson Washburn Watson McLean Washburn (June 13, 1894 – December 2, 1973) was an American tennis player who was in the top 10 in the US seven times between 1914 and 1922. He was also one of the founders of the International Tennis Hall of Fame, to which he wa ...

was a

team member. He credited his uncle with introducing him to tennis. Wood was the father of David, Colin, Sidney III, and

W. Godfrey Wood W. Godfrey Wood (born 1941, in Brookline, Massachusetts) is an American entrepreneur and sports executive. The son of Wimbledon champion Sidney Wood, Wood studied at Milton Academy and later Harvard University, where he graduated in 1963 and playe ...

. Sidney Wood III, a

Yale Yale University is a private research university in New Haven, Connecticut. Established in 1701 as the Collegiate School, it is the third-oldest institution of higher education in the United States and among the most prestigious in the wor ...

tennis player, died at the age of 22 in an early morning car accident, in a car driven by a tennis teammate on a North Carolina highway in 1961. Colin is the young boy portrayed by

Diane Arbus Diane Arbus (; née Nemerov; March 14, 1923 – July 26, 1971
" The New York ...

in the iconic photo ''

Child with Toy Hand Grenade in Central Park ''Child with Toy Hand Grenade in Central Park, N.Y.C. 1962'' (1962) is a famous black and white photograph by Diane Arbus. Significance The photograph ''Child with Toy Hand Grenade in Central Park, N.Y.C. 1962'', by Diane Arbus, shows a boy, w ...

''. Wood was survived by his other three sons and his last wife Patricia Wood (sister of the fashion editor

Catherine Murray di Montezemolo Catherine Murray di Montezemolo, ''née'' Catherine Bradley Murray (September 18, 1925 – April 22, 2009) was a fashion editor with a prominent position in Southampton society. Di Montezemolo was born to a wealthy family — her grandfath ...

Notes

References

External links

* * * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Wood, Sidney 1911 births 2009 deaths American male tennis players Sportspeople from Bridgeport, Connecticut International Tennis Hall of Fame inductees Tennis people from Connecticut Wimbledon champions (pre-Open Era) Grand Slam (tennis) champions in men's singles The Hill School alumni