William Laurentz (; 26 Feb 1895 – 7 March 1922) was a French tennis player of the early 20th century whose main achievements were winning the singles title at 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 ...

and

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 ...

Career

Laurentz achieved his breakthrough in April 1911 at age 16 when he defeated the 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 ...

in the final of the French Covered Court Championships in Paris. In March 1912 he was playing in the Challenge Round of the Championship of France against Andre Gobert when at 2–4 in the first set a ball that glanced off his racket struck him in the eye. Subsequently, the eye had to be removed. He notably won the mixed doubles at the

French Championships The French Open (french: Internationaux de France de tennis), also known as Roland-Garros (), is a major tennis tournament held over two weeks at the Stade Roland Garros in Paris, France, beginning in late May each year. The tournament and ve ...

in 1912 and 1913, when the tournament was open only to French residents, and the singles at the International Lawn Tennis Federation's (ILTF) 1920

(WHCC). In the final of the latter, played on

clay court A clay court is one of the types of tennis court on which the sport of tennis, originally known as "lawn tennis", is played. Clay courts are made of crushed stone, brick, shale, or other unbound mineral aggregate depending on the tournament. T ...

s at the

Stade Français Stade Français Paris Rugby () is a French professional rugby union club based in the 16th arrondissement of Paris. The club plays in the Top 14 domestic league in France and is one of the most successful French clubs of the modern era. The ...

in Paris, he beat Andre Gobert in four sets. Together with Gobert he additionally won the men's doubles title at the WHCC in 1920 and 1921. In 1921 he won the singles title at the

(WCCC), played in Copenhagen on an indoor wood surface, beating

Alfred Beamish Alfred Ernest Beamish (6 August 1879 – 28 February 1944) was an English people, English tennis player born in Richmond, London, Richmond, Surrey, England. He finished runner-up to James Cecil Parke in the Men's Singles final of the Australian ...

in the final in straight sets. Laurentz participated at 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 ...

for the first time in 1919, losing in straight sets in the first round to

Algernon Kingscote Algernon Robert Fitzhardinge "Algy" Kingscote (3 December 1888 – 21 December 1964) was a British tennis player, who won the Men's Singles event at the Australasian Championships in 1919. Kingscote also competed in the 1924 Summer Olympics in ...

. His best Wimbledon result came the following year, 1920, when he reached the third round in which he was defeated by his compatriot Jacques Brugnon in four sets. He was entered for the 1921 Championships but withdrew before his first round match against Andre Gobert. He was ranked World No. 8 for 1920 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 ...

.United States Lawn Tennis Association (1972). ''Official Encyclopedia of Tennis'' (First Edition), p. 422. Between 1912 and 1921 he played in five ties for the French

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 and has a record of three wins and seven defeats. Laurentz died suddenly in Paris on 7 March 1922 of

septicaemia Sepsis, formerly known as septicemia (septicaemia in British English) or blood poisoning, is a life-threatening condition that arises when the body's response to infection causes injury to its own tissues and organs. This initial stage is follo ...

following upon

influenza Influenza, commonly known as "the flu", is an infectious disease caused by influenza viruses. Symptoms range from mild to severe and often include fever, runny nose, sore throat, muscle pain, headache, coughing, and fatigue. These symptom ...

Playing style

In his book ''The Art of Lawn Tennis'' (1920)

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 ...

described Laurentz as "''another brilliant, erratic and intensely interesting figure that France has given the tennis world...''" who played mostly by instinct. Tilden describes Laurentz' service as one of "''several varieties, all well played. He uses an American twist as his regular delivery, but varies it with a sharp slice, a reverse twist of great spin, and a fast cannon-ball smash.''" His volleying was "''brilliant...but very erratic''" and his overhead smashes were judged likewise. He had great fighting skills and played at his best when behind but was prone to anxiety lapses. Tilden concludes that "''Laurentz might beat anyone in the world on his day or lose to the veriest dub when at his worst.''".

Titles

Singles titles

World Hard Court Championship (on Clay)

1920 Events January * January 1 ** Polish–Soviet War in 1920: The Russian Red Army increases its troops along the Polish border from 4 divisions to 20. ** Kauniainen, completely surrounded by the city of Espoo, secedes from Espoo as its own ma ...

Boulogne 1920 World Covered Court Championship (Indoor) 1921

Singles runners-up

Barcelona 1921 (lost to Manuel Alonso de Areyzaga 6–4, 6–2, 6–2)

Mixed doubles titles

References

External links

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Laurentz, William 1895 births 1922 deaths French Championships (tennis) champions French male tennis players Tennis players from Paris