Wilmer Lawson Allison Jr. (December 8, 1904 – April 20, 1977) was an American amateur

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 ...

champion of the 1930s. Allison's career was overshadowed by the arrival of

Don Budge John Donald Budge (June 13, 1915 – January 26, 2000) was an American tennis player. He is most famous as the first tennis player — male or female, and still the only American male — to win the Grand Slam, and to win all four Grand Slam e ...

, although he was both a fine singles player and, along with his frequent partner,

John Van Ryn John Van Ryn (June 30, 1905 – August 7, 1999) was an American tennis champion of the 1930s. He was primarily known as the doubles partner of Wilmer Allison. Van Ryn won the Men's Doubles at Wimbledon three straight years (1929–31). He t ...

, a great doubles player. At 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 ...

, Allison was the Intercollegiate tennis champion in 1927. One of Allison's earliest tournament wins was the 1928 Canadian Championship, where he won the final over doubles partner Van Ryn 6–2, 6–4, 6–3.

Career

Right-handed, Allison's greatest triumph was winning the 1935 U.S. Championship singles, defeating

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 semifinals and

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

in the finals, both in three sets. He had previously lost to Perry 8–6 in the fifth set in the 1934 finals. He was ranked U.S. No. 1 both years and World No. 4 in 1932 and again in 1935 by A. Wallis Myers of

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 ...

. 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 ...

his best results in singles came in 1930 when he finished runner-up to

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 b ...

, losing the final in straight sets. En route to the final he defeated reigning champion and first-seed

Henri Cochet Henri Jean Cochet (; 14 December 1901 – 1 April 1987) was a French tennis player. He was a world No. 1 ranked player, and a member of the famous " Four Musketeers" from France who dominated tennis in the late 1920s and early 1930s. Born in ...

in straight sets in the quarterfinals. As a doubles player with partner

, Allison won the 1929 and 1930 Wimbledon and 1935 U.S. doubles championships. Allison's last major tournament was a 1936 quarterfinal loss to Bunny Austin.

Davis Cup

Allison played a total of 44 matches, 29 in doubles with Van Ryn, in Davis Cup for the United States, the third most of any player behind

John McEnroe John Patrick McEnroe Jr. (born February 16, 1959) is an American former professional tennis player. He was known for his shot-making and volleying skills, his rivalries with Björn Borg and Jimmy Connors, and his confrontational on-court beha ...

and

Vic Seixas Elias Victor Seixas Jr. (; pronounced SAY-shus; born August 30, 1923)

. He won 32 of those matches but never the cup.

Playing style

In his 1979 autobiography, Jack Kramerdevotes a page to the best tennis strokes he had ever seen. He writes: "FOREHAND VOLLEY — Wilmer Allison of Texas, who won the 1935 Forest Hills, had the best I ever saw as a kid, and I've never seen anyone since hit one better.

Budge Patty Edward John Patty (February 11, 1924 – October 4, 2021), better known as Budge Patty, was an American world no. 1 tennis player whose career spanned a period of 15 years after World War II. He won two Grand Slam singles titles in 1950. He wa ...

came closest, then Newcombe".

George Lott George Martin Lott (October 16, 1906 – December 3, 1991) was an American tennis player and tennis coach who was born in Springfield, Illinois, United States. Lott is mostly remembered as being one of the greatest doubles players of all time. H ...

, who won five U.S. doubles titles as well as two at Wimbledon, wrote an article in the May 1973, issue of ''Tennis Magazine'' in which he ranked the great doubles teams and the great players. He called the team of Allison and Van Ryn the ninth best of all time. Allison was a colonel in the United States Army Air Forces in World War II. He coached tennis for the varsity team of his alma mater from 1946 through 1972 and was head coach from 1957. Allison was inducted into the

International 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 Newport, Rhode Island in 1963.

Grand Slam finals

Singles (1 titles, 2 runners-up)

Doubles (4 titles, 5 runners-up)

Mixed doubles (1 title, 1 runner-up)

References

External links

* * * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Allison, Wilmer 1904 births 1977 deaths American male tennis players United States Army Air Forces personnel of World War II Burials at Oakwood Cemetery (Austin, Texas) Grand Slam (tennis) champions in men's doubles Grand Slam (tennis) champions in men's singles Grand Slam (tennis) champions in mixed doubles International Tennis Hall of Fame inductees Tennis players from Austin, Texas Sportspeople from San Antonio Tennis people from Texas Texas Longhorns men's tennis coaches Texas Longhorns men's tennis players United States Army Air Forces officers United States National champions (tennis) Wimbledon champions (pre-Open Era) American tennis coaches