Count Imre Zichy de Zich et Vásonkeő (; 22 July 1909 – 28 September 1999) was a Hungarian left-handed amateur tennis player, count and inventor. He was related to the Hungarian Asian explorer Jenő Zichy. During the

Second World War World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...

, he emigrated to

Spain Spain, or the Kingdom of Spain, is a country in Southern Europe, Southern and Western Europe with territories in North Africa. Featuring the Punta de Tarifa, southernmost point of continental Europe, it is the largest country in Southern Eur ...

where he died at the age of 90. He was a member of the

Hungary Davis Cup team The Hungary men's national tennis team represents Hungary in Davis Cup tennis competition and are governed by the Hungarian Tennis Association. History First decades in Davis Cup (1924–1967) Hungary competed in its first Davis Cup in 1924 I ...

between 1933–34 and was mainly a doubles and mixed doubles player winning several titles during his career. He was also a three-times national doubles champion.

Biography

Count Zichy was born in the family property at

Sárszentmihály Sárszentmihály is a village in Fejér county, Hungary Hungary is a landlocked country in Central Europe. Spanning much of the Pannonian Basin, Carpathian Basin, it is bordered by Slovakia to the north, Ukraine to the northeast, Romania ...

, being the fifth son of Count Raphael Zichy and wife, , and lived in

Hungary Hungary is a landlocked country in Central Europe. Spanning much of the Pannonian Basin, Carpathian Basin, it is bordered by Slovakia to the north, Ukraine to the northeast, Romania to the east and southeast, Serbia to the south, Croatia and ...

until 1943, when he moved to Madrid and stay there for the rest of his life. On 29 August 1947, he married in

Enschede Enschede (; local ) is a list of cities in the Netherlands by province, city and municipalities of the Netherlands, municipality in the province of Overijssel and the Twente region of the eastern Netherlands. The east of the urban area reaches ...

Dutch Dutch or Nederlands commonly refers to: * Something of, from, or related to the Netherlands ** Dutch people as an ethnic group () ** Dutch nationality law, history and regulations of Dutch citizenship () ** Dutch language () * In specific terms, i ...

divorcée Divorce (also known as dissolution of marriage) is the process of terminating a marriage or marital union. Divorce usually entails the canceling or reorganising of the legal duties and responsibilities of marriage, thus dissolving the ...

Edith Marie Ledeboer, formerly Mrs. Oswald, and had a single child: *Count Imre Helmich Paul Zichy (b. 28 June 1952), who married on 2 April 1979 María Teresa Sánchez-Arjona y Eyaralar, daughter of Manuel Sánchez-Arjona y Courtoy and María Teresa Eyaralar y Azcona and had five children: **Countess Edina Melanie Maria (b. 14 January 1980), married on 30 April 2010 Jose Márquez y Gonzalez de Gregorio, eldest son of Rafael Márquez, 9th Count of las Torres de Alcorrín and former wife

Pilar González de Gregorio, 13th Duchess of Fernandina Pilar, Portuguese and Spanish for pillar, may refer to: People * Pilar (given name), a common abbreviation of ''María del Pilar'', including a list of people so named * Pilar (surname), a list of people surnamed Pilar or del Pilar Places Argen ...

**Countess Stephanie Charlotte Maria (b. 27 September 1983), married Álvaro Rosillo Echevarría, son of the late Francisco de Borja Rosillo y Colón de Carvajal and Virgina de Echevarría y Wakonigg. **Count Imre Enrique Ignacio (b. 18 August 1987) **Count Nándor Károly (b. 8 August 1989) **Countess Teresa Manuela (b. 7 Juni 1992) In 1957, he invented the reversing light for cars and its operating system. Imre Zichy died on 28 September 1999 in Madrid. His funeral was held at the

San Agustín del Guadalix San Agustín del Guadalix is a Spanish town located north of the Comunidad de Madrid, near to Sierra de Guadarrama. It is bordered by Pedrezuela to the north, the municipalities of El Molar and Algete to the east and Colmenar Viejo to the sout ...

Church on 26 October 1999.

Tennis career

Count Zichy started his tennis career by competing in the Hungarian Junior Championships where he was a runner-up for the doubles and third in singles in 1929. Later he won the Hungarian National Tennis Championships in doubles (1931, '32, '34) and in mixed doubles (1931). He also won the Hungarian International Tennis Championships in doubles in 1931 and 1932. He kept playing tennis in Spain.

Doubles

Titles

Runner-up

Mixed doubles

Titles

Runner-up

Davis Cup

Friendly/Exhibition matches

Ancestry

Bibliography

*Béla von Kehrling, ed. (1931). ''Tennisz és Golf.'' III (Budapest, Hungary: Egyesült Kő-, Könyvnyomda. Könyv- és Lapkiadó Rt.) 1–24 (in Hungarian). Retrieved 10 February 2012.

References

External links

* * * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Zichy, Imre 1909 births 1999 deaths Counts of Hungary Hungarian nobility Imre Hungarian male tennis players Sportspeople from Fejér County Tennis players from Madrid Hungarian expatriate sportspeople in Spain 20th-century Hungarian inventors 20th-century Hungarian sportsmen