Lew Hoad facts for kids

Quick facts for kids
Lew Hoad

Hoad at the 1954 Davis Cup
Full name	Lewis Alan Hoad
Country (sports)	Australia
Born	(1934-11-23)23 November 1934 Glebe, Australia
Died	3 July 1994(1994-07-03) (aged 59) Fuengirola, Spain
Height	1.79 m (5 ft 10+1⁄2 in)
Turned pro	1957 (amateur tour from 1950)
Retired	1972
Plays	Right-handed (one-handed backhand)
Int. Tennis HoF	1980 (member page)
Singles
Career record	824–503 (62.1%)
Career titles	52
Highest ranking	No. 1 (1953, Chatrier)
Grand Slam singles results
Australian Open	W (1956)
French Open	W (1956)
Wimbledon	W (1956, 1957)
US Open	F (1956)
Professional majors
US Pro	F (1958, 1959)
Wembley Pro	F (1961, 1962, 1963)
French Pro	F (1958, 1960)
TOC	W (1958, 1959)
Doubles
Grand Slam doubles results
Australian Open	W (1953, 1956, 1957)
French Open	W (1953)
Wimbledon	W (1953, 1955, 1956)
US Open	W (1956)
Grand Slam mixed doubles results
Australian Open	F (1955)
French Open	W (1954)
Wimbledon	SF (1953, 1954, 1955)
US Open	F (1952, 1956)
Team competitions
Davis Cup	W (1952, 1953, 1955, 1956)

Lewis Alan Hoad (23 November 1934 – 3 July 1994) was an Australian tennis player whose career ran from the early 1950s through the early 1970s. Hoad won four Grand Slam tournaments as an amateur (Australian, French and twice Wimbledon). He was a member of the Australian team that won the Davis Cup four times between 1952 and 1956. Hoad turned professional in July 1957. He won the Kooyong Tournament of Champions in 1958 and the Forest Hills Tournament of Champions in 1959. He won the Ampol Open Trophy world series of tournaments in 1959–1960, including the 1960 Kooyong tournament. Hoad's men's singles tournament victories spanned from 1951 to 1971. During his career his main competitors were his longtime amateur tennis teammate Ken Rosewall and, throughout his professional career, Pancho Gonzales.

Hoad was ranked in the world top ten for amateurs from 1952 until he turned pro in 1957, was ranked the world No. 1 by Tennis de France for 1953 and 1956, and by Lance Tingay for 1956. He was ranked the world No. 1 professional in Kramer's 1959–1960 Ampol point ranking system, which was the only point ranking of the era. He was ranked the world No. 1 tennis player, professional or amateur, for 1962 in a poll of 85 U.S. sports editors. He holds the men's all-time record for the youngest player to be ranked world No. 1, in 1953, at age 19 years 38 days.

Serious back problems plagued Hoad throughout his career, possibly caused by a weight-lifting exercise he devised in 1954, particularly after he turned professional, and led to his effective retirement from tennis in 1967. Afterwards he made sporadic appearances at tournaments, enticed by the advent of the Open Era in 1968 and was seeded No. 7 for the 1968 open Wimbledon championships and seeded No. 12 for the 1970 French Open championships.

Following his retirement in 1972, Hoad and his wife Jenny owned and operated a tennis resort, Lew Hoad's Campo de Tenis in Fuengirola, Spain, near Málaga. Hoad died of leukemia on 3 July 1994.

Early life and career

Hoad at age 15 competing at Kooyong in Inter State Tennis in 1949

Lewis Hoad was born on 23 November 1934, in the working-class Sydney inner suburb of Glebe, the eldest of three sons of tramway electrician Alan Hoad and his wife Ailsa Lyle Burbury. Hoad started playing tennis at age five with a racket gifted by a local social club. As a young child, he would wake up at 5 a.m. and hit tennis balls against a wall and garage door until the neighbours complained, and he was allowed to practice on the courts of the Hereford Tennis Club behind the house. At age 10 he competed in the seaside tournament at Manly in the under 16 category.

In his youth, Hoad often played Ken Rosewall, and they became known as the Sydney "twins", although they had very different physiques, personalities and playing styles. Their first match in Sydney in January 1947 (when both were aged 12) was played as an opener of an exhibition match between Australia and America. Rosewall won 6–0, 6–0. Hoad built up great physical strength, especially in his hands and arms, by training at a police boys' club, where he made a name as a boxer. Hoad was about 12 when he was introduced to Adrian Quist, a former Australian tennis champion and then general manager of the Dunlop sports goods company. Quist played a couple of sets with Hoad and was impressed by his natural ability. When Hoad was 14 he left school and joined the Dunlop payroll, following the pattern of that 'shamateur' era when most of Australia's brightest tennis prospects were employed by sporting goods companies.

Hoad had just turned 15 when he and Rosewall were selected to play for New South Wales in an interstate contest against Victoria. In November 1949, Hoad won the junior title at the New South Wales Championships, and the same weekend, he also competed in the final of the junior table tennis championship in Sydney.

Tennis career

Amateur career: 1951–1957

1951

Hoad's first Grand Slam tournament appearance was at the 1951 Australian Championships held in January at the White City Tennis Club in Sydney. He won his first match against Ronald McKenzie in straight sets but lost in the following round to defending champion and countryman Frank Sedgman. It was the only Grand Slam tournament he played that year. Hoad won his first men's singles title, the Brisbane Exhibition tournament at Milton, on grass, on 11 August 1951, defeating Rosewall in the final in four sets.

1952

In 1952, Hoad reached the third round of the Australian Championships in Adelaide. In April, he was selected by the Australasian Lawn Tennis Association as member of the team to play in overseas tournaments. In May, before departing to Europe, he won the singles title at the Australian Hardcourt Championships on clay after a five-set win in the final against Rosewall. Hoad, who had never played a tournament on European red clay courts, received a walkover in the first round of the French Championships and lost in straight sets to sixth-seeded and 1947 and 1951 finalist Eric Sturgess. In only their second appearance as a doubles team at a Grand Slam event, Hoad and Rosewall reached the French semifinal. Hoad lost in the quarterfinal of the Belgian championships in Brussels in early June, where he was defeated by Budge Patty. Hoad's first entry at the grass court Queen's Club Championship in June 1952 ended in the quarterfinal against eventual champion Frank Sedgman. A week later, he played his first match at the Wimbledon Championships defeating Beppe Merlo in a nervous and unimpressive five-set encounter. Wins against Rolando del Bello and Freddie Huber were followed by a fourth round loss against second-seeded and eventual finalist Jaroslav Drobný. Hoad and Rosewall caused an upset when they defeated second-seeded Gardnar Mulloy and Dick Savitt in the third round of the doubles event, but lost in the semifinal against Vic Seixas and Eric Sturgess.

After a semifinal result at the Swedish championships in July, and an exhibition between Australia and West Germany, Hoad and the Australian team traveled to the United States under the guidance of coach Harry Hopman. As a preparation for his first U.S. Championships he played the Meadow Club Invitational (Southampton), Eastern Grass Court Championships (South Orange), and Newport Invitational before teaming up with Rosewall to reach the semifinal of the U.S. National Doubles Championships in Brookline. Hoad was the eighth seeded foreign player at the U.S. Championships. He won four matches to reach his first Grand Slam quarterfinal but due in part to making 64 errors could not overcome Sedgman who would win the tournament without losing a set. With Thelma Coyne Long he reached the final of the mixed doubles event, the first Grand Slam final of his career, but they lost in straight sets to Doris Hart and Frank Sedgman. An early loss at the Pacific Southwest Championships in September concluded his first overseas tour. In September, he was jointly ranked No. 10 in the world for 1952 with Rosewall by Lance Tingay of The Daily Telegraph.

1953

Hoad in 1953

Hoad started 1953 poorly in the singles with a second-round exit against Clive Wilderspin at the Australian Championships in Melbourne after playing an uncharacteristic baseline game. He was more successful in doubles where he and Rosewall became the youngest team to win the Australian doubles title after a victory in the final against Mervyn Rose and Don Candy. In March, Hoad defended his singles title at the Australian Hardcourt Championships, defeating Rosewall in a five set semifinal in which he survived six matchpoints, and 34-year-old John Bromwich in the final. Two weeks later, Hoad lost the final of the N.S.W. Hardcourt Championships against Mervyn Rose. Hoad's second overseas tour started in late April, and after an exhibition in Cairo at the Gezira Sporting Club, he reached the final at Italian Championships in Rome losing to Drobný in straight sets but won the doubles title with Rosewall. At the French Championships in May, Hoad was seeded fourth and made it to the quarterfinals in which he lost to Vic Seixas due to overhitting and an unreliable serve. Hoad and Rosewall won the doubles title with a three-set win in the final against countrymen Rose and Wilderspin. In June Hoad's attacking serve-and-volley game proved too good for Wimbledon favorite Rosewall in the final of the Queen's Club Championship and he won the tournament without losing a set. At Wimbledon, Hoad was seeded sixth, and as at the French, Vic Seixas defeated him in the quarterfinal, this time in a close five-set match that ended on a Hoad double fault. In an all-Australian doubles final Hoad and Rosewall defeated Hartwig and Rose to win their third Grand Slam doubles title of the year. Hoad lost to Enrique Morea in the final of the Dutch Championships in mid July. He won his first title on U.S. soil in South Orange at the Eastern Grass Court Championships in mid August, defeating compatriot Rex Hartwig in the final. In the semifinal against Rosewall, he pulled a back muscle. Hoad and Rosewall's hopes of winning the doubles Grand Slam, two years after fellow Australians Ken McGregor and Frank Sedgman had first achieved that feat, were dashed when they lost surprisingly in the third round of the U.S. Doubles Championships. As the second-seeded foreign player, Hoad was one of the favorites for the singles title at the U.S. Championships. He won four matches to reach the semifinal where for the third time in 1953 he lost in a Grand Slam event to Vic Seixas. Following his defeat, and that of Rosewall in the other semifinal, there was criticism in the press that both 18-year-old players were physically and mentally worn out due to the intensive schedule imposed by coach Harry Hopman. In September, Seixas again beat Hoad, this time in the semifinal of the Pacific Southwest Championships in Los Angeles.

Hoad was rested a few weeks upon his return to Australia and then won the Queensland Championships in early November in a 41-minute final against Hartwig. Two weeks later, Hoad won the N.S.W. Championships after four-set victories over Tony Trabert in the semi-final and over Rosewall in the final in front of a 10,000 Sydney crowd but had trouble with a sore right elbow. His good form continued in early December at the Victorian Championships when he again defeated Rosewall in the final. The much anticipated Davis Cup challenge round match against the challenging team from the United States took place at the Melbourne Kooyong Stadium in late December. Surprisingly Hartwig was selected to partner Hoad in the doubles instead of Rosewall, a decision widely criticized in the press. In the opening singles matches, Hoad defeated Seixas, his nemesis that season, in straight sets, while Trabert defeated Rosewall, also in straight sets. Hoad and Hartwig lost the doubles match against Seixas and Trabert and Australia trailed 1–2 at the start of the final day. Hoad is remembered for his match as a 19-year-old amateur against the United States champion Tony Trabert. In front of a 17,000 crowd, Hoad defeated Trabert in five sets to help his country retain the Cup. It was seen as one of the best Davis Cup matches in history. Directly following the final, Hoad received his call-up papers for National Service.

Hoad was ranked No. 5 in the world for 1953 according to Lance Tingay in his September rankings At the end of the year, following the Australian season, Hoad was ranked world No. 1 for the complete season of 1953 by the editors of Tennis de France, published by Philippe Chatrier, the only contemporary full season rankings. Tingay stated in September 1954 that Hoad in 1953 "played so well during the Australian season that his status as best in the world was axiomatic." He added that for the 1954 season, "His form since has been almost disastrous. Hoad's decline has been a mystery." Hoad was the youngest tennis player ever at 19 years 38 days to achieve a world No. 1 ranking, a record which still stands.

1954

Ken Rosewall (left) and Hoad at the 1954 Davis Cup challenge-round match against the US at White City, Sydney

In January, Hoad played just one tournament before entering his National Service training. At the South Australian Championships in Adelaide he reached the final but sub-par play led to a straight-sets defeat to Trabert. On 13 January, Hoad joined the 13th National Service Training battalion in Ingleburn for a period of 98 days and commented that "It will be a welcome break from tennis". As a consequence, Hoad was unable to participate in the Australian Championships. At the end of February, Hoad received a leave from service to play for the Australian team in the third test match against South Africa in front of the Queen and Duke of Edinburgh. He played a singles match, a doubles match with Rosewall and a mixed-doubles match with his girlfriend Jenny Staley. When Hoad returned to service, he was bitten by a spider while on maneuvers which caused him to become ill and hospitalized him for ten days. He spent two days in coma which was not made public.

While he was in service, Hoad devised a weight-lifting exercise, doing push-ups with round 50 lb. weights placed on his back, which Hoad later believed probably initiated his back trouble. Hoad left the National Service at the end of April and his third overseas tour with an Australian team started on 5 May. For the first time in his career, Hoad was the top-seeded player at a Grand Slam tournament at the French Championships but he lost in the fourth round to 40-year-old Gardnar Mulloy. Hoad lost the doubles final with Rosewall to Seixas and Trabert in 56 minutes. Partnering Maureen Connolly, who had won the women's singles title, Hoad won the mixed-doubles final against Jacqueline Patorni and Rex Hartwig. In June, Hoad overcame countryman Rose in the final of the Queen's Club Championship to successfully defend his title. Hoad was seeded second behind Trabert at Wimbledon Championships. In the fourth round, Hoad avenged his loss to Mulloy at the French Championships, defeating him in four sets. In the quarterfinal the powerful service and excellent returns of Drobný proved too much for Hoad and he was beaten in straight sets within an hour. Hoad and Rosewall were unable to defend their Wimbledon doubles title after losing in fives sets in the semifinal to Seixas and Trabert. A surprise loss against Roger Becker in the semifinal at the Midlands Counties Championships in Birmingham was followed in mid-July by winning the singles title at the Swiss Championships in Gstaad. As in the previous year, Hoad met Rosewall in the Eastern Grass Court Championships in August, this time in the final, and again the titleholder was victorious, overpowering Rosewall to win the singles title in three straight sets. At Newport in mid August, Hoad was beaten by 17-year-old compatriot Roy Emerson who won the deciding set 8–6. For the third time in 1954, Seixas and Trabert defeated Hoad and Rosewall at a Grand Slam doubles event, winning the U.S. Doubles Championships in Brookline.

Hoad at Kooyong in 1954

Hoad, no. 1 foreign seed at the U.S. Championships, lost to Ham Richardson in a five-set quarterfinal. His lackluster form continued when he was defeated by unseeded Luis Ayala in the quarterfinal of the Pacific Southwest Championships in mid-September. After returning to Australia at the end of September, Hoad scheduled extra practice to work on his serve and volley but subsequently lost to Don Candy in the semifinal of the Sydney Metropolitan Championships. In early November, matters briefly improved. In the final of the Queensland Championships in Brisbane, he overcame a sunstroke and the loss of sets three and four by 0–6 to defeat Hartwig in five sets. In mid-November, he was upset by veteran John Bromwich who better exploited the windy conditions in the quarterfinal of the N.S.W. Championships. At the Victorian Championships, the last significant tournament before the Davis Cup Challenge Round, Hoad was defeated in straight sets in the semifinal by Seixas. As in the previous match against Sven Davidson he showed such poor form and at times an apparent lack of interest that he was jeered by the crowd and several left after he smashed a ball into the stands. The 1954 Davis Cup Challenge Round was played on 27–29 December on the grass courts at the White City Stadium in Sydney between title holders Australia and the United States. Hoad lost the first rubber to Trabert, in front of a record crowd of 25,000, in a high-quality four-set match. Rosewall also lost his singles match and the United States won back the cup after Seixas and Trabert defeated Hoad and Rosewall in four sets in the doubles rubber.

In September, Hoad's world ranking had slipped to No. 7 in Tingay's ranking. Tingay, Chatrier and other writers ranked Hoad world No. 5 in a collaborative ranking. In a season review article in the Dunlop Lawn Tennis Annual & Almanack editor and former tennis player G.P. Hughes mentioned that "Hoad in particular had a bad year". In a 1956 interview, Hoad admitted that especially in 1954 he often got fed-up with tennis and didn't care whether he played or not.

1955

Hoad was unable to play the South Australian tennis championship in early January due to a torn ligament. To some surprise he entered the mixed doubles event at the 1955 Australian Championships with his girlfriend Jenny Staley and the pair finished as runner-ups to Thelma Coyne Long and George Worthington. In the singles event, Hoad reached his first Grand Slam tournament final after solid wins over Seixas (quarterfinal) and Hartwig (semifinal). In the final Rosewall's accuracy and control were too strong for him and he lost in three straight sets. Hoad did not participate in the French Championships as the Davis Cup team that he was part of only left for Europe at the end of May during the Championships. In the singles final of the Queen's Club Championship in mid-June Hoad, who was married earlier that day, lost his service seven times and lost to Rosewall in two straight sets but won the doubles event with Hartwig. Hoad was the fourth-seeded player at the Wimbledon Championships at the end of June. In his quarterfinal match against seventh-seeded Budge Patty, his game lacked accuracy and he conceded a break in each set resulting in a loss in straight sets.

Having lost the Davis Cup in 1954, Australia had to play through the 1955 Davis Cup preliminary rounds to challenge holders United States. In July, Australia defeated Mexico, Brazil and Canada to win the Americas Zone and subsequently beat Japan and Italy in the Inter-zone matches in August. In the Challenge Round at the West Side Tennis Club, Forest Hills from 26 to 28 August, Hoad defeated the French and Wimbledon champion Trabert in four sets in his first singles rubber and with Hartwig won the doubles match to reclaim the Davis Cup for Australia. These were the first ever tennis matches broadcast in color, on a national broadcast by NBC television.

Hoad was no. 2 foreign seed at the U.S. Championships held from 2 to 11 September, immediately after the Davis Cup Challenge Round, on the muddy courts of Forest Hills. In the quarterfinal, he lost his service three times in succession in the third set and suffered a straight-sets defeat in 50 minutes against Trabert, the first-seeded U.S. player, and eventual champion. In his first significant tournament after the U.S. Championships, Hoad won the New South Wales Championships in November after a win in the final against Rosewall. In December, he won the singles title at the Victorian Championships after a tough five-sets final win over 19-year old Ashley Cooper. In September, he was ranked No. 3 in the world according to Tingay.

1956

Hoad (left) and Rosewall playing doubles at the Wimbledon Championships in the mid-fifties

Hoad started the year with a five-set defeat in the final of the South Australian Championships against countryman Neale Fraser. At the following Manly tournament, the crowd overflowed the stands during the final hindering Rosewall's baseline game more than Hoad's, resulting in a straight-sets win for Hoad in 35 minutes. At the Australian Championships in Brisbane, Hoad overcame a two sets to one deficit against Mervyn Rose in the quarterfinal and beat Neale Fraser in the semifinal to reach his second consecutive Australian final, where he overcame titleholder Rosewall in four sets to win his first Grand Slam singles title. He won the doubles title with Rosewall against Don Candy and Mervyn Rose. At the beginning of March, Hoad and his wife left for an overseas private tour (a tour sanctioned but not organized by the Australian tennis federation). First stop of the tour was Cairo where Hoad won the singles title at the Egyptian Championships against Sven Davidson followed by a tournament win in Alexandria over Fred Kovaleski. At Monte Carlo in late March, he was surprisingly beaten by Tony Vincent in the quarterfinal. In the Australian ranking published in April, reflecting the season until the end of March, Hoad overtook Rosewall as No. 1. Singles titles at the Lebanese Championships and at the Connaught Club in Essex followed in April but the month ended with a semifinal loss to Ham Richardson at the British Hard Court Championships in Bournemouth.

Hoad won his first Italian Championships on red clay at the Foro Italico in Rome in early May when he outplayed Sven Davidson in straight sets. At the French Championships at Roland Garros, Hoad survived a five-set scare against Robert Abdesselam in the third round before winning the final against Sven Davidson in straight sets to claim his second consecutive Grand Slam singles title. Following the win in Paris, Hoad stated his intention to remain amateur after 1956, "Even if I win the three big tournaments, even if Kramer raised his offer, I still wouldn't turn pro for at least two or three seasons." In May, Hoad won the International Golden Ball tournament in Wiesbaden, West Germany after a straight-sets victory in the final over Art Larsen but at the Trofeo Conde de Godó in Barcelona, he lost in the quarterfinal to Bob Howe. As a preparation for Wimbledon, Hoad played the singles event at the Northern Championships in Manchester but lost to 34-year old Jaroslav Drobný in the final 7–5 in the deciding set. Hoad was seeded first for the Wimbledon Championships and was the pre-tournament favorite. He lost two sets en route to the final, in which he faced Rosewall. In the first all-Australian final since 1922, Hoad was victorious in four sets to gain his first Wimbledon and third successive Grand Slam championship title. Hoad also won the doubles title with Rosewall, their third Wimbledon title, defeating Orlando Sirola and Nicola Pietrangeli in the final in straight sets. Following his Wimbledon title he lost in the semi final of the Midlands tournament to Mike Davies. In August, Hoad won the singles title at the German Championships, on clay at Hamburg, with a four-set defeat of Orlando Sirola in the final.

Shortly after Wimbledon, Hoad experienced severe pain and stiffness in his lower back, at a level higher than before the tournament. He arranged to travel to the U.S. by boat on the RMS Queen Mary rather than suffer a long plane trip. However, the pain continued and reduced the level of his play for the remainder of the year and into 1957.

After his transatlantic voyage in August, Hoad played directly in the U.S. Championships, having missed the preparatory grass court tournament at Newport. Having won the first three stages of the Grand Slam, Hoad was favoured to win the fourth and then turn professional for a lucrative contract offered by Jack Kramer, although Hoad himself claimed that he never thought about the Grand Slam and did not hear of it before he arrived in New York. In an upset, however, he lost the final in four sets to Rosewall in the U.S. Championships at Forest Hills. Hoad and Rosewall won the doubles title against Seixas and Richardson. In September Hoad defeated Luis Ayala in the semifinal and Sven Davidson in a four set final at the O'Keefe Invitational at the Toronto Lawn Tennis Club in Rosedale, Toronto on red clay and at the Pacific Southwest Championships, the last leg of his overseas tour, Hoad was beaten by Alex Olmedo in the third round. In early November he lost the final of the Queensland Championships to Ashley Cooper in five sets and was hindered by numbness in the serving arm between the elbow and the wrist. The following week Hoad retired from the New South Wales Championships during his first round match against Ross Sherriff due to a sore arm. In mid December Hoad and Rosewall competed in the final of the Victorian Championships which was their last final as amateurs as Rosewall turned professional at the end of the month. The final started late due to rain and was stopped due to darkness at two sets to one for Hoad but the following day Rosewall won the last two sets and the title. In late December, Hoad was part of the Australian Davis Cup team which successfully defended the cup in the Challenge Round against the United States who were weakened by the absence of Tony Trabert (now a pro). In his last Davis Cup appearance, Hoad won both his singles rubbers, against Herbie Flam and Seixas, as well as his doubles match with Rosewall to help Australia to a 5–0 victory. Hoad was confined to bed with back pain for the two days prior to the Davis Cup matches, and was relieved to find that he could play well. In September, Hoad was ranked No. 1 in the world by Lance Tingay, and at the end of the year was ranked No. 1 by Tennis de France . Hoad won 16 tournaments in 1956, and 17 doubles titles.

Jack Kramer's first attempt to sign Hoad and Rosewall for his professional tour came in September 1954 when both players were in Los Angeles for the Pacific Coast Championships. Both signed a contract but later changed their minds and elected to remain amateurs. A renewed offer in October 1955 was also turned down. Following the Davis Cup final in December 1956, it was Ken Rosewall who first signed a professional contract.

1957

Hoad played poorly in early 1957, due to back trouble, and was placed in an upper body cast for six weeks, following which he slowly returned to tennis competition in April 1957. He then experienced a period of pain-free playing for 11 months. Hoad won his second successive Wimbledon singles title, defeating Ashley Cooper in a straight-sets final that lasted 57 minutes.

Professional career: 1957–1972

1957

After winning the 1957 Wimbledon title, Hoad turned professional by signing a two-year contract with Kramer for a record guarantee of US$125,000, or AUS£55,500, which included a US$25,000 bonus for winning the 1957 Wimbledon singles title.Hoad's business relationship with Kramer in 1957 and later was congenial and smooth compared to the experiences of Pancho Gonzales. Hoad would later claim, "I never had a problem with Jack Kramer."

On 14 July 1957, Hoad won his debut match as a professional against Frank Sedgman at the Forest Hills Tournament of Champions, broadcast nationally on the CBS television network. He won his next match, against Pancho Segura, but lost the last three to finish joint third in the round robin event behind Gonzales and Sedgman. After Forest Hills, Hoad commented on the difference between amateur and professional tennis: "It's an entirely different league. These pros make mistakes but they don't make them on vital points. That's the difference.". At the following Masters round robin tournament played on cement courts at the Los Angeles Tennis Club he lost all six of his matches to finish in last place. After these defeats Kramer commented that Hoad would have to change his playing style: "His second serve is too shallow. His opponents massacre it. He must shorten his backhand or play deeper in his returning service." Kramer expected that Hoad would improve on the upcoming indoor circuit.

In September Hoad embarked on a four month 4-man tour of Europe, Africa, the Middle East, Asia, and Australia together with Kramer (Sedgman replaced Kramer in Australia), Rosewall, and Segura. Kramer and Hoad were interviewed live on BBC television. Kramer stated in that interview his estimation of Hoad's game: "I feel that he's potentially the best player that tennis might ever have." Kramer cited Hoad's recent marathon win over Rosewall at The Hague on red clay as evidence of improvement in his play. At the Wembley Indoor Pro Championships in late September, Kramer eliminated Hoad, defeating him in straight sets, and Kramer also defeated Gonzales for third place. The two players would be Kramer's headliners in the upcoming world pro tennis championship tour. In the 4-man tour of 1957, Hoad finished with slight edges over the other players, 16–15 over Rosewall, 16–14 over Kramer, 13–9 over Segura, 4–2 over Sedgman.

1958

In 1958 a projected series of 100 head-to-head matches was commenced between Hoad and the reigning champion of professional tennis, Pancho Gonzales, together with an undercard series between Trabert and Segura. The series started in January in a number of Australian cities in stadiums on grass courts with mostly a best-of-five set format, and in New Zealand for three matches with a best-of-three set format, and at the end of the Australasian subtour, Hoad was leading 8–5. Most venues reported record crowds, including the first Kooyong encounter, which Hoad won in a 3 and 3/4 hour, four-sets, 80-games marathon in front of 12,000 spectators. From 5–4 down in New Zealand, Hoad launched a 15 to 3 winning streak against Gonzales (including the non-tour Kooyong Tournament of Champions deciding match and the third-place match at Sydney Masters). In February, the series continued in the United States, mostly in indoor venues and local gyms with a best-of-three set format, played on a portable canvas surface. Hoad would experience a thigh injury in May and June. But Hoad won 18 of the first 27 matches, and in late February Gonzales had, according to Kramer, the look of a "beaten man". However, after they played an outdoor match on 1 March on a chilly night in Palm Springs, Hoad's back stiffened which affected him significantly for the rest of the series. Twice Hoad was forced to take time off to rest his back and was substituted for in his absence by Rosewall and Trabert. From 9–18 Gonzales surged to a 26–23 lead, and at the end of the series on 8 June, he had defeated Hoad by 51 matches to 36.

In late 1958, Jack Kramer was asked which of the many "World Professional Championships" he considered deserving of the title, and he named four tournaments under his own aegis: Forest Hills, L.A. Masters, Kooyong and Sydney White City. Hoad won three of these eight tournaments in 1958/59. For the 1958/1959 seasons, Kramer had a troupe of professional champions that included 11 Hall of Fame players, under contract, and he designed a series of tournaments to provide a format in which all of them could participate. In January 1958, Hoad won the Kooyong Tournament of Champions in Melbourne, the richest tournament of the year. The tournament was funded by the Australian oil company Ampol. Hoad defeated Gonzales and Sedgman in deciding matches, and won all five of his matches in the round-robin event. During the world championship tour in the U.S. in May, the four players participated in the Cleveland event. In the final at Cleveland on 5 May, Hoad lost a two-set lead against Gonzales while struggling with his leg-muscle injury. Hoad dropped out of the tour in late May to rest his thigh injury. At the Forest Hills Tournament of Champions in June 1958, Hoad's thigh injury healed in time for his final match which he won against Gonzales on the final day in a weekend match televised nationally on CBS. The reporter for the L.A. Times called this Hoad/Gonzales broadcast "one of the most sensational displays of tennis that I can remember." However, Gonzales won the event with a better overall round-robin record. At Roland Garros in September, Hoad won his quarterfinal against Trabert, and his semifinal against Gonzales. While leading in the final against Rosewall, Hoad wrenched his back reaching for a ball, and could not play well in the remainder of the match. He had to default the Wembley Pro tournament in September due to an "arthritic" back. Hoad rested for the next three months and did not play again until 1959. Jack March ranked Hoad world No. 2 professional tennis player behind Gonzales for 1958.

1959

In early 1959, it was announced that the Australian oil company Ampol, would provide an award of AUS£2,500 (US$5,600), plus the Ampol Open Trophy, to the "acknowledged world's best tennis player", adjudged from the world series of tournaments managed by Jack Kramer, which included all of the best pros ranked by a point system. The first five tournaments of the series were played in Australia on a portable outdoor wooden plywood court, playing slow on a sand/paint surface for traction, but with no sliding possible. Hoad began the series slowly, hampered by an elbow injury. At the end of January, Hoad defeated Rosewall and Cooper to win at Perth and in February 1959, he defeated Rosewall in three sets to win the South Australian Pro tournament at the Norwood Cricket Oval in Adelaide. This gave Hoad the lead in Ampol bonus points after the first group of five tournaments, a lead which he would not relinquish until the Ampol Open Trophy series ended in January 1960. The Ampol series would resume in North America in June.

In the four-man 1959 Kramer World Professional Championship Tour, which ran from 20 February – 31 May in North America, Hoad built a lead of 12 to 5 in his series of matches against Gonzales, after a win in Newcastle, Pennsylvania in late April. Gonzales stated that "I had blisters under my blisters from the punishment" on that tour. However, the daily grind of the tour began to cause a renewal of Hoad's back trouble, and he finally won against Gonzales by 15 matches to 13. He also won his head-to-head's with newly turned pro Ashley Cooper (18–2) and Mal Anderson (9–5). With a win-loss record of 42–20 he finished second in the four-man tour behind Gonzales (47–15). The championship was based on money won. This would be the only 4-man world professional championship tour in which the winner would have a losing record against one of the other players, and the second-place finisher would have winning records against all of the other players. Four-man world championship tours were held in 1942, 1954, 1959, and 1960. In late April the players in the 4-man tour played in the Cleveland event, and Hoad lost the final to Gonzales in three straight sets. This would be Hoad's final appearance at the Cleveland event.

The Ampol series resumed in June with three tournaments in North America. At the L.A. Masters round robin from 5–14 June, held at the L.A. Tennis Club on concrete, and part of the Ampol series, Hoad and Gonzales both finished with five wins and one loss, but Gonzales won the title on account of his victory over Hoad in their head-to-head match, which had been the first match for both in the event. During the tournament, Hoad received several Hollywood offers for screen tests, but turned them down with the comment "What do I want with money?". At the O'Keefe Professional Championships on red clay at Toronto Lawn Tennis Club from 16–21 June, included in the Ampol series, Hoad lost to Sedgman and Rosewall lost to Trabert. Gonzales won the tournament by beating Cooper, Trabert and Sedgman.

The Forest Hills Tournament of Champions from 23–28 June, played on grass at the Forest Hills stadium in New York, and part of the Ampol series, was broadcast nationally on the CBS television network. Hoad defeated Rosewall in the semi-final and Gonzales in the final, both in four sets, to claim the title. In the August 1959 issue of World Tennis, Riggs wrote of the Forest Hills final, "the match signified the end of an era. The great Gonzales who had dominated professional tennis for four years had been decisively beaten..." It was noted that Hoad had been seeded No. 1 at Forest Hills and Gonzales seeded No. 2 on the basis of Ampol points. According to tennis journalist and author Joe McCauley this was the zenith of Hoad's career.

In August 1959, Hoad defeated Cawthorn and Worthington to reach the final of the Slazenger Pro Championships in Eastbourne, but lost to Cooper in the final. In September, Hoad lost to Sedgman in the semifinal of the French Pro at Roland Garros, part of the Ampol series, but defeated Rosewall in a playoff for third place. At the Wembley Indoor Championships, part of the Ampol series, Hoad was upset by Segura in the second round, and Segura eventually lost the final to Anderson in a close match. In the Grand Prix de Europe regional tour of European locations from August to October, which excluded Roland Garros and Wembley, Hoad finished in third place behind Sedgman and Rosewall (Gonzales defaulted the European tour), and at the end of 1959, Kramer placed Hoad in fourth place in his personal world professional rating, while Robert Roy in the French sportspaper L'Équipe ranked Hoad fifth as of mid-December before the Ampol series was completed, behind Gonzales, Sedgman, Rosewall, and Trabert. Kramer's Australian tennis agent Bob Barnes placed Hoad in first spot, corresponding to Hoad's standing on the official Ampol ranking.

The Ampol Open Trophy series moved from Europe to Australia where it was completed with five tournaments in November and December/January played in stadiums on grass courts. Hoad won the Perth and Adelaide events to begin the final group of tournaments. At the Sydney White City Tournament of Champions from 8–13 December, Gonzales defeated Rosewall in the semifinal and Hoad in the final, both in straight sets. At Brisbane from 15–19 December, Rosewall defeated Hoad in the semifinal and Gonzales in the final in long matches. The final event of the Ampol Open Trophy series, the Qantas International Kooyong Championships, began on 26 December 1959. With a victory at Kooyong, either Hoad or Gonzales would have won the series, but Gonzales decided to return to the U.S. for the holidays to be with his fiancée, although Kramer had warned that "it could cost Gonzales AUS£5,000 by going home for Christmas." Gonzales thereby defaulted the Ampol series to Hoad. On 24 December, the day following Gonzales' departure, Hoad announced that he would not participate in the upcoming 4-man tour in January 1960. On 2 January 1960, Hoad defeated Rosewall in a three-and-a-half hour, four-set match to win the Kooyong tournament, a match which Kramer acclaimed as one of the best ever played. With Hoad's successful defence of the Kooyong title also came the Ampol Open Trophy win and bonus money award.

The Ampol Open Trophy "world series" or "world's open tennis championship" had consisted of 15 tournaments around the world between 10 January 1959 and 2 January 1960. Hoad finished first in the series with 51 bonus points, ahead of Gonzales (43 points) and Rosewall (41 points). The Melbourne Age on 4 January 1960 stated, Hoad "was crowned the new world professional tournament champion at Kooyong" by winning the Ampol world series. The Sydney Morning Herald on 10 January 1960 reported that Hoad had won "the title of world's top professional tennis player" and was "the game's top money-earner." French language "L'Impartial" on 6 January 1960 stated "Lewis Hoad world champion", the win at Kooyong "allows him at the same time to claim the world title for 1959". There were also many references of Gonzales between January and April 1960 being described variously that he was "world professional tennis champion, will defend his title", was "World Pro Champion", "goes after an unprecedented sixth straight world crown", was "perennial professional champion", was described in UPI newswire reports as "world professional tennis champion since 1954", "titleholder" of the "World Professional Tennis Championship" and that Gonzales with "five world series championships as his record, defeated Ken Rosewall at Cairns last night in straight sets and added further to his claims for his sixth successive world title". On 15 January 1960, Lawn Tennis and Badminton said Hoad was taking a six-month rest and the article stated "J. Kramer is urging Hoad not to take this step, as during this year he will have his best chance of taking R. A. Gonzales' world professional title from him". The successor event to the 1959 4-man pro tour was the 1960 4-man pro tour, where Gonzales defended his 1959 title, and this was not a successor event to the 1959 Ampol series. There was a 1960 tournament series from May to November to which Kramer attached a point system, but the final results are unknown. Hoad would participate in the 1960 tournament series, but Gonzales would withdraw from tournament play. Hoad and Gonzales would not play against each other in 1960.

The order of finish of the 12 professionals on the Ampol world series was designated by Kramer to be the official ranking for 1959, and determined the seeding list for all tournaments. It was the only world championship tournament series and complete field point ranking results reported for the pros between 1946 and 1964 and Hoad finished as world No. 1 in the point ranking and seeding list.

Kramer's office reported that in 1959 Hoad had won his personal series of matches against Gonzales 24 to 23. Hoad withdrew from the 1960 world championship tour, citing a need for family time.

1960

Hoad took a three-month layoff at the beginning of 1960 to rest his back and spend time with his family. When he returned to play, he was rusty, slow, and carried some extra weight, but he gradually recovered his form. He won a New Zealand tour in April, over Anderson, Sedgman, and Cooper. In May, he lost a five-set final to Rosewall at the Melbourne Olympic Pool where a court was set up on the drained pool floor. Hoad won tournament finals in June at Santa Barbara, California and in September at Geneva, Switzerland, both over Rosewall, but appeared out of condition in the Roland Garros final against Rosewall. At the Wembley Indoor Championships that year, Hoad was again upset by Segura in the second round. In late 1960, Hoad won the inaugural Japanese Professional Championships in Tokyo, beating Rosewall, Cooper, and Gimeno to win the tournament. In the final, Hoad prevailed at 13–11 in the fifth set over Rosewall.

1961

Hoad and Robert Haillet (right) at the Professional Championship in Noordwijk, Netherlands in August 1961

Hoad played a few one-set matches on the 1961 Professional World Series tour in January, but soon withdrew because of a broken left foot and was substituted for by first Trabert and then Sedgman. He finished fourth in a tour of five Soviet cities in July, behind Trabert, Buchholz, and Segura, returning to play after his broken foot had healed. In September, Hoad lost in the first round of the French Pro to Luis Ayala. Also that month, Hoad and Gonzales played a ten-match best-of-three sets tour of Britain and Ireland, with Buchholz and Davies playing the undercard matches. Hoad won his series against Gonzales by a score of six matches to four. Hoad won four of the five matches in the series which were played on grass. At the Wembley Pro, Hoad defeated Gonzales in a four-set semifinal but lost in a four-set final to Rosewall, appearing stiff and sluggish. In November, Hoad won the fifth and deciding rubber for Australia against the United States in the final of the inaugural Kramer Cup (the pro equivalent of the Davis Cup) by beating Trabert in four sets. Trabert said afterwards: "Trying to stop Lew in that final set was like fighting a machine gun with a rubber knife". Robert Roy in L'Équipe ranked Hoad as the third-best player of the year. In July 1961 Gardnar Mulloy rated Hoad as world No. 1 ahead of Gonzales, and the favourite to win a prospective open Wimbledon.

1962

There was no official pro championship tour in 1962, as Laver had declined to accept pro offers made by Kramer at the 1961 Wimbledon. Kramer resigned as tour promoter and director. From 14 to 17 March 1962, Hoad won the Adelaide Professional Championships, beating Rosewall, Gimeno, and Sedgman, the final against Rosewall very close. On 12 August 1962, Hoad was awarded the Facis Trophy for winning the pro tour of Italy. In late August, Hoad played a five-match, best-of-three sets tour in Britain against Trabert, defeating Trabert at Nottingham, Edinburgh, Bournemouth, and Dublin, while Trabert won at Scarborough. Hoad won the professional tournament in Zürich in September 1962 by a win in the final against Pancho Segura. In late September, Hoad lost to Rosewall in a 3+1⁄4-hour, four-set final at Wembley. Hoad and Rosewall teamed to win the doubles final at both Roland Garros and Wembley. In the 1962 Kramer Cup tournament, in best-of-five set formats, Hoad defeated Gimeno in the semifinal tie in Turin, Italy on clay, and Hoad won the opening match of the final at Adelaide in December against Olmedo on grass. Hoad was voted the world No. 1 tennis player for 1962, amateur or professional, in a UPI poll of 85 U.S. sports editors held at the end of January 1963 following the Australian tour.

1963

In January 1963, Hoad and Rosewall guaranteed the contract of new pro Rod Laver, and Hoad defeated Laver 8–0 in an Australian tour, some of their matches played to best-of-five and televised from sold-out stadiums. On Laver's pro debut on 5 January, Hoad beat Laver at White City stadium in Sydney on a "slippery" grass surface. Their match at the Kooyong stadium in Melbourne on grass was a close contest, with Laver extending Hoad to five sets before losing. After the Australian series, Hoad was inactive for five months due to a shoulder injury. On his return in June, he lost to Laver in the semifinal of the Adler Pro, and at the Forest Hills U.S. Pro tournament he lost to Buchholz in the first round. The Forest Hills event did not have a television contract, was a financial failure, and the players, with the exception of Gonzales, were not paid. At the French Pro indoor event at Stade Coubertin in September, Hoad was defeated in straight sets by Rosewall in the semifinal and lost the third place play-off against Sedgman. At the Wembley Pro, he reached the final after surviving a marathon semifinal against Buchholz in which he strained his leg muscle and was limping throughout most of the match. McCauley acclaimed the semi-final with Buchholz "one of the best contests ever staged at Wembley". Hoad was tired and sluggish in the final, which again he lost to Rosewall, this time in four sets. At the end of the World Championship Tour earlier in the season, Laver had finished second and was officially ranked the No. 2 professional player behind Rosewall. Hoad did not play in the World Tour due to injury and was not officially ranked.

1964–67

In February and March 1964, Hoad played a 16-day 24-match best-of-three sets tour of New Zealand with Laver, Rosewall, and Anderson. Hoad and Laver both finished on top with seven wins and five losses, but Hoad won first place with a 3 to 1 head-to-head score against Laver. In late September 1964, Hoad and Gonzales played a four match best-of-three sets head-to-head series in Britain, at Brighton, Carlyon Bay (Cornwall), Cardiff (Wales), and Glasgow (Scotland). Hoad won at Carlyon Bay and Cardiff, while Gonzales won at Brighton and Glasgow. Hoad experienced foot trouble in 1964 and finished in sixth place in the tournament series point system. In early 1965, much of his large right toe was removed, and he was only able to play a limited schedule thereafter. Hoad won his final victory against Laver on 24 January 1966 at White City in Sydney, his home town, defeating him in straight sets.

After the expiration of his seven-year contract on 14 November 1966, Hoad withdrew from competitive play for ten months. Hoad and his wife invested in the development of a tennis club and real estate holdings in southern Spain. He returned unexpectedly to participate in the Wimbledon Pro tournament in late August 1967. The Wimbledon Pro was a three-day BBC televised tournament organized by the All-England Club as a trial for "open" tennis and as such the first Wimbledon tournament open to male professional tennis players. Hoad was one of the eight players invited for the singles event and despite being in semi-retirement and without competitive play for ten months, he won his first match against 39-year-old Gonzales in three sets. The BBC television commentator called it "the finest match ever seen on these hallowed grounds." This would be the last match on grass between Hoad and Gonzales, with Hoad holding a lifetime edge on grass over Gonzales of 21 matches to 14. With little energy left he lost the semifinal to Rosewall in two straight sets. Hoad played for an eight-week period on the pro tour in 1967, and then retired permanently from regular competitive tennis play.

Open era 1968–1972

Back problems plagued Hoad throughout his career and forced his retirement from the tennis tour in October 1967 but the advent of the Open Era enticed him to make sporadic appearances at tournaments. Hoad lost in the final of the Irish Championships at Dublin in July 1968 to Tom Okker in straight sets, hampered by a thigh injury. In November 1969, Hoad won the Dewar Cup Aberavon singles title, part of the Dewar Cup indoor circuit, defeating Mark Cox in the semifinal and Bob Hewitt in the final, both wins in two straight sets. At the 1970 Italian Open, he lost in the third round in four sets to Alex Metreveli. At the 1970 French Open, he defeated Charlie Pasarell in four close sets, and reached the fourth round before succumbing to eventual finalist Željko Franulović. At Wimbledon that year he lost in the second round to Ismail El Shafei.

Hoad won his final tennis tournament title in singles on 7 August 1971, the Playmon Fiesta 71, on red clay at Benidorm, Spain. He defeated Antonio Muñoz in the semifinal and Manuel Santana in the final by identical scores of 9–7, 6–3. This would mark a twenty-year span during which Hoad won men's singles titles in tennis, between the ages of 16 and 36, dating back to the Brisbane tournament of August 1951. In spring 1972, Hoad played the doubles final at Italian Open with Frew McMillan against Ilie Năstase and Ion Ţiriac. Hoad/McMillan led 2–0 in sets but retired at 3–5 down in the fifth set in protest of the poor light conditions and the antics of the Rumanian pair. At the end of June, at the age of 37, Hoad made his final Wimbledon appearance losing in the first round to Jürgen Fassbender in four sets.

From 1970 to 1974, Hoad was the coach of the Spanish Davis Cup team.

According to research done for a 1970 British Pathé documentary film about Hoad's tennis ranch, Hoad had "made about GBP 350,000 as a professional". Per a 1977 newspaper interview, “Throughout his career, Hoad earned a total of £250,000, less than many pros collect in a year now. He received £150 for his Wimbledon victories; the payoff now is £17,500.”

Playing style

Strength of arm and wrist played an important part in Hoad's game, as he often drove for winners rather than rallying and waiting for the "right" opportunity, though he also had the skill to win the French Championships on the slower clay court. Hoad played right-handed and had a powerful serve and groundstrokes. Hoad's game was reported to lack consistency in some accounts. At times Hoad had difficulty maintaining concentration. According to Kramer, "Hoad had the loosest game of any good kid I ever saw. There was absolutely no pattern to his game.... He was the only player I ever saw who could stand six or seven feet behind the baseline and snap the ball back hard, crosscourt. He'd try for winners off everything, off great serves, off tricky short balls, off low volleys. He hit hard overspin drives, and there was no way you could ever get him to temporise on important points."

Hoad was runner-up for the Australian junior table tennis championship in 1951, and developed strong wrists and arms through heavy weight-lifting regimes. Hoad would use wrist strength in his strokes to make last split-second changes in racquet direction. He would saw off about an inch from the ends of his racquet handles, which were short to begin with, and move the grip higher to wield his racquets as if they were ping-pong bats.

Career summary

Hoad achieved world No. 1 rankings in five different years in contemporary rankings, 1953 (Tennis de France complete year ranking), 1956 (Tingay September ranking, Tennis de France complete year ranking), 1959/1960 (Ampol point ranking), 1961 (Gardnar Mulloy ranking), 1962 (UPI poll of 85 sports editors).

Hoad's win/loss ratio for 1956 in all matches was 114/129 or 88%. His win ratio in 1958 was 41% (winning 64 of 155 matches). However, Hoad's win rates on the world championship tour that year (36/87 or 41%) and in the 1959 four-man tour (68%) compare favourably to Rosewall's percentages on the 1957 world championship tour (34%) and on the 1960 four man tour (56%). In the 1959 Ampol Open Trophy tournament series, Hoad's winning percentage was 71% (36/51) compared to Gonzales' 72% (26/36) and Rosewall's 62% (26/42). Gonzales defaulted three Ampol tournaments and played 15 fewer matches than Hoad in the tournament series. For the 1959 season as a whole, Hoad had a 24 to 23 edge in wins against Gonzales, a consistency which surpasses any other opponent of Gonzales during his world champion years. Hoad's lifetime edge over Gonzales on grass was 21 wins to 14 losses (60%). Hoad trails Rosewall lifetime in grasscourt matches, 19 to 26, Hoad's results declining after 1961. Hoad was 15 wins and 18 losses against Rosewall lifetime in grass court tournament play (1951–1967). Hoad was 8 wins and 10 losses lifetime on clay against Rosewall, and 11 wins and 11 losses lifetime on clay against Trabert. Lifetime on all surfaces, primarily indoor, Hoad trails Gonzales 78–104 and trails Rosewall 51–84. On outdoor surfaces, (grass, clay, and cement) Gonzales held a 36 to 32 lifetime edge over Hoad, or 53%. In the five Tournament of Champions events from 1957 to 1959 in which both players were entered, Hoad held a 3 to 2 edge over Gonzales in head-to-head play, all on grass.

On the head-to-head tours of the era (1958, 1959, 1961), Hoad compiled 57 wins and 68 losses against Gonzales, the best head-to-head showing of any pro against the reigning champion Gonzales. In the 1959 Ampol series, Hoad's record was 3 wins and 5 losses against Gonzales. However, Hoad was more consistent than Gonzales against the other ten players in the Ampol series, winning 33 of 43 matches (77%), while Gonzales won 21 of 28 (75%), and this gave Hoad the overall victory in the series. Hoad won six tournaments compared to Gonzales' four, and he had 6 wins and 2 losses against Rosewall on the 1959 Ampol series, while Gonzales had 1 win and 3 losses against Rosewall. Hoad had a 15–13 edge over Gonzales in their meetings on the 4-man championship tour of 1959, but Hoad was deprived of overall victory on this tour because he was less consistent than Gonzales when facing the rookie pros, Mal Anderson and Ashley Cooper. Hoad's combined record against the rookies was 27–7 compared to Gonzales’ 34–0.

Assessment

Journalists

Max Robertson, tennis author and commentator, rated Hoad as the best post-war Wimbledon player, followed by Gonzales and Laver, in his 1977 book Wimbledon 1877–1977. In the second edition (1981) his list was unchanged but in the third edition (1987) he listed Hoad second behind Boris Becker. In The Encyclopedia of Tennis (1973) veteran sportswriters Allison Danzig and Lance Tingay as well as tennis coach, writer and former player Harry Hopman listed their ten greatest players. Only Tingay included Hoad in his list, ranking him in fifth position, behind Tilden, Budge, Laver and Gonzales.

In 100 Greatest of All Time, a 2012 television series broadcast by the Tennis Channel, Hoad was ranked the 19th greatest male player.

Players

In a 1963 article in World Tennis Rosewall judged Gonzales to be a notch above Hoad but stated that "...the latter is the greatest of all time when he is 'on'.", an opinion echoed by Frew McMillan. In 2010, Rosewall rated Hoad at the top of his personal list of the top four greatest tennis players of all time, ahead of Gonzales, Laver, and Federer. However, in 2017, Rosewall was asked the question in Italian publication Corriere della Sera if he believed Roger Federer was the greatest of all time and he replied "there is no doubt. I challenge anyone to argue otherwise". In 2007, Butch Buchholz rated Hoad as the greatest player of his era, but said he was "injury prone and not exactly a model of fitness". Buchholz stated that "If you had an Earth vs. Mars match, and had to send one man to represent the planet, I would send Hoad." Buchholz had played the undercard matches on Hoad's 1961 British tour against Gonzales, and Hoad's 1963 Australian tour against Laver. In July 1961, Gardnar Mulloy rated Hoad as the greatest player of the time, based on his results against Gonzales, and named Hoad as the favourite to win a prospective open Wimbledon.

Gonzales said that Hoad was the toughest, most skillful adversary that he had ever faced and stated in a 1995 interview that "He was the only guy who, if I was playing my best tennis, could still beat me.". "I think his game was the best game ever. Better than mine. He was capable of making more shots than anybody. His two volleys were great. His overhead was enormous. He had the most natural tennis mind with the most natural tennis physique." In a 1970 interview he stated that "Hoad was probably the best and toughest player when he wanted to be. After the first two years on the tour, his back injury plagued him so much that he lost the desire to practice. He was the only man to beat me in a head-to-head tour, 15 to 13." Kramer, however, had mixed feelings about Hoad's ability. In spite of calling him one of the 21 best players of all time, albeit in the second echelon, he also writes that "when you sum Hoad up, you have to say that he was overrated. He might have been the best, but day-to-day, week-to-week, he was the most inconsistent of all the top players." Kramer compared Hoad to Ellsworth Vines. "Both were very strong guys. Both succeeded at a very young age.... Also, both were very lazy guys. Vines lost interest in tennis (for golf) before he was thirty, and Hoad never appeared to be very interested. Despite their great natural ability, neither put up the outstanding records that they were capable of. Unfortunately, the latter was largely true because both had physical problems."

Kramer stated in 1981, "Everybody loved Hoad, even Pancho Gonzales. They should put that on Lew's tombstone as the ultimate praise for the man.... Even when Hoad was clobbering Gonzales, Gorgo wanted his respect and friendship." In a 1975 issue of Sports Illustrated, Arthur Ashe was quoted as relating a remark which Pancho Gonzales had said to him, "If there was ever a Universe Davis Cup, and I had to pick one man to represent Planet Earth, I would pick Lew Hoad in his prime."

Hoad gave his own rankings in a 1980 interview, ranking Emerson and Borg at the top in terms of major tournaments won. However, Hoad claimed that "the only way to really assess players is to play them", rating Gonzales as the best player of those whom he had played against.

Rod Laver in 2012 rated Hoad as the greatest player of the 'past champions' era of tennis, while rating Federer as the greatest player of the Open Era. Laver described Hoad's strengths of "power, volleying and explosiveness" as justification of his accolade. In July 2012, when Federer won his seventh Wimbledon singles championship, Laver said "Roger Federer certainly is my claim to be the best of all time if there is such a thing" and in January 2018, at the Australian Open won by Federer, Laver said "For me, I think Roger Federer is certainly the greatest player that has come along" and "He's stood the test of time – that's probably the one thing that puts you in that category of the best ever." However, in a January 2019 interview, Laver stated that Hoad was "the best player who ever held a racquet. He had every shot in the book and he could overpower anyone. He was so strong." Pancho Gonzales made a similar remark about Hoad, "He was such a strong son****...when he tried, you just couldn't beat him. He hit the ball harder than anyone I ever played."

Personal life

Hoad and Jennifer Staley (right) at the Davis Cup Ball on 30 December 1953

Hoad proposed to his girlfriend, Australian tennis player Jenny Staley, on her 21st birthday party in March 1955 and they planned to announce their engagement in June in London while both were on an overseas tour. After arrival in London Jenny discovered that she was pregnant and the couple decided to get married straight away. The marriage took place the following day on 18 June 1955 at St Mary's Church, Wimbledon, in London, on the eve of Wimbledon fortnight. They had two daughters and a son.

After announcing his retirement in 1967, due to persistent back problems, Hoad moved to Fuengirola, Spain, near Málaga, where he and his wife owned and operated a tennis resort, Lew Hoad's Campo de Tenis. For more than thirty years they entertained personal friends such as actors Stewart Granger, Sean Connery, Richard Burton, Deborah Kerr and her husband writer Peter Viertel, actor Kirk Douglas, singer Frank Sinatra and saxophonist Stan Getz. Hoad's son Peter stated, "My dad was extremely well connected."

In September 1978, Hoad's back problem was successfully treated with spinal fusion surgery, and he was relieved of pain. There had been two ruptured discs and a herniation. The doctor asked one of Hoad's friends, "How on earth did this man walk, let alone play tennis?" In a 1980 interview, Hoad claimed that "my back is marvelous now....it's absolutely perfect now."

Hoad was diagnosed with a rare and incurable form of leukemia on 13 January 1994 which caused his death on 3 July 1994. Press reports of a heart attack were incorrect. Hoad's personal physician specialist was his own son-in-law Dr. Manuel Benavides, who explained the cause of death. A book co-written with Jack Pollard and titled My Game ("The Lew Hoad story" in the USA) was published in 1958. In 2002, Pollard teamed up with his widow, Jenny, to write My Life With Lew.

Hoad was inducted into the International Tennis Hall of Fame in Newport, in 1980 and in December 1985 was inducted into the Sport Australia Hall of Fame. In January 1995 he was posthumously inducted into the Tennis Australia Hall of Fame together with friend and rival Ken Rosewall. The ITF organizes a seniors tournament in his honor called The Lew Hoad Memorial ITF Veterans Tournament, which is hosted by the Lew Hoad Campo de Tenis.

The Kooyong Classic at Kooyong Stadium, the principal warm-up event for the Australian Open, awards the Lew Hoad Memorial Trophy to the winner of the men's singles. Kooyong stadium was the site of some of Hoad's greatest victories.

Performance timeline

Singles

Hoad joined the professional tennis circuit in 1957 and as a consequence was banned from competing in 42 Grand Slam tournaments until the start of the Open Era at the 1968 French Open.

Grand Slam and Pro Slam finals

Singles

Grand Slam finals (4–2)

Result	Year	Championship	Surface	Opponent	Score
Loss	1955	Australian Championships	Grass	Ken Rosewall	7–9, 4–6, 4–6
Win	1956	Australian Championships	Grass	Ken Rosewall	6–4, 3–6, 6–4, 7–5
Win	1956	French Championships	Clay	Sven Davidson	6–4, 8–6, 6–3
Win	1956	Wimbledon	Grass	Ken Rosewall	6–2, 4–6, 7–5, 6–4
Loss	1956	US Championships	Grass	Ken Rosewall	6–4, 2–6, 3–6, 3–6
Win	1957	Wimbledon	Grass	Ashley Cooper	6–2, 6–1, 6–2

Pro Slam finals (0–7)

Result	Year	Championship	Surface	Opponent	Score
Loss	1958	French Pro	Clay	Ken Rosewall	6–3, 2–6, 4–6, 0–6
Loss	1958	US Pro	Indoor	Pancho Gonzales	6–3, 6–4, 12–14, 1–6, 4–6
Loss	1959	US Pro	Indoor	Pancho Gonzales	4–6, 2–6, 4–6
Loss	1960	French Pro	Clay	Ken Rosewall	2–6, 6–2, 2–6, 1–6
Loss	1961	Wembley Pro	Indoor	Ken Rosewall	3–6, 6–3, 2–6, 3–6
Loss	1962	Wembley Pro	Indoor	Ken Rosewall	4–6, 7–5, 13–15, 5–7
Loss	1963	Wembley Pro	Indoor	Ken Rosewall	4–6, 2–6, 6–4, 3–6

Doubles: 13 (8 titles, 5 runner-ups)

Result	Year	Championship	Surface	Partner	Opponents	Score
Win	1953	Australian Championships	Grass	Ken Rosewall	Don Candy Mervyn Rose	9–11, 6–4, 10–8, 6–4
Win	1953	French Championships	Clay	Ken Rosewall	Mervyn Rose Clive Wilderspin	6–2, 6–1, 6–1
Win	1953	Wimbledon	Grass	Ken Rosewall	Rex Hartwig Mervyn Rose	6–4, 7–5, 4–6, 7–5
Loss	1954	French Championships	Clay	Ken Rosewall	Vic Seixas Tony Trabert	4–6, 2–6, 1–6
Loss	1954	U.S. National Championships	Grass	Ken Rosewall	Vic Seixas Tony Trabert	6–3, 4–6, 6–8, 3–6
Loss	1955	Australian Championships	Grass	Ken Rosewall	Vic Seixas Tony Trabert	3–6, 2–6, 6–2, 6–3, 1–6
Win	1955	Wimbledon	Grass	Rex Hartwig	Neale Fraser Ken Rosewall	7–5, 6–4, 6–3
Win	1956	Australian Championships	Grass	Ken Rosewall	Don Candy Mervyn Rose	10–8, 13–11, 6–4
Loss	1956	French Championships	Clay	Ashley Cooper	Don Candy Robert Perry	5–7, 3–6, 3–6
Win	1956	Wimbledon	Grass	Ken Rosewall	Orlando Sirola Nicola Pietrangeli	7–5, 6–2, 6–1
Win	1956	U.S. National Championships	Grass	Ken Rosewall	Hamilton Richardson Vic Seixas	6–2, 6–2, 3–6, 6–4
Win	1957	Australian Championships	Grass	Neale Fraser	Mal Anderson Ashley Cooper	6–3, 8–6, 6–4
Loss	1957	Wimbledon	Grass	Neale Fraser	Budge Patty Gardnar Mulloy	10–8, 4–6, 4–6, 4–6

Mixed doubles: 4 (1 title, 3 runner-ups)

Result	Year	Championship	Surface	Partner	Opponents	Score
Loss	1952	U.S. National Championships	Grass	Thelma Coyne Long	Doris Hart Frank Sedgman	3–6, 5–7
Win	1954	French Championships	Clay	Maureen Connolly	Jacqueline Patorni Rex Hartwig	6–4, 6–3
Loss	1955	Australian Championships	Grass	Jenny Staley	Thelma Coyne Long George Worthington	2–6, 1–6
Loss	1956	U.S. National Championships	Grass	Darlene Hard	Margaret Osborne Ken Rosewall	7–9, 1–6

Other significant finals

Result	Year	Championship	Surface	Opponent	Score
Win	1959	Forest Hills Tournament of Champions	Grass	Pancho Gonzales	6–1, 5–7, 6–2, 6–1

All-time record

Youngest player to be ranked as world No. 1; 1953; Age: 19 years 38 days

See also

In Spanish: Lew Hoad para niños