 Savitt holding the 1951 Wimbledon men's trophy | ||||||||||||
| Full name | Richard Savitt | |||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Country (sports) |  United States | |||||||||||
| Born | March 4, 1927 Bayonne, New Jersey, U.S. | |||||||||||
| Died | January 6, 2023 (aged 95) Manhattan, New York, U.S. | |||||||||||
| Height | 6 ft 3 in (1.91 m) | |||||||||||
| Turned pro | 1944 (amateur tour) | |||||||||||
| Retired | 1952 (played part-time afterwards) | |||||||||||
| Plays | Right-handed (one-handed backhand) | |||||||||||
| College | Cornell University (57–2 record in singles) | |||||||||||
| Int. Tennis HoF | 1976 (member page) | |||||||||||
| Singles | ||||||||||||
| Career record | 320-105 | |||||||||||
| Career titles | 37 | |||||||||||
| Highest ranking | No. 1 (July 1951, The New York Times)[1] | |||||||||||
| Grand Slam singles results | ||||||||||||
| Australian Open | W (1951) | |||||||||||
| French Open | QF (1951, 1952) | |||||||||||
| Wimbledon | W (1951) | |||||||||||
| US Open | SF (1950, 1951) | |||||||||||
| Doubles | ||||||||||||
| Grand Slam doubles results | ||||||||||||
| French Open | F (1951, 1952) | |||||||||||
Medal record
| ||||||||||||
Richard Savitt (March 4, 1927 – January 6, 2023) was an American tennis player.[2][3][4]
In 1951, at the age of 24, he won both the Australian and Wimbledon men's singles championships. Savitt was mostly ranked world No. 2 the same year behind fellow amateur Frank Sedgman, but he was declared world No. 1 by The New York Times following his Wimbledon victory.[4][1] He retired the following year to concentrate on a career in business. Savitt is one of four American men who have won both the Australian and British Championships in one year, following Don Budge (1938) and preceding Jimmy Connors (1974) and Pete Sampras (1994 and 1997). He won gold medals in both singles and men's doubles at the 1961 Maccabiah Games in Israel.
Savitt is enshrined in the International Tennis Hall of Fame, the Intercollegiate Tennis Association Men's Collegiate Tennis Hall of Fame, the USTA Eastern Tennis Hall of Fame, the International Jewish Sports Hall of Fame, and the National Jewish Sports Hall of Fame.
- ^ a b "Savitt beats McGregor in straight sets to capture Wimbledon tennis title". The New York Times. July 7, 1951. p. 9 Sports. Archived from the original on July 22, 2018. Retrieved July 22, 2018.
Dick Savitt of Orange, N. J. ... established himself as the world's No. 1 amateur player today when he won the Wimbledon men's singles title by defeating Ken McGregor of Australia
- ^ Michael Feldberg (2002). Blessings of Freedom: Chapters in American Jewish history. KTAV Publishing House, Inc. ISBN 0-88125-756-7. Archived from the original on March 10, 2021. Retrieved July 19, 2016.
- ^ David J. Goldman (2006). Jewish Sports Stars: Athletic Heroes Past and Present. Kar-Ben Publishing. ISBN 1-58013-183-2. Archived from the original on March 10, 2021. Retrieved July 19, 2016.
- ^ a b Joseph Siegman (2000). Jewish sports legends: the International Jewish Hall of Fame. Brassey's. ISBN 1-57488-284-8. Archived from the original on March 10, 2021. Retrieved July 19, 2016.